In Ezra, chapter nine, verse three, Ezra’s response to grief and his prayer are a classic example of the concern and distress that all ministers of God should have when they see God’s people conforming to ungodly customs. Ezra was appalled, ashamed, and deeply saddened because of the guilt, as in verses three through six.
Ezra possessed a deep sense of the glory, righteousness, and love of God, which the people had spurned, as in verses four, eight through ten. He could not accept what the people were doing, as in verses three, five, and chapter ten, verse one.
Ezra prayed to God in humility and with tears. He linked himself with those he prayed to by referring to “our iniquities” and “our trespasses,” as in verses six through fifteen. Ezra felt the national shame and guilt more deeply than any, as in Isaiah fifty-three, verse twelve.
Ezra comprehended that God’s grace and loving-kindness, shown toward the returned remnant in reviving their hope and vision for the future, raising God’s house from the ruins and giving them a wall of protection, were now being jeopardized by the people’s disobedience to God’s Word, as in verses eight through fifteen. His acutely conscious of God’s mercy, grace, and hope to see forgiveness and restoration for the people, as in verses eight to nine and twelve through fourteen. Finally, Ezra’s remorse attracted others who “trembled at the words of the God of Israel and understood the disastrous consequences of sin for the people and their families. as in verses seven, thirteen through fifteen.
In society, as believers, we will hear many disappointing situations within our community. Whether Christians or not, when something terrible happens to someone that we may or may not know, how do we react? Are we grieved? Do we care? Our reaction will determine where our level of love is for others. Think about it.