Let's go to the book of Ezra now together.
And we are at Chapter 9 this evening.
And as you're turning there, I want to let you know how
encouraged I was to hear from so many of you who expressed how
last week's study moved you as we explored very important and
powerful insights from the last verses of Chapter 8.
And one of the main details that we spent time on from last
week's study is that Ezra has proven to be more than just a
man of the word. He's also a man of prayer.
And that aspect of Ezra's character is going to be further
confirmed in Chapter 9 because most of this chapter is
essentially a recorded prayer of his, a very moving 1A sincere 1.
And essentially, Chapter 9 invites us to listen in on this
man's heart cry to the Lord because it is documented in such
rich detail. And so that's what we will seek
to do this evening. We're going to try to complete
this chapter in its entirety, but we're going to do so
carefully. So this is one of those Bible
studies where you'll have some headings to keep you in the flow
of these verses. So I want us to look at three
things in this Bible study in this new chapter, and they all
begin with the letter. I hopefully that makes it a
little easier to remember. The first thing that we are
going to examine is the iniquity.
The iniquity. The reason why Ezra is going to
pray so passionately here is because he's going to receive a
report that is going to be quite disappointing shortly after
arriving in Jerusalem. He's going to learn about the
true spiritual condition of the Exiles who preceded him.
And this report mainly deals with a sin issue that has been
tolerated and justified and widely practiced.
What is this iniquity? What can we learn from it?
What we'll see in a moment from the iniquity, we're going to
consider the indignation, Ezra's immediate response to this
crushing news and how it's reflective of his piety and his
relationship with the Lord. Finally, we will look at the
intercession and that is the main portion of this chapter,
how Ezra is going to pray and not just what he's going to pray
but how he prays and how that can help us know true fruit and
results in our own praying. So let's begin looking at the
1st 2 verses of this chapter. Then we'll pray and ask God to
help us as we always do in these studies.
Ezra 9 beginning in verse one. 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 Emirates. For they have taken some of
their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons,
so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the
lands. And in this faithlessness the
hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.
Lord, we thank you that there is power in your word, and we thank
You that this is what You have provided for us to know you, to
hear your voice. Help us hear your voice.
Lord, we pray that You would wash away all distraction, all
agitation, anything that would obstruct the seed of Your Word
being planted deeply in our hearts.
We pray that even though this is a study, we would sense the
power of the Holy Spirit, that we would see Christ and Christ
alone, that He would be our ultimate treasure.
So Lord, help us tonight. We need Your help.
We do not rely on man's eloquence or intelligence.
We need Your help. And we trust that You hear us as
we come to you now together, in Jesus name we pray.
Amen. Amen.
Remember 3 things we're looking at.
And the first thing is the iniquity.
But for us to understand the 1st 2 verses of this chapter, we got
to really understand the 1st 6 words of this chapter after
these things had been done. The statement raises at least
two questions #1 after what things have been done right,
Chapter breaks sometimes do as a disservice.
They almost divide the thought unintentionally in our reading.
So it's important when we see things like this, transitional
comments, to pause and say, OK, wait, what just happened for us
to be led to this point? And it's no surprise.
The things that have been done are the things that occur in the
last verses of chapter 8, which include Ezra and the rest
arriving safely to Jerusalem. It includes the temple
treasuries being preserved and protected and accounted for.
It includes the generous and exciting offerings that these
new exiles made upon their arrival to the holy city.
But there is something else in the very last verse of chapter 8
that we can't afford to miss. Let's look at it again in Ezra
836. They, that is the Jewish exiles
who came with Ezra, they also delivered the King's commissions
to the King's satraps, that is, lieutenants or officials, the
King's satraps, and to the governors of the province beyond
the river. And they aided the people and
the House of God who are the day here, the King's representatives
who were closer to the Jews, who dealt directly with the Jews.
So here's what this shows us that upon Ezra's arrival and his
time spent at Jerusalem, that brief time, we know that the
surrounding environment was one of calm and civility.
In other words, Ezra and the Exiles in Jerusalem, we're not
weathering persecution. They were not dealing with
political obstacles. They were not dodging threats
and trying to maintain courage in the face of danger.
There's peace. There's tranquility.
More than that, you even have the approval of the king
extended to his representatives who are dealing directly with
his people to the point that they're supporting the people
and their pursuit of worshipping at the temple.
