"17 And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren[c] the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. 18 Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name." Ezra 8:17-20
This passage really struck me today. My regular dialogue with God includes a lot of questions about what I should and could do next to see His Kingdom grow and impact this nation of Australia. Every now and again I ask those at church if there's something else they feel God's calling them to in this regards. I have to admit I don't often just ask God to send more people to fill the gaps that are around me. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe deep down I worry that if I don't feel like I can cover the people who are already here serving God, then how can any more people be looked after. But in this passage, it's the ones who do the covering, namely the leaders, that are sent.
The key phrase in this passage that struck me was "By the good hand of God upon us, they brought us..." followed by the sending of 220 people from the Levitical line! I can't even comprehend what it would look like for 220 leaders to join our church simultaneously! God's hand continues to be good and continues to be upon us, so I'm choosing now to ask Him to bring those leaders. Thank you in advance God!
