A Completed Temple and a Torn Beard

I am still in the book of Ezra. If you have not read this short book of the Bible yet I would highly recommend it.  The Temple of the Lord is finally completed and dedicated to the Lord. You would think that all is well in Jerusalem and the Jewish people. They had sacrificed so much, were threatened, persecuted and yet they continue the work for the Lord. The physical temple was completed and purified, unfortunately the future temple of the Lord the people, were not.

When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.” Ezra 9:1-2 (NLT)

So often in our Christian lives we “dot the I’s and cross the T’s” in our faith, do all that we know to do at church, read our bibles, pray, tithe etc., and yet the most important and required part of our faith gets neglected. This spiritual neglect doesn’t happen overnight. It is a slow drift, a subtle lull and self-justified laziness. This is usually after we have had a great experience with the Lord, such as a spiritual breakthrough, a ministry opportunity achieved, a completed study or discipline. Your personal temple was freshly renovated. We get tired from the battle, tired from the immense effort that was given for the task or life change. It is what happens when one has a great spiritual “mountain top” experience and then comes down off of that “spiritual high” back to life in suburbia.  It is at this stage that we mix a little bit of God with the world, add a hint of self-sufficiency and religious pride to produce a recipe of abominable sin. Notice the guilty were not just the “regular people” but worse the leaders and church officials. (That would be us?)

There is really only one correct response to such a lifestyle of abomination and Ezra was spot on: When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled. 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. But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the LORD my God; and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. Ezra 9:3-6 (NASB) There is more that took place regarding Ezra’s response to the sin of the leaders and officials. But it didn’t stop there; Ezra implemented a severe action plan to address the issue.  Time doesn’t permit me to expand on that so I will let you read about the action plan and its result on your own.

Reflection and Action Steps

·      Can you think of a time where you were spiritually adrift, lazy or content on living on yesterday’s spiritual accomplishments?

·      What are the ingredients to your spiritual recipe?

·      What areas do you need to repent of? What are your blind spots and how will you be made aware of them?

·      What is your response to what most would consider questionable sin?

·      How do you respond to your own sin? Do you “cheap grace” it away or simply say “sorry” or does it bring you to a place like Ezra’s response? What might that look like in your life?

·      Describe the last time your truly repented from a particular sin. What resulted? If it has been awhile, pray Psalm 139:23, 24 then wait for His revelation of your life.