Ezra 9-10 are challenging chapters. They confront us with the reality of sin in the lives of God’s people and challenge us to make hard choices about obedience to God. There are a couple of items from this past Sunday’s sermon that I want to clarify.
Confession and Repentance bring healing:
Often, Christians (and I would say non-Christians, as well) fall into mental, physical, relational, and emotional funks and don’t know why. As a pastor, I see this quite often. People want help dealing with any rough spots they find themselves in. Sometimes it’s depression or anxiety. Sometimes it’s marital strife. Sometimes it’s a relational conflict with a family member or friend.
Inevitably, in these situations, there is a moment when they recognize a sin or sins that have brought about one of these issues. While not every time, people are often struck by the Spirit’s conviction about their sin. And…they refuse to deal with it. It could be that it’s too hard, or it might cost them significantly. Whatever the reason, they don’t respond to God’s conviction with confession and repentance, and the results are painful to watch. Many go deeper into their issues or challenges, and some harden their hearts, and things get worse.
A great biblical case study of this is found in Genesis 4. In that chapter, Cain and Abel bring offerings to the Lord. God accepts Abel’s, but He doesn’t accept Cain’s. Cain gets angry. Now, pay close attention to what God said to Cain in vs. 6-7, “The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain had become angry, and his ‘face had fallen,’ which is another way of saying he was sad or depressed. The reason for this was his disobedience in offering God a proper sacrifice. The remedy? Do what is right or ‘do well.’ Notice that God told him that if he did that, he would be accepted, and this implies that he would no longer be angry or depressed. But the danger was clear: sin was crouching at the door, and he must not let it rule over him. Now, if you know the story, you know that Cain continued in his sin and eventually killed his brother, Abel. It’s a sad tale of not responding to God’s word and warning. It always ends poorly.
In James 5:16, James tells us to “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” The healing in James 5 is physical, but it can also apply to spiritual, emotional, and relational healing. The principle is that when we sense the Spirit’s conviction and obey, God heals us, but when we don’t, things get worse. James 1:22-25 is another passage that addresses the same concept. There are many more.
I bring this up because it is easy to get into a funk. I believe God uses these to trace back to moments when we needed to “do well” but didn’t. Are you struggling with bitterness, anxiety, jealousy, or fear? Has the Lord been stirring you to trust Him and cast your cares upon Him? Don’t ignore that. Or is there a relational conflict that you know you contributed to? Has the Lord been stirring you to confess your sin to that person and humble yourself? Don’t ignore that.
Divorce:
Ezra 10 is a very challenging text. It’s also a once-in-a-lifetime historical moment. As I stated on Sunday, that text is not about divorcing non-Christians. I’ll share more below. It’s about the survival and faithfulness of God’s people and covenant. The people of Israel made the hard choices of separating themselves from their foreign wives who did not worship the One true God. It is hard to read and study.
The reason this text is not about divorcing non-Christians is that Paul addressed it in 1 Corinthians 7. In that passage, more than likely, Christians were wondering if, since they came to faith in Jesus, this meant they should divorce their non-Christian spouse. In vs. 12-16, Paul wrote,
“To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”
There are three main answers to divorcing a non-Christian in this text:
- If your non-Christian spouse consents to stay, then stay married. Meaning, they know your faith and convictions, and if they’re willing to stay, then you should be faithful to your spouse and marriage.
- The unbelieving spouse is ‘made holy’ by the believing spouse. This does not mean they become a Christian because of your faith, but rather that they are set apart or given more opportunities to see Christ from your life and hear and respond to the gospel. Further on this point is his statement, ‘How do you know, spouse, where you will save your spouse? If a Christian divorced a non-Christian who was willing to stay married to them, how would they share the gospel with them?
- If your non-Christian spouse separates or abandons your marriage, let them go, and you’re free (not enslaved) to remarry, in the Lord.
In Ezra 10, the issue was the survival of God’s people. In the New Testament, the issue is the advancement of the gospel.
This is why it is essential to take the whole counsel of God rather than cherry-pick texts to suit our preferences.
This week and looking ahead:
This week, we will finish our study of Ezra by examining the last section (10:18-44) and discussing key lessons we’ve learned from this excellent book.
Cheap Seats (Quite a bit has happened since my post):
- I don’t know how I feel about the Lane Kiffin deal. I mean, College Football has probably never had a better product, but their calendar and scheduling are horrible for players and programs. At some point, they need to deal with that. On Kiffin…everywhere the dude has gone, it’s ended poorly.
- I don’t have much to say about Texas A&M’s game against tu. I have a sports hate for the shorthorns. I get tired of being called the ‘little brother,’ but that won’t change until the Aggies start beating them regularly. It’s coming.
- Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo probably didn’t hit your sports radar, but it did mine. Semien is a pro’s pro. He’s an iron man. But his offense the last two years has not been good, even though he’s played Gold Glove defense. Nimmo is just the opposite. The Mets needed defense, and the Rangers needed offense. It’s a rare trade that I think will be good for both sides.
- The Hot Stove is heating up and so are the Cowboys (even though I’m keeping my expectations very low).
Have a great week!
Christ is King!
In Christ,
Dave York
