Sat.’s Devo - Righting their Wrongs

Read: Ezra 10:1-44; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 21:3 As Ezra was interceding and weeping over the sins of the nation, other people joined him. Shecaniah came to him and confessed that they had been unfaithful to God for marrying pagan women of the land. He came up with a plan for them to divorce them and asked Ezra to help them in doing this. *** Ezra got up off his knees and demanded that the people and the priests swear that they would do this. When they did he got up and went to the room of Jehohanan, the priest and spent the night fasting. *** A proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should come to Jerusalem within three days. If them didn’t they would forfeit all their property and be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. *** All the people came on the twelfth day of the ninth month. It was December so it was cold and raining. They stood outside while Ezra told them their sin. They agreed to repent and divorce their wives and separate themselves from their pagan women. They worked on this for the next three months. By the first day of the first month they had completed it. The fourteenth day of that month would be Passover. *** In Corinthians, Paul told them how to handle disputes among believers. They were not to file legal lawsuits against other believers but handle it in the church. It is a terrible witness to the world when Christians sue one another. *** Paul even went on to tell them to let them cheat you because God is the one who judges in the end. The guilty ones will not inherit the Kingdom of God. *** Paul was especially strong in his preaching against sexual sins since this was a sin against your own body that was suppose to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. That was why Ezra was so upset that they had married pagan women. When we are joined to God, we are one spirit with him and we should have no other gods. *** Lord, may we honor you with our bodies. May we rid ourselves of wrong thoughts and anything that robs us from our inheritance with Christ.