Skip to main content

TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE

Jesus taught that all scripture testifies about him so that in him we might have life (John 5v39-40). King David taught that it is only by living according to God's word that we're kept on the right path (Psalm 119v9). What then could be better than reading the entire Bible? Click the menu to read about the program, choose a month or Bible book - or just work through the blog posts day by day.

(695) 27 November : Proverbs 30v29-31 / Ezra 9-10 / Psalm 141v3-4

BEGIN WITH PRAYER
"Lord open my eyes and my heart."

Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world.

Wisdom to chew on
Proverbs 30:29-31

Understanding to grow in
The joy of the returnees doesn't last. It's important to realise that although God had fulfilled his promise to bring his people to his place to enjoy his presence, his promise to renew their hearts so that they submit to his rule is still to come. It looks to the work of Jesus. And so, Ezra despairs to hear how the people have married outside the people of God. This displays a lack of concern for maintaining holiness for themselves and the next generation. And it leads Ezra to confess the sins of the people, very aware that, having just experienced God's mercy in bringing the exiles back, it could provoke God to totally destroy them this time. We must be very clear that the resulting decision to send the wives and children away was an extreme measure, warranted by the context in which the purity of the relatively small remnant’s religion had to be maintained. Christians are also called only to marry “in the Lord” (1 Cor 7v39), for the same reasons the Israelites were to marry only Israelites. However, the New Testament is clear that if a Christian does marry an unbeliever, they are not to divorce them (1 Cor 7v12-14). In what followed, Ezra gathered the people, and charged them with their sin, urging them to confession and this separation. The concern was that this must be done properly so that “the fierce anger of our God” would be “turned away.” It is a slight on the church today that such seriousness with corporate sin is so lacking. God’s people still need to be charged with their unfaithfulness and called to separate from the practices of unbelievers (2 Cor 6v14). And church elders must ensure this is done as those of Ezra's day did. The seriousness of disobeying God is seen in the fact that the book ends with the names of those proved unfaithful. Let's not make that our legacy. As you read note the concern for godliness.

Finish this reading by pausing to ask yourself:
1) What’s the main thing it teaches me about God or his purposes in Christ? Then praise him for this.
2) What’s the main thing it teaches me about his will for me or the world? Then pray that home.

Devotion to offer up