You can't get any better than this.
And yet, as we just read in Chapter 9, we reminded that
spiritual warfare for the Church includes much more than external
problems. It also means that there is the
potential danger of issues from within.
And that's what transpires here, because problems from within the
community of faith tend to become most prevalent when there
is calm outside. See how Satan works?
If he can't agitate us with attacks, he will seek to slowly
destroy us through internal defilement.
Another way of putting it is if you don't hear Satan roaring
like a lion. That's how Peter describes
Satan's threats and his persecution.
If you don't hear his roars echoing in the atmosphere, he's
very likely Slytherin, like a snake in our midst, quietly
sowing corruption and discord, which means in times of peace
and prosperity. My dear brother and my dear
sister, if you, if you really take the local church seriously,
this is important for us. We always have to be on guard.
Always. It's easy to be on alert when
you are being threatened and oppressed from external forces,
but as we learn here, we often miss the stealth of Satan's
attacks where he seeks to pollute us without us even
realizing it. And that's what precisely
happens here. The people of Judah failed to
discern and to walk in the Spirit until they eventually
became assimilated with their ungodly culture that surrounded
them. And that is something for you
and I to consider. After these things had been done
means even after all the great blessing that they were
enjoying, uninterrupted blessing really, they still fell for a
trap. The second question that this
initial statement raises is after how long Ezra came to
Jerusalem, did this news come to him?
We answered after what things, right?
But now we have to ask what was the exact timeline?
Because the impression that we get here is that it almost
happened immediately Ezra comes to Jerusalem.
We learn in chapter 8, he spends 3 days of rest with the rest of
them. And then on the 4th day they
sacrifice. So you almost think all it took
was four days before the people came to Ezra and said, oh, by
the way, this is what the Exiles have been up to while you're
away. Is that the case?
No, and the only way you would know that is if you go to
chapter 10. Chapter 10 is a seamless
continuation of what we find in this chapter.
And notice the time stamp in verse 9 of chapter 10.
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem
within three days. It was the 9th month on the 20th
day of the month, and all the people sat in the open square
before the House of God trembling because of this matter
and because of the heavy rain. Highlight that it was the 9th
month and the 20th day of the month.
Do you remember when Ezra came to Jerusalem?
Well you have to go to Chapter 7 if you forgot look at Chapter 7
verse 9. Ezra narrates and he says from
the first day of the first month he that is Ezra began to go up
from Babylonia and on the first day of the 5th month he came to
Jerusalem for the good hand of his God was on him.
So when we put this together, we get a more precise understanding
of how long it took before these officials broke the news to
Ezra. 4 1/2 months. He got there on the 5th month.
And according to Chapter 10, it was in the ninth month, on the
20th day that he learned about the spiritual compromise in
Jerusalem. You know what my first question
is? When I learned that, why didn't
Ezra learn about it sooner? There was four days.
I get it. That's pretty.
That's pretty quick. 4 1/2 months.
Here's the answer we're not explicitly told.
Could it be that Ezra is seeing the fruit of what he came to
Jerusalem for, to teach, to preach, to explain the law?
And throughout those months, consciousness were awakened,
conviction settled, and eventually what was hidden in
the private lives of so many came to the surface.
Or could it be that these officials who reported it to
Ezra tried to deal with this problem themselves to no avail,
and so they came to Ezra as a final resort, perhaps.
Or could it be that what we find here is that these officials
came to Ezra after realizing that they themselves were
unaware of this intermarriage taking place, and so they came
to him as soon as they learned of it?
That could be true also, but we can't say it with absolute
certainty. So what do we learn about this?
I think one thing you can take from it is that the protection
of the purity of the community of believers is not dependent on
one man, even if that man is a godly leader.
I see these leaders working with Ezra to preserve the holiness of
the people of God. In other words, sanctification
and accountability is a collective effort.
You know, this might sound silly to say, but I was reminded that
as spiritual as Ezra was, he was not omniscient or omnipresent.
You know why I say that? Because you have some people in
the church who think that overseas in the church possess
such powers, they know everything that's going on in
everybody's lives, and they should be responsible because
they have such abilities to keep everybody in check.
No, that's not true. That's not even true for some of
these prophets who are given insight into things that nobody
else knows about. And so this is a very strong
illustration that shows us that even overseers and leaders in
the church require the support and the collaboration of others
in order to see the church remain healthy.
