Rules Are Made FOR the Broken

“Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (1Tim 1:9-10).

Rules were made to be broken. Come on, even the most goody-goody types among us feels that way many times. I admit it. Too often it seems like laws and regulations are just the Man trying to keep me down. To keep me from having fun. To keep me from getting to work on time when leaving from home ten minutes late. Just the idea of somebody trying to tell me what to do suddenly gives me the urge to do just the opposite. I’m sure that’s never happened to you.

Here in a letter to his buddy Timothy, Paul wants him to know that God’s rules aren’t for the rule followers. “Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and the sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v9-10). God is NOT trying to harsh your mellow. He gives us His law in order to show us how badly we need a Savior. His rules weren’t made to be broken. His rules are made FOR the broken.

Let’s take a moment and set the scene. Tim is in Ephesus, a large port city on the west coast of what we know today as Turkey. This place is a real cultural, racial, and religious melting pot. The apostle and his posse planted a church there a few years back (Acts 19). It was a whole scene. A huge fight at the local synagogue where rabbis gave Paul the boot. The man from Tarsus sets up shop for two years at a local meeting hall in order tell everyone who will listen about Jesus. The Gospel rolled through the city like a tsunami. Even the apostle’s hankies cured diseases! There’s a crazy story about seven exorcist wannabes trying to get in on the action and then getting their tail kicked by demon. The Good News was bad news for the occult. One day everyone who turned to Christ for salvation burned all of their magic books. Things really got wild when the Gospel had a huge economic impact on the local idol-making industry. We’re talking Ferguson-like riots. 

Fast forward about 15 years later. Paul is finally out of prison after 5 years of being held on trumped up charges. He’s back on the road around the Mediterranean Rim planting more churches and telling people about the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee. He’s handpicked his sidekick Timothy to pastor what is now a megachurch in the big port city (1Tim 1:3). But it’s anything but smooth sailing. A team of spiritual con artists are stirring up trouble in the church. It’s Tim’s job to shut them up and shut them down (1Tim 1:3-7). These false teachers are completely misusing the Bible to bully believers. Chances are they were peddling a false gospel and telling folks that Jesus may have gotten them into God’s kingdom but it’s up to them to stay in. You’ve got to follow the rules. You’ve got to check all the boxes. One false move and God is just waiting to zap you with a lightning bolt for your disobedience. I’m sure you’ve had the displeasure of running into some of these same kind of religious law enforcement officers in your life too. Talk about police brutality!

Paul tells Tim, “Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (1Tim 1:8). Clearly the false teachers are NOT using God’s rules and regs in the right way. Not in the way Paul and Tim use it. The apostle goes on to write, “The law is not laid down for the just” (v9). In other words, if you think you don’t need Jesus, He won’t ever come to your rescue. Dr. Luke tells the story about how Christ tells a bunch of self-righteous religious thugs, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:31-32). John Burke likes to say that no perfect people are allowed in the church. The so-called perfect people don’t understand the real purpose of God’s law. They’re working a system of self-salvation. They are their own judge. They personally set the standard for what it means to be good and what it takes to be saved.

The apostle wants us to know without a doubt that the purpose of God’s law is to diagnose and reveal our sin. I might think I’m doing pretty stinkin’ great. I believe I’m a good person. Then suddenly I hold my life up to God’s perfect standard. It’s readily apparent I have sinned by omission and commission. Oh, I might do a decent job for a while, but Scripture eventually shines a spotlight on my crimes and misdemeanors. And it’s everywhere I look. Old Testament. New Testament. Ten Commandments. Sermon on the Mount. If my situation’s not desperate enough, then I read this. “For all who rely under the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them’” (Gal 3:10; Dt 27:26). Even Jesus’ kid brother if I simply fail to keep one little law, I break the whole book (James 2:10). If I’m not 100% perfect in my obedience, I’ve completely failed. God gives us His rules to drop us to our knees. His commands don’t save. They don’t even come close. They diagnose. They don’t heal. They drive us to get help. You see, God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

Meanwhile back in Paul’s letter to Tim, the man from Tarsus lets his protege just who’s to be on the receiving end of God’s law. “For the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (v9-10). Well, that’s quite a roster. Looks like it might be a description of some sort of evil team of super villains like the Suicide Squad. 

