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Ezra 9 Bible Study (Ezra Prays About Intermarriage) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Let's go to the book of Ezra now together.
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And we are at Chapter 9 this evening.
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And as you're turning there, I want to let you know how
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encouraged I was to hear from so many of you who expressed how
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last week's study moved you as we explored very important and
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powerful insights from the last verses of Chapter 8.
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And one of the main details that we spent time on from last
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week's study is that Ezra has proven to be more than just a
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man of the word. He's also a man of prayer.
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And that aspect of Ezra's character is going to be further
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confirmed in Chapter 9 because most of this chapter is
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essentially a recorded prayer of his, a very moving 1A sincere 1.
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And essentially, Chapter 9 invites us to listen in on this
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man's heart cry to the Lord because it is documented in such
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rich detail. And so that's what we will seek
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to do this evening. We're going to try to complete
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this chapter in its entirety, but we're going to do so
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carefully. So this is one of those Bible
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studies where you'll have some headings to keep you in the flow
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of these verses. So I want us to look at three
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things in this Bible study in this new chapter, and they all
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begin with the letter. I hopefully that makes it a
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little easier to remember. The first thing that we are
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going to examine is the iniquity.
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The iniquity. The reason why Ezra is going to
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pray so passionately here is because he's going to receive a
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report that is going to be quite disappointing shortly after
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arriving in Jerusalem. He's going to learn about the
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true spiritual condition of the Exiles who preceded him.
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And this report mainly deals with a sin issue that has been
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tolerated and justified and widely practiced.
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What is this iniquity? What can we learn from it?
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What we'll see in a moment from the iniquity, we're going to
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consider the indignation, Ezra's immediate response to this
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crushing news and how it's reflective of his piety and his
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relationship with the Lord. Finally, we will look at the
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intercession and that is the main portion of this chapter,
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how Ezra is going to pray and not just what he's going to pray
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but how he prays and how that can help us know true fruit and
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results in our own praying. So let's begin looking at the
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1st 2 verses of this chapter. Then we'll pray and ask God to
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help us as we always do in these studies.
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Ezra 9 beginning in verse one. After these things had been
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done, the officials approached me and said, the people of
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Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated
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themselves from the peoples of the lands with their
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abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
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Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the
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Egyptians and the Emirates. For they have taken some of
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their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons,
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so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the
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lands. And in this faithlessness the
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hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.
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Lord, we thank you that there is power in your word, and we thank
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You that this is what You have provided for us to know you, to
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hear your voice. Help us hear your voice.
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Lord, we pray that You would wash away all distraction, all
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agitation, anything that would obstruct the seed of Your Word
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being planted deeply in our hearts.
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We pray that even though this is a study, we would sense the
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power of the Holy Spirit, that we would see Christ and Christ
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alone, that He would be our ultimate treasure.
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So Lord, help us tonight. We need Your help.
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We do not rely on man's eloquence or intelligence.
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We need Your help. And we trust that You hear us as
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we come to you now together, in Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. Amen.
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Remember 3 things we're looking at.
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And the first thing is the iniquity.
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But for us to understand the 1st 2 verses of this chapter, we got
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to really understand the 1st 6 words of this chapter after
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these things had been done. The statement raises at least
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two questions #1 after what things have been done right,
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Chapter breaks sometimes do as a disservice.
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They almost divide the thought unintentionally in our reading.
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So it's important when we see things like this, transitional
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comments, to pause and say, OK, wait, what just happened for us
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to be led to this point? And it's no surprise.
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The things that have been done are the things that occur in the
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last verses of chapter 8, which include Ezra and the rest
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arriving safely to Jerusalem. It includes the temple
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treasuries being preserved and protected and accounted for.
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It includes the generous and exciting offerings that these
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new exiles made upon their arrival to the holy city.
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But there is something else in the very last verse of chapter 8
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that we can't afford to miss. Let's look at it again in Ezra
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836. They, that is the Jewish exiles
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who came with Ezra, they also delivered the King's commissions
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to the King's satraps, that is, lieutenants or officials, the
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King's satraps, and to the governors of the province beyond
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the river. And they aided the people and
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the House of God who are the day here, the King's representatives
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who were closer to the Jews, who dealt directly with the Jews.
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So here's what this shows us that upon Ezra's arrival and his
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time spent at Jerusalem, that brief time, we know that the
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surrounding environment was one of calm and civility.
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In other words, Ezra and the Exiles in Jerusalem, we're not
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weathering persecution. They were not dealing with
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political obstacles. They were not dodging threats
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and trying to maintain courage in the face of danger.
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There's peace. There's tranquility.
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More than that, you even have the approval of the king
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extended to his representatives who are dealing directly with
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his people to the point that they're supporting the people
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and their pursuit of worshipping at the temple.
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You can't get any better than this.
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And yet, as we just read in Chapter 9, we reminded that
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spiritual warfare for the Church includes much more than external
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problems. It also means that there is the
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potential danger of issues from within.
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And that's what transpires here, because problems from within the
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community of faith tend to become most prevalent when there
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is calm outside. See how Satan works?