There's a New Testament example of what we just read in these
first 2 verses. Did the Corinthian church have a
lot of problems? A lot.
How did they become known to the apostle Paul?
How did Paul learn about their problems?
Go to chapter 1 and 1st Corinthians.
It's through an obscure individual that appears only
once and look here First Corinthians chapter one, verse
11. Paul writes in the opening words
of this letter for it has been reported to me by who?
Chloe's people, Chloe's people that there is quarreling among
you, my brothers. So even in Paul's day, the way
he learned about the the factions and the divisions in
the Corinthian church was through somebody who clearly was
a reputable individual, somebody trustworthy who sent an e-mail
to Paul. Their version of an e-mail at
least said Paul, there's things happening here at the church.
So I bring up these verses to you not to encourage gossip
veiled as concern. Instead, this reminds us that
each of us play a role and preserving the purity of the
church. So here's what that means for
you and I. When you see a fellow brother or
sister in blatant sin, don't turn a blind eye.
When you hear murmurings and backbiting and divisions
brewing, don't plug your ears. Do something, do something about
it. See, I look at these verses that
I'm reminded one of the main responsibilities of the church,
one of the main purposes of the local church.
Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that if a brother sins, you go to
them, they don't listen. Take two or three others, they
don't listen. You bring it to the church.
Do you realize that one of the purposes of the church is to
keep each other accountable? Jesus rarely used the word
church in the Gospel accounts, and one of the only times that
he does bring it up is to describe the call of calling
each other to repentance when necessary.
And that's why membership is so important.
The one of the main reasons for membership is just that I want
to be held accountable and I'm willing to hold my brothers and
sisters accountable. And that's what we find here.
Ezra is being told about the iniquities of this people and
that's let's talk about this briefly.
What it was exactly the sin that was so concerning.
There's a keyword in the 1st 2 verses that we read.
Look at again here, verse one, the people of Israel and the
priests and the Levites have not separated.
Underline that word separated. That word separated doesn't
appear frequently in the book of Ezra.
It should then cause us to say, OK, where else have I seen this
word? And it appears in chapter 6 for
the first time, and it's given to us in a positive sense.
Now in chapter 6, you have Zerubbabel with the first exiles
coming into Jerusalem many, many years before Ezra arrives on the
scene. But go to chapter 6 and notice
what it says there about the separation of the people in
verse 21. Well, actually look at verse 19
down to verse 21 in Ezra 619. This is not the first time the
word separated comes up on the 14th day of the first month.
The return exile kept the Passover for the priests and the
Levites had purified themselves together.
All of them were clean, so they slaughter the Passover lamb for
all the return exiles, for their fellow priests and for
themselves. It was eaten by the people of
Israel who returned from exile, and also by everyone who had
joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of
the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of
Israel. OK, what's happening here?
We're rewinding the tape. This is describing what
Zerubbabel and the first exiles experience with their holy
enthusiasm. When they came back to
Jerusalem, they wanted to honor the Passover.
But in verse 21, we learned that a group joined them.
See, when Babylon initially came and removed the people of Judah
from their land, there was a remnant that stayed back.
There were Jews who remained in the Holy Land, and over time,
they began to conform to the world.
They began to adopt their practices.
And it stayed that way for decades.
But then, according to what we just read, Zerubbabel comes back
and the Exiles returned with him.
And they want to honor God, and they want to truly worship them.
And they push away, especially the neighbors of the north who
say, hey, we serve the same God, let's help you build.
And they said, no, no, no, no, no.
This isn't for you. This is for the holy people, and
those Jews who had conformed to the world, according to verse
21, had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the
peoples of the land to worship the Lord.
Here's what's interesting. After many years, Ezra arrives
and discovers that those who had once influenced others to
separation have now been influenced by the world
themselves. It is very rare for a professing
Christian to become worldly overnight.
It is always gradual. It takes time.
It begins with small, small compromises, adapting to and
accepting their customs and their convictions until you
blend in to the point where you begin to do things that you
never thought you would do. So from chapter 6 to Chapter 9,
you went from the people influencing their world to the
world influencing the people of God to the point where,
according to verse 2 of Chapter 9, they were intermarrying and
this is a serious crime. I'm not going to spend much time
here explaining why this is such a grievance according to the law
of God, because we've discussed this in previous studies, but I
want to offer some clarification in case this is new to you.
