The Holy Lineage Of God’s People Has Mingled with the Abominable

From: April 17 – 23, 2012

Topic: "The Holy Lineage Of God’s People Has Mingled with the Abominable" Ezra 9:2-9 Israel was under the Babylonian Captivity and in Babylon there was evil and idolatry in extreme. Then the Medes and Persians dominated, who also worshiped false gods, and their behavior was abominable before God. In addition, the people surrounding Israel who were the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites were equally sinful and abominable to God. For such reason, the affinity and mixture of the people with those wicked foreigners caused the priest Ezra great sorrow. Ezra and a remnant of the people of Israel had already returned to their land of captivity in which they had been subjected by the Babylonians and Persians. Ezra, the Jewish priest, had worked hard and fought to restore the worship and consecration of the people to the Lord. Apparently everything was over. The temple was built, the services restored and those Jews who made it back no longer had nearby enemies to fear. Nor was there a place for images of Baal, or golden calves, or the high places of idolatry anywhere. Everything seemed to be marvelous, but it was not. The existence of great corruption was discovered in the village. They were serious matters that required immediate repentance and correction. Ezra began to learn about those matters which, perhaps for being so busy, he had not seen. The problems with his enemies who had risen against him had already been solved. But now it was time to enter the depths of the spiritual life of the people. To go to the depth in our lives with God to restore what is wrong brings tears, pain and regret. The lack of strength is in the man who has turned away from God for allowing so much power and influence of the devil. So, one has to turn to God who is the only one who can forgive us and lift us. When we are raised by God, there is no part or jurisdiction of the devil upon us. There is nothing of him in us, for God casts it out. We should preserve ourselves for God, because when we mingle with the worldly while working and moving in this world, we can catch the bad habits, the imitation of the bad deeds and the bonds proper of the kingdom of darkness. We know verses and we recite them by heart, but if anything we should know, it is that we cannot distance ourselves from the fear of God. The custom becomes a habit and that can happen when one is partnering with the world. There is so much friendship with the world that they start living like the unbelievers. They go so far that there are bold believers capable of saying that they would first leave the Lord before leaving the things of the world which they have become attached to. Since the world leads you to believe that you have to participate of the same things they do, when you open your eyes you are the same or worse than them. How easy the commandments of God can be destroyed! They do such things that the Holy Spirit has to go away from their lives. Then, to come back they have to enter into humiliation, as Ezra did. When you mix with the world and do the same things they did, the holy is casted aside and there is no indignation for the evil. Everything is accepted and "cute" and everything is accommodated conveniently. The problem of many who mix with the wicked is that they say, "I dare not say anything against the mundane because then they will stop talking and being with me, I’ll be alone, and so on." But, the danger is that we expose our loved ones to the idolatry, to sin, the abominable. Ezra learns that the people had been exposed to the violation of the divine law (Ezra 9:2-3). The people, the priests, Levites, all had sinned just the same. This irregularity would inevitably result in a lot of misfortune; it would encourage and increase the idolatry, which was the reason for the fall of Judah and Israel. Ezra foresaw these dangerous consequences. The report was taken by the leaders to Ezra, that is, those who along with their dignity had also retained their integrity. The ones who can speak are those who have nothing to be accused of. They took the message of what was happening to Ezra for the good of people; they wanted the wisdom, authority and zeal to bring a remedy to that situation. They wanted to end what could once again spoil what they had retaken after a long and painful captivity where they had lost everything. Nothing is preserved in purity unless there is a constant vigilance; we have to avoid what can be abominable to God in order to never be destroyed again. Ezra’s reaction to this painful news was such that he tore his clothes, he felt great terror because of the evilness, and great sorrow for the sin of his people; he knew that the divine wrath would come. And here lies the big problem: under the wrath of God there are no survivors. Ezra himself says in Verse 3: "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled." This act by Ezra was the most significant sign of the crushing pain that came upon him. He felt a deep sorrow that a nation called by the name of God would dare to violate so grossly God’s law. Ezra's grief reflected the seriousness of the sin. Those who think Ezra shouldn’t have reacted this way, regretfully do so because of the lack of fear of God. Ezra’s reaction had great influence upon the people. The people saw him and all those with true devotion came to join him. All who feared the word of God came together. All who know that the word corrects and points out judgments would react as Ezra did. They lamented the national sin and sought the means of reformation. Ezra remained stunned until the evening sacrifice (verse 5) because when appearing before God he would confess the sin of the nation, where he included himself so that God would have mercy. It was in his mind that those who had been taken captive by sin, whom he had sought to be restored, WERE NOT YET REFORMED! This produced an effect so stunning in his mind that for a long while he was unable to speak or take any action. Later he declared a public prayer and confession of sin. Ezra 9:6 "... and I said, O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” Let us be faithful to God. Let us not expose ourselves bonding in our hearts and in our actions with those who do not fear God. Let us live up to what we are: "... a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation ..." 1 Peter 2:9 Amen.