The first six in the list all travel in pairs. According to John MacArthur, these dastardly duos describe direct sin against God mentioned in the first half of the Ten Commandments (Ex 10:1-8). The rest of the gang basically tick off the remaining rules in God’s Top Ten one by one. Is there really any reason to go through each one of them? Didn’t think so. Oh, did you see yourself anywhere in the list? Look again. As they say on the surveys, “Check all that apply.” If you’re like me, you’ll probably find yourself checking more than one box. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing. A VERY good thing. Because God’s law drives us to our knees. It breaks us and points us to the Good News. God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

There are a couple of GREAT stories from the life of Jesus that explain this idea. After Christ saves a Jewish traitor named Levi and makes him a disciple named Matthew, a bunch of religious bullies get their undies in a bundle when they see our Savior partying with some unsavory characters. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk 5:31). Once we’ve been diagnosed by God’s law, we realize we’re very, very sick. Otherwise, we don’t have a clue about the cancer of sin that’s ravaging our body. God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

A little later in Dr. Luke’s biography of Jesus, the Son of God says did you hear the one about the Pharisee and the tax collector who walk into the temple (Lk 18:9-14)? As a superstar in the Jewish faith, the Pharisee thinks he can save himself. He’s got this thing knocked. He has the gall to look around and compare himself to the rest of the rabble who’ve come to worship. In comparison to the creeps in this crowd, he’s an absolute rock star. Not so fast, my friend. Jesus points out someone over in the corner who’s easy to miss. It’s a tax collector. The Jewish people consider these folks so filthy that they classify them as a special kind of sinner. But Christ says take a closer look at what culture calls a scumbag. The dude is so broken that he can’t look up. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk 18:13). Jesus makes it clear that of the two, the tax collector understands that God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

God’s law will reveal the disease of my sin, but His Gospel is the ultimate miracle drug. Maybe you think you’re too far gone if you find yourself on that list. You’re not alone. Check out Paul’s letter to one of the craziest collections of Christians the world has ever seen. It’s the church in Corinth. He not only runs down God’s “do not save” list, but then adds a crazy twist at the end. Check it out. “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1Cor 6:19-11). Did you catch that? “And such WERE some of you” (1Cor 6:11 emphasis added). Past tense. They used to be. That’s before God’s grace turned everything around. His Gospel is a game changer. 

If you haven’t figure it out yet, we’re ALL on that list. We just haven’t realized it yet. Take a look around. Who do you see? Every single person out there has fallen short of God’s perfect standard (Rom 3:9-10, 23). Now take a look at the person in the mirror. Yeah, I’m talking to you. You and I are no exception. God’s law sets the bar so incredibly high that none of us are able to meet it. Not you. And certainly not me. The law of God makes it obvious that I’m horribly broken. We desperately need to place our faith in the only One who lived the perfect life and took the punishment for our rebellion. Trust in who Jesus is. Trust in what He’s done. 

God’s rules are made FOR the broken.

Keep on Keeping on!

“Only let us hold true to what we have attained” (Philippians 3:16).

It’s always good to know you’re headed in the right direction. Just ask any long distance runner. Too many 10Ks, marathons, and triathlons have been lost when the leader took a wrong turn. Without somebody keeping them on the course, racers throw away everything they’ve worked hard to achieve. Here in Philippians 3, Paul reassures his friends back in Macedonia they are headed in the right direction. “Only let us hold true to what we have attained” (v16). The race is far from over but so much progress has been made. Leaving the race course now will ruin all they’ve gained. The apostle wants us to know there’s huge blessing in our faithful obedience to the Lord. Stay on course. Keep on keeping on!

Paul should know. Back when he was known as Saul, he busted his tail to run the race of life. He ran hard and set a brutal pace. There was just one problem. He was running the wrong race! He was racing the wrong course! The man from Tarsus totally devoted himself to running the race of religion and accomplishment (Phil 3:4-6). But somewhere along the route on the road outside of Damascus, he ran into Jesus (Acts 9:1-9). The resurrected Messiah got him headed in the right direction for the first time. Instead of the race of religion and self-salvation, Paul began running toward a relationship with the One who had already won (Phil 3:7-14). He hasn’t crossed the finish line yet but he’s doing everything he can to make sure everyone who will listen is headed in the right direction. 