The prohibition here is not about interracial marriage.
This is about different religions, not different races.
This is about ethics, not ethnicity.
This is not about interracial. Again, it's about interfaith and
God warned early on in the people's history of not doing
exactly what we find them doing here because it had the
potential of corrupting the holy seed.
Now partly why that's so important is because there is a
messianic plan in this whole Old Testament narrative that Christ
was to come through this holy seed.
And the danger, the danger of marrying into the world's around
them is that eventually what was supposed to be pure and holy
would disappear because cultures and other faiths would then take
over. If you don't believe me, listen
to these words in Deuteronomy 7 and Deuteronomy 7 verse 3,
before the people even entered into the land.
The Lord says this through Moses.
You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to
their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for
they would turn away your sons from following Me to serve other
gods. You see, that's the main
problem, not that they have different skin tones or
different foods. It's because they serve
different gods and you yoke yourselves to them and they will
surely introduce their gods to you.
And that has way bigger problems than just their testimony as a
nation set apart unto God. It has the potential of actually
interfering with the seed that was promised to save the whole
world. And so this was extremely
dangerous. And that is why we can now see
why Ezra reacts the way he reacts.
We look at the iniquity. Now let's consider the
indignation in verse 3 of Chapter 9.
Ezra writes, as soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my
cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.
Then all who trembled at the words of God, the God of Israel,
because of the faithlessness of the return to exiles, gathered
around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.
We've seen reactions like this before in our study, the Old
Testament. We've seen prophets do this, men
of God doing this, other notable figures.
But there is something in Ezra's actions that are quite unique.
Tearing of the government. Have we seen this before?
What stands out? The pulling of his hair.
And not just his hair, the pulling of the hairs from his
beard. Man, you know how painful that
is, Even one hair. So this is so egregious.
This is so appalling, this is so shocking to this man that he
actually begins to pull out his hair from his head and his face.
And as unique as this is, there is one other instance of another
person doing this. Does anybody know who?
Anybody want to take a guess? He's a friend of Ezra's.
Nehemiah, you don't believe me, do you?
You're staring at me like I don't think I believe you.
So I have to show it to you. Go to Nehemiah chapter 13.
Nehemiah joins Ezra a few years after this.
They work together to see revival in the land.
But even after wonderful movings of the Holy Spirit in this
community, at the end of Nehemiah's book he records a
similar account to what we just read in Chapter 9 of Ezra.
Look at chapter 13, Nehemiah verse 23.
In those days also I saw the Jews who had married woman of
Ashdod, Amen, and Moab and half of their children spoke the
language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of
Judah, but only the language of each.
People paused. Do you see how this is so
problematic? They're losing their identity.
They're losing their distinctiveness.
And this, this is more about spirituality than it is anything
else. But let's move on.
In verse 25, what? How does Nehemiah respond?
And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and
pulled out their hair. That's the difference.
When Ezra learns about it, he pulls out his hair.
When Nehemiah learns about it, he chases them and pulls their
hair. And I made them take an oath in
the name of God saying you shall not give your daughters to their
sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
Would you believe me tonight if I told you that there's a lesson
here about pulling hair? Here's how most interpret this
passage. When they compare Ezra and
Nehemiah, they try to make a case that Ezra, because both our
leaders, is much more gentle and self controlled and humble than
Nehemiah was. Nehemiah was a great leader, but
he had an anger problem. Clearly, that's not the point at
all. I think there are two things
that we can learn from this. At least two things that can
help us clarify what's happening here.
Number one, who came first, Ezra or Nehemiah?
Ezra. So when Ezra learns about the
intermarriage, he deals with it appropriately.
He is going to make demands of them.
He is going to confront them. But this is something that takes
place initially, but then you go to Nehemiah and you realize that
the same sin that Ezra confronts is still tolerated, it's still
practiced. Therefore, we can make the case
that the situation demanded even justified disciplinary action,
that this was something that needed to be resolved a
different way because the gracious approach didn't work.
Now you. That might make you a little
nervous. So consider the second point.
Don't interpret the actions of Ezra and Nehemiah independent of
their unique offices. What was Nehemiah's role in this
whole story? He was appointed.
What does anybody know? He was appointed a governor.
Now you have to remember there was no king recorded after the
Babylonian exile. There was representatives of the
royal line, but no official monarch.