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If he can't agitate us with attacks, he will seek to slowly
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destroy us through internal defilement.
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Another way of putting it is if you don't hear Satan roaring
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like a lion. That's how Peter describes
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Satan's threats and his persecution.
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If you don't hear his roars echoing in the atmosphere, he's
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very likely Slytherin, like a snake in our midst, quietly
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sowing corruption and discord, which means in times of peace
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and prosperity. My dear brother and my dear
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sister, if you, if you really take the local church seriously,
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this is important for us. We always have to be on guard.
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Always. It's easy to be on alert when
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you are being threatened and oppressed from external forces,
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but as we learn here, we often miss the stealth of Satan's
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attacks where he seeks to pollute us without us even
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realizing it. And that's what precisely
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happens here. The people of Judah failed to
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discern and to walk in the Spirit until they eventually
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became assimilated with their ungodly culture that surrounded
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them. And that is something for you
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and I to consider. After these things had been done
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means even after all the great blessing that they were
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enjoying, uninterrupted blessing really, they still fell for a
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trap. The second question that this
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initial statement raises is after how long Ezra came to
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Jerusalem, did this news come to him?
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We answered after what things, right?
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But now we have to ask what was the exact timeline?
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Because the impression that we get here is that it almost
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happened immediately Ezra comes to Jerusalem.
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We learn in chapter 8, he spends 3 days of rest with the rest of
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them. And then on the 4th day they
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sacrifice. So you almost think all it took
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was four days before the people came to Ezra and said, oh, by
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the way, this is what the Exiles have been up to while you're
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away. Is that the case?
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No, and the only way you would know that is if you go to
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chapter 10. Chapter 10 is a seamless
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continuation of what we find in this chapter.
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And notice the time stamp in verse 9 of chapter 10.
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Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem
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within three days. It was the 9th month on the 20th
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day of the month, and all the people sat in the open square
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before the House of God trembling because of this matter
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and because of the heavy rain. Highlight that it was the 9th
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month and the 20th day of the month.
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Do you remember when Ezra came to Jerusalem?
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Well you have to go to Chapter 7 if you forgot look at Chapter 7
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verse 9. Ezra narrates and he says from
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the first day of the first month he that is Ezra began to go up
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from Babylonia and on the first day of the 5th month he came to
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Jerusalem for the good hand of his God was on him.
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So when we put this together, we get a more precise understanding
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of how long it took before these officials broke the news to
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Ezra. 4 1/2 months. He got there on the 5th month.
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And according to Chapter 10, it was in the ninth month, on the
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20th day that he learned about the spiritual compromise in
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Jerusalem. You know what my first question
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is? When I learned that, why didn't
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Ezra learn about it sooner? There was four days.
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I get it. That's pretty.
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That's pretty quick. 4 1/2 months.
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Here's the answer we're not explicitly told.
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Could it be that Ezra is seeing the fruit of what he came to
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Jerusalem for, to teach, to preach, to explain the law?
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And throughout those months, consciousness were awakened,
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conviction settled, and eventually what was hidden in
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the private lives of so many came to the surface.
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Or could it be that these officials who reported it to
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Ezra tried to deal with this problem themselves to no avail,
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and so they came to Ezra as a final resort, perhaps.
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Or could it be that what we find here is that these officials
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came to Ezra after realizing that they themselves were
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unaware of this intermarriage taking place, and so they came
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to him as soon as they learned of it?
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That could be true also, but we can't say it with absolute
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certainty. So what do we learn about this?
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I think one thing you can take from it is that the protection
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of the purity of the community of believers is not dependent on
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one man, even if that man is a godly leader.
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I see these leaders working with Ezra to preserve the holiness of
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the people of God. In other words, sanctification
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and accountability is a collective effort.
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You know, this might sound silly to say, but I was reminded that
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as spiritual as Ezra was, he was not omniscient or omnipresent.
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You know why I say that? Because you have some people in
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the church who think that overseas in the church possess
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such powers, they know everything that's going on in
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everybody's lives, and they should be responsible because
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they have such abilities to keep everybody in check.
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No, that's not true. That's not even true for some of
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these prophets who are given insight into things that nobody
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else knows about. And so this is a very strong
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illustration that shows us that even overseers and leaders in
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the church require the support and the collaboration of others
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in order to see the church remain healthy.
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There's a New Testament example of what we just read in these
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first 2 verses. Did the Corinthian church have a
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lot of problems? A lot.
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How did they become known to the apostle Paul?
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How did Paul learn about their problems?
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Go to chapter 1 and 1st Corinthians.
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It's through an obscure individual that appears only
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once and look here First Corinthians chapter one, verse
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11. Paul writes in the opening words
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of this letter for it has been reported to me by who?
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Chloe's people, Chloe's people that there is quarreling among
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you, my brothers. So even in Paul's day, the way
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he learned about the the factions and the divisions in
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the Corinthian church was through somebody who clearly was
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a reputable individual, somebody trustworthy who sent an e-mail
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to Paul. Their version of an e-mail at
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least said Paul, there's things happening here at the church.
