Mon’s Devo - Dealing With Sin -

Read: Ezra 8:21-9:15; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; Psalm 31:1-8; Proverbs 21:1-2 Before Ezra led his people to Jerusalem, he called a fast to pray for their safe journey. They would be traveling four months through unsafe territory and were carrying tons of silver and pounds of gold. He was ashamed to ask for the king’s soldiers to accompany them because he had told the king that God’s hand of protection was on all who worship him. Now he had to live his words. Ezra appointed 12 leaders of the priests to be in charge of the gold and silver. It was their job to get the gold and silver to the priests in Jerusalem to be weighed there. They left three days before Passover and arrived in Jerusalem safely. They rested three days then took the gold and silver and had it weighed at the Temple. Nothing had been taken. The exiles sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord and presented 12 bulls, 96 rams, and 77 male lambs. They also offered 12 male goats as a sin offering. They told the highest officers and governors what he king had told them concerning the Temple. Man of the Jewish leaders gave them reports about the sins of the people and even some of the priests. They had intermarried with the people in the land and had joined in their idol worship. The holy race had been polluted. This meant that the human race had once again mingled its DNA with other than human DNA. The Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites had demonic blood in them. That is why they worshipped demons. When Ezra heard this, he tore his cloak and shirt, pulled hair from his head and beard and sat down utterly shocked. This was a big deal! The people who felt the same as he did came and sat with him. He stayed there until the time of the evening sacrifice. Then he fell to his knees and lifted his hands to the Lord and prayed. He repented for the whole Jewish race. God had chosen Abraham’s line to set apart as a family and a people unto himself but at every turn, they chose to go back into sin. In God’s unfailing love, God refused to give up on them. God had revived them to rebuild the Temple and repair its ruins, yet once again, they had abandoned God’s commands. They had been told not to let their daughters marry the sons of the heathen or take their daughters as wives for their sons. They were not to promote the peace and prosperity of the other nations, yet they had done all of these things. Ezra repented and prayed for mercy for his people, knowing that they didn’t deserve it. Paul found out the same things going on in the church in Corinth. He was hearing reports of sexual immorality among the church members. A man in the church was living in sin with his stepmother. The church was proud of their acceptance of him when they should have been rebuking him and removing him from their fellowship. To approve of someone’s sin allows them to keep doing it. To address it and discipline it brings it to the light so the person has to make the decision whether to repent or keep sinning. Paul told them exactly what they needed to do. They should call a meeting and throw the man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sin nature will be destroyed and he will be saved in the day of the Lord. Paul makes it clear that as Christians we are not to condone other Christians who live in sin. We are to remove the sin in our spiritual family. The people we are not to judge is the world. They don’t have the spirit of Christ in them so they have no obligation or responsibility to obey God’s laws. We are to love them and let our light shine in their lives so they can see Christ and repent. Lord, may we keep unspotted from the world in the midst of such uncleanness. Help us to walk as lambs among wolves and let our light shine. Thank you for this great outpouring of your Holy Spirit that is coming to our nation.