In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken your commandments, which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which you go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever”, and in chapter nine and verse thirteen of Ezra, Ezra said, “after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds”, where we read,
And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this;
The verse reads, “And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, ...” Ezra began with the words, “and after all is come upon us” which means “and following each, every, the whole and everything that happened to us, Ezra and the people of Israel” “for our evil deeds” or “on behalf of our, Ezra and the people of Israel's, bad, disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant and wicked acts, undertakings, enterprises and works”, “and for our great trespass” which means “and on behalf of our, Ezra and the people of Israel's, abundant, intense and exceedingly massive guiltiness, offense, sin and wrong-doing”. Ezra referred to the punishment that came upon the people of Israel because of their exceedingly massive guilt and wrong-doing.
The verse continues, “... seeing that you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this;” Ezra added the words, “seeing that you our God” which means “because indeed and certainly you, Jehovah God, the Supreme Deity” “have punished us” which means “restrained, held back and kept in check for us, Ezra and the people of Israel” “less than our iniquities deserve” or “an amount lower and smaller than our, Ezra and the people of Israel's, depravities, guilt and wicked acts should receive”, “and have given us” which means “and have granted, bestowed and assigned to us, Ezra and the people of Israel” “such deliverance as this” or “escape and salvation similar and in likeness to the rescue from Persia to Jerusalem”. Ezra referred to the way Jehovah God kept them in check in a manner that was smaller than what they should have received, and He granted them a rescue like their escape from Babylon.
When we think through the words in this verse, we see how Ezra referred to the judgment that fell upon the people of Israel because they had forsaken Jehovah God and His ways. God sent them into captivity for seventy years because of their disobedience and violation of His law, and Ezra said their “punishment” was smaller than they deserved. Ezra noted the rescue that Jehovah God gave them from Babylon through the kings of Persia, and although they were in the wrong, God was gracious to them. God loves the people of Israel, and He loves us too. We have sinned against Him, and the punishment we have received is less than we deserve, but for this reason God sent His Son Jesus into the world to receive our punishment and to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we believe and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us recognize what a great salvation we have obtained. (See Hebrews 2:3)
Next time Ezra asks, “should we again break your commandments?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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