The next time you find a king appearing in this story is when
Jesus comes, which is amazing. But with whatever is left in
this Old Testament narrative, there is no king.
The closest thing to a judicial power, a political figure, is a
governor, and Nehemiah operates as such.
And because of his office, he has the authority to enforce
punishment, even if it's physical.
He has the right to actually discipline those in this way for
their crimes. Was Ezra a governor?
What was he? Good?
He was a priest, so his function is a little different, isn't it?
And now it makes a little bit more sense.
Ezra is a priest, and so he's really a mediator.
And as a mediator, when he learns of the sins of the
people, he stands in the place of those who have disobeyed by
pulling out his own hair. He goes to the temple as we're
about to read, and he invokes pain upon himself as one who
stands in the gap between the people and God.
Nehemiah doesn't have that office.
Nehemiah is a judge. Nehemiah is, in a sense, the
Chief Police. And so he he rightly targets
those who are doing wrong and disciplines them for it.
I don't know if you see it, but I I smell a gospel fragrance on
this. Because our Lord Jesus possesses
both offices, does he not? He is a ruler and he is a
priest. And we understand that, as
Nehemiah and Ezra demonstrate, those who trample on this
selflessness and the sacrifice and the gracious priestly work
of Christ will face judicial punishment in the same way that
Nehemiah comes after Ezra. Ezra takes the punishment upon
himself, and many people did not allow that to change them.
And so Nehemiah comes, and what does he do?
He deals with them directly. Christ takes our sin upon
Himself. And for those who swat that away
and reject that, well, you're going to have to face Christ as
judge. You don't accept His sacrifice,
then you will receive His scepter.
That is the gospel message. That is the good news and the
bad news at the same time. And we find it even here.
Isn't the Bible amazing? We can learn something about
even how people pulled their hair.
But there's more to learn about the indignation demonstrated
here by Ezra. We should understand that one of
the main reasons this godly priest reacts so strongly is
because he is so filled with God's Word.
That's hinted at by the description of those who join
Ezra as he is crying out in this way.
Look at verse 4 again. Then all who trembled at the
words of the God of Israel because of the faithlessness of
the return to exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled
until the evening sacrifice. Did you see the description?
Those who were magnetized toward Ezra were those who trembled at
God's Word. And certainly Ezra was somebody
who trembled at God's Word. So now there is a remnant.
There's a remnant among the remnant who feel with Ezra.
They agree with Ezra. They're drawn to Ezra.
Why? Because they have the same word
in their hearts as Ezra did. They revered and they believe
the same word. Can I tell you something very
important that one of the wonderful outcomes of loving
God's Word and digesting God's Word and investing God's Word in
your life is that over time you will begin to see as God sees.
What did the psalmist say in Psalm 19?
That the commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the
eyes. But more than that, you will
even begin to feel as God feels. The reason for this outrage is
because this man is in tune with God.
If you don't believe what I'm saying to you, can we turn to
one verse in Psalm 119? What's Psalm 119 all about?
The Word and the psalmist's love and adoration for the Word, his
compliance to the Word, his desire to understand the Word.
It's about the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word.
And you'll find from time to time in that lengthy chapter the
effect of the Word and the One who pursues it with such zeal
and commitment. Here's one example.
Look at verse 53 of Psalm 119. After many verses describing the
wonders of the Word and the glories of the Word and the
value of the Word, notice what he says.
Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked who
forsake your law. That's strong language.
I'm boiling on the inside. There's a volcano in my soul.
Why? Well, up to this point he's been
talking about how the Word is everything to him.
And I think that what we find here is one of the fruit of the
Word, living in somebody, that when they look out and see
people breaking God's law, they feel something, something burns
inside of them. You remember Moses on the top of
the mountain, He's getting commands from God.
And what are the people doing down there?
So impatiently they think, OK, let's just move on here and
let's make our own God. And so they build a golden calf
and they dance around it. And the Lord tells Moses as he
is fellowshipping with him, look what your people are doing.
Moses eventually says, look, they're not my people, they're
your people. But it says that the the Lord
burned with anger. And what do you find Moses
coming down that hill? And he burned with anger.
