Ezra 10:11
Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives
Ezra was a priest, a scribe, and a great leader whose name means "help". His life was dedicated to serving God and the people of Israel. The book of Ezra continues the history of the Jews recording their return to the land after their captivity. The purpose of recounting the story is to show God's faithfulness and the way He kept His promise to restore the people of Israel. He set the standard of repentance by his own behavior (v.1) and this brought others to repent as well. I think for us as believers and followers of Christ we have a lot to learn from his example. It was his actions that brought others to follow him. If we go one step further, our actions should lead others to Jesus or at least raise some questions about the life we live in Christ. Although separating husbands and wives might have been an extreme step, it was necessary to preserve Israel as a nation committed to God. As followers of Jesus we are not asked to separate ourselves from the world. As a matter of fact Jesus told us to "go" and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). He gave us a command to repent, take action and go do His will. Our challenge is as we "go" not to get mixed into the crowd. We are supposed to stand apart, maintain our identity as children of God, bring the light of God into the world and through our actions bring people to know Christ Jesus. If the people of Israel intermarried they would once again begin to worship false gods and lose their identity. The moment we take our eyes off Jesus, we lose ours. Lord, I pray today for boldness like Ezra. I pray Lord that by our actions the world will see we are Christians with strong faith, and our identity is rooted and grounded in You. I pray Lord that as we "go" into the busy day we stand apart for You and in You. Like Ezra, we humbly commit ourselves to being obedient and serving You.
Randi
Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives
Ezra was a priest, a scribe, and a great leader whose name means "help". His life was dedicated to serving God and the people of Israel. The book of Ezra continues the history of the Jews recording their return to the land after their captivity. The purpose of recounting the story is to show God's faithfulness and the way He kept His promise to restore the people of Israel. He set the standard of repentance by his own behavior (v.1) and this brought others to repent as well. I think for us as believers and followers of Christ we have a lot to learn from his example. It was his actions that brought others to follow him. If we go one step further, our actions should lead others to Jesus or at least raise some questions about the life we live in Christ. Although separating husbands and wives might have been an extreme step, it was necessary to preserve Israel as a nation committed to God. As followers of Jesus we are not asked to separate ourselves from the world. As a matter of fact Jesus told us to "go" and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). He gave us a command to repent, take action and go do His will. Our challenge is as we "go" not to get mixed into the crowd. We are supposed to stand apart, maintain our identity as children of God, bring the light of God into the world and through our actions bring people to know Christ Jesus. If the people of Israel intermarried they would once again begin to worship false gods and lose their identity. The moment we take our eyes off Jesus, we lose ours. Lord, I pray today for boldness like Ezra. I pray Lord that by our actions the world will see we are Christians with strong faith, and our identity is rooted and grounded in You. I pray Lord that as we "go" into the busy day we stand apart for You and in You. Like Ezra, we humbly commit ourselves to being obedient and serving You.
Randi
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