Confession and Repentance

INTRO

Our phrase for the book of Ezra is Promise Keeper because God promised the Israelites that they would be able to return to their homeland after 70 years of captivity, and in this book, we see that God kept that promise. Second Corinthians 1:20 emphasizes that God not only keeps His promises, but that His promises are kept in Christ. Today, we’ll look at Ezra 9 and 10 as we wrap up this book.

TEACHING

Ezra 9:1–3: The leaders reported to Ezra that the people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, had intermarried with the women from the surrounding lands “so that the holy seed has become mixed with the surrounding peoples” (v. 2). In Joshua 3:10, the Israelites were told that God would dispossess all their enemies who lived in the Promised Land. Yet when the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, Ezra learned that the Israelites were now marrying their enemies. When Ezra heard this, he was devastated.

Ezra 9:4–15: While others gathered around him, Ezra sat in devastation until it was time for the evening offering (v. 4). Then he fell on his knees before God and cried out to God (vv. 5–15). How quickly the Israelites went from hallelujah and revival to the need for a time of serious repentance.

Ezra 10:1: Warren Wiersbe stresses the importance of never underestimating the power of the prayers of one person.¹James 5:16–18 points out the urgent prayers of a righteous person can have a powerful effect. The power of prayer is attractive, because it points people to the Lord. Here we see that Ezra prayed and confessed the sins of his people as they gathered around him and wept bitterly with him. Ezra’s actions portrayed a broken and contrite spirit, such as David described in Psalm 51:17. So when we come to the Lord in prayer, we cannot come with a spirit of pride and arrogance. We have to come with a humble and broken spirit. Ezra came to the table with lamenting and mourning. Wiersbe points to James 4:9–10, which describe an important aspect of Ezra’s prayer.²Our laughter has to change to mourning and our joy to sorrow, when we humble ourselves before God so that He will exalt us. This is the process of a man of God who understands the condition and plight of his country and turns to the Lord. This is a picture of a move of God through a man of God, drawing people to God. The Israelites surrounded Ezra because of his prayers and the conviction of their sins. As another example, Genesis 39:9 describes Joseph’s response to Potiphar’s wife when she attempted to seduce him. Joseph recognized that any sin would be a sin against God. In Psalm 51:4, David acknowledged his sin was against God and God alone. In 2 Corinthians 7:9–10, Paul emphasized that grieving over sin leads to repentance, and repentance leads to salvation. Conviction should produce repentance, and repentance should produce change.

Ezra 10:2–4: Shecaniah took ownership and stepped up to confess to Ezra that the people had been unfaithful to God by marrying foreign women but also maintained that there was still hope for Israel. The people would make a covenant to take action—they would send away their foreign wives and children. The Israelites’ repentance led to action. Shecaniah voiced the commitment of the Israelites to this action, but stated that they needed Ezra to get up and lead the charge (v. 4).

Ezra 10:5–6: Ezra led the priests, Levites, and people of Israel in taking an oath to send away their foreign wives and children. Ezra instructed them to do what they had said they would do, then spent the night fasting and mourning over Israel’s unfaithfulness.

Ezra 10:7–8: They issued a proclamation calling all exiles to report to Jerusalem, further stating that anyone who failed to appear would forfeit their possessions and be excluded from Israel. As these things took place, Ezra continued praying and fasting. Wiersbe describes a method that produces change.³First, you have a humble praying leader. Second, you have a willing people. Then, you have a faithful committee—the group that executes a plan of action. Why was this so important for Israel? Because God had set them apart as His special people and they needed to be in line with the Law.

Ezra 10:9–44: The men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, Ezra stood before them and urged them to confess their unfaithfulness to God and then separate themselves from their foreign wives. The people agreed to do what Ezra said. But due to the sheer number of people who had to repent and the drenching rains, they asked to be allowed to return home and report to the leaders in their towns. The Israelites did what was proposed (v. 16). The leaders began their investigation on the first day of the tenth month and finished three months later. Wiersbe and MacArthur calculated that over a hundred people were found to be offenders, which included priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and others.⁴These men agreed to send their wives away.

These were the people who were supposed to be leading others in worshipping the Lord. From this we can conclude that there is no sin that can be hidden from the Lord. Genesis 3:7–8 explained that Adam and Eve tried to cover up their sin and hide from God. In Psalm 32:3–4, David said that when he kept silent about his sins of adultery and murder, his bones became brittle from his groaning. He knew God’s hand was heavy on him so his strength drained away. When we try to hide our sin from God, it becomes a heavy burden that weighs down on us. Ultimately, God designed us to gain freedom from this burden by confessing our sins to God so He can take away our guilt (Ps 32:5–7). Did you see the switch? David went from hiding his sins to seeking God as his hiding place.

We cannot hide our sin from God. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God emphasized that He sees the heart. He always knows what is in your heart and what you’re trying to hide. Psalm 69:5 says our guilty acts are not hidden from God. Numbers 32:23 says we can be sure that our sins will catch up to us. In Luke 12:1–2, Jesus warned His disciples to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees by saying, “There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.” Romans talks about God judging the secrets of the heart. First Corinthians talks about how God brings things to the light. Proverbs 28:13 describes everything Ezra was trying to accomplish in this book. When there is sin in the camp, “The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Ezra and the Israelites needed mercy. Second Chronicles 7:14 describes what happened here. They humbled themselves and cried out to God, and He heard their prayers and healed their land.

CLOSING

First John 1:9 gives an awesome picture of how God keeps His promises through the Messiah, who is His Son, Jesus Christ. Ezra called for a time of confession and repentance. The same applies to us. When we come before the Lord in Christ and acknowledge our sins, then He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us.