A popular verse among believers to claim, upon repentance of course, is the following:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1:9 NKJV
The context is that it is important to confess one’s sin, and not to hide or deny it, as evidenced by the preceding and following verses:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
I John 1:8 NKJV
“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
I John 1:10 NKJV
The book of Ezra in the Bible is one of those with which I have almost no familiarity. I know the basics: that Ezra was a Jewish priest in the post-exilic era, and he was priest during the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, had destroyed it. And thanks to a one-time series on the neighboring book of Nehemiah that my Bible study did, I also knew that Ezra was priest during Nehemiah’s governorship, and that it was Nehemiah who actually oversaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.
The time in which the Israelites, now known as the Jews (it was a new term to reference them at the time!), returned to Jerusalem after 70 years in exile was hectic and chaotic, to say the least. In many ways similar to the Moses-era Hebrews who had just left the slavery lifestyle in Egypt, these folks had trouble adjusting to a life that wasn’t captivity for them. As Ezra would reference in his prayer of repentance:
“which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’”
Ezra 9:11-12 NKJV
The Moses-era and especially the Joshua-era Israelites had similar issues: that generation didn’t obey God’s commands of moral purity, and they didn’t entirely drive out the pagans living in the land. In Ezra and Nehemiah’s era, the people once again had the same issues. They married into their neighboring pagan societies, and they began following their false idols instead of the God of the Bible.
There’s often a reason that the Bible tends to repeat itself when recording human history, whether in the early Old Testament, the late Old Testament, or even in the New Testament: people (specifically those who haven’t given their hearts, lives, and desires over to the Kingship of Jesus Christ, who has the power to save) tend to fall into the same traps over and over again. Those who tend to be sexually obsessed fall into the traps of sexual temptation and immorality. Those who tend to be money-obsessed fall into the traps of greed and exploitation of others. And those who tend to be self-obsessed tend to fall into the traps of pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness. The Bible sums it up quite succinctly in this verse:
“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”
I John 2:16 NKJV
Here’s the full context, because this in itself is worth an entire sermon:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
I John 2:15-17 NKJV
It is for these above reasons, as well as a few I intend to name later, that Ezra’s prayer upon discovering the continuation of wickedness among the Lord’s people, almost as if what the exile intended to accomplish meant nothing.
The chapter begins with a summary of the sins committed by the people, just as they were returning to the land God intended for them to live:
“When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.””
Ezra 9:1-2 NKJV
It wasn’t just the people; it was the leaders and rulers who were the most guilty of this.
“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. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.”
Ezra 9:3-5 NKJV
It’s interesting from a 21st-century perspective to read Ezra’s reaction, which was common in his day but completely foreign to mine. Except in movies (and even then, there’s the risk that their interpretation might not accurately or fully capture this), I’ve never seen anyone tear their clothes. I have seen people grasp and tug at their hair (head-top or facial) as a sign of stress, but even then I’ve not seen anyone rip out their hair. (In the Three Stooges, I’ve seen many a clip of Moe ripping out Larry’s hair, but that’s quite different.) But what’s not lost is the sheer anguish that Ezra expressed here. A man who committed his life unto the Lord, to serve Him and walk in His ways—and to take sin seriously—I can’t imagine how he felt hearing that, no matter what he tried and did, the people still did what they wanted. Further, it seemed as if it was everyone who was falling back into sin and depravity.
Speaking of a past case of mass sin and depravity, God still punished Sodom (and Gomorrah), even though He promised Abraham He would spare the city if He could find even ten faithful people there:
“Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.””
Genesis 18:32 NKJV
(I think the truth lies in that He only found four faithful people in Sodom: Lot, his wife, and his two daughters. That’s six short of the minimum that God and Abraham agreed on.)
“When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.”
