Blush

Does anyone blush anymore?  Does sin make us blush or are we so desensitized that we have forgotten what it means to blush or even be embarrassed about anything anymore?  Speaking for myself I don’t remember the last time I blushed about anything but I know I have in the past.  It seems it doesn’t take long to lose your innocence with all you can see and hear today, even some by accident, with all the electronics, TV, movies, magazines and all the other things that are available today at your fingertips.  

Let me introduce you to a man of God who was a priest and a scribe, and was so committed to studying and keeping the Word of God; his name was Ezra.  He honored God with his life and he was also committed to teach God’s Word to the people in his day and help the people to understand how to put the Word of God into practice in their lives.  This man loved the Word and he loved God so much that he actually blushed over sin, can you imagine that?  He led the second group of exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Read what it says about Ezra in 7:6-10, “This Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.”

Ezra found himself in a very trying situation because the people that came out of exile had intermarried and it was forbidden for them to marry outside their own people.  Ezra stood in opposition to it because the people were not honoring God and needed to repent and separate themselves from their foreign wives.  

Read what it says in Ezra 9:1-4, “When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, ‘The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.’ So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.”

Then Ezra prayed these things to God, read verses 5-15, “At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. And I said: ‘O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!’”

Then all the people repented, after admitting their sin to God.  Then they sought how to redirect their lives, in other words, they didn’t just confess their sins but they wanted to show by their actions that they had truly repented which they did by turning from their sins.  True repentance isn’t just lip service but it is a heartfelt change in ones life, like Ezra it is being ashamed, then doing something about it!!  Something to think about!  May you have a blessed day and don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!