The apostle encourages us to “hold true” and stay on course (v16). A closer look at the original language peels back some powerful truth. He uses the Greek verb stoicheo, which actually means to walk, advance in a line, or conduct oneself in conformity to a presumed standard. The term is often used to describe how troops march in formation as they head into battle. Don’t make the mistake of picturing our walk with Jesus like some sort of death march. It’s anything BUT! Instead, think of moving through life with direction and purpose. The word also carries the idea of living prosperously and things turning out well. That happens when we allow God to steer us as we do what He says. Here are a couple of good examples. Jesus’ kid brother James encouraged Paul to swing by the temple and show other Jews that “you yourself also walk orderly (Gr. stoicheo), keeping the law” (Acts 21:24). The apostle wrote to the church in Rome how we should “follow (Gr. stoicheo) in the footsteps of the faith” of obedient Abraham (Rom 4:12). The Message really nails this idea of running in the right direction once we set our sites on Christ. “Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it” (v16 The Message). Hold the line. Stay on course. Keep on keeping on!

One of the big reasons not to get off track is so that we will not forfeit all that’s been gained. When Paul describes “that we have attained” (v16), he’s NOT talking about any sort of self-salvation. He’s made it blatantly obvious is giant neon letters that his efforts to earn a gold medal from God resulted in him running the wrong race on the wrong course. The only victory we have is the one Jesus won for us. He ran the perfect race we failed to run. He died the death for our sin of disobedience and rebellion. He rose to a spectacular new life we don’t deserve. The sinless Son of God crossed the finish line for you and me and shouted, “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30). What He won for us can never be taken away from us.

So what is Paul talking about? What’s all this stuff “that we have attained” (v16)? He’s describing whatever progress and life change God has done in our lives to this point. The $25 theological term for that is sanctification. It simply describes how God reshapes us into the image of His Son throughout our lives. Let’s be clear about a couple of things when it comes to the sanctification process. One, it’s a lifelong, difficult, and sometimes frustrating road. Take it from Paul, the dude who wrote most of the New Testament (Rom 7:15-20)! I can’t speak for everybody but it’s often two steps forward and one step back. And if I’m honest, it’s one step forward and three steps back! The other big idea is the good news that God promises finish the work He started in you and me (Phil 1:6). 

I throw away much of what God has accomplished in my life when I sprint off course. I try to run the race I think it should be run. My disobedience to His rules for life can cause me to forfeit all that’s been gained. Please understand me. Once Jesus has truly gotten His hands on you, there’s nothing that can pry you out (Rom 8:38-39). Zip. Zilch. Zero. But we disqualify ourselves from much of His blessing by trying to do things our way. You see, Jesus has an incredible and overflowing life for us (Jn 10:10). If we really want to enjoy all the goodness God has for us and dive into the deep end of His abundant life, we need to continue following His commands. Our obedience to God and His Word puts us into the position of experience His blessing. Matt Chandler likes to say that we put ourselves under the waterfall of His grace. I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like an awesome place to be! 

The race may be long but there are folks like Paul all along the way to let us know we’re headed in the right direction. When we do, we run deeper into our relationship with Jesus. That happens as we follow His guidelines for life and stay on the course. Or as the New Living Translation puts this verse, “But we must be sure to obey the truth we have already learned” (v16 NLT). There’s huge blessing in our faithful obedience to the Lord. Stay on course. Keep on keeping on!

Stick a Needle in My Eye

Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. It was the covenant promise of the playground. You dropped this handy dandy little rhyme every time you made a promise to your friends that was super serious. You might even actually cross your heart with your finger. Maybe in your neighborhood, you executed the legendary pinky swear. Another celebrated ceremony is the spit shake. Yeah, those are nice, but the heart crossing covenant comes with a curse. You would rather die than to fail holding up your end of the deal.  And if that’s not enough, you would go so far as to impale a sharp object into your eye. It’s a covenant with consequences. 

