#601 Cracked Pot

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. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race[a] has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 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. 5 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, 6 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. 7 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.8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold[b] within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection[c] in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” Ezra 9 ESV

If you ever wondered what revival looks like, here is this man, Ezra, a good student and teacher of the law. He has come and taught these people, he has brought them gifts for the temple of the God of Israel. Their fathers wisely kept the inhabitants at bay when it came to the building, recognizing their apostasy, but here upon the second journey, after the building of the temple, Ezra teaches and they realize. They hear, they see that God is still sending to them, but they have broken the covenant, become unequally yoke. It is not just some of their brethren, but those who are in charge and the priests. Those who it would benefit most to have alliances with the world, do so for its gain, its security. Our politicians have sold us down the way, and we are afraid, for these are the very sins that God had given us over to before. They became unequally yoked and then took up the idolatry of those they married. We all have grand excuses for these things, the heart wants what the heart wants. I can't help the way I was born or what happened to me, who I love. Love is love. It makes more sense for us to marry and intermarry because we are weak in the land, strangers, and this will endear us to them. Of course the leaders were the first, it made economical sense, it made military sense to some, but Who got them here in the first place? God is the one Who brought Abraham from his country, Moses out of Egypt, and He is the One who brought you back again from Abraham's country. Ezra does not console them, doesn't tell them it's going to be okay, what a jerk, he is nothing like the evangelical church today. He tears his clothes, his hair and is beard. It's theater for those who are dying and are too stupid to notice or care, but for these men, for Ezra it is the kind of shame that stupefies, that pushes the head down, and knows no excuse.

Lord, we are guilty, and this is a leader if ever, this is a revival, blessed are they that mourn. He says, I am ashamed, we, our iniquities, and he just got here. What did Ezra do to deserve this? He probably thought he was coming to this great holy place, to a people that had long repented of what tore them from here in the first place. God has been gracious to us as slaves, even in our exile, we have been granted this freedom, benefit to go worship. What the hell happened? God moved the hearts of foreign kings to bring us back here, but we are doing what deserves, the sword, the famine and the exile. Have we learned nothing from the loss of the garden, communion with God, the flood, Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, the wandering in the dessert, a kingdom divided and the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity? All that is left is judgment, for you have time and again given to us less than we deserved. The wages of sin is death and we are guilty, no one can stand before You here, we are without excuse. This is more like a Jonathan Edward's sermon than a feel good revival from our day, where they put it out on the sign in front of the church, "revival tomorrow followed by spaghetti dinner, come one, come all." There is no consoling here, there is brokenness, embarrassment, no reassuring smile from a well groomed speaker. His clothes are torn and he is afraid to lift his head, his heart is broken over something you and I would sit here spinning to justify. I would try to make God's word somehow fit with my want and pride, Ezra hurts, these men hurt over God's honor and glory. They have nothing, and so what is it that makes us so smug? 

As a fair exchange, I ask you as my children: Open wide your hearts also. 14Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Forwhat partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Orwhat fellowship does light have with darkness? 15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?…2 Corinthians 6: 13-15