Taught by Janet R.
Notes by Linda G.
Today Janet covered chapter 9 of Ezra. She opened the class by asking the class a question: “How many of you have found yourself (or someone you know) in an environment that was so despicable that you (or they) didn’t know what to do?”. Many of the women offered instances of people they knew who were in such situations. These answers set the scene to what we will see in Ezra 9.
“After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness" “(Ezra 9:1-2).
Janet then asked the question : “Have you ever been in a situation where you know God has told you something from His word and you then see a believer who is not doing as God commanded?”. She then asked: “What do you do about it?”. A discussion followed in the class. Two observations stuck with me. One woman said that you need to pray about it, seek God through His Word, and be led by the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to convict. Another said that you should make sure that the person with whom you are speaking truly knows that you love them. It is not so much that you do love them, but they need to know this. If someone truly knows that you love them they will likely receive the message.
Ezra 9:2 describes the situation Ezra was facing “They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness”. In the next verse we see that Ezra was broken by what he had seen. “When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled” (Ezra 9:3).
Ezra 9:6-15 is Ezra’s plea to the Lord on behalf of himself and his people. Janet pointed out that Ezra prayed with true humility. “O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens “(Ezra 9:6). She mentioned it is so easy for us to point the finger at someone else and their sin, yet Ezra did not separate himself from the sin of the people. He cried out to the Lord. Janet asked the rhetorical questions: “Do we cry out to the Lord?, “Are our hearts burdened by the sin in our land?”.
It should be noted that Ezra was burdened by what he had seen in the church. He wasn’t crying out on behalf of the multitudes but on behalf of the Lord’s own Chosen People. This is something to think about.
Janet encouraged us all to pray over those in leadership over us. She suggested we pray for our pastors, the President, our bosses, our mayors and our Governor.
The following are admonitions that Janet closed the class with:
*We have to start doing what God says.
*Have we cried out to God for the things we need release from?
*Have we cried out and interceded for other?
*Do we cry out daily to be led by the Holy Spirit?
*Are we asking more and being thankful less?
*Is God controlling my thoughts?
*Am I persevering in prayer?
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