(Now let me be very clear. While we regularly made the promise and consistently broke it, nothing ever happened. No funerals for promise breakers. No self-inflicted eye injuries. No six year olds were harmed in the making of this covenant!)

Flip back into the Old Testament to the book of Nehemiah and you’ll see something similar. No, this isn’t a group of elementary school kids crossing hearts in obedience. In Nehemiah 10:28-31, the Jewish people living in Judah agree to abide by the promise of total obedience drafted by their leaders. They highlight a couple of very specific commands which are clearly current problems for them. Hooking up with unbelievers. Failing to take a day off. Then they throw a blanket over every single Hebrew person living in and around Jerusalem and “enter into a curse and an oath” (v29). If they fail to do everything God has commanded, there’s punishment. It’s a covenant with consequences.

So how did we get here? How did we get to the point where God’s people have resorted to some sort of supernatural spit shake and pinky swear? Let’s back up just a bit. It’s 445 BC. Nehemiah has just led them in the successful completion of rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days (Neh 6:15). They’ve been a pile of bricks ever since King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon’s army bulldozed the city on a hill and all but turned into a ghost town almost 150 years ago. As part of the citywide celebration and ribbon-cutting, the people invited the great teacher Ezra to read from the first five books of the Bible (Neh 8:1-9:3). The standard of God’s Law acts like a divine MRI and delivered a fatal diagnosis of sin and rebellion. The demands of God are for perfection and holiness. The only treatment is repentance, confession, and turning to the goodness of our gracious God (Neh 9:6-37). 

It’s at this point that the Hebrew people decide to write down their promise to obey the LORD and “make a firm covenant in writing” (Neh 9:38). Their leaders put their John Hancock this covenant (Neh 10:1-27). That’s when the Jewish people agree among themselves to do absolutely everything God has commanded them to do. In case you’re wondering what percentage of God’s people give the thumbs up to this pledge, Nehemiah runs it down for you.

The rest of the people.

The priests.

The Levites.

The gatekeepers.

The singers.

The temple servants.

That pretty much covers all of the folks serving and working in the newly rebuilt temple.

Next, things get a little messy. “All who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God” (v28). The translators have sanitized things a bit here. These are Jewish dudes who have hooked up and with local unbelieving hotties. For those who might not know, that’s running right through one of God’s big stop signs for His people (Ex 34:15-16; Dt 7:3-4). Just like this is a hot topic in the early 21st century, it’s a huge problem almost 500 years before Jesus. God uses the conviction of His Word to send these rascals back to their families. It’s probably no surprise that “their wives, their sons, their daughters” all join their dads and husbands in their pledge of obedience. God is clearly healing things on the home front.

Next on the list are “all who have knowledge and understanding” (v28). This would include everybody who knows what’s going on. Those who can wrap their brains around the depth of the rebellion. They may not know exactly what to do but exactly Whom to turn to. Just in case you’re worried somebody is not being invited to the party, these various groups of people “join with their brothers, their nobles” (v29). The big idea here is that the full roster of the Jewish people agree with the covenant signed by the leaders. Take a look around at all of God’s chosen people. They’ve all given thumbs up. That guy over there. This lady here. Those folks standing by the wall. You’re not locking eyes with anyone who’s not taking part in the pledge.

The Hebrew people have given the a-okay to “enter into a curse and an oath” (v29). Here’s the “cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye” portion of the program. Throughout the Bible, a boatload of covenants have consequences for failing to comply. Usually those are presented in some sort of gory ritual that involves cutting up animals. One particularly bloody example is when God made His covenant promise to bless Abraham (Gen 15:9-17). The LORD orders Abe to cut a cow, a goat, a ram, a bird each in half. That was followed by a wild dream involving a smoking pot (no, not THAT kind of smoking pot!) and flaming torch passing in between the dismembered animal parts. The point is that God’s failure to fulfill His promise to will result in Him becoming like the sliced and diced critters in the dream. While the author doesn’t tell us specifically what the curse is, you can bet it’s something along those brutal lines. Yeah, this is a bit more serious that a pinky swear or a spit shake. It’s a covenant with consequences.

