30 More Days... Day 22

Ezra 9:3 So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.
Ezra 9:4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
Ezra 9:5  At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.
Ezra 9:6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
Ezra 9:8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
Ezra 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,
Ezra 9:11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets...
Ezra 9:13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this...
Ezra 9:15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”
Ezra 10:1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

There are things that when we hear about can cause a variety of reactions in us and among people. For example, when I was in studying at the University. It was election time and the first George Bush was running against Bill Clinton. It was a tight and hotly contested race but in the end Bill Clinton became President. I was on campus the morning after the election and one of my first classes that day was in the Humanities department. I believe the class was American Literature - though not quite what I had expected. It was American immigrant literature and most of it, quite frankly (in my honest opinion), was not terribly good. The mood on campus was pretty dark. There had been a lot of Republican supporters among the students and teachers. Most students were in a kind of stupor. A lot of the teachers were quick to grumble. Then there were the Humanities teachers. They were bright and cheerful. They were exuberant. Finally after 12 years there is another Democrat in the White House. On one side they sang a victory song, on the other a funeral dirge. Very different reactions.

Reactions though don’t have to be completely opposite to show the differences in emotion to an idea, event or action. For example, when was the last time that you (or I) fell on your face or tore your clothes, or pulled out some hair or trembled or fasted because of sin. When was the last time that we expressed shame and humiliation for our actions or the actions of our people before God.

I know, for myself, that I often comfort myself with the idea that these types of displays of sadness, contrition and so on were common and expected in that day and time. For us, in today’s culture, society and our understandings of acceptable behavior, we know that such displays would be looked upon as strange and excessive. We have a different way of expressing ourselves. We have a different way of expressing grief. We tend to be more reserved, less expressive. At least that is probably what we tend to think.

But, all cultural differences aside when was the last time we really felt bad, expressed grief and poured ourselves out before God. Don’t we tend to live in the comfort of grace? Don’t we tend to lean more on that and feel less remorse and less sorrow for the wrong that we do?

In Ezra’s day I don’t think it was all that different despite the cultural and social differences. They had gotten used to living the way that they did. They had become hardened to the lifestyles they saw around them. They had justified their sins and the sins of others. It didn’t really bother them all that much. It didn’t bother them as much as it should. Well, at least not until Ezra came on the scene.

I wonder if there weren’t some (and it seems that there were) that thought “Ezra, aren’t you over-reacting just a bit?” I wonder if there weren’t those that believed that and hated the things that were being done in contravention to the law of God, yet their reaction was far from that of sorrow or repentance. It was a shame. It was wrong. It was someone else doing these things, but that doesn’t concern me. If they want to do that and live that way ... well they have to answer before God.

This is not what we see in Ezra. He hears and sees and it really bothers him. He takes deeply to heart the sins and rebellion of the people. He sees it has not just affected “those sinners” but the whole nation has been displaced and ruined. He bears his own responsibility in the sins of his people, he does not push them off. He is brought to a place of mourning. He is brought to a place of grief and his inward and outward reaction testifies to that sorrow and repentance. How often do we do this? How often are we affected like this?

It is not popular. I admit it. It is hard and we don’t like to think about it. We like the grace. We like the mercy. But, we have forgotten how to mourn. I don’t like it. It is not me. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to feel that way. I want to live in the grace, mercy and promise of God. And thankfully we see that here in great measure as well.

There are times when it is appropriate to cry out and tremble. There are times to consider and be astonished at the depths of our sin and rebellion. There are times to admit to God that we have failed terribly and to be ashamed.

It is not that Ezra forgets grace. It is not that he doesn’t recognize God’s mercy and compassion, nor does he forget that need toward other people. He admits that God has been gracious. He knows that just being back in the land is a great gift of God. The people are being blessed even as he considers all of this. However, he just cannot ignore and wave away the responsibility he and the people have for their actions and attitudes either.

We see as he mourns and prays and confesses that many people take notice. They see his repentance, sorrow and mourning and they join him. They realize, react and take action. They join to Ezra and yield to his judgment and authority (as a priest who knows and follows the law), ready to put things right and obey. What can happen when people are ready to grieve, cry, mourn and repent. Some might mock. Some might think it is an over-reaction. Some might join and cry, repent and revive.

Prayer Request
*Please pray for Sandra, Ales and Julija. Olya has had a relationship with Sandra for a while now. They visit and we have done many things together. She has a “religious” background but needs a relationship with Jesus. Pray for the softening of their hearts and an openness to the gospel.