What shall we say after this?

Ezra 9:1-15

A good question indeed! A question that is probably long overdue to be asked by many of us. Ezra had led a remnant of Jews back to Jerusalem, after 70 yrs. of judgment in captivity for their sins. God gave them grace, a nail in his holy place, and a little reviving in their bondage, v.8. They had seen the goodness of God, and experienced mercy that was undeserved. They could have rightfully died in a strange land, but God allowed them to return home and begin to reconstruct the temple of God to worship Him again. Then the very rulers of the land led in the rebellion against the clear commands of God. The people began to join themselves in marriages with the heathen of the land. This was one of the very sins that had sent them into 70 yrs. of bondage! When Ezra uncovered the sin that was on a rampage, he fell on his face, broken and weeping, in confession before God. "What shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments", v.10. Ezra realized that they were living on borrowed time, and existing on undeserved grace, and now they were tempting God by returning to rebellion!

Are they any different than us today? Having been saved by the grace of God from a fully deserved condemnation, how often have we returned to the sin that brought us under condemnation in the first place? Alas, what shall we say after this? We who lived all of our life in bondage to sin, and should have rightfully died in the land of the devil, but God saw fit to give us His grace and a little reviving in our bondage. When we return to the deeds of the old man, we walk all over the undeserved grace of God. What shall we say after we sin? Is sin so small of a thing to simply be brushed away? Is it such a miniscule matter as to be given a seat by well crafted excuses? Is it so harmless a thing that we should coddle it as a pet? What shall we say to the God of grace? I think the only word that can rightly be uttered is the contrite confession of Ezra...."O God thou art righteous....we cannot stand before thee". May we never make a place to harbor sin.