Opening illustration: The lone tree in the farmer’s field near our home remained a mystery. Acres of trees had been cut down so the farmer could grow corn. But one tree remained standing, its branches reaching up and spreading out. The mystery was solved when I learned the tree was spared for a purpose. Farmers long ago traditionally left one tree standing so that they and their animals would have a cool place to rest when the hot summer sun was beating down.
At times we find that we alone have survived something, and we don’t know why. Soldiers coming home from combat and patients who’ve survived a life-threatening illness struggle to know why they survived when others did not. [Julie Ackerman Link, ODB]
Let us turn to Ezra 9 and catch up with the story of the remnant of Israel being revived …
Introduction: The Old Testament speaks of a remnant of Israelites whom God spared when the nation was sent into exile. The remnant preserved God’s law and later rebuilt the temple (Ezra 9:9). The apostle Paul referred to himself as part of the remnant of God (Rom. 11:1, 5). He was spared to become God’s messenger to Gentiles (v.13). If we stand where others have fallen, it’s to raise our hands to heaven in praise and to spread our arms as shade for the weary. The Lord enables us to be a tree of rest for others.
In the midst of the joy of God’s grace in allowing a remnant to return to their homeland, Ezra mourned. He mourned because the people of Israel were not only physically distant from God, but spiritually distant as well. Yet God in His grace did more than enable the physical return of the remnant; He also preserved a spiritual remnant. Upon hearing the law of God, the people recommitted themselves to Him (Ezra 10:1-4).
In today’s context we are so desensitized toward sin, we fail to have the proper response toward it, whether it is our own sin, or sin in others. We minimize it, justify it, or ignore it and go on our way unaffected by it. If we see someone reacting in a godly way toward sin, we think that he is a bit carried away or extreme. He is judgmental or intolerant. How dare he cast stones at others! Does he think that he is without sin? And so, by casting our stones at him, we justify our sins and go back to business as usual, wondering why God doesn’t bless our lives more than He does. That is exactly where Israel was!
What does the revival of the remnant demand?
1. Godly RECOGNITION of SIN (vs. 1-2)
How do we know what is right and wrong? A popular song (supposedly Christian) a few years ago asked, “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” I hope that most Christians know that feelings (of the flesh/contradict the Spirit led) are not a solid basis for determining right and wrong. I’ve had Christian spouses tell me that they feel a peace about divorcing their mates for unbiblical reasons. The peace they feel is the relief of escaping from a difficult relationship, not the peace of God. But they often act on feelings, rather than on God’s Word. Sometimes I get unmarried couples who report that they have sex often and they feel good about it! That tells me that this couple doesn’t have a clue about what God’s Word says about sexual purity before marriage. Their sense of right and wrong has been formed more by the culture than by Scripture.
The priest's work was not only to offer sacrifices to God. He must deal with failure and sin among the people, and such cases were soon brought to his attention by the leaders. Ezra was appalled when he heard about these Jews marrying pagans because he knew that God’s Word condemns it. God prohibited the Jews from intermarriage and seeking the peace and prosperity of the pagans in their pagan ways (Deut. 23:6; contrast Jer. 29:7) in order to keep the holiness and purity of His people. This was a spiritual problem not a physical one. There had to be a clear separation of God’s people from the pagans or God’s people would be drawn into the pagan practices. Blending in with the world rather than being distinct from it has plagued the church down through the centuries. The culture has infiltrated and influenced the church than we influencing and impacting the culture.
James 4:4 bluntly says, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” First John 2:15 is no less strong: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Tearing one’s clothes or pulling hair from one’s head or beard were signs of self-abasement or humility. They expressed sorrow for sin. Ezra acknowledges that if they do not repent, God may destroy them so that no remnant survives or escapes (9:14). God’s Word plainly warns that sin not only enslaves and eventually destroys the sinner; it also takes a toll on others. Thus we must steep ourselves in God’s Word so that we instantly recognize sin in ourselves and can turn from it. And being in the Bible more than we are in TV and other worldly media will keep us aware of the devastating toll of sin.
2. Godly REACTION/RESPONSE to SIN (vs. 5-12)
Ezra’s prayer confessed the sins of his people. Although he had not sinned in the way his people had, he identified with their sins. With weeping, he expressed shame for sin, fear of the consequences, and desire that the people would come to their senses and repent. His prayer moved the people to tears. Ezra demonstrated the need for a holy community around the rebuilt temple. We need a holy community in our local churches too. Even when we sin in the worst imaginable way, we can turn to God with prayers of repentance.
In Ezra's prayer, no excuses are attempted. God's righteousness is acknowledged, and the people's guilt is admitted. Often we cry out for justice when we feel abused and unfairly treated. In those moments, we forget the reality of our own sin and the righteous judgment we deserve. How fortunate we are that God gives us mercy and grace rather than only justice. The next time you ask God for fair and just treatment, pause to think what would happen if God gave you what you really deserve. Plead instead for His mercy!
Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “I cannot help feeling that the final explanation of the state of the Church today is a defective sense of sin and a defective doctrine of sin.” He goes on to say that the reason so many professing Christians lack joy is that they have never experienced a real, deep conviction of sin, which is the essence of the gospel. He says, “They have failed to see that they must be convicted of sin before they can ever experience joy. They do not like the doctrine of sin. They dislike it intensely and they object to its being preached. They want joy apart from the conviction of sin. But that is impossible; it can never be obtained. ... Conviction is an essential preliminary to true conversion.”
