Download Study Materials
Confronting sin… (4 things)
- 1st – Trouble in Judah… vs. 1-4
- 1st – Marrying people from other lands… vs. 1-2
- A short time after their arrival (less than a week) the leaders of Judah came to Ezra…
- The people who had come back in the 1st wave with Zerubbabel – 80 years earlier…
- Had not separated themselves from the people of the Land…
- Specifically they had intermingled their faith with the pagan beliefs around them…
- It had happened because they had married pagan people from the nations around them…
- And the worst offenders were among the leaders of the people!
- Deuteronomy 7:3 – Under no circumstances was Israel allowed to marry pagan nations…
- The danger was if they married into these nations – they would worship their gods…
- The example of Solomon – I Kings 11:14 – whose pagan wives turned him from the Lord…
- It did not happen in a day – it is a slow compromise…
- Perhaps at first his pagan wives did not want to go to the Temple with him…
- Once that was acceptable – they asked if THEY could instead worship their own god…
- Eventually they asked if Solomon would just ‘go along’ with them / not join in…
- But in the end – with his will worn down – Solomon was asked to take part!
- We need to be careful whom we marry / spend our time with…
- II Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
- A powerful warning – you cannot have a FRIENDSHIP with an unbeliever…
- They are not the same as you are – they are going to pull you down!
- Do not spend all your time with ‘friends’ and family who do not follow Jesus…
- Do not seek their counsel or advice – they are not going to point you to the Word…
- People will either draw you closer to – or father away from Jesus…
- Surround yourself with godly people – those who encourage your walk in the Lord…
- I Corinthians 15:33 – “…bad company corrupts good character.”
- A short time after their arrival (less than a week) the leaders of Judah came to Ezra…
- 1st – Marrying people from other lands… vs. 1-2
- 2nd – The response of Ezra… vs. 3-4
- When Ezra heard about the sin of the people – he tore his garments…
- Ezra understood that the people were choosing to live for pleasure – rather than the Lord…
- Choosing beautiful women – rather than choosing godly women…
- And he plucked out his own beard – OUCH – and he sat down appalled by what he saw!
- There are times when we as believers in Jesus – we should be appalled / even angry…
- Angry when evil is presented by the world as good / and good as evil!
- Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil…”
- When we see TV shows that depict homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle…
- When we see tolerance become the catchphrase of the day – rather then truth!
- Not angry at sinners – they need our help – but angry at sin…
- We need to speak out – we need to take action – because it destroys lives!
- Ephesians 4:26 – “Be angry, and do not sin…”
- Ezra sat astonished for most of the day – from the morning to evening sacrifice…
- And all those who feared the Word of the Lord – sat with him…
- Psalm 111:10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…”
- Much of the world today scoffs at the Bible – because they do not fear the Lord…
- They do not fear the judgment seat – they do not fear the Lake of fire…
- But there are only two kinds of people when it comes to God…
- Wise sinners who feared the Lord and saw their need for Jesus – and those who did not…
- For those who reject Jesus – all that waits them is certain and terrifying judgment…
- Hebrews 10:31 – “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God…”
- When Ezra heard about the sin of the people – he tore his garments…
- 2nd – The Prayer of Ezra… vs. 5-15
- 1st – The humility of Ezra… vs. 5-6
- At the time of the evening sacrifice (sunset) Ezra began to pray…
- He fell on his knees – and spread his hands out to the Lord…
- At the time of the evening sacrifice (sunset) Ezra began to pray…
- 1st – The humility of Ezra… vs. 5-6
- Ezra prayed on his knees to show humility before the Lord…
- When we come before God in His throne room – Hebrews 4:16
- We need to come in humility – our prayers need to have reverence and respect!
- Not that there is a special or required position when it comes to pray…
- We see example in the Bible of praying while standing / sitting / lying on their face…
- God does not listen to a prayer made on your knees any more than praying standing…
- But practically speaking I find it best not to pray lying down – tend to fall asleep…
- Better to walk and pray – or on our knees – it helps keep us attentive!
- It is not about the position of our body – it is about the position of the heart…
- I Samuel 16:7 – “People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
- You cannot have a bad prayer – if you have the right heart…
- If you wonder if you are praying the ‘right way’ – you are asking the wrong question…
- Ask yourself why you are praying – if your motive is right – your prayer is right on!
- James 4:3 – “When you ask, you do not get it because your whole motive is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.”
- If our motive is selfish – if our heart is not right – our prayer will not be answered…
- But when we ask for those things that God has given us a desire for – Psalm 37:4
- Asking God to save a lost friend / family member – that is a prayer God WILL answer!
