As I sat back after reading this chapter, I pondered on the whole of the chapter. It is full of details. The Word of God named all people traveling with Ezra in this great wave of repatriation of Israel. Next came the search for Levites and the text names the families and the numbers of Levites who came. After that the chapter chronicles thoughts about safety during the journey and the parceling out of the offerings and articles of God to the families who will carry them to Jerusalem. The chapter concludes with everyone and everything making it to Jerusalem safely. It is all about details…
The Lord, I thought, cares for the details as well as the end results.
In life I hear the phrase, ‘The ends justify the means,’ but with the Lord that isn’t so. The means and the details are as important as the ends. Ezra had bragged on God that God would protect them, so it was important for him not to ask for armed guard for his travels. Neither could he buy mercenaries with the money given, so he prayed and then traveled. God came through.
A small detail about the trip, yet important enough to be recorded in God’s Word.
How we go about accomplishing the works of God is as important as the works themselves. God is honored in the details as well as the outcome.
This led me to the thought, how we live in the day to day is as important as the trajectory of our lives. God is not only interested in our doing good, but the manner of our doing as we do the good we know God would have us do…
Both the details of our doing and the end result matter to the Lord. How I live today and all of my todays, the character traits I exhibit throughout my days are important.
As a child of God and a follower of Jesus all of my life, the big picture and the details should honor my Lord.
May the words of my mouth, the thoughts of my mind and heart and the deeds of my hands be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and Redeemer. Amen.
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