Why did he burn with anger? Well, he was in the presence of
God. When you fellowship with God in
His Word, in his presence, miracles begin to take place in
your outlook. You will see and feel
differently about sin, not in a self-righteous way, not in a
proud way. You're going to see here that
Ezra is not proud. He's broken, he's shattered,
he's consumed because he's consumed with God's Word.
And those who tremble at God's Word are also sensing this.
But listen, God doesn't just want our emotions to be in line
with His. He wants us to come perform with
our pain and frustration and speak to Him about it.
And that's why we come now to the final portion of this study,
and that is the intercession of Ezra.
Look at verse 5 with me 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, can you look at the last part of verse 4 again?
It says gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening
sacrifice. So before we even look at the
details of the prayer here, consider the timing of it.
Ezra sat silently. He refused to put food in his
mouth. He was broken in contrite until
the evening sacrifice. And once he learned it's time
for the evening sacrifice, he prays.
It's an interesting observation, isn't it?
A lot of remember from the Bible study seminar.
Ask the text questions if you wanted to speak to you.
Here was my question at this point, what's so special about
the evening sacrifice? Now we can explore different
options. One of them is that maybe
there's something meaningful about the evening sacrifice.
And there's examples of this like in Daniel Chapter 9 where
he's praying during the evening sacrifice and certain revelation
comes to them. But we won't explore that for
the sake of time. I think there is a clue within
the book of Ezra that tells us exactly why Ezra waited for the
evening sacrifice. Chapter 10 Book of Verse One
While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting
himself down before the House of God, a very great assembly of
men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel.
For the people wept bitterly. Do you see it?
It seems that Ezra waited for the evening sacrifice primarily
because he knew that this is when more people would come to
worship, to be at or around the temple.
Now they're just going through the rituals.
A lot of them, they're just going through the routine.
But Ezra understood, I'm going to wait to make my prayer known,
to say it out loud once the crowd comes in.
And by doing so, he hoped to invoke reflection.
By doing so, he would want them to feel conviction, to realize
the seriousness of their error. He wants to use this opportunity
for the wider community to understand just how grave their
rebellion has been. And so he waits for the evening
sacrifice. And one thing that we can learn
from this is that prayer, as we just read in verse 1 of chapter
10, prayer moves people. Ezra, when he learns the news,
he sits silently. He doesn't even, he doesn't talk
to anybody, including God. He's mourning.
He shattered. But listen, there's a time to
grieve and there's a time to be alone and to lay in bed and to
contemplate something traumatic or heartbreaking.
And then there's a time to pray. There's a time to pray as I
realize, there's a time to pray. There's a time to pray about
this now, not just to internalize it and muse over it,
but to actually say something to God about it.
And he does that. And what I love about Ezra is
that in this situation, before he speaks to the people about
the will of God, he brings the people before God in prayer.
And they're going to be some situations in life where the
best thing that you can do for somebody else is pray for them
before you do anything else. And that's what Ezra does.
He takes this crowd. He waits for them, yes, but he
stands as a priest and representatively seeks God on
their behalf. And prayer can touch people
whether they hear you pray or not.
In this case, they hear, but that doesn't mean whoever you're
praying for needs to know that you're praying for them.
So he seeks the Lord. And now here's what we want to
do. The rest of the chapter is
Ezra's prayer. And I think we would do a
disservice to this section if we just break it up in verses and
look at it separately. I want to read it in one reading
to get the feel of it, to almost put ourselves there with the
wider community that's sitting there and standing there
listening to this man. So let's read with great
attention from verse 6 down to verse 15.
Oh 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. 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.
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 within
this holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant
us a little reviving in our slavery.
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
in Judea and Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall
we say after this? For we have forsaken your
commandments, which you commanded by your servants, the
Prophet, saying the land that you were 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 the from end to end with their
uncleanness? Therefore do not give your
daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your
sons, and never seek 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.
And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for
our great guilt, seeing that you are God, have punished us, lest
than our iniquities deserved, and have given us such a remnant
as this. 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? Oh 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 and
our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.
This is one of the most notable prayers of confession in all of
the Bible. And although it is a prayer of
confession, seeing the result of it in chapter 10, I think that
there are things that we can learn about how and what Ezra
prayed that can give us greater confidence to see results in our
own praying. So this is just me.
I'm sure there are so many things that we can draw from
these verses, but I want to leave you with just four
insights about Ezra's praying that can help us pray.