- Ezra was ashamed because of ‘our’ sins – that had risen up to heaven…
- Ezra was not pointing the finger at the people around him – he included himself!
- Too often people who like to look down on the mistakes of others…
- The reason – if they focus on others mistakes – it makes them look better…
- There are many today who enjoy tearing others down – so they do not look so bad…
- Want to look tall – stand next to the short guy / white – next to the dark guy…
- If you want to look ‘good’ point out all the sin of the ‘bad’ guy…
- But they are deceiving themselves – and need to examine their own lives…
- Whenever we try to ‘justify’ ourselves – we end up having to lower God’s standards…
- Looking for people who are worse sinners than we are – so we look better!
- Assume because we are more ‘Godly’ than there are – we are a good person…
- But God does not grade on a curve – He has only one standard – His Word…
- And compared to God’s standard – all of us are in desperate need of Jesus!
- 2nd – Same old sin… vs. 7-12
- Israel had always been a rebellious nation – from ‘the days of our fathers’…
- As a result God had allowed them to be defeated by their enemies – killed / captured…
- Yet the Lord had shown grace to a remnant – given them favor before Persian Kings…
- Those who had been slaves – were allowed to return and rebuild the Temple…
- With the hope that God would open the eyes of the people – there would be a revival!
- But instead the people had returned to their sinful ways – II Peter 2:22
- Breaking the command of God – Deuteronomy 7:3 – marrying the pagans of the land…
- Falling back into the same practices that had caused them to be judged in the first place!
- They had abused the grace of God – as a license to be able to live a lifestyle of sin!
- Roman 6:1-2 – “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
- God has given us the AMAZING gift of His grace – all of our sins forgiven in Jesus…
- But that Grace is not a permit to live our life anyway we want – live in sin…
- The Grace of God is the power ‘not to sin’ – free to live our life for Jesus!
- Continuing in a lifestyle of sin – using ‘grace’ as an excuse – is abusing God’s gift!
- Israel had always been a rebellious nation – from ‘the days of our fathers’…
- 3rd – Consequences for choices… vs. 13-15
- Israel had gone through a lot – but their punishment was not as severe as they deserved…
- The wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23 – eternal separation from God…
- Yet here was Israel testing the Grace of God – in danger of the judgment of God…
- They were before the Lord in their guilt – and none of them could stand!
- In Matthew 22:1-14 – Jesus gave the parable of the wedding feast…
- There was a man who came to God – wearing the wrong clothes…
- Rather than showing up forgiven by Jesus – Revelation 3:5 – clothed in white robes…
- This man came in his clothes – his righteousness – his own good works…
- When God questioned him about it – the man was speechless – muzzled!
- Every one will one day stand before the Great white throne – Revelation 20:11
- There are only 2 options as to what we can ‘wear’ as we stand before a Holy God…
- We can stand in our own clothes – our own good deed – our righteousness…
- And we will be judged by our works – we will stand there speechless…
- Or we can be clothed in the white robes of forgiveness – freely given through Jesus Christ!
- Israel had gone through a lot – but their punishment was not as severe as they deserved…
- 3rd – The response of the people… vs. 1-5
- 1st – Confessing sin… vs. 1-2
- Ezra was a great Scribe who arrived from Babylon with great wealth from King Artaxerxes…
- Yet shortly after his arrival he sat fasting – with torn clothes – and ripped out beard…
- Weeping over the sins of the nation – it caught the attention of the people…
- So a large assembly of men / women / and children gathered and wept with him!
- Shechaniah (abide in God) – one of the leaders of the people stood up…
- He admitted – ‘we’ have sinned against the Lord – confessing the sins of the people…
- Shechaniah did not have foreign wives – although his uncles did – Ezra 10:26
- But it was not enough to weep / or even admit to the sin – there had to be a change…
- If we make no effort to remove the sin from our life – did we really repent…
- Repentance is more than just words – it is taking action to keep from sinning again
- Ezra was a great Scribe who arrived from Babylon with great wealth from King Artaxerxes…
- 2nd – Divorce as the solution… vs. 3-4
- The solution of Shechaniah was for all the men of Israel to divorce their pagan wives…
- Not just divorce the wives – but also abandon the children of those marriages…
- So Ezra made all the Priests / Levites / and all Israel swear they would do just that!
