Favor Has Been Shown
By The LORD Our God
At
the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle
torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God, and said,
“O my
God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed 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. From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in
guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed
over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and
to utter shame, as is now the case. But now for a brief moment favor has been
shown by the LORD our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in
his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little
sustenance in our slavery. For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us
in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of
Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its
ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.”
“And
now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your
commandments, which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The
land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of
the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end
to end with their uncleanness. Therefore do not give your daughters to their
sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and
eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children
forever.’ 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, shall we break your
commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these
abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without
remnant or survivor? O LORD, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped
as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though
no one can face you because of this.”
Ezra 9:5-15
Focus
on learning God’s Word and then do it. That was the top priority of Ezra, in
his life. As a scribe, he studied the Law, obeyed it, and taught it to the
Israelites. God had commanded His people not to intermarry with neighboring
nations who served pagan gods. Ezra confessed the nation’s sin to God and
corrected the people, who then repented. Follow Ezra’s example by seeking the
Word of God and translating it into life. The best commentary on the Bible is a
person who puts it into practice.
Our Daily Bread –