Its easy to think that our backgrounds are merely random, but God has specifically ordained them for His good ends. The first forty years of Moses life were a training ground to impart the skills and abilities that God would later use for His glory and the same is true in our lives today.

Times of hardship often make us feel as though God is asleep, but the Bible assures us that He is wide awake and in control of the affairs of men. He awaits the perfect time to fulfill His covenantal promises to us in Christ and in the mean time enables us to grow in our dependence on Him as we look to Him in faith.

Ezra and his mission manifest God’s gracious and providential favor to his people. He shows us that God’s favor is connected to his Word, compelling us to wholeheartedly devote ourselves to the Law of the Lord, to praise God for his providential provision, and to live courageously in our callings from God.

Through the entire return and rebuilding episode, the Exiles realize lessons about God’s sovereignty: that God is faithful to complete his work, that while he uses human agents, he is ultimately sovereign in accomplishing his purposes, that he often uses trials to accomplish his will in us, and that he often uses men’s bad purposes for his own, and our, good.

Often in times of spiritual lethargy or when we’ve thrown in the towel because of opposition, God sovereignly moves by His Word to revive His people to renew their efforts to accomplish His work.

Like the disciples, we often have a backward view of service because of the backward nature of our hearts in sin. Only Jesus' atoning work on the cross can change our hearts and unlock the service God created us to offer.