Ezra

Ezra 9: God is righteous and merciful

Begin in prayer

Before Ezra's confession, let us come humbly before the righteous and merciful God. Please ask Him to help us hear this hard chapter carefully, to know our own sin, and to see the hope of Jesus.

Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of face, as it is today; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you.

Daniel 9:7

Father in heaven, please open our eyes to understand Your righteousness and mercy. Help us hear Israel's sin without pride toward others, and show us Jesus. Make us more like Him, and bless our family with honest hearts and gentle care for one another. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The princes report that Israel, the priests and the Levites follow the peoples' abominations, taking their daughters for themselves and their sons. The princes and rulers are chief in this trespass. Ezra tears his robe, pulls hair from his head and beard, and sits stunned until the evening offering. Ezra falls on his knees before the LORD and confesses Israel's guilt. He remembers God's grace in leaving a remnant and His loving kindness in bondage to revive them and repair His house. Ezra says God has punished them less than their iniquities deserve, yet they are before Him in guiltiness.

As you read Ezra 9, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God is righteous and merciful, yet Israel has sinned against Him.

Israel's return from exile was mercy toward people whose sins had deserved judgment. Ezra sees renewed disobedience as a rejection of that mercy. The charge concerns marriage with peoples who practice abominations. God had forbidden these marriages to guard His people from following other gods (Deuteronomy 7 verses 3 and 4). Ezra also recalls God's command, “nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever” (verse 12). The rulers who should have led obedience are foremost in breaking His command. Ezra's prayer offers no excuse, even while remembering the kindness that left a remnant alive. People from the nations who left their idols to seek the LORD shared the Passover with Israel (Ezra 6 verse 21). Their only hope lies in the righteous God whose mercy they have despised.

How does Ezra 9 show us that God is righteous and merciful, yet Israel has sinned against Him?

The princes reported Israel's sin, with leaders chief in it.

This is sin against God's command, and the rulers have led the way. Their office makes their example a grave failure of leadership. Ezra joins the confession instead of standing apart as though Israel's guilt did not concern him.

God had shown grace and left a remnant.

A remnant is the portion of the people left after judgment. Their survival, return and renewed worship depend on God's grace. God kept this remnant alive, and from this people Jesus would one day be born to save sinners.

God is righteous, and Israel cannot excuse its guilt.

God's mercy has restrained the punishment their sins deserved. Returning to those sins puts the surviving remnant in danger of being consumed. Ezra ends without a defense because God's righteousness leaves their guilt exposed.

Memorise

Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today.

Ezra 9:15

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what sin have I been excusing that I need to confess to Jesus?

Ezra confessed, “we are before you in our guiltiness”. God had shown mercy, yet the people returned to sin. Ezra could offer no excuse, and he feared judgment that would leave no remnant.

The righteous God receives guilty people without treating their evil as harmless. He answers through the sacrifice of Jesus (Romans 3 verses 25 and 26). The righteous Son was punished for His people's sins, giving His life for them at the cross. Their debt is paid in full, and His saving work is complete. God raised the righteous Savior to life.

Lay down your excuses before Him. Turn from sin and believe in Jesus. Through faith in Christ, the guilty receive forgiveness and are clothed in His perfect righteousness. The Judge remains righteous when He receives those who trust His Son. His mercy meets their guilt at the cross.

Parent's note

Tell your children that Israel sinned against God's command after receiving His mercy, and that Jesus died and rose to save sinners. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Please explain that the sin was joining with people who served idols, so no child with parents from two nations feels ashamed.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His righteousness and undeserved kindness, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, and each one who wishes may confess a sin or ask for help.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

Titus 3:4-5

Righteous God, thank You that Your mercy does not call sin good. Please show us our guilt and lead each of us to repent and believe in Jesus. Keep us from excusing ourselves or despising others, and help our family walk humbly before You this week. Amen.