Ezra 3: Faith Over Fear

² Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³ Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. -Ezra 3:2-3

Only a small number of Jews had returned to Jerusalem. They were surrounded by pagan nations who had grown accustomed to controlling the area. Yet in the midst of these people, God’s people desired to honor him with their actions. In obedience to the Lord, they began to build the altar and offering sacrifices.

We are told they were afraid of the people around them, but obeyed God anyway.

This powerful concept is one we desperately need today. We often seek the approval of others, fearing rejection. Some literally live in fear of what could be done to them if they openly worshiped God.

Yet these Jews revealed a powerful teaching of Scripture–faith over fear. When afraid to do the right thing, do it anyway. See how God responds.

Act in faith over fear today.

Let’s talk about it on Facebook! Share your thoughts, pictures, or videos on handwriting Scripture.

+++

Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.