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So I bring up these verses to you not to encourage gossip
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veiled as concern. Instead, this reminds us that
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each of us play a role and preserving the purity of the
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church. So here's what that means for
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you and I. When you see a fellow brother or
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sister in blatant sin, don't turn a blind eye.
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When you hear murmurings and backbiting and divisions
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brewing, don't plug your ears. Do something, do something about
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it. See, I look at these verses that
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I'm reminded one of the main responsibilities of the church,
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one of the main purposes of the local church.
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Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that if a brother sins, you go to
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them, they don't listen. Take two or three others, they
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don't listen. You bring it to the church.
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Do you realize that one of the purposes of the church is to
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keep each other accountable? Jesus rarely used the word
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church in the Gospel accounts, and one of the only times that
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he does bring it up is to describe the call of calling
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each other to repentance when necessary.
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And that's why membership is so important.
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The one of the main reasons for membership is just that I want
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to be held accountable and I'm willing to hold my brothers and
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sisters accountable. And that's what we find here.
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Ezra is being told about the iniquities of this people and
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that's let's talk about this briefly.
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What it was exactly the sin that was so concerning.
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There's a keyword in the 1st 2 verses that we read.
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Look at again here, verse one, the people of Israel and the
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priests and the Levites have not separated.
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Underline that word separated. That word separated doesn't
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appear frequently in the book of Ezra.
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It should then cause us to say, OK, where else have I seen this
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word? And it appears in chapter 6 for
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the first time, and it's given to us in a positive sense.
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Now in chapter 6, you have Zerubbabel with the first exiles
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coming into Jerusalem many, many years before Ezra arrives on the
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scene. But go to chapter 6 and notice
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what it says there about the separation of the people in
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verse 21. Well, actually look at verse 19
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down to verse 21 in Ezra 619. This is not the first time the
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word separated comes up on the 14th day of the first month.
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The return exile kept the Passover for the priests and the
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Levites had purified themselves together.
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All of them were clean, so they slaughter the Passover lamb for
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all the return exiles, for their fellow priests and for
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themselves. It was eaten by the people of
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Israel who returned from exile, and also by everyone who had
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joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of
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the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of
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Israel. OK, what's happening here?
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We're rewinding the tape. This is describing what
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Zerubbabel and the first exiles experience with their holy
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enthusiasm. When they came back to
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Jerusalem, they wanted to honor the Passover.
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But in verse 21, we learned that a group joined them.
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See, when Babylon initially came and removed the people of Judah
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from their land, there was a remnant that stayed back.
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There were Jews who remained in the Holy Land, and over time,
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they began to conform to the world.
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They began to adopt their practices.
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And it stayed that way for decades.
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But then, according to what we just read, Zerubbabel comes back
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and the Exiles returned with him.
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And they want to honor God, and they want to truly worship them.
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And they push away, especially the neighbors of the north who
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say, hey, we serve the same God, let's help you build.
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And they said, no, no, no, no, no.
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This isn't for you. This is for the holy people, and
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those Jews who had conformed to the world, according to verse
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21, had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the
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peoples of the land to worship the Lord.
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Here's what's interesting. After many years, Ezra arrives
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and discovers that those who had once influenced others to
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separation have now been influenced by the world
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themselves. It is very rare for a professing
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Christian to become worldly overnight.
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It is always gradual. It takes time.
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It begins with small, small compromises, adapting to and
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accepting their customs and their convictions until you
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blend in to the point where you begin to do things that you
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never thought you would do. So from chapter 6 to Chapter 9,
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you went from the people influencing their world to the
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world influencing the people of God to the point where,
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according to verse 2 of Chapter 9, they were intermarrying and
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this is a serious crime. I'm not going to spend much time
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here explaining why this is such a grievance according to the law
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of God, because we've discussed this in previous studies, but I
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want to offer some clarification in case this is new to you.
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The prohibition here is not about interracial marriage.
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This is about different religions, not different races.
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This is about ethics, not ethnicity.
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This is not about interracial. Again, it's about interfaith and
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God warned early on in the people's history of not doing
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exactly what we find them doing here because it had the
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potential of corrupting the holy seed.
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Now partly why that's so important is because there is a
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messianic plan in this whole Old Testament narrative that Christ
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was to come through this holy seed.
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And the danger, the danger of marrying into the world's around
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them is that eventually what was supposed to be pure and holy
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would disappear because cultures and other faiths would then take
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over. If you don't believe me, listen
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to these words in Deuteronomy 7 and Deuteronomy 7 verse 3,
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before the people even entered into the land.
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The Lord says this through Moses.
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You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to
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their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for
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they would turn away your sons from following Me to serve other
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gods. You see, that's the main
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problem, not that they have different skin tones or
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different foods. It's because they serve
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different gods and you yoke yourselves to them and they will
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surely introduce their gods to you.
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And that has way bigger problems than just their testimony as a
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nation set apart unto God. It has the potential of actually
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interfering with the seed that was promised to save the whole
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world. And so this was extremely
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dangerous. And that is why we can now see
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why Ezra reacts the way he reacts.
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We look at the iniquity. Now let's consider the
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indignation in verse 3 of Chapter 9.
