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- Oct 26, 2007
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So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. Ezra 9:3 NKJV
Ezra was a dedicated student of God’s Word. He’d learned what God wanted, loved, and said to avoid. When Ezra saw that the people were violating God’s revolutionary rules, he mirrored God’s broken heart. He tore his clothes to show his profound grief. He pulled out some of his hair, showing his frustration. He sat down astonished because this news had left him undone.
How do you react to sin? Does it leave you visibly shaken? Are you left speechless?
Ezra heard the truth, saw the sin, and made it known that sadness overwhelmed him. He caught a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to endure the outright defiance of people He had rescued over and over again.
Maybe you could start by grieving over your own sin first. What would it be like to get to the place where you were genuinely undone by the reality of your sin? Have you endured sin for so long that grief seems ridiculous? Ezra didn’t think so. God’s not immune from a broken heart either.
Prayer: Lord, my sin doesn’t amuse You. You don’t overlook it, and You don’t forgive me sin until I admit that You’re right and I am wrong. May I be undone by the sin that separates people from You.
Ezra was a dedicated student of God’s Word. He’d learned what God wanted, loved, and said to avoid. When Ezra saw that the people were violating God’s revolutionary rules, he mirrored God’s broken heart. He tore his clothes to show his profound grief. He pulled out some of his hair, showing his frustration. He sat down astonished because this news had left him undone.
How do you react to sin? Does it leave you visibly shaken? Are you left speechless?
Ezra heard the truth, saw the sin, and made it known that sadness overwhelmed him. He caught a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to endure the outright defiance of people He had rescued over and over again.
Maybe you could start by grieving over your own sin first. What would it be like to get to the place where you were genuinely undone by the reality of your sin? Have you endured sin for so long that grief seems ridiculous? Ezra didn’t think so. God’s not immune from a broken heart either.
Prayer: Lord, my sin doesn’t amuse You. You don’t overlook it, and You don’t forgive me sin until I admit that You’re right and I am wrong. May I be undone by the sin that separates people from You.
