Wow! Week 15 of the Word Wednesday Challenge! If you haven’t joined us before, jump in now. I’d love to hear what you get out of the book of Ezra!
Ezra 9: 13 (NIV)–What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this.
In this verse, Israel has once again “messed up.” They spent a lot of the Old Testament in a vicious cycle of serving God, falling down, crying out to God, being lifted up by God, and serving Him again. These verses come in the middle of a prayer by Ezra when he learns of yet another “fall down” by Israel. He even uses the word “appalled” for his reaction to their behavior.
But as Ezra prays, he is aware of God’s amazing grace. While Israel is hurting, Ezra knows it is because of their very own sin, and He recognizes that, while times are bad, they rightfully should have been much, much worse.
Believe me. When I look at my life, I know for a full on fact that I have been punished “less than my sins deserved.” If we’re being honest with ourselves, every one of us knows we deserve much worse than God has meted out to us. Why does He do it? Because, by His very nature, He is love and grace. I know that in my gut, and I thank God every day. If I were Him, I’d have run out of patience with me long before now. Yet He has never given up. Not because of anything wonderful I’ve done, but because He is so amazing. I don’t know what He sees in me, but He sees something only He can love. And I owe Him every breath I take. He’s a God of justice, but how grateful am I that He is also a God of mercy.
So, what’s your take on Ezra? As always, you can comment below or blog about it yourself and drop a link in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! Thanks for hanging out here!
-JB
Dawn Lucowitz says
Ezra 5:9-11
We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?” We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information. This is the very answer they gave us: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished.
This just totally struck me. What an awesome answer to a question like that. I pray that if I am caught doing something that glorifies our Lord and someone tries to get me “in trouble for it” or ask me a question like “who authorized you to do this” that I would totally come back with “I am a servant of God.”
Yes, I get it, we have to follow basic laws and rules and even God wants us to be submissive to certain authority, but ultimately, he is the one we answer to. Our God gives us power and authority, I pray we learn to use it wisely 🙂
Jodie says
Don’t I know it! You wouldn’t think it would be hard to say, “I’m doing this for Jesus,” but wow… the world’s pressure is crazy. I’m like you. I want to be so rooted in Jesus that “I’m doing it for Him” is my answer without even having to think about it!
Jen says
Ezra 3:6- On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD’s temple had not yet been laid.
What I loved about this verse is that their worship didn’t hinge on God’s provision. They didn’t know whether or not their plans to rebuild the temple would actually come to fruition… but they worshiped anyway. Because at that point, He had *already* given more than they deserved, and they knew it.
How often in life do we get bogged down by the pressures around us and forget about the blessings we’ve already received? We wait to see what God’s going to do to make things better, and THEN we express our thanks. But not the exiles. They brought sacrifices before the Lord when things were still in a state of upheaval. Pretty admirable if you ask me!
Jodie says
Wow, Jen! I never looked at it quite that way. I’m learning to see that a LOT in Ezra is about “not getting what we deserve.” Thanking God before He answers is something I’ve been working on, and boy, do I need a LOT more work!
in the hush of the moon says
oh jodie, thank you… for reminding me, his grace is more than sufficient. i’m so glad to have ‘met’ you! e.
Jodie says
And I am so grateful to have met you too! Grace is so hard for me to grasp because, in my humanness, it is so hard for me to extend. It amazes me that God gives grace so freely… and so often!