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Ezra writes, as soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my
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cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.
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Then all who trembled at the words of God, the God of Israel,
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because of the faithlessness of the return to exiles, gathered
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around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.
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We've seen reactions like this before in our study, the Old
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Testament. We've seen prophets do this, men
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of God doing this, other notable figures.
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But there is something in Ezra's actions that are quite unique.
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Tearing of the government. Have we seen this before?
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What stands out? The pulling of his hair.
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And not just his hair, the pulling of the hairs from his
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beard. Man, you know how painful that
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is, Even one hair. So this is so egregious.
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This is so appalling, this is so shocking to this man that he
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actually begins to pull out his hair from his head and his face.
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And as unique as this is, there is one other instance of another
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person doing this. Does anybody know who?
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Anybody want to take a guess? He's a friend of Ezra's.
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Nehemiah, you don't believe me, do you?
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You're staring at me like I don't think I believe you.
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So I have to show it to you. Go to Nehemiah chapter 13.
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Nehemiah joins Ezra a few years after this.
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They work together to see revival in the land.
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But even after wonderful movings of the Holy Spirit in this
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community, at the end of Nehemiah's book he records a
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similar account to what we just read in Chapter 9 of Ezra.
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Look at chapter 13, Nehemiah verse 23.
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In those days also I saw the Jews who had married woman of
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Ashdod, Amen, and Moab and half of their children spoke the
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language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of
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Judah, but only the language of each.
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People paused. Do you see how this is so
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problematic? They're losing their identity.
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They're losing their distinctiveness.
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And this, this is more about spirituality than it is anything
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else. But let's move on.
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In verse 25, what? How does Nehemiah respond?
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And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and
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pulled out their hair. That's the difference.
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When Ezra learns about it, he pulls out his hair.
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When Nehemiah learns about it, he chases them and pulls their
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hair. And I made them take an oath in
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the name of God saying you shall not give your daughters to their
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sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
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Would you believe me tonight if I told you that there's a lesson
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here about pulling hair? Here's how most interpret this
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passage. When they compare Ezra and
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Nehemiah, they try to make a case that Ezra, because both our
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leaders, is much more gentle and self controlled and humble than
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Nehemiah was. Nehemiah was a great leader, but
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he had an anger problem. Clearly, that's not the point at
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all. I think there are two things
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that we can learn from this. At least two things that can
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help us clarify what's happening here.
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Number one, who came first, Ezra or Nehemiah?
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Ezra. So when Ezra learns about the
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intermarriage, he deals with it appropriately.
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He is going to make demands of them.
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He is going to confront them. But this is something that takes
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place initially, but then you go to Nehemiah and you realize that
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the same sin that Ezra confronts is still tolerated, it's still
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practiced. Therefore, we can make the case
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that the situation demanded even justified disciplinary action,
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that this was something that needed to be resolved a
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different way because the gracious approach didn't work.
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Now you. That might make you a little
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nervous. So consider the second point.
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Don't interpret the actions of Ezra and Nehemiah independent of
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their unique offices. What was Nehemiah's role in this
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whole story? He was appointed.
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What does anybody know? He was appointed a governor.
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Now you have to remember there was no king recorded after the
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Babylonian exile. There was representatives of the
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royal line, but no official monarch.
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The next time you find a king appearing in this story is when
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Jesus comes, which is amazing. But with whatever is left in
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this Old Testament narrative, there is no king.
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The closest thing to a judicial power, a political figure, is a
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governor, and Nehemiah operates as such.
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And because of his office, he has the authority to enforce
27:41
punishment, even if it's physical.
27:43
He has the right to actually discipline those in this way for
27:48
their crimes. Was Ezra a governor?
27:54
What was he? Good?
27:57
He was a priest, so his function is a little different, isn't it?
28:02
And now it makes a little bit more sense.
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Ezra is a priest, and so he's really a mediator.
28:10
And as a mediator, when he learns of the sins of the
28:12
people, he stands in the place of those who have disobeyed by
28:20
pulling out his own hair. He goes to the temple as we're
28:25
about to read, and he invokes pain upon himself as one who
28:34
stands in the gap between the people and God.
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Nehemiah doesn't have that office.
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Nehemiah is a judge. Nehemiah is, in a sense, the
28:45
Chief Police. And so he he rightly targets
28:50
those who are doing wrong and disciplines them for it.
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I don't know if you see it, but I I smell a gospel fragrance on
29:00
this. Because our Lord Jesus possesses
29:04
both offices, does he not? He is a ruler and he is a
29:08
priest. And we understand that, as
29:12
Nehemiah and Ezra demonstrate, those who trample on this
29:16
selflessness and the sacrifice and the gracious priestly work
29:20
of Christ will face judicial punishment in the same way that
29:26
Nehemiah comes after Ezra. Ezra takes the punishment upon
29:31
himself, and many people did not allow that to change them.
29:37
And so Nehemiah comes, and what does he do?
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He deals with them directly. Christ takes our sin upon
29:46
Himself. And for those who swat that away
29:49
and reject that, well, you're going to have to face Christ as
29:52
judge. You don't accept His sacrifice,
29:57
then you will receive His scepter.
