Great Distress Coming, and God’s People Not Prepared For It
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hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired
counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose.”
Ezra 8:21-23
. “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava,
that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right
way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 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. So
we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated of us.”
The prophet and these fathers did not consider them the worshipers
of the true God, and though they professed friendship and wished to
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help them, they dare not unite with them in anything relating to his
worship. When going up to Jerusalem, to build the temple of God and
to restore his worship, they would not ask help of the king to assist
them in the way, but by fasting and prayer sought the Lord for help.
They believed God would defend and prosper his servants in their
efforts to serve him. The Creator of all things needeth not the help
of his enemies to establish his worship. He asks not the sacrifice of
wickedness, nor accepts the offering of those who have other gods
before the Lord.
We often hear the remark, You are too exclusive. As a people we
would make any sacrifice to save souls, or lead them to the truth; but to
unite with them, to love the things that they love, and have friendship
with the world, we dare not, for we should then be at enmity with God.
By reading the following scriptures we shall see how God regarded
his ancient Israel.
Psalm 135:4
. “For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and
Israel for his peculiar treasure.”
Deuteronomy 14:2
. “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord
thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto
himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”
Deuteronomy 7:6, 7
. “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord
thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people
unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The
Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you because ye were
more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.”