Look What Sin Does | Ezra 10

 

We are wrapping up the last Wednesday in June as we wrap up the book of Ezra. Next month I have something fun in mind to do for the Bible studies. I hope you will enjoy it and even try to participate with me.

If you have not finished reading the last chapter of this book, please take the time to do so now. There are a lot of names listed but please do not skip over them. It is listed for a reason and we can see the big impact those names have on what has happened. As a reminder, I do not do a line by line study in this series. I am sectioning off the chapter in two parts. Let's begin.

Verses 1-11 Israel Repents

Ezra prayed. He confessed. He wept. He threw himself down at the house of God in humility. Something happens. Ezra is no longer the only one aware of the great sin and the consequences. Ezra is not alone. Men, women, and children came out in great numbers, weeping and wailing. Shechaniah confessed, "We have sinned against God." He admits taking the pagan wives was wrong but he announces that hope is not gone. There is still hope for the people of Israel. Shechaniah knew the nature of God and he comes up with a plan to get into a covenant with God and divorce all the wives they took that were not of their own nativity.

Let's sit with that for a moment. It seems cruel to rip families apart just because they were not Israeli women. In our society, we shake our heads and wag our fingers. Yet, remember God had the rule for them to only marry within the community He gave them. His rule was for the protection of His people. His rule was for the protection of His covenant with them. His rule was for the sanctity of their relationship. He is God and we are to serve Him. These women worshipped other gods and did not serve God. It cannot be both.

In today's "if it feels good, do it" society we think we can do whatever we want and live however we want with no consequences. That is simply not true. We are not to mingle with the world, and date just for fun, then get entangled in problems and drama that we could have simply avoided if we would hearken to the voice of God. Learn from the Israeli people in the book of Ezra. God has these mandates in place for a reason. It is not to exclude the world, it is to protect His children.

Divorce is common in our American culture today. In the Old Testament times it was not so. This suggestion for a massive dissolution of marriages was unheard of! This drastic measure gives us a glimpse of what desperation the people must have felt. Not only were the wives sent away, but their children were sent away as well. Sin never impacts one person. What one person does, good or bad, will always impact others. We must think before we act. There is too much at stake. 

For more clarification and education, I am going to quote some notes straight from my study Bible. "The Christian is not to leave an unbelieving spouse but rather to live in a manner that may win that spouse to the faith (1 Cor. 7:12-16; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). At the same time, the Bible warns the believer not to enter marriage with an unbeliever for one of the reasons that the Jews were not to do so--because it can weaken the faith of the believer. What is valuable and essential to a believer cannot be shared with an unbelieving spouse (see Neh. 10, Interfaith Marriage; 2 Cor. 6, Husbands). 

Sin is not pretty. I wish more churches would preach and teach on what sin is, how ugly things get when we choose to sin, and the real consequences of what we jeopardize when we disobey God's law. Jesus did not do away with the law. He came to fulfill the law and so we must not believe that God's law is no longer effective. Christian brothers and sisters, it is time to take sin seriously. Let's find the roots in our own lives and ask God to help us get rid of it. We cannot continue in sin just because God's grace is bountiful. Rather, let's turn away from doing those things that are wrong and sinful. 

Verses 12-44 Putting Away Wives

In verse 12, the congregation is unified in their decision to divorce their wives and send them away with their children. They must have all felt sad and great regret. All of the damage to these women and children would never have happened if they would have obeyed God in the first place. 

As usual with most sinful situations, it is complicated and multi-faceted. Now, the people have another issue to deal with. It's the rainy season and there are so many people that this cannot be done in just a couple of days. They see now how big this sin problem really is. The solution? They appointed officials to represent the people. Anyone who married a foreign wife would come at a set time with the elders and judges of their city and the process would continue until the unholy unions were dissolved and God was no longer angry with the people.

From verse 20-43 we read names of families and see the plural word: sons. Verse 44 says, "All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children." The book ends there.

