Awakened by the call of God, motivated by the test

"Then rose up... all those whose spirit God had awakened." Ezra 1. 5

"Esther said... to Mordecai : Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me, and do not eat or drink for three days, neither night nor day, me too and my daughters, we will fast likewise." Esther 4. 16

They had heard the call of Cyrus king of Persia : "Who among you is of his people, that his God be with him, and go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and let him build the house of the Lord" (Ezr 1: 3).

Then about 40,000 Jews got up to leave, "all of whom God had awakened the spirit" (v. 5). By their decision they mark their attachment to the land that God had given to their ancestors and even more to his Temple, the house he had chosen to establish in Jerusalem. They will experience the care and protection of the God they listened to during their long journey and in their work in Jerusalem. God awakens and supports his people.

The book of Esther tells us how, 60 years after the call of Cyrus, the test of faith reaches those who remained in the Persian kingdom. The life of the Jewish exiles in Susa, the capital, seems peaceful. But, it is without counting with the tenacious hatred of an ancestral enemy of their people : Haman the Amalekite. Favorite of the king, he obtained the authorization to destroy all the Jews of the kingdom.

This threat is an insidious, brutal and terrible test - but beneficial. It highlights the signs of a true piety in Mordechai who discern the thought of God : "Who knows if it is not for a time like this that you reached the royalty ?". She encourages Queen Esther, her cousin, to commit herself with her whole being for the salvation of her people (Is 4: 1, 15, 16). With courage she calls for the prayer of her people and declares : "I will go in to the king... and if I perish, I will perish" (verse 16). The response of the hiding God (his name is not mentioned in the book of Esther) will not be delayed and the awakened faith will be strengthened.

Will not the Lord Jesus say : "Every fruitful [in my] branch, [my Father] cleans it, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15: 2)?

Source (Pleasing the Lord)