Genesis 19:15-16 NKJV
There are other countless examples from the Bible’s Old Testament that I could provide, but suffice to say, I suspect that part of Ezra’s anguish, on top of the sins at hand, was the baggage of the history of the Jews, all the way back when it was Abraham’s family and first few generations of descendants, and how they had repeatedly disobeyed God. And not only so, but that, despite the mountain of evidence of how He had dealt with previous generations of wicked rebels, and especially despite His grace and mercy in spite of it all, they still sinned again. This latest occurrence of sin had proved that they truly hadn’t learned, even though these same people (who were spared the sword and from famine, by the way) saw the fates that awaited their unrepentant neighbors from a bygone era because of their sin. Hence Ezra’s line (and the accompanying anguish and desperation):
“And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.”
Ezra 9:6-7 NKJV
And this:
“And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,”
Ezra 9:10 NKJV
I skipped ahead because I wanted to put these particular lines together to truly capture Ezra’s anguish and desperation. Here’s the greater context:
“And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.”
Ezra 9:8-11 NKJV
The point I believe that cannot be stressed enough is that God had shown incredible mercy, even to His people while in the midst of their sin. For 70 years, His people were not in the land that He had sworn to give them, and that was because their sin (as a people) was too great not to ignore. Those who lived in Babylon were the blessed ones. They were allowed to live, because they had chosen to submit themselves to a just discipline. The ones who didn’t were killed or starved to death. This alone gives a whole new meaning on the same confession/repentance verse from the book of 1st John:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1:9 NKJV
Until a few weeks ago, I had glossed over two key words in this verse: “and just.” Yes, I had known that God was (and is) faithful to forgive all who truly confess, repent, and return to Him. But then the words “and just” were brought to my attention. I’ve been through a lot of challenges in my life, and as a result one of my biggest heart-cry prayers was for justice against those who had done me wrong, or, in some cases, were still doing me wrong. But the thing I hadn’t considered was, “what if some of those individuals confessed to God and repented?” (Of course, I don’t know about any such instance, outside of maybe one or two cases.) The point is, God’s justice includes being merciful to those who truly repent and have a change of heart, regardless of how egregious or damaging their sinful acts were.
Consider King David’s response after being called out for his sins of adultery, murder, and covering up both transgressions, as well as a key part of God’s response to his acknowledgment and repentance:
“So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
II Samuel 12:13 NKJV
True, David was not spared of the consequences (and there were major repercussions for his sins). But God showed not only “His mercy” (which is absolutely true but is also a phrase with which one can become desensitized after a while), but His justice as well. The Lord was both faithful and just to forgive David and to cleanse him, so long as he truly repented and returned to the Lord, which he would end up doing:
“David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.”
II Samuel 12:16-17 NKJV
“So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.””
II Samuel 12:20, 22-23 NKJV
(Although I am huge on providing context for Bible verses as a general rule, I did intentionally skip a few verses this time because the intervening verses were simply filler in this case. My goal was to highlight David’s responses of repentance and returning to the Lord.)
The point is, in Ezra’s time, even though I believe he knew that God would forgive if the people truly repented of their sins, because of recent history where prior generations upon prior generations repeatedly ignored previous warnings by multiple prophets to repent and return to the Lord, the concern was that the Jews would not. Long ago was the time when God’s chosen people would actually heed warnings and take the Lord and His commandments seriously. How should Ezra know whether this current generation would prove that they had indeed learned their lesson (and just as significantly, the lesson that their fathers and grandfathers, etc refused to learn)?
After all, the command was simple:
“Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’”
Ezra 9:12 NKJV
The post-Joshua-era Israelites were guilty of this. King Solomon was notorious for this sin as well. And now, after a just exile (with a side dish of a series of just killings of the survivors’ fellow countrymen and women who didn’t repent), the people were going back to their forefathers’ favorite methods of rebellion.
