So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.
A few weeks ago, we learned how the book of Chronicles was not so much about human failure (although they detail a lot of it) but about the power and promises of God. Out of the failure of human effort, God’s purpose succeeds and all that He intends to do will be accomplished.
So if you have your bible, we move into the Book of Ezra. The people of Judah were allowed to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple. Ezra was among the first exiles to return. It takes place a little over 500 years before Christ, as the Jewish people begin to return with their possessions and new families and a new worldview. A worldview heavily influenced by the Babylonians and Persians. Therein lies today's message for us. Let’s pick up the issue from chapter 9:
After these things had been done (reestablishment of theocracy), the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”
3 When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.
The leaders had come to Ezra to share why they believed the people were not as favored by God as they had been. The originals carried off after being conquered had succumbed to the secular culture of their day as evidenced by their willingness to violate God’s command not to marry outside the nation. A practice God had said would unleash “the Lord’s anger to burn against you and will quickly destroy you” (duet 7:4).
Ezra, after becoming aware of the problem, becomes overwhelmed by guilt and regret. Ezra felt this admission with every fiber of his being. He says:
“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today….
Jump down to verse 13
13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.”
Ezra understands the sin and its ramifications. He is genuinely remorseful. After this prayer, he does what prophets do. He makes a public spectacle of himself to draw attention to the problem to draw people to the faithful solution. As a result, the leaders begin talking about sending the foreign wives and children from the country. An action, we might find harsh.
However, the word translated in 10:2 as "marrying" is not the usual word for marriage but means ”giving a home to.” Some scholars believe this means the women were harlots and others were illegitimate unions to unbelieving spouses.
Although sending the women and children away seems drastic, the leaders chose the solution as the best option. They were determined to act to separate themselves from sin. It is clear from the writing that each case was considered carefully and cases where a woman did turn away from idol worship were to be considered differently.
So how does this apply to us?
First, as we come closer to the Lord, awareness of sin leads us to admission and then to action.
Personally, I can remember coming to faith while still in the work world. I can remember being told the workplace operates on a different set of rules. It’s okay to shade the truth, not be forthcoming and be insincere at work.
However, as I drew near to God, the scriptures would tell me differently. I was to be wise in my dealings but not succumb to debased morality. I was to be truthful and forthright in all my dealings. At first it was hard for me but later, it was hard for my bosses. In fact, I had a boss tell me to take a scripture verse off my email signature line. He didn’t approve of “let your yes be yes and your no be no. Anything less comes from the evil one.” (Matt 5:37)
Second, Ezra teaches us that following God comes with a cost. Our admission will seem almost foolish to the world. Look at verse 10:1,
While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly.
Admission of sin requires a confession and repentance. The more corporate the sin, the public the admission. Let’s face it, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24.
God’s grace is sufficient for all of us. Every psychiatrist knows, unresolved guilt and lasting regret are hindrances to being healthy and whole. We must be willing to admit our faults and accept the gift of forgiveness offered. The past cannot be changed, consequences for decisions made must be accepted and a realization made that there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. In this action of acceptance, the process of self forgiveness begins.
Thirdly, Ezra teaches us that as we strive to be more Christlike, the worldly people around us will push back against spiritual solutions (especially when they are convicted). The pushback can be direct or indirect. If you jump to Ezra 10:12, you will see what Ezra’s leaders decided.
The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: “You are right! We must do as you say. 13 But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. 14 Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this.
Do you see that “but” in the scripture after the admission of guilt? The leaders offer a realistic excuse for not acting immediately. Not everybody could be together due to the rain and not all the family situations are the same. The Evil one's greatest strategy comes forth - rationalization that leads to justifying a delaying of the inevitable. The leadership offers a slower process of evaluation and discernment even though they know the commands of Moses and are living in the consequences of disobedience.
We all do this. We justify a compromise to the worldly situation which on the surface seems wise and slows the process so we don’t need to immediately live without a person, place or thing that provides unhealthy relief.
The cartoonist narrator of the bible project mentions that all the plot lines in the history from Ezra and Nehemiah time, end in strangely anti-climatic ways. I would put forth the strange endings are anti-climatic because even though God is interacting with His people, they are still not fully committed to Him or His ways.
Ezra’s big lesson to all of us then is a simple alliteration of “A’s”. To fully restore our connection to God, we must become aware of our sins, admit them to another and act in a way which totally removes the sin and its tempters from our presence quickly. Any compromise robs us of a true connection to our God.
Creative: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ezra-nehemiah/ 8:35 MINUTES
References: Quest Bible Overviews p.669-71, Warren Wiersbe Commentary,
