Ezra 9 – Dealing With Sin (Pt 3)

Sin cannot simply be ignored. As we seek to move forward in our walk with God we cannot afford to simply forget about sin. It must first be acknowledged before God. As we wrestle with certain sin habits in our lives we begin by looking back and admitting to God the sin that we have committed. Having looked back, we then look down.

When we begin to see our sin as the offence to God that it is, we are moved to grief over our desecration of the nature, character, and purpose of God, for that is what sin is. Sin is not just an offence against the Law of God. Sin is not just breaking the rules of God. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The glory of God is the visible expression of the nature, character, and purpose of God. When we sin we do not fall short of God’s standards of living. We fall short of the glory of God. Sin desecrates the nature, character, and purpose of Creator God.
Recognizing that desecration – coming honestly face to face with our true brokenness and the desecration of our actions causes us to grieve over our sin. In Ezra 9 the People of God had taken foreign wives. “The holy race [had] mixed itself with the peoples of the land” (Ez 9:2). Not only had the people married outside of their people, but their leaders led them in the sin. The problem here is not mixed marriages. God is not opposed to mixed races. The problem is mixed faith systems. Every time Israel married outside of their people they adopted the religious practices of those they married. That is exactly why they had been carried into captivity in the first place, and now they were doing it again.

Ezra grieved deeply over their sin. Ezra tore his clothing, pulled his hair, and sat appalled. Notice that he pulled his hair, he didn’t shave it. A shaved head would have been a normal sign of grieving. This is more than normal grieving. This is brokenness over their sin. It has been said that alcoholics and drug addicts don’t find victory over their addictions until they hit rock bottom. That is another way of saying that they come face to face with the full depth of their brokenness and despair. That is where Ezra was. He was at rock bottom. This could not go on.

Taking a deep, honest look back at our sin, seeing the hurt, pain, and brokenness it has left behind, and recognizing the dangers of our behavior help move us to rock bottom. The problem is that with most of us, we don’t see our sin as that serious. We hide behind phrases like, “I couldn’t help myself,” or “It doesn’t hurt anyone else, it only hurts me,” of “I’m bad, but I’m not that bad.” We blame others. We blame God. We make excuses, and then we wonder why we never find victory. But an honest look at our sin moves us to hang our heads in shame.

An honest look at our sin moves us to grieve deeply, not over the consequences of our sin, but over the sin itself. Brokenness leads to grace, but the process cannot be short-circuited by attempting to jump directly to grace without realizing the brokenness first. In God’s economy victory always comes out of death. Too often we want victory, but we want to continue to live our lives. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Lk 9:23-24). Victory over sin begins with death.