SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/23/2011 7:14:52 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Cooperation: A
Willing People
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference:
Ezra 10:1-8
Message of the verses: “1 Now while Ezra was praying and making
confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very
large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the
people wept bitterly. 2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam,
said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign
women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite
of this. 3 “So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives
and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who
tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
4 “Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be
courageous and act." 5 Then Ezra rose and made the leading priests, the
Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this
proposal; so they took the oath. “6 Then Ezra rose from before the house of God
and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went
there, he did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness
of the exiles. 7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all
the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that whoever would
not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the
elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from
the assembly of the exiles.”
Ezra
was sitting in the temple where the evening offering had been sacrificed, yet
Ezra wept over the sinfulness of the children of Israel. David wrote two Psalms after his sin with
Bathsheba, Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 and the 17th verse of Psalm 51
gives insight into what may have been going through the mind and heart of Ezra
at this time: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite
heart, O God, You will not despise.”
James
the brother of the Lord wrote something about the power of prayer, and at this
time Ezra was weeping, and he was praying over the sins of Israel. James writes in 5:16-18 “16 Therefore, confess your sins
to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a
righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature
like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain
on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the
sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” Ezra was a righteous man praying an effective
prayer over the sins of Israel and like Elijah in the past it would make a
difference. Ezra’s prayers were answered
as Shecaniah came to him with many people who were weeping too and gave
encouragement to Ezra telling him that the responsibility was his to do to
these people what had to be done, but they would be with him.
James
writes in his letter what God’s formula for a revival is and what he wrote can
be seen here in this passage. James
4:9-10 “9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let
your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves
in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up,” (NKJV). “9 Hit
bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really
serious. 10 Get down on your knees
before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet,” (Message). In
verse nine the NKJ uses the word “Lament” while the message says “hit bottom,” and the NASB uses the
words “Be miserable” and in the Hebrew dictionary the meaning of this word is “to
toil heavily, to endure labours and hardships.”
I would seem to me that this was what Ezra was going through as he was
getting very serious with God over the sins of the children of Israel and his
prayer would be effective.
It
can be seen in Ezra 10:26 that Shecaniah had realities who were involved in
this sinfulness of marrying foreign wives, yet that did not stop him from
leading a group of people to Ezra and give encouragement to Ezra that this
situation must be dealt with.
Dr.
Wiersbe writes the following: “The plan
was simple but demanding. First, the
nation would corporately covenant to obey God’s law. Then, Ezra and a group of men who ‘trembled
at the Word would decide how the matter would be settled; and the people
promised to obey whatever was decreed.
But everything had to be done according to the Law of Moses.”
Ezra
would now retreat into one of the rooms of the temple and he would fast and
pray over this matter, but before he did this he appointed a committee to help
out in what was must be done (V-5). Dr.
Wiersbe writes the following as he addresses this: “Wise is the leader who
involves other people in the process, especially when the issue is so
sensitive.”
The committee would then issue a proclamation
that would state that all Israel would come to Jerusalem and those who did not
come could lose their property.
The
process that is seen here, a humble praying leader, and a willing people, along
with a faithful and courageous committee who worked together to accomplish a
difficult task is something that should be followed in the church today.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The study of this wonderful book of Ezra has
gone quick, as there is only one more section to finish it, and yet these last
two chapter have made me stop and take inventory of my life and this is what
the Word of God is to do, and again I go back to the verse in Hebrews that
explains this process: “For the Word that God speaks is alive and active; it cuts
more keenly than any two-edged sword: it strikes through to the place where
soul and spirit meet, to the innermost intimacies of a man’s being: it examines
the very thoughts and motives of a man’s heart,” (Philips). Psalm 139:23-24 is also two verses that have
gone through my mind as I study chapters nine and ten of Ezra: “23 Search me, O God,
and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting.”
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
I want to think about the truths that I have been
learning from these two chapters.
2.
Continue to learn contentment.
7/23/2011 8:20:28 AM
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