“Unfaithfulness”
“Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat astonished until the evening offering.” Ezra 9:4 NASBS
Today, as I sat down to write this small devotion, I write it with a trembling hand, not knowing whose eyes it may cross. I have taken some time to meditate upon this verse, and I have begun to see the hardness of my own heart. So, I ask myself this question. With the knowledge that God has allowed me to understand, when is the last time I can genuinely say I trembled with fear for a culture that has defied His word, rejected His Son, Jesus, and will perish apart from a divine miracle? I know that God is sovereign, and no one can thwart His will, but I also know that God has chosen to work through the frailty of human instrumentality. Not only that, but He also purposes His will through the prayers of His children. If we are God’s children, should not our hearts break for what breaks His? The answer to that is obviously yes because His Spirit lives in us.
Beloved, how easy it is to become desensitized to the corruption that we see daily. The fiery arrows of the enemy constantly penetrate our minds. There was a moment when we looked out at the culture with our cheeks stained with tears, longing for salvation to come to all. We had a reverence for the word of God and a fear of the terror that would fall upon a generation that had been given over to immorality, whose hearts are filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil. Come now, Christian, can we continue to be entertained by the things that God hates and still be moved by our deepest affections inwardly to prayer for those lost? I’m not just talking about mere words that fall from the lips, but an inward grieving of the soul for the lost. Sensitivity of the mind that is constantly driving us to our knees. A heart that is postured as Christ when He wept for the nation of Israel, crying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!” Each day we are granted the breath of life and are truly longing to gather as many as we can to Christ.
What we see in Ezra’s life is a man who had given himself to the study of God’s word while living in a foreign land. He longed to know God while the corruption of the people surrounded him as they sought after pleasure rather than truth. He veiled his eyes from this world and refused to let his imagination become tainted with pornographic images that would ignite lust to rage in his bones. He was the man that God used to reform his people and hold them accountable for their actions. When he heard of the immoral lifestyle of the people, how they defied the command of God concerning marriage, he tore his robe, fell on his knees, and stretched out his hands before God, crying, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.” Notice beloved of God, those who truly feared God and longed for holiness followed him in his actions, as it is written, “Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.” Dear Christian, will you allow your heart to move again to weep incessantly for a generation that will soon be lost as Ezra and those who followed him did? May God help us do so.