God Calls For Justice: Justice Enacted
Praise for God's Justice
Ezra 9:10-15
The Message
10-12
"And now, our God, after all this what can we say for ourselves? For we
have thrown your commands to the wind, the commands you gave us through
your servants the prophets. They told us, 'The land you're taking over
is a polluted land, polluted with the obscene vulgarities of the people
who live there; they've filled it with their moral rot from one end to
the other. Whatever you do, don't give your daughters in marriage to
their sons nor marry your sons to their daughters. Don't cultivate their
good opinion; don't make over them and get them to like you so you can
make a lot of money and build up a tidy estate to hand down to your
children.'
13-15 "And now this, on top of all we've already suffered because of our evil ways and accumulated guilt, even though you, dear God, punished us far less than we deserved and even went ahead and gave us this present escape. Yet here we are, at it again, breaking your commandments by intermarrying with the people who practice all these obscenities! Are you angry to the point of wiping us out completely, without even a few stragglers, with no way out at all? You are the righteous God of Israel. We are, right now, a small band of escapees. Look at us, openly standing here, guilty before you. No one can last long like this."
13-15 "And now this, on top of all we've already suffered because of our evil ways and accumulated guilt, even though you, dear God, punished us far less than we deserved and even went ahead and gave us this present escape. Yet here we are, at it again, breaking your commandments by intermarrying with the people who practice all these obscenities! Are you angry to the point of wiping us out completely, without even a few stragglers, with no way out at all? You are the righteous God of Israel. We are, right now, a small band of escapees. Look at us, openly standing here, guilty before you. No one can last long like this."
For Reflection
What
kind of advice is this for living in our modern world? Does it really
call for separating ourselves in some cult-like way from the temptations
of modern culture?
Not necessarily, but, we do live in a polluted land full of obscene vulgarities. Corruption of morality abound just as they always have. If taken metaphorically, the advice against intermarriage is potent. When we accept or rationalize even minor amoralities we succumb to the tyranny of common wisdom. God-centered wisdom is sometimes challenged by cultural-centered wisdom. How do you tell the difference? When the option to choose God-centered wisdom is difficult, how do you respond? How married are you to cultural wisdom?
Not necessarily, but, we do live in a polluted land full of obscene vulgarities. Corruption of morality abound just as they always have. If taken metaphorically, the advice against intermarriage is potent. When we accept or rationalize even minor amoralities we succumb to the tyranny of common wisdom. God-centered wisdom is sometimes challenged by cultural-centered wisdom. How do you tell the difference? When the option to choose God-centered wisdom is difficult, how do you respond? How married are you to cultural wisdom?
Pray
that
you will have the wisdom and courage to live in this world and not to
be corrupted by it. Pray for God-centered wisdom so you may live
righteously in the light of God's grace.
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