Ezra 8:22-28 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way… Ezra felt what Christian people still often feel, the conflict between prudence and faith. We observe — I. THAT AS A GRAND RULE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE FAITH AND PRUDENCE MUST GO TOGETHER. The Scriptures give no countenance to presumptuous reliance on supernatural intervention. As a rule of life they bind us to take all human precautions against the various forms of mischief we have reason to apprehend. In this unbelieving generation there is not much reason to speak against excessive faith, but there is some reason. The workman gave as his reason for not going to church, "That religious people were hypocrites because they called the temple God's house, and yet put upon it a lightning rod." This worldly workman could not see that God's Church ought to recognise God's law, and act agreeably thereto; but he thought that he saw a glaring contradiction in this union of prudence and piety. And some noble men in the Church sympathise with this workman, and reject the securities which prudence would counsel. They have no faith in the band of soldiers. They leave their property uninsured; in times of disturbance they will not claim the protection of the magistrate; and in times of sickness they will not call the physician. That is, to a large extent, a serious mistake. As a rule we are to accept the band of soldiers which Ezra, in peculiar circumstances, rejected. We must not rashly cast ourselves into peril on the idea that angels have charge concerning us. We must not tempt the Lord our God. If devout men do not attend to the dictates of prudence they must suffer for it; and not only so, but they injure Christianity likewise. The truth of religion is based on false issues, and thus brought into suspicion or contempt. As the rule of life we must march through the desert with the hand of soldiers. Our religion is not fatalism. "The good man guideth his affairs with discretion." Yet there are times — II. WHEN FAITH IN GOD MUST SUPERSEDE THE PROVISIONS OF ORDINARY PRUDENCE. When faith and prudence gave different counsel, Ezra chose to walk by faith, and we must all feel that he did right. The question is: When are we to go beyond merely prudential considerations and venture all on the unseen power of God? When are we justified in neglecting policy and appealing to the higher law? We are "shut up" to "faith" when — 1. Prudential action would most probably be construed as a denial of the Divine government. Ezra had told the king that "the hand of God was upon all them for good who feared Him," And now he considered that to reveal any anxiety for a guard of soldiers would appear to the heathen king like a practical denial of the overshadowing providence of Jehovah. On this ground he elected to brave the perils of the wilderness without the military escort. A band of soldiers would have hidden the Shepherd of Israel, Artaxerxes alone would have been seen; and so Ezra, with a fine spiritual instinct, saw the hour for simple trust had come, and by declining the soldiers left open the full view of God and His gracious and glorious government. A line of action is marked here for ourselves. To remove the scruples of the few we are not to take the lightning conductors from our temples and essay similar reformations; but we must seek so to act that we satisfy the world generally that we do believe in the Divine superintendence and care. A worldly man believes only in the band of soldiers; and to let him know that we believe in something beyond we must sometimes be Willing to act without the soldiers altogether. Are we not too anxious about material helps end visible securities? Has not the Church, by clinging so feverishly to visible resources and helps and defenders, given some sanction to the world's unbelief? Ezra blushed to ask Artaxerxes for help that might seem a denial of the power and presence of God. Are we sufficiently sensitive on this matter? Trapp says, "It is the ingenuity of saints to study God's ends more than their own." And if we are very jealous for the honour of God, and seek to uphold His government in the eyes of the world, we shall sometimes be ready to imperil our personal interest and safety for His sake; and let us be assured that when we act in this lofty spirit of faith and self-forgetfulness, we shall not be confounded. When — 2. Prudential action would cause us to lean on worldly associations and resources. Artaxerxes was an idolater, and Ezra was anxious not to ask too much at his hands. It seemed inconsistent to Ezra that he should be soliciting a band of pagan soldiers to protect God's people and the treasures of God's temple. Policy drove him to find assistance in a suspicious quarter, and so he retired to the higher ground of simple trust in God. Here again we have a line of action marked out for us. We are the confessed servants of the Holy One of Israel, and prudence must not lead us to worldly alliances and dependence upon sinful circles. In our personal life we must observe this. We must beware of compromises with the world for the sake of our personal safety and aggrandisement. And in regard to God's Church we must observe this. Policy would often direct us to expect great things from the greatness, wealth, or wisdom of unregenerate men for the Church's sake. So far from seeking their assistance, we ought to be shy of their gold and their patronage. Thus did Ezra. And thus acted Paul and Silas (Acts 16:16-19). When prudence would lead us to seek for much, either for ourselves or for the Church, at the hands of unbelieving men, we must pause and follow the path faith indicates. Let us dare anything, suffer anything, rather than compromise our own character and the character of God in the eyes of the world by linking our fortunes and the fortunes of the Church with those who are joined to idols. When — 3. Prudential action might embarrass the progress of God's kingdom. If Artaxerxes had detected any inconsistency in Ezra he might have ceased to be favourable to his cause and have prevented or delayed the return to Jerusalem. Rather than endanger the popularity and progress of the cause of God, Ezra was prepared to run great risks. Here another line of action is marked out for us. If prudence would circumscribe, fetter, or destroy the work of God, the time has come to appeal to loftier considerations. Calculating, cautious piety would condemn the act of Ezra as imprudent; but many imprudent things have been done or there would not have been so much Christianity in the world as there is; and many more imprudent things will have to be done before Christianity fills the world. Let us remember that God's kingdom is a supernatural one, and in its promotion we must often act with a boldness which could not be justified in the court of prudence. There is a holy venturesomeness in evangelisation which carries with it a far higher guarantee of success than do the pondered schemes of a rationalising statesmanship. Thus, then, there are times when we must renounce the counsellings of worldly wisdom and, stepping boldly into the darkness, cry with Ezra, "Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee." III. THE SEPARATION OF FAITH FROM PRUDENCE MUST BE EFFECTED ONLY IN THE SPIRIT OF SINCERE AND EARNEST DEPENDENCE UPON HEAVEN (ver. 23). No precipitancy, no levity, no presumption. By fasting and prayer they obtained the assurance that God would honour their faith and preserve them. Not lightly must we discard ordinary defences and helps. When we can do no other we must humbly, solemnly rest ourselves in the hands of God. The times come to us all when faith and policy give contradictory counsel. When such times come let us not be found wanting to our profession and our God. In many circumstances simple trust in God will prove to be the truest policy. In Hebrews 11:7 Noah's conduct in preparing the ark is spoken of as "prudence." "By his believing obedience he came to be at last the one who was truly prudent. A truth of great practical importance. He who like a child blindly follows the will of God, regardless of all consequences, is the one who is truly prudent, for he builds on the Eternal, and He will never allow His own to come to shame." — Ebrard. And on the contrary, policy leading God's people to rest on worldly men and means and measures, finally demoralises and betrays them (Isaiah 31:3). (W. L. Watkinson.) Parallel Verses KJV: For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. |
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