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The First Step

As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, saying: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush 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 fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.” Ezra 9:3-7 (ESV)   The first step in healing our nation is for our leaders to recognize the problem. The second ste...
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Where is the "appall" today?

After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost." As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. Ezra 9:1-3 (ESV)   Where is the "appall" today? Why is it that the mixing of truth and error is so ordinary? The mixing of right and wrong is like trying to mix iron and clay. We can put forth tremendous efforts to accomplish something that, ultimately, cannot be achieved. Perhaps...
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Humble Before God

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. Ezra  8:21-23  (ESV)   Humbling oneself before God is wise and natural for those who know Him. Those who do not know Him struggle with humility.   It is one thing to speak of God's faithfulness. It is quite another thing to place oneself where God is faithful or where you and your plans are destroyed. There are many leaders in the Bible who have positioned themselves in a way that clearly demonstrates God—those such as David (when facing Goliath), Elijah on Mt. Car...
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God's blessing matters.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:27-28 (ESV)   God's blessing matters. When His hand is on you, no other hand matters. The "powers that be" may seem difficult to work with and may try to hinder God's work. Yet, as we have seen repeatedly, God sharpens our vision when the enemy tries to blur our focus.   Hard times have never really hindered the work of God or His people, for His ways are more clearly defined in them. Faith is not evidenced in sight. Courage can never be seen in comfort. Character cannot be demonstrated during the easy times, and God is often forgotten when times are good. https://www.po...
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A Great Privilege In Life

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"And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment." Ezra 7:25-26 (ESV)   Those who obey God get many opportunities to live life the way it was intended to be lived. Eventually, all authority will acknowledge one authority, and when they do, they will finally be able to be responsible with their authority.   Ezra was granted a great privilege in life—teaching people the ways of God. Not only was he given this privilege, but he was also given the authority of those in authority. Often, those in authority in life are hard to deal with. It is wonderful to see, at least now, at this t...
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Why the difference?

…this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. Ezra 7:6 (ESV Strong's)   Ezra was skilled in the law. One can be skilled in many areas, but few are considered skilled in the Law. It may be hard to recognize those skilled in the Law because it is not something we usually consider a skill.   Yet some seem "more capable" of understanding and explaining God's Word. Those in that category should be freed to study and explain God's Word to others. Just as we free up plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and tech support people, we should free up the skilled at teaching to teach and counsel.   It may be unheard of to pay one who counsels using the Word of God the same as we would pay a union electrician, but one must ask, "Why the difference? Is one more skilled than the other or more valued than the othe...
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Absolute Power

At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: "Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?" They also asked them this: "What are the names of the men who are building this building?" But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. Ezra 5:3-5 (ESV)   Having God's eye on you is far more valuable than having a solid armed force. Throughout history, God has often frustrated the strong by blessing the meek.   Absolute power and authority belong to God alone. We must act by this truth or be continually frustrated. Those who make plans based on protecting what they think is theirs will one day realize that what they think is theirs was just that, a thought. We are stewards, not owners. https://www.podbean.com/rela...
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