Tuesday 26th May
Read Ezra 9:5-9
“Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God 6 and prayed:
‘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.
8 ‘But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: he has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.” (NIVUK)
The magnitude of the sin, at least in Ezra’s mind, is reflected in the depths of the despair. Although the warning and prohibition against intermarriage is ancient, and likely flaunted regularly (cf Ruth – an ancestor of Jesus), one gets the impression that Ezra’s grief arises not simply from the sin, but the disgrace to God’s mercy that it indicates.
Ezra is amazed that God has been gracious enough to leave them a remnant despite their repeated betrayal and disobedience. To then arrive back in Jerusalem and be told that the people God had spared are simply engaged in ‘sin business as usual’ is altogether overwhelming.
He feels this betrayal deeply because He loves God deeply – a trait common to those who lead well. Moses, Samuel, Daniel go before him as those who identified closely with their people. Recall Paul’s devastation at the continued sinfulness of the Corinthian church: “Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” (2 Corinthians 11:29) (NIVUK)
How affected are you at the continuing sin of others?