Let that sink in. Marriages were destroyed. Families were destroyed. Sin caused the destruction. Who do you think enticed them that the grass was greener on the other side? The devil! He is a thief that only comes to steal, kill, and destroy according to John 10:10. We must be careful. The devil is clever, but God did not leave us to fend for ourselves. His Word, the Holy Bible is here for us to learn from. He tells us everything we need to know. Friends, life is an open BOOK test! We are without excuse. Let's be careful moving forward to not let pride, envy, greed, lust, or the love of money to rule our hearts. Instead let's operate in the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians teaches us that when we do so, there is no law to prevent us from being loving, kind, patient, gentle, faithful.... Let's walk with God and be aware of what we are allowing in our lives.

You may say, "Bridgett, I'm not living in sin. I am not married outside of God's will." That's great! But, there may be hidden sins we must ask God to reveal to us. Sin comes in many forms. It can be that we want what others have. FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out has been a driving force for people to go into debt to obtain things they do not need to impress people they do not like. Let's be real! We have enough stuff! What are we watching? If we are watching movies, tv programs, news, infomercials, or follow accounts of people who are always buying more stuff, we will soon want more stuff. Whatever we keep before our eyes, sooner or later will materialize. Trust and believe that!

What kind of music do we listen to? Songs about cheating and people leaving their husbands or wives, destroying other people's property, killing, and worse... those messages get into the minds of those who listen and before you know it, you begin to act out in ways that reflect what you listen to. Where do you go? Are you watching movies that have profanity and sex scenes? How is that honoring God? I am not saying stop up your ears, close your eyes, be a hermit, and never live in the real world. The Bible says in the words of Jesus, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:18,19) We are not of the world when we have been blood bought by Jesus. If you accepted Him as your Savior then you do not belong to the world. You won't ever fit in like the rest. You were made to stand out so you can be a light and a witness to the world about how good and wonderful God is.

Jesus loves us so much He died for us. He hated sin so much because He knew what it would do to us. Look what it did to Him when He took our sins upon Himself? The good news is there is not a sin that is too big or too bad for Jesus's blood to cover. He paid it all. He paid a debt that was not His and He does not ask us to pay Him back. He just wants us to love Him and serve Him and be obedient. When we do what He says we are not being restricted; we are being protected! 

David says in Psalms 139: 23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." We can pray the same thing. He will do it!

We can learn so much from the men and women in the Old Testament. I did not even do an in-depth study of this book this time and yet there was so much to glean from it. In Romans 15:4 it reads, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." The things we read in the Bible are for us to learn from. When we practice the ways of righteousness, we develop patience and find comfort in the Scriptures. That comfort gives us hope that we, too, can overcome. I know the men that were estranged from their wives were never the same. They may have thought about fun times they had with their ex-wives, favorite meals they cooked, or memories they made with their children. We, like Moses, can choose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25). It may seem fun for a while to embrace the world and follow their example, but the end is destruction and we will suffer the consequences.

I hope you have enjoyed this study. It has been a sobering study and honestly I never expected to get this much from one book. It is incredible the encouragement and lessons packed into ten short chapters. I pray that something I have shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Armor Up | Wednesday Bible Study

When I was growing up, we used to sing a song at church that went like this:

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down 'til He comes.

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down 'til He comes.

I remember singing that song and really listening to the words. The armor is the full armor of God. It was a catchy, upbeat chorus. I believe now that God was using that song to sow seeds into my heart that I should not lay my armor down. Now in this season of my life I can understand that much better.

God has always enabled His people to fight to win. In the Old Testament there are numerous passages of where God told the men in charge to go forward and He would fight for them. When they obeyed Him they were victorious. In the New Testament we are given instructions on how to apply the full armor of God so we can stand against the schemes of the devil. When we are in the full armor we are victorious.

The one thing the Bible does not tell us is when it is okay to take the armor off. From Genesis to Revelation you will never find a time that tells us it is okay to lay our armor down. In the natural, after a battle, the men would take their armor off and put it away until they needed it again. In the supernatural, we have to put on the full armor of God, not just one or two pieces, but fully suit up for battle and we are never to take it off. We have to be ready because the devil knows his time is short so he is not going to take a break from trying to discourage us from serving God.

