Draw Near to God in Times of Trouble
Those of us who normally attend church should encourage ourselves during this time of Corona Virus. Because of the potential threat of getting sick due to exposure, we cannot physically worship God together in a church building. But our Bibles have not been confiscated. And some of us can join our hearts at home in worship by watching the television or internet.
We do not know how long we will be abstaining from attending worship services. Surely we can worship God in our homes until the danger is past or getting sick or unwittingly transmitting this virus to others.
Take heart! Suppose you had to wait seventy years to worship God together. The Israelites had conquered Canaan with God’s blessing and by His strength. After some years of enjoying life in the land they called home, they forgot God. they came down with the disease of spiritual amnesia. They turned to pseudo sources of help when problems developed.
God responded to His chosen nation’s lapse of memory by sending them prophets to warn them and remind them of His love for them. After many years, God followed through on the warnings and uprooted the Israelites out of their land. They were carried into exile.
After seventy years of exile, it was time to go back home, to the land of Israel. They did not return all at once, and some descendants of the Jews are still away from their homeland.
One group who returned rebuilt the temple: not without struggle and opposition. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah helped the Jews stay on track and finish the temple reconstruction. (Ezra 5:1, 6:14)
Another group who went back to the land of Israel built the wall around Jerusalem, a massive effort accomplished in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). Getting the structures built was one thing. Bringing back national cohesiveness was quite another matter.
To that end both the nation and their leaders played vital roles. The Feast of Tabernacles served as the unifying agent to help bind the Israelites together. This feast described in Ezra 3 and Nehemiah 8 was an occasion for celebrating God’s worth together.
Keeping track of the calendar, the people voluntarily left their homes to assemble in Jerusalem on the first day of the seventh month. They came to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, but they were most eager to hear the recitation of the Law. This Law was the Word of God recorded by Moses and served as their instruction book.
The assembled Israelites asked Ezra to read from the Law. Ezra was a scribe, trained as a teacher of the Law. Some of our modern day worship services have elements of the ancient Jewish worship at the Temple.
Ezra stood on a platform so the people could see him better. He spoke from a pulpit made of wood just for this occasion. Ezra first blessed the LORD. The people responded, “Amen, Amen,” in worship to God. Then, Ezra read from the Law from morning until noon. In our day, the minister preaches from the text. During Ezra’s time, Levites helped Ezra teach and understand what was being read.
While we are unable to attend worship services because we don’t want to get sick or spread the virus to others, we can still read our Bible at home. God is personal to each of us, His children. He talks to us when we read His Word. He longs for our companionship and to hear us tell Him how much we love Him.
During this time out period of our lives, may we draw near to God with songs of praise and a heart full of gratitude for His blessings. In the best and worst of times, “let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Draw Me Close to You- Hillsong
Additional Reading for Easter
