Courage - Day 5 (Ezra 10:4)

Ezra 10:4 -- "Arize, for it is your duty and we are with you. Be strong and brave and do it!"

The themes that are revealed in this scripture are very similar to those discussed previously. However, rather than an implication (as in 1 Chron. 28:10), the above verse explicitly states that it is Ezra's duty to perform the appointed task (in this case, removal of the heathen women from Israel). This is more similar to what we saw in Joshua 1:5-9, where God explicitly chooses Joshua to succeed Moses and lead the Israelites.

An interesting point is that it isn't God speaking directly in the scripture above. It is Shecaniah, son of Jehiel addressing Ezra, who was prostrate in mourning and repentence. It reminds me that often God speaks through other people, and we do well to take the advice of our peers and superiors into consideration. Here it was a sort of comissioning. Much like the scene in Lord of the Rings where Boromir tells Aragorn that he would have followed him to the end (of course, then he dies, so its not really THAT similar...), Aragorn needed to hear that to assume the role that he had been intended to fulfill. In a similar way, Ezra was given authority to lead by his peers, and we see that this was in line with God's will, as the end result was the (nearly) complete rejection of heathen wives and the obedience to God's command.

The final key point is the phrase "be strong and brave." This would be the word "Châzaq," which means to be bound fast; strengthened; to be strong and courageous; to conquer, sieze, retain, and hold fast. (This would be an antonym to the word "passive," for all of you Christain men who feel humility and passivity go hand in hand. -- You're wrong, by the way... Conquering, siezing, retaining, and holding fast have nothing passive about them! Sorry -- I digress...) It is a word used often in the description of battle scenes, and in the previous verses discused, the only other place it is directly stated is in Joshua 1:5. Again we see the command to "be strong and brave" is given at the beginning of a great challenge where the victory would only come following some form of battle.