The hand of the Lord (Part 2)
The hand of the Lord (Part 2)
Ezra 7:28 And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.
This topic deals with another dimension which signifies the transformative power of God to aid men in fulfilling tasks towards the progress of God’s kingdom. The enormous task of the gospel is that which requires strength beyond the ordinary to fulfill. There are depths of His grace that enable for great tasks and believers will do well to find these depths and navigate their ways through prayer and the laid down pattern of scripture – Romans 11:33-36.
The book of Ezra serves as one of the chronicles of the Israelites’ return from captivity in Babylon to rebuild the destroyed structures of its sovereign territories. It was a massive undertaking and one which required extraordinary strength. A team of leaders sought the Lord in prayers and having obtained mercies from the Lord, received the favor of a Gentile king for the commission of rebuilding the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. What a great lesson to learn from this exegesis that we must ensure a proper settlement of the matters of our lives before God in prayer before appearing before men because “What He ordains, He sustains”- Genesis 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
In another vein, the hand of the Lord signifies His touch for the liberation and deliverance of souls in need. At various times during the earthly ministry of Jesus, He demonstrated the power of God by laying hands on the sick and needy to heal them of their infirmities. Today, His power is still available to transform and restore lives that look up to Him for their needs. Also, the early church experienced a great revival and a fruitful evangelistic outreach through the “hand of the Lord”- Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. We must pray the Lord to stretch His hand upon the work of the kingdom at our disposal through the outpouring of His Spirit upon us and His manifest presence for the progress of His works.