Well, if we are to pray with the hope to see results, number one,
we have to pray with humility. Did you notice Ezra's language
in verse six? Oh my God, I am ashamed and
blushed to lift my face to you, my God.
For did he say their iniquities? Our iniquities have risen higher
than our heads and their guilt, our guilt has mounted up to the
heavens. Wait, is Ezra guilty of the same
sin here? No, but what Ezra shows us is
that when we approach the Lord, we must always remember that
there is a way of praying in self righteousness.
There is a way of praying and patting ourselves on the back
while we're praying. This is how sick we are, by the
way. I've been praying for a week
straight, for this long. I think I'm the only person that
knows how to pray like this. We think things like that.
And even if we are praying about the failures of others, Ezra
shows us that we need to be very mindful of our own sinful
tendencies, of our own potential to commit even the same things
that we are broken about. Jesus warns us that there is a
way of praying where we bar ourselves from having an
audience with God. But humility is what brings us
into his courts. And Ezra here doesn't have a
false humility. He's just being very honest
before the law, and he's very aware of his own ability to
commit grievous things. And so he says our he also
understands that one person's sin doesn't just affect them,
whether it's his or someone else's, It has an impact on the
community. The community of faith feels
that when a genuine member does something wrong.
And so he comes before the Lord acknowledging that he also is a
Sinner. Pray with humility and you'll
have God's ear. But secondly, pray with the
acknowledgement of God's grace. And as much as you can recognize
God's grace, bring it to mind. You know, some people have a lot
of struggle knowing how to worship in prayer.
Worship in prayer is important because people think that prayer
is just about petitions. God, I need this, God, this
person's need that. Amen.
OK, that's important. But one of the ways where you
enjoy God is when you know how to worship him alone.
And though this is a prayer of confession, Ezra highlights many
of the gifts that God has given him in his own life that he's
experienced first hand. Look for.
Look for it in verse 8. Notice what he says.
But now for a brief moment, favor.
DSV renders it favor. Other translations render it
grace. For a brief moment, grace or
favor has been shown by the Lord our God to leave us a remnant
because we could have been totally annihilated as a people,
and you've preserved us. He speaks about God's steadfast
love while they were slaves. Can you reflect on the fact that
you were a slave at one point and God set you free?
Do you ever think about how do you ever think about where you
would have been today if you didn't get saved?
What would you look like? What would you be doing on a
Friday night like tonight? I can tell you what I would be
doing on a Friday night if I didn't get saved at the age of
20. You need a reason to worship.
Just think about what you the mess you could have been, the
disaster that you could have caused for yourself and for
others if God didn't get a hold of your life.
Ezra comes before the Lord and he reflects on how they were
slaves. In some sense they're still
slaves oppressed by a foreign government, but that God in his
steadfast love, they didn't leave them in their slavery.
He talks about how they received some kind of revival.
He says it's a small measure, a little revival, but he doesn't
ignore. He doesn't dismiss it.
He makes it a matter of Thanksgiving to the Lord.
We've experienced some kind of refreshment from you.
O God, you want a reason to come before the Lord and give him
thanks and to worship him. Think about the times that he's
encouraged you through friends, through a sermon, through a
community of believers like what we have here, and use that as a
reason to come before Him. Say thank you.
I don't think there's one Wednesday night here when we
pray where we fail to actually give thanks to God for Maranatha
Bible Church. And that's not because Maranatha
Bible Church is anything special in their own right.
It's because of God's grace through this church and the
blessing it is to each of our lives, Ezra says.
I even recognize that we need a big revival, but I'm going to
just acknowledge the little revivals that we've known.
Surely you can admit that even in a very dangerous and hostile
world, God has protected you. Oftentimes we thank God for the
things that He has done, and I want to challenge you to thank
God for the things that could have happened and they didn't.
You see what he says there, the last part of verse 9, and to
give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.
The Hebrew word there is wall, but it's symbolic.
Ezra even recognizes the protection that they've
experienced. And so we see here that if you
want to pray, if you want to pray well, if you want to pray
richly, learn to be mindful of the grace of God and as many
areas of your life as possible. Thirdly, pray with an
understanding of the Word of God.
I won't read it, but look at verse 10 down to verse 12.
You know what Ezra is doing there?