REVELATION 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

We read Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus and we are warned in chapter five to walk cautiously as wise men and women taking back our time because the time we live in is evil. It was true then and it is even more true today. We have to take back our time because we are allowing the enemy to distract us and cause us to watch videos, movies, news programs, and social media posts that are taking our eyes off of Jesus and onto the state of the world around us. We can get so discouraged and frustrated, and even become fearful when we look at what is going on around us. It's time we take back our time and we use it to further the Kingdom of God. It's time we start using our gifts and talents to help encourage one another and lift each other up. Let's stop looking at what is happening around us and feeling defeated. We can see the evil and pray for God to shine bright in the darkness through you and me.

EPHESIANS 5:15-17 (15)See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, (16)Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17)Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Paul finishes his letter in Ephesians chapter six with detailed instructions of how to fight the good fight of faith. We are given the instruction, the reason, and detailed instructions of what piece of armor goes where. Today we are going to take a closer look at the full armor of God because it is so important to know why we have each piece. None of the armor is outdated or obsolete. We need every single piece as much today, if not more than they did in the time Paul penned this letter.

EPHESIANS 6:10-20 (10)Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. (11)Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12)For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (13)Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14)Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (15)And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16)Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (17)And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: (18)Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (19)And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, (20)For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

As we break this passage down, let's first start out with drawing strength from God. He is the source of our strength. In Nehemiah 8:10 it says the joy of the LORD is our strength. We get joy of the LORD when we are in His presence. The Bible says in Psalm 16:11 in the presence of God is fullness of joy! We draw strength from God when we are in His presence. That is the first part of suiting up is being in His presence. The first part of getting prepared for the battle is laying at the feet of Jesus and growing strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is not our own strength. Remember how God told Gideon to go in his own strength? He did not say that Gideon would be successful in his own strength, but he had to go. He had to start doing the thing God wanted him to do. He had to be obedient and then Gideon found strength in God alone. The same is true for you and me. We are to say yes to the call and willingly go where He tells us to go but we can never do it alone. God doesn't expect us to. That is why lesson #1 in how to suit up for battle is drawing strength from God when we are submerged in His presence.

In verse 11, Paul explains why we need to wear the entire armor of God. He tells us that in order to be successful, we have to know why we are suiting up in the first place. So that we may be able to stand against everything the devil throws at us. He is going to sling discouragement, slander, hatred, jealousy, envy, wrath, strife, mistrust, anxiety, and fear at us to prevent us from reaching toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14) There is a God and there is a devil. There is a heaven and there is a hell. If someone does not believe that, nothing changes. There is still a God and there is still a devil. There is still a heaven and there is still a hell. We will be fought hard if we are in the Lord's Army, but we will win every single battle. We will be victorious every single time. Why? Because God fights our battles. We must be obedient, standing firm in the full armor, and trusting God completely.

Sometimes we find ourselves at war with one another. In our culture today you have different camps. Some are liberal, some conservative, others somewhere in the middle. Some vote for one party, another for another party, and yet others for independent. There are those who believe all humans are created equal in the image of God and others who believe they are superior because of what color they are, where they were born, if they have money, and other ridiculous reasons. We do not war with one another. It is not black vs white; rich vs poor; skinny vs fat; nerdy vs athletic. We do not fight against flesh and blood. The person who makes us so angry we could spit nails is not really the problem! The enemy at work in their life is the problem. We are in a spiritual battle and that will never change until Jesus comes back in His glory to wage war against the prince of darkness and Jesus will prevail! Whose side are you on? I am on the Lord's side.

Verse 12 explains the enemy is at work in principalities. What is that? Rulers of the darkness. This is not some sci-fi movie script. These are real forces at work and according to Darby's Bible Synopsis they possess an evil energy that has mastery over those who do not know how to resist it. Brothers and sisters this is why it is imperative that we take this seriously. We can be deceived and enslaved if we are not aware of who the real enemy is.

The powers and spiritual wickedness in high places refers to the heavenly realm in which they reside. God does permit these evil forces to be at work at times, but remember God is good all the way through. There is no evil in Him (Psalm 92:15) and so He will work all these bad things for our good for His children according to Romans 8:28. But we have to be suited up and ready for these wicked attacks.

