Ezra 8 - Nehemiah 4

Both Ezra and Nehemiah demonstrate the great principle of trusting in the Lord. Ezra was given the charge by Artaxerxes -

"...to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,
16 And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem..." (Old Testament Ezra 7:15 - 16)

Ezra was concerned with such a great value of treasure and delivering it to Jerusalem safely so he tells us -

"...I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him." (Old Testament Ezra 8:21 - 22)

We learn that -

“Ezra’s party of over 1700 includes priests, people and, somewhat reluctantly, Levites. With them they take gifts valuing more than £1,000,000 [about $2,225,000]. Ezra is faced with a long and dangerous journey at a time of great unrest. And having boasted his confidence in God, he can hardly now apply to the king for an escort! His prayer is heartfelt, and his faith rewarded by God’s own safe-conduct.” (Alexander and Alexander, Eerdmans’ Handbook, p. 308.)

Ezra encourages those he was with -

"...Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.
29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD." (Old Testament Ezra 8:28 - 29)

Ezra later records -

"Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
32 And we came to Jerusalem..." (Old Testament Ezra 8:31 - 32)

Nehemiah served as the cupbearer to the King because he was trustworthy. He was allowed to returne to Jerusalem to build the wall and gates. The Samarians were not thrilled with the fact that Nehemiah and his people were strengthening the walls and the gates for -

"...when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?" (Old Testament Nehemiah 4:1 - 2)

So they planned -

"...Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall." (Old Testament Nehemiah 4:3)

And Nehemiah encouraged his people to trust in the Lord for when they -

"...conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them." (Old Testament Nehemiah 4:8 - 9)

I noticed that they didn't pray only but also did all they could. And in addition -

"Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." (Old Testament Nehemiah 4:13 - 14)

It is interesting that just yesterday I had read the words of Moroni. Compare his words to that of Nehemiah understanding that the Nephites did not have the words of Nehemiah -

"And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion." (Book of Mormon Alma 43:46 - 47)

Nehemiah writes that -

"...when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.
18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded..." (Old Testament Nehemiah 4:15 - 18)

They continued their diligent work, trusting in the Lord as Nehemiah encouraged -

"...our God shall fight for us." (Old Testament Nehemiah 4:20)

Regarding trusting in the Lord, Brigham Young wrote -

“The mysterious and invisible hand (so called) of Providence is manifested in all the works of God. Who of this congregation can realise for one moment, that the Lord would notice so trifling an affair as the hairs you have combed from your heads this morning? Yet it is so, not one hair has fallen to the ground without the notice of our Father in heaven. To convince the ancient Apostles of His care over them, Jesus selected the most trifling things, in their estimation, to illustrate to their minds that the least thing escaped not His notice. Said he—’Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without the knowledge of your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered.’

“Can we realize how this Providence governs and controls the nations of the earth, and marks out the destinies of individual man? If we have not learned these lessons they are before us, and we have them yet to learn. If we have not yet learned that poverty, sickness, pain, want, disappointment, losses, crosses, or even death, should not move us one hair’s breadth from the service of God, or separate us from the principles of eternal life, it is a lesson we have to learn. If we have not learned how to handle the things of this world in the light of salvation, we have it yet to learn. Though we have mountains of gold and silver, and stores of precious things heaped up, and could control the elements, and command the cattle on a thousand hills, if we have not learned that every iota of it should be devoted to the building up of the kingdom of God on earth, it is a lesson yet to learn.” (In Journal of Discourses, 1:336.)