The entire Jewish population of Judah agrees “to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and His rules and His statutes” (v29). Again, this is pretty standard language when God’s people realize they’ve totally blown it and promise to never fail again (2Ki 23:3; 2Chr 34:31). They’re not promising partial obedience. They’re not hoping to bat 500. They’re shooting for perfection. And that’s not a bad thing since that’s God’s standard (Lev 10:37). Be perfect because He is perfect (Lev 11:44-45; 1Pet 1:16). For those of you who think the New Testament lowered the bar of obedience, you may want to flip over to James. Jesus’ kid brother tells us that to fall short on just one command means we’ve broken all of them (James 2:10). Anything less than complete obedience is complete disobedience. 

While the people make a blanket promise of total commitment, they highlight a couple of specific laws. “We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons” (v30). As we saw earlier, this has been a chronic problem for the Jewish people. Despite God’s very specific “no,” His people couldn’t stop jumping into the sack with men and women who didn’t worship the LORD. And the sin went right to the top. King Solomon may have been the wisest rascal to ever walk the planet but his blatant stupidity brought down his kingdom (1Ki 11:4-14). The people were up to their old sexual escapades after their return from exile in Babylon (Ez 9-10). And just a few years after Ezra convinced them to break up with their pagan lovers, Nehemiah had to deal with it all over again (Neh 9:2). I guess it’s no surprise they wanted to get that one on the table. There’s only one little problem. They’re going to do it all over again just a few years later (Neh 13:23-24).

The other law that gets special attention has to do with keeping the Sabbath set aside as a special and holy day. Saturdays will be a day without any commerce, sales, or trading with their neighboring nations. “We will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day” (v31). But this has nothing to do with restrictions and everything to do with freedom and faith. God put obedience of the Sabbath in His Top Ten (Ex 20:8-10; Dt 5:12-15). Remember the context of the original command. God’s people had been in slavery for 400 years in Egypt WITHOUT A DAY OFF! Instead of seeing this command as shackles keeping you from having fun, it’s just the opposite. God is telling us to stop working and take a day off!! It’s a huge example of faith in God to provide everything we need. In this specific situation, the Hebrew people are to trust in God to give them what they need instead of the peoples of the land.There’s only one little problem. They’re going to do it all over again just a few years later (Neh 13:15-18).

Four hundred plus years later, Someone would come and “enter into a curse and an oath” on our behalf. Jesus came “to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and His rules and His statutes” (v29). Christ was completely obedient in our place when we totally train-wrecked our end of the deal. He suffered the consequences of the curse on the cross for our sin. Both the Old and New Testament writers know that death on a tree makes you the object of God’s curse (Dt 21:22-23; Gal 3:13). Jesus did for us what we could never do. We could obey God’s Law completely. He even faced the curse of God as our substitute. 

While nobody back in the old neighborhood ever followed through with the pledge to die and/or sticking needles in their eye, our Savior stepped up in our place. He loves us so much that He fulfilled the oath of sinless obedience. He loves us so much that He took the curse of God’s wrath for our sinful disobedience. It’s a covenant with consequences. 

Father Knows Best

TV sitcoms come in all shapes and sizes. All sorts of characters. All sorts of families. All sorts of situations. But there’s one character you’ll find no matter what network you’re watching. The incompetent dad. You know who I’m talking about. From Homer of “The Simpsons” to Phil Dunphy of “Modern Family.” Dad isn’t the authority but the butt of the joke. Now it wasn’t always that way. Back in a previous millennium, we had a parade of great dads on the Philco. Ward Cleaver of “Leave It to Beaver.” Andy Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show.” We even had Jim Anderson on “Father Knows Best.” Week after week, these dads would lovingly come to aid of their families and rescue them in just 30 minutes.