God wants us to do everything we can to stand in the evil time. He says after you have done all you can, stand! Standing is not a light assignment. Have you ever stood for a long time? It is physically fatiguing to stand for a long period of time. Your legs start aching. You get tired. Your back can start to hurt as your posture changes and shoulders slump. It is not easy to stand. But God gives us the strength we need! (Psalm 121:2, 7-8)

To have your loins girt about with truth is to wear truth like a belt. The loins are on the right and left sides of spinal column, below the "false" ribs and the hip bones. The belt is symbolic because when a belt is secured, in our society today it holds up clothing. So there is security in having truth surrounding us, but it's more than just that. In the Roman soldier's attire it was a place to hang their sword. We haven't talked about the sword yet, but the belt of truth is a place to hold up the truth of God's Word. It needs to be secure around the waist, not hanging loosely. We cannot grab hold of any version of truth the world throws at us. We must be like those in Berea. Acts 17:11 says they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily, They were taking everything they heard and holding it up to the reflection of God's Word to see if there was truth in what they heard. We have to do that! We must do that!

Before verse 14 ends we see that we need the breastplate of righteousness to go with our belt. Why is a breastplate important and what is the righteousness we need to cover ourselves with? A breastplate covers the chest. It is protecting a vital organ, the heart. When we cover our chest we protect our source of life; we protect our emotions; we protect our feelings. It is multifaceted and not to be discarded. Do not think the breastplate is of no value. We must wear the righteousness of God over our heart. We are to protect our heart because out of it flow the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23) As we follow after righteousness we find life (Proverbs 21:21). When we believe in God it is accounted to us as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Romans 10:10) When we believe in God, and trust Him to be our Redeemer, our Lord, our Savior, we are guarding our hearts. This is a place the devil loves to attack us. We get hurt feelings. The seat of our emotions, where we can hold a grudge, harbor unforgiveness, lose courage, feel defeated, is the one area the devil targets us every single time. If we are not covered by our identity in Christ Jesus we are an open target! Satan's lies have no effect on a heart set on God's truth.

Next verse says to put on our spiritual shoes prepared with the gospel of peace. We are called to be peacemakers. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." If it is possible, we must take the characteristics of God and live at peace with everyone. That is hard but it is possible. We need to wear shoes in battle. We have to protect our feet that will carry us to the mission field God has prepared for us. If our feet are unprotected we will get blisters and sores and cuts. We will not be able to walk far, then we will start hobbling along, and before we know it we are sitting on the sidelines nursing wounds we would never have been subject to if we were prepared with feet coverings. When we expose ourselves to the culture of our times and we are not under the protective armor of God we will get hurt and wounded and damaged. We will be sitting on the sidelines wondering why we ever tried in the first place. Daughters and sons of God get up! This is no time to quit. Get your fire back. Bandage the wounds, let the Holy Spirit pour His healing salve into the wounds and put your shoes on! The fight is on! How do we get those shoes on? Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Jesus said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." We are kept in perfect peace when our minds are on God. I can't stop thinking about God. He is always on my mind. We commune throughout the day. I walk in perfect peace. I have troubles and trials but I am at peace. The armor is not to prevent the battles, it is to prepare you for the battles.

Verse 16 says above all the other pieces of armor, you really need to take the shield of faith with you. It is with faith that we are protected from fiery darts of the wicked one. Fiery darts sounds painful and they are! You will know when you have been hit with a fiery dart of the devil. If you have no faith and you are not holding up the shield, you will get hit hard and it will be felt! Those darts are painful because they are meant to keep you from ever having faith in God. The fiery darts are memories of how your childhood was; reminders of how it felt to be reprimanded in front of others in the office; the shame of the area you compromised. On and on it goes, friends, to discourage us and defeat us. It is the painful regrets and bitter memories of the past that haunts us and holds us back. The chains clamp tight around our wrists and we are limited in what we can do. Don't doubt God. Don't look at the situation. Look at what God said about it. Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)

The shield of faith will quench ALL of the fiery darts of the wicked one. It does not say it will extinguish the big ones, or the small ones, or a few of them....it clearly says, "wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." That is why no weapon formed against us shall prosper. (Isaiah 54:17) Faith is the shield because we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). The salvation of God protects us. How do we get faith? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Read the Word of God. Let that Word come alive in your heart. Let the Word guide your steps. Let it lead you and direct you in the way you should go. Allow it to empower you to make good decisions. It is God's Word that changes us.