30:00
That is the gospel message. That is the good news and the
30:03
bad news at the same time. And we find it even here.
30:06
Isn't the Bible amazing? We can learn something about
30:08
even how people pulled their hair.
30:12
But there's more to learn about the indignation demonstrated
30:15
here by Ezra. We should understand that one of
30:21
the main reasons this godly priest reacts so strongly is
30:23
because he is so filled with God's Word.
30:28
That's hinted at by the description of those who join
30:31
Ezra as he is crying out in this way.
30:33
Look at verse 4 again. Then all who trembled at the
30:37
words of the God of Israel because of the faithlessness of
30:41
the return to exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled
30:45
until the evening sacrifice. Did you see the description?
30:50
Those who were magnetized toward Ezra were those who trembled at
30:56
God's Word. And certainly Ezra was somebody
30:59
who trembled at God's Word. So now there is a remnant.
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There's a remnant among the remnant who feel with Ezra.
31:09
They agree with Ezra. They're drawn to Ezra.
31:13
Why? Because they have the same word
31:15
in their hearts as Ezra did. They revered and they believe
31:19
the same word. Can I tell you something very
31:21
important that one of the wonderful outcomes of loving
31:25
God's Word and digesting God's Word and investing God's Word in
31:28
your life is that over time you will begin to see as God sees.
31:35
What did the psalmist say in Psalm 19?
31:37
That the commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the
31:40
eyes. But more than that, you will
31:45
even begin to feel as God feels. The reason for this outrage is
31:52
because this man is in tune with God.
31:56
If you don't believe what I'm saying to you, can we turn to
32:00
one verse in Psalm 119? What's Psalm 119 all about?
32:04
The Word and the psalmist's love and adoration for the Word, his
32:08
compliance to the Word, his desire to understand the Word.
32:10
It's about the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word.
32:14
And you'll find from time to time in that lengthy chapter the
32:17
effect of the Word and the One who pursues it with such zeal
32:22
and commitment. Here's one example.
32:24
Look at verse 53 of Psalm 119. After many verses describing the
32:31
wonders of the Word and the glories of the Word and the
32:33
value of the Word, notice what he says.
32:36
Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked who
32:43
forsake your law. That's strong language.
32:47
I'm boiling on the inside. There's a volcano in my soul.
32:52
Why? Well, up to this point he's been
32:53
talking about how the Word is everything to him.
32:55
And I think that what we find here is one of the fruit of the
32:58
Word, living in somebody, that when they look out and see
33:04
people breaking God's law, they feel something, something burns
33:09
inside of them. You remember Moses on the top of
33:14
the mountain, He's getting commands from God.
33:17
And what are the people doing down there?
33:19
So impatiently they think, OK, let's just move on here and
33:21
let's make our own God. And so they build a golden calf
33:24
and they dance around it. And the Lord tells Moses as he
33:28
is fellowshipping with him, look what your people are doing.
33:32
Moses eventually says, look, they're not my people, they're
33:35
your people. But it says that the the Lord
33:38
burned with anger. And what do you find Moses
33:41
coming down that hill? And he burned with anger.
33:43
Why did he burn with anger? Well, he was in the presence of
33:45
God. When you fellowship with God in
33:48
His Word, in his presence, miracles begin to take place in
33:52
your outlook. You will see and feel
33:56
differently about sin, not in a self-righteous way, not in a
34:03
proud way. You're going to see here that
34:06
Ezra is not proud. He's broken, he's shattered,
34:10
he's consumed because he's consumed with God's Word.
34:15
And those who tremble at God's Word are also sensing this.
34:19
But listen, God doesn't just want our emotions to be in line
34:22
with His. He wants us to come perform with
34:26
our pain and frustration and speak to Him about it.
34:28
And that's why we come now to the final portion of this study,
34:31
and that is the intercession of Ezra.
34:34
Look at verse 5 with me and at the evening sacrifice.
34:41
I rose from my fasting with my garment and my cloak torn and
34:47
fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord.
34:50
My God, can you look at the last part of verse 4 again?
34:55
It says gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening
35:00
sacrifice. So before we even look at the
35:03
details of the prayer here, consider the timing of it.
35:07
Ezra sat silently. He refused to put food in his
35:10
mouth. He was broken in contrite until
35:13
the evening sacrifice. And once he learned it's time
35:16
for the evening sacrifice, he prays.
35:19
It's an interesting observation, isn't it?
35:25
A lot of remember from the Bible study seminar.
35:27
Ask the text questions if you wanted to speak to you.
35:29
Here was my question at this point, what's so special about
35:32
the evening sacrifice? Now we can explore different
35:38
options. One of them is that maybe
35:39
there's something meaningful about the evening sacrifice.
35:41
And there's examples of this like in Daniel Chapter 9 where
35:45
he's praying during the evening sacrifice and certain revelation
35:49
comes to them. But we won't explore that for
35:52
the sake of time. I think there is a clue within
35:55
the book of Ezra that tells us exactly why Ezra waited for the
35:59
evening sacrifice. Chapter 10 Book of Verse One
36:06
While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting
36:11
himself down before the House of God, a very great assembly of
36:16
men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel.