He's quoting scripture. He's quoting the law about
intermarriage. And I like to think that Ezra is
doing this by heart. That's how you know this man
love to study because he's quoting Deuteronomy and
Leviticus. There's a preacher who is in
heaven now when he was asked, and I was there, when somebody
asks it, how do you pray? That's a good question.
You know why? Because the disciples asked
Jesus that question, teach us how to pray, not how to preach,
not how to cast out devils, not to do miracles.
Jesus, teach us to pray. You know what that tells me?
That when the disciples spent time with Jesus, one of the
things that made them so odd was when they heard Jesus pray.
So Lord, teach us to pray. And so this man of God was
asked, how? How do I pray?
And one of the advices you give that still stuck with me is when
you feel like you don't have words to tell God, Take His own
words and pray them back to Him. Besides that, how do you know
what to say to God? The only way you know who He is
is through His word. What promises are you going to
claim? What strategies are you going to
come up with? So many people are so uninformed
in their Bibles and that makes them uninformed and virtually
everything else, including how to pray.
And that's why so many people give up on prayer because they
don't know how God answers prayer.
They don't know how how God can make himself known through
prayer. And only way you can understand
the depths of prayer is by understanding the depths of the
word. Ezra knew the Bible and because
he knew the Bible, he knew how to talk to God.
Know the word, Let it inform your prayer life.
Let it enrich your prayer life. You know how powerful it is when
you take a promise in God's Word and by yourself.
You lay it at his feet and said, Lord, you said this, I want to
see it come to life. Lastly, pray.
Pray believing God can deal with your pain in the best way.
I get that from the last few verses of the prayer, from verse
13 down to verse 15. You know what I find so
interesting and how Ezra lands his prayer.
He brings the matter before the Lord, right?
He brings his pain to God, but he doesn't ask God to do
anything about it necessarily. He doesn't request specific
action or intervention. He just makes it known to the
Lord. Now, that is not to encourage us
to not be precise in our petitions.
That's not the case. But what we can take from this
is that when we don't know how to pray about something, just
the simple act of faith of bringing it before the Lord is
enough for God to do something about it, even if you don't know
the best way to go about it. Notice what he says here in
verse 15. O Lord, the God of Israel, you
are just. Why is he highlighting God's
justice? Because God's justice is
required for the situation, 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. In other words, OK, we're here.
We've committed this sin, You're just Amen.
The Bible tells us that there are moments when we don't know
what to pray for, and the Spirit helps us.
Romans 8 tells us that He takes your groans and He takes your
wordless sighs, and He translates them perfectly before
the throne of grace. And in this situation, what
we'll discover in the coming chapter is that God will deal
exactly with this request in the most righteous and redemptive
way possible. Pray, believing that God knows
what to do with it, but He won't do anything about it unless you
come to Him in faith. I'd love to know that that I
don't have to come up with a game plan to bring before the
Lord like it's a presentation. That was my background where you
had to almost convince a client why they should believe in your
product or your game plan or your marketing campaign.
You have to almost persuade them.
God is not asking to be persuaded necessarily.
He wants you to come with childlike faith and be broken in
His presence. Some of the greatest men of God
that I've heard preach when they preached on prayer have openly
said that they found themselves in certain circumstances simply
saying before God help me, help me.
I have no other words, just help me and God helps them.
And what we're going to see as we read earlier is that Ezra's
prayers were heard and it's going to bring fruit.
Let's pray and ask God for that favor in our lives.
We come to you in humility, Lord, thankful for all the
graces that we've experienced as a church and even the recent
gift of you opening a door for a brand new home.
Thank you that we got here safely.
Thank You that in Your perfect mercy You will bring us home
safely, Lord willing. Lord, we have no reason to not
approach You in worship on a daily basis.
Help us do that. And Lord, as we learn with Ezra,
one of the fruit of having the word in our lives is that it
will make us men and women of prayer.
So may that be true of our lives.
And yes, Lord, we want to learn how to worship You without a
screen, without a talented team before us leading us into song.
Help us worship you with our words because our minds and our
hearts have been informed by your word.
Help us and Lord, when there is pressing needs, when there is
overwhelming news, help us pray, believing that you have the best
solution and that you will honor our approach.
You will honor us simply coming before you saying, Oh Lord, here
it is. You are just do as you please.
Lord, we love you and we thank you for the study.
Thank you for bringing us near the end of the book of Ezra may
bear fruit in our lives. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Let's stand and worship the Lord together.