Wednesday 27th May
Read Ezra 9:10-15
“‘But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands 11 you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: “The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.”
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 have 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.’” (NIVUK)
There can be little doubt of Ezra’s seriousness in confession. One steeped in the Torah is not unfamiliar with its strictures concerning intermarriage, prays through it at length, and recognises the failings of the people. Ezra identifies with them despite not being a partaker in that specific sin.
At heart the issue is one of identity. God’s people were called to be distinct and set apart for Him. Their behaviour, according to Ezra, makes them indistinguishable from those around them and hence renders them unholy and unable to enter His presence.
Ezra’s seriousness is real. His prayer is earnest. His intentions good. His eyes are focused on his God. But surely his standards are too high? The people entered into treaties with those around them almost immediately. As he well knows. The line of Jesus passes through a Moabitess so the strictures surely can’t be so rigid as to demand this purity? Our response to passages such as this reveals much about our hearts.
“So I find this law at work: although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:21-25) (NIVUK)