Verse 17 gives us the helmet of salvation. The helmet is protecting your brain, your thought process, your mind, your way of thinking, your judgment, your decisions, your ideas, your creativity. Do you see how important this is? Do not leave the helmet off. Do not think you can go a day without it. It is too important to miss. This is the devil's favorite playground...the mind. He can start twisting your thoughts, messing with your imagination, magnifying problems that are not that serious, and causing you to doubt the things you have learned about God. If the devil sees us without our helmet on, we are in trouble! He is coming hard for us because if he can control our minds he can control our destiny. He will change our direction and we will follow him straight into the flames of hell. Do not be deceived. The helmet of salvation is truly that. It is the protection of your mind reminding you that you are redeemed, you are blood-bought, purchased of God, and you are victorious in Christ Jesus. When we slip off our helmet for a moment, we are at risk of being hit with a bullet from the enemy. Now you can see why we must never take off the armor of God. Safeguard your thoughts. Romans 12:2 says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

In the same verse, we get our only defensive weapon. Now we are introduced to the sword of the Spirit. This is the drop-kick to the devil that we have at our disposal 24/7. It is effective 100% of the time to defeat the enemy. It is the Word of God. In the wilderness, after Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was tempted of the devil. He was told of all the things He could get if He would compromise, bow down, give in, lower His standards. Three times He was tempted, and three times Jesus answered: IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! (Matthew 4:1-11) We have the same weapon. It is irreplaceable. It is indestructible. It never fails. It never loses power. It is a sure-fire way to win against the powers of darkness every single time, in every single battle you face. We can grab our spiritual sword, which is the Word of God, and defeat the devil every time!!!!

As we bring this Bible study to a close, we finish Paul's letter in verses 18-20 telling us to pray in the Spirit and watch without giving up. We must be praying and asking God to help us and to help others and then with expectancy be looking for the answer. We must believe God can do the BIG, the HARD, and the IMPOSSIBLE things for us. Nothing is too hard for God! (Jeremiah 32:27) (Mark 10:27)

We are to boldly speak the truth of God's Word. We will offend some. The goal is not to be offensive, but God's Word is going to offend some people. God's Word holds us to a much higher standard than the world has and when others see what we are doing, it makes them uncomfortable to be around us. When we choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, it creates an atmosphere where others look at their own lives and if they are not hitting the mark, they can get upset with us for doing the right thing. How often has someone watched us politely decline something that does not align with our values and their response is, "Well, it's not that bad." "There's not that much cussing." "It's not going to hurt anything." We need to ask ourselves, "What does God's Word say about it? What would Jesus think? Can this hurt my witness and my testimony?" Let's start standing up for what we know is right and true and good. We do not need to feel bad for making righteous choices.

Verse 20 says we are ambassadors for God. We are the lights, the living testimonies of God's truth. We are to light up the darkness and shine bright so others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) That is our mission! That is our goal. We should be unashamed in our walk with the Master. We are not cast-aways. We are not disposable. We have great worth. We are children of the Most High God. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and we are sanctified by Him. Our sanctification is a life-long process. We won't get it right every day, but we can keep trying. God offers grace and mercy and His wonderful love and forgiveness. We can strive to be perfect but we know we will fall short. Everyone does! (Romans 3:23)

Friends, rejoice in knowing that we are in a winning battle! We have God on our side. He has given us perfect armor and God recently reminded my friend that His armor does not fail! We can see that when we have the full armor of God on us, we will live a life of victory and not defeat. We can hold our heads up high. We cannot ever take off the armor of God until we are in the presence of our Savior and King and it is no longer required. I'm singing it now:

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down,

Ain't gonna lay my armor down 'til He comes! 

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down

Ain't gonna lay my armor down 'til He comes! 

I'm gonna keep on fighting sin!

I'm gonna keep on fighting sin!

I'm gonna keep on fighting sin 'til He comes!

I'm gonna keep on fighting sin! 

I'm gonna keep on fighting sin! 

I'm gonna keep on fighting sin 'til He comes!"

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens