Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Ezra 10:1-17
Set – Ezra 10; Psalms 131; Luke 21
Go! – Ezra 9-10; Psalms 131; Luke 21
Ezra 10:1-17
1 As Ezra was praying his confession and weeping and bowing on the steps of the True God’s temple, a huge group of Israelite men, women, and children joined him in weeping. 2 Shecaniah (son of Jehiel the Elamite) then spoke up.
Shecaniah: You are right. We have forgotten our True God and have married foreign women from pagan nations. But there is hope for Israel yet. 3 We shall make a new covenant with our True God, promising to banish our foreign wives and their children. You and the others who follow the laws of our True God must guide us in this, so that we obey the law. 4 So stand up! Helping us follow the law is now your responsibility. Do not be afraid; we will support your actions.
5 So Ezra stood up and persuaded the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear an oath to banish their foreign wives and foreign children. When everyone had taken the oath, 6 he entered the temple chamber of Jehohanan (son of Eliashib) and continued mourning the exiles’ unfaithfulness by fasting from food and water.
7 Those who had sworn the oath sent letters declaring it throughout Judah and Jerusalem telling all the returned exiles to assemble in Jerusalem 8 within three days. The counsel of chiefs and elders agreed that anyone who was not here would forfeit all his possessions and his status within the assembly. 9 Not surprisingly, all the men from Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days, in spite of the winter rains. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, everyone sat in the courtyard in front of the True God’s temple—shivering under the weighty matter and the heavy rain.
Ezra: 10 There is no doubt that you have abandoned His ways and have married foreign women, adding to the list of Israel’s sins. 11 Now you must confess these sins to the Eternal God of your ancestors and do as He pleases: break away from the pagan nations and your foreign wives.
Assembly (loudly): 12 You are right. We must do what you’ve told us to do. 13 But look around. There are too many people here to house in this city, and the rains will not allow us to stay outside for very long. Also our sins are too horrible to be adequately dealt with in a day or two. 14 Allow our chiefs to represent everyone in this assembly right now. Then each person in every city who has married a foreign woman can come back with his civic leaders at a scheduled time. We can then continue the inquiries until our True God withdraws His wrath from us about these sins.
15-16 With the exception of four men, Jonathan (son of Asahel), Jahzeiah (son of Tikvah), Meshullam, and Shabbethai (the Levite), everyone supported this plan. Ezra selected one leader from each tribe to represent his people and recorded their names. These tribal leaders then gathered on the first day of the tenth month to begin the inquiries. 17 By the first day of the first month, the investigations of all men who had married foreign women was finished, and the offenders were recorded.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Do you see a problem here? It’s the same problem I see every day among those who almost believe in Me. The crowd gathered in the rain and heard My words, but were more concerned with the rain on their heads than the storm clouds in their hearts. They knew their sins and knew their sins must be cleansed, but asked that representatives be sent to take care of it instead of staying to take care of their own sins.
Today, too many of you think your godly parents or grandparents can pray for you and that will be enough. Too many of you think your “representatives” in the church or your representative offerings will absolve you of your guilt. It doesn’t work that way. I sacrificed Myself for your sins, but in return I demand your all. I want you, not your representative.
I spilled My blood for you. I don’t care that it rains a little on your head. I died for you. It shouldn’t matter that you get a little cold or uncomfortable to stay and accept My forgiveness. What does it take to get you to understand that representatives don’t work? Only four of those surrounding Ezra understood the importance of what was happening that day. Only Jonathan, Jahzeiah, Meshullam, and Shabbethai recognized that everyone needed to stay in My presence until the work was completed.
Too many of you today say a little prayer, cry a few tears, confess enough to feel better and then go about your merry way without doing the necessary work you need to let go of yourself and let Me really clean you up from the inside. It starts in an instant when you give yourself to Me, but takes a lifetime as you become like Me. No one can represent you in that transforming work. No one can take your place in giving yourself completely to Me. I want you and no one else in your place. I died for you and would not allow a substitute for My sacrifice. I will not accept a substitute for you.
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