No Soldiers for di Road

Near one river, hundreds of families sit down for ground. Nobody dey eat. Children dey hungry, but nobody dey cook. Because before dem start one dangerous journey, one thing dey wey dem must first do. Pray.

Ezra na priest and scribe, expert for di law of Moses, wey dey live for Babylon under di Persian king Artaxerxes. Many years before, di first people for exile don go back to Jerusalem and build di temple again. Now Ezra dey lead di second group. Di king don give am letter of permission, and treasure for di temple: silver and gold from di king and im advisers, and gifts from di Jews wey still dey Babylon. Ezra don gather families for one canal wey dem dey call Ahava. Men, women, small children, all dem property. For front na journey of many weeks across open land, where armed robbers dey watch di roads. And Ezra get one problem.

Di problem na something wey Ezra talk. When e dey talk with di king, e tell am say: di hand of our God dey on top everybody wey dey look for am, for good. But im power and im anger dey against all di people wey abandon am. Na bold thing to talk to di most powerful man for di world. And now, Ezra write, I shame to ask di king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies for di road. How e go talk say God dey protect us, and then ask for army? So instead, near di river Ahava, Ezra announce fast. Make we humble ourselves before our God, e talk, and ask am for safe journey, for ourselves, for our small ones, and for all our property. So dem fast, and dem pray to God about dis matter. And Ezra add four quiet words. And e hear us.

Then Ezra do something with care and wisdom. To trust God no mean to dey careless. E choose twelve of di leading priests, and twelve Levites. And e weigh di treasure for dem front. Six hundred and fifty talents of silver. Silver bowls. One hundred talents of gold. Twenty gold bowls. Two fine bronze vessels, wey dey precious like gold. Tons of treasure. Una dey holy to Di Lord, e tell dem, and dese tins dey holy too. Na freewill offering to Di Lord, di God of una ancestors. Guard dem well, until una weigh dem again for Jerusalem, for di rooms of di temple. Dem count every piece. Dem go count every piece again.

For di twelfth day of di first month, dem comot from di river Ahava. Days turn to weeks for di road. And Ezra sum up di whole long journey for one sentence. Di hand of our God dey on top us, and e protect us from enemies and from people wey hide dey wait to attack for di road. Dem reach Jerusalem, and dem rest for three days. For di fourth day dem go di temple, and di priest Meremoth and di Levites wey dey with am weigh di silver and di gold and di bowls again. Everything complete. Dem count and weigh every item, and dem write down di total weight. Then di travellers wey come back from exile offer sacrifice to di God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, and rams, and lambs, and goats. And dem deliver di king orders to di royal governors, wey then support di people and di house of God.

Ezra tell us how long di whole journey take. Dem start to go up from Babylon for di first day of di first month, and dem reach Jerusalem for di first day of di fifth month. Four months for road. Travellers dey usually follow di river Euphrates go north-west before dem turn south, instead to cross di desert straight, and historians calculate say na journey of around nine hundred miles.

No soldiers for di road. You go find dis story for Ezra chapter eight, verse twenty-one reach thirty-six. One leader wey mean wetin e talk about God, one fast near di river, careful counting of treasure, and one God wey hear dem. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Before you start something big, how you fit stop and pray first?