In Ezra 9:10-15, the leader of the Jewish people goes to their heavenly Dad to save their bacon (okay, maybe “bacon” isn’t exactly the most kosher image but you get the idea). The Israelites are in trouble. BIG trouble. They’ve broken one of God’s big family rules. Don’t date and marry someone who doesn’t worship God. It eventually leads to all sorts of problems including idolatry. Don’t confuse hooking up with a local pagan hottie with evangelism. Ezra has just led a second Jewish resettlement campaign from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Seventy years of exile are basically in the rearview mirror. But before they’ve even unpacked their luggage, folks hopping in the sack with non-Jews (Ez 9:1-2). As their leader, Ezra goes to the only One who can help (Ez 9:5-9). God. Yahweh. That’s because our heavenly Father knows best.

As a loving leader accountable for God’s people, Ezra humbles himself before the LORD on their behalf. It’s not “their iniquities” but “our iniquities.” It’s not “their guilt” but “our guilt” (Ez 9:6-7). He goes on to praise God for His overwhelming goodness as the only reason they have been allowed to return to the Promised Land (Ez 9:8-9). But something horrible has happened once they hit the homeland. “For we have forsaken your commandments” (v10). This isn’t exactly breaking news in the throne room of heaven. God is perfectly aware that His people have the hots for the locals. He knows exactly what’s going on. But Ezra knows that confession and repentance are a huge part of the healing. He doesn’t make excuses. He doesn’t blame shift. He admits. He confesses. He repents.

At this point, the Big E gets specific. He says out loud what’s going down. They’re not just breaking any commandment. They’re breaking a very old commandment. This is a law “which You commanded by your servants the prophets” (v11). God had used not just one handpicked spokesman but a series of them to make sure He got His divine point across. Apparently He reminded them a lot because they broke it a lot. Back in Moses’ day, the LORD had specific instructions for dating and marriage for His people before they unpacked their bags in the Promised Land. As Ezra prays, he recalls those commands without quoting them specifically (Ex 34:11-16; Dt 7:1-6). First God makes it clear that while this is a land dripping with milk and honey, it’s also “a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness” (v11). He’s not saying the local residents need a housekeeper. He’s talking about the nauseating practices of their false religions. Prostitutes. Porn. Child sacrifice. It’s some sick stuff. 

Because of that, God warns His chosen people not to get romantically involved with this disgusting dumpster fire. “Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity” (v12). These Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites aren’t supposed to be a target rich environment for dating. And it doesn’t mean  these local folks can’t kick their idols to the curb and bow before the God of Israel. Earlier, Ezra writes about the big Passover feast “was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel” (Ez 6:21). But remember, dating is NOT a means of evangelism. Our heavenly Father knows best.

The reason God gives this critical command is that He knows exactly what will happen. He’s not some cosmic killjoy trying to keep His people from having a good time. It’s for their own good. If they avoid hooking up with the local pagans, “you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever” (v12). Intermarriage with folks of false religions will weaken society. It will compromise a culture focused on God. And it will ultimately ruin what is left for the next generation and the generations to come. The omniscient LORD sees perfectly what will go down once the people head down this pagan path. This command is for their own good. He’s actually protecting them from themselves. Our heavenly Father knows best.

So how do you see God and His commands? Is some supernatural wet blanket that doesn’t want you to have any fun? Or is a loving parent who sees the land mines in your life and is guiding you around them? I may not realize it but God’s commands protect me from myself. They protects me from my own destructive choices. What looks like a hoot is actually harmful. And even crazier, obedience to His law brings me the greatest joy. Yup, our heavenly Father knows best.

Meanwhile Ezra continues to pray for himself and the people. He knows that God should have really dropped the hammer on them for what they’ve done (v13). He’s talking about the sin and rebellion that led to their exile in Babylon. Yahweh would have been in the right to wipe the Israelites off the face of the planet for what they’ve done. But He didn’t. He’s allowed a remnant of the original nation to return. And now what have they done in return? “We break Your commandments again, and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?” (v14). After this latest epic fail, who would blame God if He nuked His people once and for all? After all, our heavenly Father knows best.

The Big E praises God as the only One in the universe who always does what is right. “O LORD, the God of Israel, You are just” (v15). He knows he’s praying to One who knows what to do. He trusts in God’s goodness. He trusts in God’s justice. Because God is just, He must punish sin. But here’s the crazy thing. He won’t just be just, He’ll do the justifying! A few hundred years later, the Apostle Paul writes to his Roman friends about how “He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). Ezra places the fate of the Israelites in the hands of the very same good God who will justify those who trust in the grace of Christ.

