The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Ezra 10:11,
"Now honor the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will."
This imperative, given by Ezra the priest to the returnees in Jerusalem and Judah, was to address their return to intermarrying the surrounding Gentiles with their idols. The chasing after idols was the massive cause for the Lord's horrific judgment of all Israel.
The Lord had his agenda of bringing his Son, Jesus Christ into the world through the human agency of the people of Israel together with the other attending aspects of his plan of redeeming all mankind. Their compulsion to chase after the idols of the surrounding Gentiles was in contradiction of God's purpose, and, so, God acted by destroying first the northern ten tribes by the Assyrians and later, the southern two by the Babylonians.
Now that the Jews were being allowed to return to their homeland in order to continue God's redemptive plan, Ezra was devastated to learn these returnees were yet again exposing themselves to idolatry. He called all in Judah to come to Jerusalem at the threat of losing their property. Once assembled, Ezra laid it down - do God's will!
I find that an apt imperative for us today. God has his agenda of redemption on track today. Indeed, the purpose of this age is to build God's kingdom. Jesus Christ made that crystal clear during his earthly ministry prior to sacrificing himself on that miserable cross to enable God's redemption to take place within the confines of God's justice.
Our purpose today in this age, each and every one of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, is to participate in God's agenda, to slip into the harness of our own responsibilities in God's redemption of mankind and pull the load God expects of us all. Just as Ezra told the Jews in his day to "do his [God's] will", we too need to do the same.
I am reminded of Ephesians 2:10, "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." This admonition from Paul is not offered us for navel-gazing in arguments over how efficacious is salvation by faith and whether we need to add to Christ's atonement on the cross for our sins by doing "good works". No, Paul is telling us that those of us who have been saved by faith now have a job. That job is to further the work God is doing in building his kingdom. We all have a part to play, each and every one of us.
Just as in Ezra's imperative to honor the Lord by doing his will, this is how we honor the Lord for all he has done in bringing us into his kingdom... we have a job to do!
Let's "get 'er done!"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Now honor the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will."
This imperative, given by Ezra the priest to the returnees in Jerusalem and Judah, was to address their return to intermarrying the surrounding Gentiles with their idols. The chasing after idols was the massive cause for the Lord's horrific judgment of all Israel.
The Lord had his agenda of bringing his Son, Jesus Christ into the world through the human agency of the people of Israel together with the other attending aspects of his plan of redeeming all mankind. Their compulsion to chase after the idols of the surrounding Gentiles was in contradiction of God's purpose, and, so, God acted by destroying first the northern ten tribes by the Assyrians and later, the southern two by the Babylonians.
Now that the Jews were being allowed to return to their homeland in order to continue God's redemptive plan, Ezra was devastated to learn these returnees were yet again exposing themselves to idolatry. He called all in Judah to come to Jerusalem at the threat of losing their property. Once assembled, Ezra laid it down - do God's will!
I find that an apt imperative for us today. God has his agenda of redemption on track today. Indeed, the purpose of this age is to build God's kingdom. Jesus Christ made that crystal clear during his earthly ministry prior to sacrificing himself on that miserable cross to enable God's redemption to take place within the confines of God's justice.
Our purpose today in this age, each and every one of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, is to participate in God's agenda, to slip into the harness of our own responsibilities in God's redemption of mankind and pull the load God expects of us all. Just as Ezra told the Jews in his day to "do his [God's] will", we too need to do the same.
I am reminded of Ephesians 2:10, "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." This admonition from Paul is not offered us for navel-gazing in arguments over how efficacious is salvation by faith and whether we need to add to Christ's atonement on the cross for our sins by doing "good works". No, Paul is telling us that those of us who have been saved by faith now have a job. That job is to further the work God is doing in building his kingdom. We all have a part to play, each and every one of us.
Just as in Ezra's imperative to honor the Lord by doing his will, this is how we honor the Lord for all he has done in bringing us into his kingdom... we have a job to do!
Let's "get 'er done!"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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