GO the Extra MIle
Greetings in the Lord!
Have you ever had one of those "Eureka" moments when you realize in an instant something that has been hidden from you? Like, you finally see what others have been telling you all along or the moment when clouds of confusion blow away and you can see clearly that the choices you've been making were wrong? It's actually kind of a cool thing, huh? That even if you so totally believed the wrong thing for a long while in a flash can see through the darkness--like a bolt a lightening that lights up a darkened room to reveal what's really there in the room.
That's how I read Ezra 10:12-17 today. In that passage, Ezra begins to pray and weep for the people, telling them of their sin and, lo and behold, the people got it.
"The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: 'You are right! We must do as you say."
Ezra 10:12
But of course, their sin of marrying foreign wives wasn't as simple as just saying, "I'm sorry." No, there would have to be a gathering of people to work out the details of making things right again. Their situation had gotten pretty complicated--families were made with these wives--so there were emotional attachments and a lot of practical details to work out for the Israelite men to break free of those wives. It almost seemed like too big a deal to bother with, but ya know what, it mattered to God that they went through all the trouble. The Lord had commanded the Israelites not to marry foreign wives for a reason, not for His kicks.
"So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women." Ezra 10:16-17.
There is a blessing in making things right. Even when it comes as a huge inconvenience to us or is embarrassing or whatever. God respects our efforts and will reward our obedience. It is important for the people of God to go the extra mile sometimes to make things right--whatever the situation may be--and God will do the rest.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Have you ever had one of those "Eureka" moments when you realize in an instant something that has been hidden from you? Like, you finally see what others have been telling you all along or the moment when clouds of confusion blow away and you can see clearly that the choices you've been making were wrong? It's actually kind of a cool thing, huh? That even if you so totally believed the wrong thing for a long while in a flash can see through the darkness--like a bolt a lightening that lights up a darkened room to reveal what's really there in the room.
That's how I read Ezra 10:12-17 today. In that passage, Ezra begins to pray and weep for the people, telling them of their sin and, lo and behold, the people got it.
"The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: 'You are right! We must do as you say."
Ezra 10:12
But of course, their sin of marrying foreign wives wasn't as simple as just saying, "I'm sorry." No, there would have to be a gathering of people to work out the details of making things right again. Their situation had gotten pretty complicated--families were made with these wives--so there were emotional attachments and a lot of practical details to work out for the Israelite men to break free of those wives. It almost seemed like too big a deal to bother with, but ya know what, it mattered to God that they went through all the trouble. The Lord had commanded the Israelites not to marry foreign wives for a reason, not for His kicks.
"So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women." Ezra 10:16-17.
There is a blessing in making things right. Even when it comes as a huge inconvenience to us or is embarrassing or whatever. God respects our efforts and will reward our obedience. It is important for the people of God to go the extra mile sometimes to make things right--whatever the situation may be--and God will do the rest.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Comments