CALL TO BE GOD'S AMBASSADOR

 

Ezra 7:11-20

 

March 13, 2021

 

This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.  And now  I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.  For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,  with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem.   With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem.   Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.   The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.   And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury.

 

Are you a learned in the matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes?  If the answer is no, why?  Have you no understanding of your calling, for we all who have entered into Christ and He has entered into us have been called to be His ambassadors.  2 Corinthians 5:20,  “Therefore,  we are ambassadors for Christ,  God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

 

It is apparent why King Artaxerxes trusted Ezra to be his ambassador to Jerusalem, but can you and I be trusted by the Creator to carry out the assignments He has assigned to us?   As I went back and reread this, it became clear to myself I was asking myself those questions, often I get so busy with being a husband, neighbor, and friend, a dad, and granddad that I forget those are not my total calling I'm an Ambassador of Christ.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Robert Rice