36:20
For the people wept bitterly. Do you see it?
36:24
It seems that Ezra waited for the evening sacrifice primarily
36:28
because he knew that this is when more people would come to
36:32
worship, to be at or around the temple.
36:37
Now they're just going through the rituals.
36:39
A lot of them, they're just going through the routine.
36:41
But Ezra understood, I'm going to wait to make my prayer known,
36:45
to say it out loud once the crowd comes in.
36:51
And by doing so, he hoped to invoke reflection.
36:54
By doing so, he would want them to feel conviction, to realize
36:59
the seriousness of their error. He wants to use this opportunity
37:04
for the wider community to understand just how grave their
37:08
rebellion has been. And so he waits for the evening
37:12
sacrifice. And one thing that we can learn
37:13
from this is that prayer, as we just read in verse 1 of chapter
37:17
10, prayer moves people. Ezra, when he learns the news,
37:27
he sits silently. He doesn't even, he doesn't talk
37:29
to anybody, including God. He's mourning.
37:34
He shattered. But listen, there's a time to
37:37
grieve and there's a time to be alone and to lay in bed and to
37:42
contemplate something traumatic or heartbreaking.
37:45
And then there's a time to pray. There's a time to pray as I
37:49
realize, there's a time to pray. There's a time to pray about
37:52
this now, not just to internalize it and muse over it,
37:56
but to actually say something to God about it.
37:58
And he does that. And what I love about Ezra is
38:01
that in this situation, before he speaks to the people about
38:05
the will of God, he brings the people before God in prayer.
38:10
And they're going to be some situations in life where the
38:12
best thing that you can do for somebody else is pray for them
38:15
before you do anything else. And that's what Ezra does.
38:20
He takes this crowd. He waits for them, yes, but he
38:25
stands as a priest and representatively seeks God on
38:27
their behalf. And prayer can touch people
38:31
whether they hear you pray or not.
38:33
In this case, they hear, but that doesn't mean whoever you're
38:35
praying for needs to know that you're praying for them.
38:40
So he seeks the Lord. And now here's what we want to
38:43
do. The rest of the chapter is
38:45
Ezra's prayer. And I think we would do a
38:48
disservice to this section if we just break it up in verses and
38:51
look at it separately. I want to read it in one reading
38:57
to get the feel of it, to almost put ourselves there with the
39:01
wider community that's sitting there and standing there
39:04
listening to this man. So let's read with great
39:07
attention from verse 6 down to verse 15.
39:13
Oh my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my
39:20
God. For our iniquities have risen
39:23
higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the
39:26
heavens. From the days of our fathers to
39:30
this day, we have been in great guilt.
39:32
And for our iniquities we, our kings and our priests, have been
39:35
given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to
39:39
captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.
39:45
But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our
39:48
God to leave us a remnant, and to give us a secure hold within
39:52
this holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant
39:56
us a little reviving in our slavery.
39:58
For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us
40:02
in our slavery, but has extended to us His steadfast love before
40:06
the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving, to set up the
40:09
House of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection
40:13
in Judea and Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall
40:17
we say after this? For we have forsaken your
40:20
commandments, which you commanded by your servants, the
40:23
Prophet, saying the land that you were entering to take
40:26
possession of it. Is a land impure with the
40:28
impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations
40:31
that have filled it from the from end to end with their
40:34
uncleanness? Therefore do not give your
40:36
daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your
40:40
sons, and never seek peace or prosperity, that you may be
40:43
strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an
40:46
inheritance to your children forever.
40:48
And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for
40:51
our great guilt, seeing that you are God, have punished us, lest
40:56
than our iniquities deserved, and have given us such a remnant
40:59
as this. Shall we break your commandments
41:01
again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these
41:03
abominations? Would you not be angry with us
41:06
until you consumed us so that there should be no remnant, nor
41:09
any to escape? Oh Lord the God of Israel, you
41:12
are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped as it
41:16
is today. Behold, we are before you and
41:18
our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.
41:24
This is one of the most notable prayers of confession in all of
41:29
the Bible. And although it is a prayer of
41:31
confession, seeing the result of it in chapter 10, I think that
41:36
there are things that we can learn about how and what Ezra
41:39
prayed that can give us greater confidence to see results in our
41:42
own praying. So this is just me.
41:46
I'm sure there are so many things that we can draw from
41:48
these verses, but I want to leave you with just four
41:51
insights about Ezra's praying that can help us pray.
41:55
Well, if we are to pray with the hope to see results, number one,
42:03
we have to pray with humility. Did you notice Ezra's language
42:08
in verse six? Oh my God, I am ashamed and
42:12
blushed to lift my face to you, my God.
42:14
For did he say their iniquities? Our iniquities have risen higher
42:21
than our heads and their guilt, our guilt has mounted up to the
42:27
heavens. Wait, is Ezra guilty of the same
42:30
sin here? No, but what Ezra shows us is
42:36
that when we approach the Lord, we must always remember that
42:40
there is a way of praying in self righteousness.