- This seems an extreme – even unbiblical solution to the problem – Malachi 2:16…
- But in the times of the Old Testament divorce was allowed – Deuteronomy 24:3
- The only reason allowed for a divorce was ‘uncleanness’ on the part of the wife…
- So presumably the idea was these pagan women were ‘unclean’ so could be divorced…
- And their children – raised in their pagan ways – would want to go with them
- Jesus clarified Divorce in the NT – when questions by the Pharisees – Mark 10:1-16
- 1st – Divorce is only allowed if there is ongoing adultery in the marriage…
- 2nd – Death – If your spouse dies – you can remarry – Romans 7:2
- 3rd – Abandonment – unbelieving spouse leaves permanently – I Corinthians 7:15
- In fact Moses only allowed for divorce because of the hardness of men’s hearts…
- It was not Gods desire – God meant for marriage to last for a lifetime!
- Marriage is meant to help us understand God’s love for us – children / bride…
- Marriage impacts our understanding of God’s love…
- That is why satan takes such an effort in destroying marriages…
- With no love in marriage – understanding of God’s Love is damaged…
- The greatest gift we can ever give to our kids is to show them a loving marriage!
- It is through our love and example that our kids learn of God’s love!
- The solution of Shechaniah was for all the men of Israel to divorce their pagan wives…
- 1st – Confessing sin… vs. 1-2
- 4th – Confronting the people… vs. 6-44 Read: Ezra 10:6-17
- 1st – Confronting sin… vs. 6-15
- Ezra rose up and went into the chamber of Jehohanan – the High Priest…
- They issued a proclamation throughout Judah – to all the descendants of the captivity…
- Everyone was to gather in Jerusalem within 3 days…
- Anyone who failed to come would forfeit property / cut off from Israel (excommunication)!
- All of Judah and Benjamin was quick to respond – and gathered at the Temple…
- It was the 9th month – November/December – and there was a heavy rain…
- Meaning everyone was cold and wet – trembling because of the weather – and fear…
- Fear over what Ezra might do – authority of Artaxerxes – to take land / cut them off…
- Hopefully fear of the Lord – because they had sinned against God!
- Ezra commanded the people to confess to the Lord – and separate themselves…
- The people agreed – but asked for some time – it could not be done in 2 or 3 days…
- Because many of the people had sinned – so A LOT needed to repent!
- All of the people agreed – with the exception of 3 of the leaders (they had pagan wives)
- It can be dangerous to confront people about their sin – they get upset…
- At the very least they may not agree with us – because they do not want to stop their sin…
- But they might get VERY upset yell at us – because they want to silence us!
- But we are called to confront others in spite of how they react to us…
- Our motive is love – we want to see them clean / forgiven – Ephesians 4:15
- Not that we can make people turn back to Jesus – but we can warn them…
- Hebrews 3:13 – “Exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
- We might think it is kinder not to confront someone who is sinning…
- But the truth is leaving someone in their sin – is condemning them to hell…
- Not that we are not saddened when we see the hurt our words might cause…
- But we rejoice to see them repent – restoring their relationship to Jesus!
- Ezra rose up and went into the chamber of Jehohanan – the High Priest…
- 2nd – Outward obedience… vs. 16-44
- It took 3 months to examine all the people – find out who had pagan wives…
- There were well over 100 – including priests – who were found guilty…
- The question becomes how many of them actually obeyed – it would seem not all…
- Because 15 years later the same problem would come back – Nehemiah 13:23
- When people finally face the consequences for their actions – they are always sorry…
- No one like consequences – no one wants to face the results of their sin…
- But being sorry – does not always mean you have repented…
- If we are just sorry we got caught – sorry because of our consequences…
- Then we are not sorry for what we did – and given the chance we might do it again…
- We have not changed – we did not turn from our sinful ways to Jesus…
- Judas ‘regretted’ betraying Jesus – he was sorry for what he had done…
- He tried to argue with the chief priests – but they could not forgive him…
- He tried to cast the 30 silver coins on the floor – but it did not undo his sin…
- He did not repent – he did not come back to Jesus – instead he hung himself…
- The sorrow/regret of the world leads to death – because we do not run to Jesus!
- II Corinthians 7:10 – “Sorrow without repentance… results in death.”
- Only when we turn from our sin to Jesus – repent and be forgiven – that brings salvation!
- Psalms 51:1-4 – “Against You, You only, have I sinned …”
- If we confess our sin – any sin – Jesus will forgive us and make us clean again!
- Godly repentance brings freedom – we are not longer bound by our past mistakes…
- We are able to move beyond our failures – we begin to grow again in Christ!
- It took 3 months to examine all the people – find out who had pagan wives…
- 1st – Confronting sin… vs. 6-15
I John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Leave a Reply