“This Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.” (Ezra 7:6)

“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10)

Ezra wasn’t trained as a fundraiser. He had devoted himself to studying, keeping, and teaching God’s word. Teaching was his first love, and he was good at it, but the Lord assigned him another job. God led the Israelites back from Babylon in three waves: (1) Zerubbabel traveled to Jerusalem in 528 BC to rebuild the temple, (2) Ezra returned after 80 years to rebuild the people by teaching the Law of God, and (3) Nehemiah came 14 years later to rebuild the wall.

Study
Ezra had spent his life studying the Scriptures. As a boy, he studied how God had rescued his people from Egypt. On the night of Passover, Moses instructed the people to ask the Egyptians for silver and gold; the Lord made the Egyptians “favorable disposed” to give them everything they asked (see Exod. 12:35-36). Your job as a fundraiser is simply to ask. God is responsible to prompt people to give.

Live
Ezra didn’t just study the Scriptures, he obeyed them. Ezra’s assignment was to ask King Artaxerxes for silver and gold to buy offerings to sacrifice (Ezra 7:15-17), so he courageously stood before the king, his advisors, and all the king’s powerful officials (Ezra 7:28). Think about how intimidating it would have been to share God’s message with the most powerful man in the world! Perhaps he was encouraged by the Israelite’s story. The result was the same–the king gave him everything he asked.

Teach
Ezra’s message was so compelling and so effective King Artaxerxes insisted Ezra immediately return to Jerusalem to teach the Law of God to everyone throughout the Trans-Euphrates. “Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons?” (Ezra 7:23). Your message must be compelling to motivate your ministry partners to act.

Ask
Ezra asked the king, his advisors, and officials, and they responded with “650 talents (24 tons) of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents (3.75 tons), 100 talents of gold (3.75 tons), 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics (19 lbs.) and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold” (Ezra 8:26-27). In today’s value, Ezra asked and received approximately $20 million in silver and $214 million in gold! Not bad for a seminary grad! How could God use you as a bivocational fundraiser?

Think About This: Ezra wasn’t a successful fundraiser because of his personality, experience, or even his skill. He succeeded because “the hand of the Lord his God was upon him” (Ezra 7:6).

Response: Father, forgive me for using the excuse, “fundraising is not my job.” Give me courage to fulfill my role to ask our ministry partners for their generous support