This also hits me because while I believe that I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone as my King and Savior, I still wrestle with the flesh every day. And this passage hits home because I came from a family and lineage of mostly unsaved people, and my former life was littered with worldly influences and worldly people of various different kinds. Although I am gratefully married to another believer, there were times in the past when I was even at risk for potentially choosing a non-believer for a life partner, as I still tended to spend lots of time with non-believers. Although it didn’t keep me from sinning within myself, holy fear did keep me from sinning with other potential prospects that either didn’t arrive with God’s approval at all, or didn’t arrive with His approval in the same way that my now-wife did.
Reflecting back, there was a line that I believe God had spoken to me about in this area of life much more clearly than I had ever heard previously. It contrasted two past potential prospects, one of whom was a believer, and the other with whom it was revealed that she truly wasn’t, despite her appearances. Regarding the latter, I felt I heard the Lord say that “her heart wasn’t in the right place.” Regarding the former, I believe that He simply said: “she was meant for him,” referencing the man she eventually married, after the time in which the two of us had crossed paths, but prior to the day in which I had received this word.
A little more recently, a few years after I had received the aforementioned word, but well before I met my now-wife, I had a very interesting potential prospect where, a little while after the fact, I was supernaturally informed that she and I had come dangerously close to becoming yoked together. On the surface, the revelation didn’t make sense, as I never successfully asked this person out, and by the time that I made a serious attempt at doing so, it was too late. That failure ate at me deeply, perhaps even more deeply than other similar situations with anyone else previously, until I met my now-wife. In retrospect, I think it was because, unlike with several others, there was greater spiritual confirmation of mutual interest, that even a potential initial spark the size of a mustard seed in the right wrong timing would have launched me on such a path. But why the situation comes up at all in today’s reflection of Ezra 9 is because that same revelation also showed me that, at minimum I would’ve become very worldly. More recent revelations showed me in greater depth the spiritual danger that I very possibly would’ve put myself in had I ended up with this person.
Finally, to drive home with the final point of this section, when I was first dating my now-wife, she herself commented several times on the importance of the truth in the verse exhorting believers not to yoke themselves with non-believers:
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”
II Corinthians 6:14 NKJV
And yet, this was very precisely the sin that the Jewish leaders and rulers were falling into yet again: yoking themselves with pagans.
“And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!””
Ezra 9:13-15 NKJV
At this juncture in human history, as we await the return of Jesus Christ as King on this earth, I’m still very much aware of the battle, especially in our country, but also in much of western civilization, the battle between Biblical Christian morals and ethics versus worldliness. Although it genuinely appears debatable whether or not the United States of America was founded as a Christian nation (although Charlie Kirk certainly made an
argument for the such), we do have God’s promise in the Bible that He would heal us and make us prosper if we truly repent and return to Him:
“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV
The latest mayoral election results in
New York City, as well as the gubernatorial election results in
New Jersey and
Virginia, show that we still very much have a spiritual battle on our hands. We still have people in power who are determined not only to disobey the God of the Bible, but also to try to tear down His plans (now, don’t worry, our God is undefeated, and no enemy can ever successfully thwart Him!). But I think about the parallels between our time now as well as in Ezra’s day. Although there are many, many differences between the two situations, the main similarity lies in the return of a large majority of the people to their roots. In Ezra’s day, it was a physical return to the land that God had promised their ancestors, and has continued to promise to his people throughout the generations. In our day, in 2025, it is a return to our country’s original values, economy, and governmental structure, as laid out by the Constitution. But as both Ezra’s prayer to the Lord Most High and our recent election results reveal, we still live in a fallen, sin-sick world that will only truly be healed and restored upon Jesus‘s return.
And like the Bible always does, there is yet a message of hope, found even in the book of Ezra:
“Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.””
Ezra 10:1-4 NKJV
And, true to their word, they carried out this correction:
“And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. And they gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their trespass offering.”
Ezra 10:18-19 NKJV
The chapter, and as such the book, closes by listing the names of all the individuals and lineages thereof who were indeed guilty but also followed through in their correction and repentance. They received God’s justice and allowed him to cleanse them.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1:9 NKJV
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