42:44
There is a way of praying and patting ourselves on the back
42:48
while we're praying. This is how sick we are, by the
42:51
way. I've been praying for a week
42:54
straight, for this long. I think I'm the only person that
42:57
knows how to pray like this. We think things like that.
43:03
And even if we are praying about the failures of others, Ezra
43:07
shows us that we need to be very mindful of our own sinful
43:10
tendencies, of our own potential to commit even the same things
43:15
that we are broken about. Jesus warns us that there is a
43:20
way of praying where we bar ourselves from having an
43:23
audience with God. But humility is what brings us
43:29
into his courts. And Ezra here doesn't have a
43:34
false humility. He's just being very honest
43:36
before the law, and he's very aware of his own ability to
43:39
commit grievous things. And so he says our he also
43:46
understands that one person's sin doesn't just affect them,
43:49
whether it's his or someone else's, It has an impact on the
43:53
community. The community of faith feels
43:55
that when a genuine member does something wrong.
43:59
And so he comes before the Lord acknowledging that he also is a
44:04
Sinner. Pray with humility and you'll
44:08
have God's ear. But secondly, pray with the
44:12
acknowledgement of God's grace. And as much as you can recognize
44:17
God's grace, bring it to mind. You know, some people have a lot
44:23
of struggle knowing how to worship in prayer.
44:26
Worship in prayer is important because people think that prayer
44:29
is just about petitions. God, I need this, God, this
44:32
person's need that. Amen.
44:33
OK, that's important. But one of the ways where you
44:36
enjoy God is when you know how to worship him alone.
44:41
And though this is a prayer of confession, Ezra highlights many
44:45
of the gifts that God has given him in his own life that he's
44:48
experienced first hand. Look for.
44:52
Look for it in verse 8. Notice what he says.
44:54
But now for a brief moment, favor.
44:56
DSV renders it favor. Other translations render it
44:59
grace. For a brief moment, grace or
45:02
favor has been shown by the Lord our God to leave us a remnant
45:06
because we could have been totally annihilated as a people,
45:08
and you've preserved us. He speaks about God's steadfast
45:13
love while they were slaves. Can you reflect on the fact that
45:16
you were a slave at one point and God set you free?
45:20
Do you ever think about how do you ever think about where you
45:23
would have been today if you didn't get saved?
45:28
What would you look like? What would you be doing on a
45:31
Friday night like tonight? I can tell you what I would be
45:34
doing on a Friday night if I didn't get saved at the age of
45:36
20. You need a reason to worship.
45:40
Just think about what you the mess you could have been, the
45:43
disaster that you could have caused for yourself and for
45:45
others if God didn't get a hold of your life.
45:50
Ezra comes before the Lord and he reflects on how they were
45:54
slaves. In some sense they're still
45:55
slaves oppressed by a foreign government, but that God in his
45:58
steadfast love, they didn't leave them in their slavery.
46:02
He talks about how they received some kind of revival.
46:05
He says it's a small measure, a little revival, but he doesn't
46:11
ignore. He doesn't dismiss it.
46:12
He makes it a matter of Thanksgiving to the Lord.
46:13
We've experienced some kind of refreshment from you.
46:16
O God, you want a reason to come before the Lord and give him
46:20
thanks and to worship him. Think about the times that he's
46:24
encouraged you through friends, through a sermon, through a
46:27
community of believers like what we have here, and use that as a
46:30
reason to come before Him. Say thank you.
46:34
I don't think there's one Wednesday night here when we
46:36
pray where we fail to actually give thanks to God for Maranatha
46:39
Bible Church. And that's not because Maranatha
46:41
Bible Church is anything special in their own right.
46:43
It's because of God's grace through this church and the
46:45
blessing it is to each of our lives, Ezra says.
46:50
I even recognize that we need a big revival, but I'm going to
46:53
just acknowledge the little revivals that we've known.
46:58
Surely you can admit that even in a very dangerous and hostile
47:01
world, God has protected you. Oftentimes we thank God for the
47:05
things that He has done, and I want to challenge you to thank
47:08
God for the things that could have happened and they didn't.
47:12
You see what he says there, the last part of verse 9, and to
47:14
give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.
47:17
The Hebrew word there is wall, but it's symbolic.
47:22
Ezra even recognizes the protection that they've
47:24
experienced. And so we see here that if you
47:30
want to pray, if you want to pray well, if you want to pray
47:32
richly, learn to be mindful of the grace of God and as many
47:38
areas of your life as possible. Thirdly, pray with an
47:43
understanding of the Word of God.
47:46
I won't read it, but look at verse 10 down to verse 12.
47:48
You know what Ezra is doing there?
47:50
He's quoting scripture. He's quoting the law about
47:55
intermarriage. And I like to think that Ezra is
47:57
doing this by heart. That's how you know this man
48:01
love to study because he's quoting Deuteronomy and
48:04
Leviticus. There's a preacher who is in
48:10
heaven now when he was asked, and I was there, when somebody
48:14
asks it, how do you pray? That's a good question.