Ezra was so steeped in God’s Word and the history of God’s ways with His errant people that he knew that God’s severe discipline would fall again if the people did not repent. Even though Ezra himself had not committed this particular sin, he identified himself with the sin of the people and mourned over it. But Ezra knew how to wait upon God for an answer. His deep distress continued till the time of the evening sacrifice (v. 4).Then he arose, his garment and his robe having been torn, and spread out his hands to pray to the Lord his God. When God changes our hearts through the new birth, He gives us new desires for holiness and a hatred toward sin. These emotional qualities (and many others) will increase over time. But a distinguishing mark of a true Christian is that he mourns over sin, both his own sins and the sins of others.
Illustration: What would you think of a doctor, who upon discovering that you had cancer, gave you a hug and said, “Take two aspirin and you’ll be just fine”? How about a fireman who responded to a report of a house on fire by saying, “It will burn itself out soon”? How about a policeman who arrived at the scene of a robbery, shook his head and said, “Boys will be boys”? In each case, the response is inappropriate to the situation. A Christian’s response to sin, whether his own or the sin of other believers, should be to mourn. That attitude stems from trembling at the words of God (9:4). The godly reaction to sin is first to recognize it from Scripture, and then to respond by mourning over it.
3. Godly REPURCURSIONS to SIN (Vs. 13-15)
Ezra affirms God’s righteousness in His past punishment of Israel by sending them into captivity: “O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous” (9:15). In 9:13 he acknowledges that God has given them less than their sins deserve. The implication of 9:14 is that if God were to give them what they deserved now, He would totally wipe them out. Ezra exonerates God, while accepting the blame for what the people have done.
There is not even a hint of complaint on Ezra’s part that God has not been fair. He does not point to any extenuating circumstances. Ezra’s identification with the people, in spite of his own innocence in this sin, shows that he knew the evil that lurked in his own heart. If he had been self-righteous, he would have prayed, “Lord, these people of Yours are obstinate and wicked. You are righteous to judge them. But I’m not like they are.” But instead, he included himself when he confessed the sins of the people. Many years ago, a correspondent of the London Times was reporting on many of the same problems that we now have. He ended every article with the question, “What’s wrong with the world?”
Ezra’s prayer makes no petition, but rather, he implicitly casts himself and the nation on God’s undeserved mercy. He acknowledges that the current return from exile and the building of the temple are a gracious “little reviving” from God (9:8-9), which those who have sinned have ungratefully disregarded. The Old Testament sacrifices pointed ahead to the shed blood of God’s perfect and final sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in Christ’s blood applied to our hearts, we can draw near to God for cleansing from all our sins.
C. S. Lewis observed, “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.” As we grow in godliness, with Ezra we will react more strongly to our own sins and to the sins of God’s people. We will dwell more consistently at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, where God’s mercy flows to repentant sinners.
Illustration: Do we even see the repercussions of our national sins – mental sickness is the top illness of our nation. No other nation on earth has such disturbing stat figures. When we have shut God out of all our national corporate systems, what do we expect?
Application: Hope can be ignited by a spark of encouragement. The godly reaction to sin is to recognize it from Scripture, to mourn over it, and to confess it without excuse to the God of mercy knowing what repercussions it entails. God judges sin, but forgives those who are repentant.
When true revival comes, it comes with the force of a tsunami. It brings with it the thunder and lightning of conviction and repentance. People will fall at the altar to confess and repent of sin in their lives. Lost people will come to know Jesus. People will have a hunger for the Word of God. People will want to become passionate, devoted disciples of Jesus.
The change that revival brings is UNCOMFORTABLE. Real revival will reach inside you and destroy everything. You will be wrecked with a deeper understanding of the gospel and a more passionate relationship with Jesus. You will be purged of known sin. Your life as you know it will change to become more conformed to the image of Christ. The very act of this change is gut wrenching. When revival punches a person in their soul, it begins to remove layers of pain, baggage, guilt, sin and whatever else it needs to bulldoze to get that person in right standing with God.
Many people pray for revival. Many people pray for change. They want THINGS to change as long as it is THEM that does not have to change. You cannot have one apart from the other. Jeremiah says that the heart is deceitful above all else and desperately sick. I know that the closer I come to being conformed to Christ’s image, the more He reveals to me that is in me that needs redeeming.
Do you see? It is my thoughts, my heart, my plans, my desires, my actions, my relationships, my passions, my life that needs to be changed. I need more of God’s redeeming love, grace, and mercy to wreck me. I need to pray Romans 12:1-2 constantly that I may be both a living sacrifice and have my mind transformed by the infallible, inerrant, powerful, purging sword; God’s Holy Word.
When the pastor changes, the church changes. The revival begins with the American Pulpit. If that does not change, nothing will! This is where Ezra was and so are you and me. If we don’t change and our church doesn’t, the nation will not! It starts with the pulpit, then the church and then our community and state and country …
For a country to be revived, a state has to be revived.
For a state to be revived, a city has to be revived.
For a city to be revived, a church has to be revived.
For my church to be revived, I must be revived.
Today you all have to decide the path you want to tread. The lukewarm laidback happy dandy Christian or the one that is intrusive in love, potent, target focused and passionate toward the individual and corporate call of revival in the body of Christ and our nation.
