Ezra 9:1-15
The story of Ezra continues to narrate the exiles' lives returning to their own country. We have read that God led the exiles out of Babylon back to their promised land. This is a great moment for the Israelites and although there are many challenges to settling back into the promised land, God gives them everything they need to overcome the challenges. Of course, later on, the Israelites angered God through their sins.
The first sin we read about is that the some of the Israelites married foreigners. It is not that we cannot marry non-believers or people of a different race. As Christians we are to be salt and light in the world. We are to make Christian communities but not to exclude others. We need to influence others through the love of Jesus. We need to do this for the glory of God.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
The real problem of the Israelites marrying foreigners was the foreigners were marrying to change and influence the Israelites. They wanted to stay in Israel and marrying into the Israelites families.
Just as people become addicted to something, the first time it is bitter, but later it becomes something they cannot live without. The Israelites started to compromise, and little by little the foreign ways started to take over. We need to keep ourselves holy just as God created us.
We need to do is to be awake or we may fall into a pattern that keeps us stuck from growing into spiritual maturity. We sin. Then we repent. Again we sin. Again we repent.
saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.
Ezra 9:7
God saved the Israelites from their Babylonian captors. After God saves them, He then commands the Israelites to stay holy and stay with Him. It does not take long, but after the Israelites are saved they find a way to escape from God and go back to their old ways.
And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this,
Ezra 9:13 ESV
We also need to be like Ezra. He cared about his neighbors and their salvation. Ezra prays as he did something wrong although he had not. He advocates for them. As the leader, he took on the responsibility to pray for his community with real heart. He grieved over their sins and how much his people had fallen. Ezra includes himself as one of the sinners. Like Moses he advocates for the Israelites. We, too, need to be like Moses and Ezra and pray for our communities asking for forgiveness.
As we read and reflect on this passage from the Book of Ezra, let us remember to pray for repentance and avoid sin while we keep our eyes on Jesus, our salvation .
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