48:16
You know why? Because the disciples asked
48:18
Jesus that question, teach us how to pray, not how to preach,
48:21
not how to cast out devils, not to do miracles.
48:24
Jesus, teach us to pray. You know what that tells me?
48:26
That when the disciples spent time with Jesus, one of the
48:28
things that made them so odd was when they heard Jesus pray.
48:34
So Lord, teach us to pray. And so this man of God was
48:40
asked, how? How do I pray?
48:42
And one of the advices you give that still stuck with me is when
48:44
you feel like you don't have words to tell God, Take His own
48:49
words and pray them back to Him. Besides that, how do you know
48:55
what to say to God? The only way you know who He is
49:00
is through His word. What promises are you going to
49:03
claim? What strategies are you going to
49:07
come up with? So many people are so uninformed
49:11
in their Bibles and that makes them uninformed and virtually
49:14
everything else, including how to pray.
49:16
And that's why so many people give up on prayer because they
49:18
don't know how God answers prayer.
49:21
They don't know how how God can make himself known through
49:24
prayer. And only way you can understand
49:26
the depths of prayer is by understanding the depths of the
49:28
word. Ezra knew the Bible and because
49:30
he knew the Bible, he knew how to talk to God.
49:34
Know the word, Let it inform your prayer life.
49:37
Let it enrich your prayer life. You know how powerful it is when
49:41
you take a promise in God's Word and by yourself.
49:45
You lay it at his feet and said, Lord, you said this, I want to
49:50
see it come to life. Lastly, pray.
49:57
Pray believing God can deal with your pain in the best way.
50:02
I get that from the last few verses of the prayer, from verse
50:06
13 down to verse 15. You know what I find so
50:09
interesting and how Ezra lands his prayer.
50:12
He brings the matter before the Lord, right?
50:14
He brings his pain to God, but he doesn't ask God to do
50:19
anything about it necessarily. He doesn't request specific
50:23
action or intervention. He just makes it known to the
50:27
Lord. Now, that is not to encourage us
50:30
to not be precise in our petitions.
50:32
That's not the case. But what we can take from this
50:35
is that when we don't know how to pray about something, just
50:38
the simple act of faith of bringing it before the Lord is
50:43
enough for God to do something about it, even if you don't know
50:46
the best way to go about it. Notice what he says here in
50:53
verse 15. O Lord, the God of Israel, you
50:55
are just. Why is he highlighting God's
50:57
justice? Because God's justice is
51:00
required for the situation, you are just for we are left a
51:04
remnant that has escaped as it is today.
51:06
Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before
51:09
you because of this. In other words, OK, we're here.
51:11
We've committed this sin, You're just Amen.
51:20
The Bible tells us that there are moments when we don't know
51:22
what to pray for, and the Spirit helps us.
51:25
Romans 8 tells us that He takes your groans and He takes your
51:28
wordless sighs, and He translates them perfectly before
51:31
the throne of grace. And in this situation, what
51:37
we'll discover in the coming chapter is that God will deal
51:40
exactly with this request in the most righteous and redemptive
51:45
way possible. Pray, believing that God knows
51:50
what to do with it, but He won't do anything about it unless you
51:54
come to Him in faith. I'd love to know that that I
51:59
don't have to come up with a game plan to bring before the
52:01
Lord like it's a presentation. That was my background where you
52:07
had to almost convince a client why they should believe in your
52:11
product or your game plan or your marketing campaign.
52:15
You have to almost persuade them.
52:19
God is not asking to be persuaded necessarily.
52:21
He wants you to come with childlike faith and be broken in
52:24
His presence. Some of the greatest men of God
52:29
that I've heard preach when they preached on prayer have openly
52:32
said that they found themselves in certain circumstances simply
52:35
saying before God help me, help me.
52:42
I have no other words, just help me and God helps them.
52:47
And what we're going to see as we read earlier is that Ezra's
52:50
prayers were heard and it's going to bring fruit.
52:56
Let's pray and ask God for that favor in our lives.
53:16
We come to you in humility, Lord, thankful for all the
53:22
graces that we've experienced as a church and even the recent
53:27
gift of you opening a door for a brand new home.
53:31
Thank you that we got here safely.
53:34
Thank You that in Your perfect mercy You will bring us home
53:38
safely, Lord willing. Lord, we have no reason to not
53:47
approach You in worship on a daily basis.
53:52
Help us do that. And Lord, as we learn with Ezra,
53:56
one of the fruit of having the word in our lives is that it
53:59
will make us men and women of prayer.
54:01
So may that be true of our lives.
54:06
And yes, Lord, we want to learn how to worship You without a
54:09
screen, without a talented team before us leading us into song.
54:13
Help us worship you with our words because our minds and our
54:18
hearts have been informed by your word.
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Help us and Lord, when there is pressing needs, when there is
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overwhelming news, help us pray, believing that you have the best
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solution and that you will honor our approach.
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You will honor us simply coming before you saying, Oh Lord, here
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it is. You are just do as you please.
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Lord, we love you and we thank you for the study.
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Thank you for bringing us near the end of the book of Ezra may
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bear fruit in our lives. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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Let's stand and worship the Lord together.