Ezra 5:5-9 – The need for true repentance

Those returnees did not correct a very serious disregard they had for God regarding not marrying foreigners. They continued to violate the warning of Deuteronomy 7:1-6. They did not separate themselves from “the peoples of the land, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.” They took foreign women to be their wives and even had their sons marry them as well. By allowing intermarriage with the foreigners that God clearly warned them not to, they had unwittingly adulterated their race. What made it worst was the fact that the leaders were not only complicit but were also the prime culprits in this matter. When Ezra was told the whole contempt, he was not only widely bewildered but also deeply saddened.  

Ezra was driven to his knees to humbly seek the forgiveness of God on his people’s behalf. He began with confession in Ezra 9:6-7. Though he was not guilty of the offense he identified with his people.  He felt the shame of what his people had done and in humiliation, he deemed himself unworthy to face God. Ezra saw how the nation had not learned from God’s dealing. Since the early days, the whole nation from kings to priests to ordinary people had shown contempt for Him. Despite being dealt severely with needless wars, captivity plunders, and shame, they had not learned.

In Ezra 9:8-9, Ezra clearly acknowledged the grace of God in their present situation. God did not totally disregard them but granted them a new lease of grace even while they were in bondage. The remnant who returned was God’s way of showering His mercy and opening their eyes to His grace. Unworthy as they were, God did not forsake them. He extended His mercy and granted them favor with the kings that allowed them to return to their homeland to rebuild the ruin in the temple and in the wall of Jerusalem in Judah.

There is much for us to learn from Ezra’s repentance and confession on the nation’s behalf. Though he was not guilty, he identified with the sin of the people. To be effective intercessors, there is a need for us to identify with the sin of the people. This will cause us not to come to God with a haughty spirit and feel superior to the people whom we are praying for. There is a need to rightly appraise what led up to the condition so that God’s grace could be fully appreciated. Awareness will always help us to pray more aptly. Then there must be a recognition of the marvelous grace of God, without which we will be trapped in our misery forever.