Our heavenly Father knows best.

Here We Go Again

It’s incredibly frustrating when you see folks making the same mistakes over and over again. How about when you see them making the same mistakes their parents made? And grandparents made? And great grandparents made? History has the habit of repeating itself. Over and over and over again. You’ve heard the expression, “Those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it.” That’s the situation Ezra and the Israelites face here in Ezra 9:1-5. After 70-plus years of slavery in Babylon, God’s people are resettling the Promised Land once again under the leadership of men like Zerubbabel and Ezra. But before you can blink your eyes, the Israelites are up to the same garbage that got them hauled off into captivity in the first place. Blatant disobedience to God. Hooking up with local hotties. Worshiping false gods. Here we go again.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ezra has just hit town with a total traveling party somewhere between 7,000-8,000 people. That’s the number you get when you total the number of men listed in Ezra 8:2-20 (more than 1,500) and the best guess at the women, children, and elderly that would have come with them. They’ve traveling as a large caravan from Babylon to Jerusalem for almost four months. Despite carrying millions of dollars worth of silver and gold for the temple (Ez 8:26-27), God protected them through some of the most dangerous deserts in the ancient Near East (Ez 8:31). The returning exiles kick back for three days after their grueling road trip before delivering all of the holy hardware to the folks at the temple (Ez 8:33-34). They thank God by offering up burnt offerings of all sorts of livestock (Ez 8:35). There were just a couple more things on the arrival list. First, deliver all of the various royal documents to local governing officials and Persian bureaucrats (Ez 8:36). Second, help anyone needing immediate assistance whether they were part of the general population or workers at the temple.

It was at this point that some of the leaders broke the bad news to Ezra. “After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, ‘The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations’” (v1). The Big E hadn’t even had a chance to kick off his sandals when it hit the fan. This is going to be bad. REALLY bad. The corruption ran throughout the entire population. From top to bottom. Listing the people, the priests, and the Levites lets us know this is systemic sin. You would think leaders like the priests and Levites would set the standard for holy behavior among God’s people. Instead they’ve led the way INTO sin! “And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost” (v2). The leaders led…but in the wrong way!! They were actually the worst of all. Never underestimate the power of leadership, especially BAD leadership. 

Once again, the “people of the lands” are problem. Earlier they had caused all sorts of problems for Zerubbabel when his crew arrived a few decades before (Ez 4:4). The local people groups did everything they could to sabotage the rebuilding of the temple, eventually delaying the project for 16 years (Ez 4:5). Ezra runs down the roster of the local tribes that are causing problems. “The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites” (v1). These are infamous names for God’s people. Many have been a pain in the Hebrew backside for thousands of years. More on that in a minute.

Israelite leaders report to Ezra that there’s all sorts of dating and intermarriage going on between God’s people and the local yokels. “For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands” (v2). Let’s make sure we know what is NOT going on here. God is NOT warning against intermarriage between races. This is not some racist scene out of the Jim Crow American South. The LORD isn’t about separating people but bringing them together. Solomon’s wife clearly had very dark skin (SoS 1:5-6). The Gospel spread like wildfire after Jesus’ resurrection throughout the Mediterranean rim. Paul made it clear that Christ has torn down every ethnic, racial, cultural, and societal barrier (Gal 3:28; Col 3:1). Before you make Ezra the grand dragon of the local KKK chapter, let’s make sure you know this has NOTHING to do with race. 

What has Ezra so freaked out is that all of these folks have chosen sex and companionship over devotion to God. When we make dating and marriage a priority over our relationship with Jesus, we’re on a VERY slippery slope. Craig Groeschel goes makes the point by telling the followers of Christ to look for their “two.” When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, He’s our “One.” Everyone else can rise to no higher than number two in the polls. Clearly this order was WAY out of whack for the people, priests, and Levites. They didn’t must date and intermarry with people who didn’t worship God, they soon found themselves bowing to idols as well. Intermarriage with unbelievers results in pagan worship. That’s at the core of Paul’s warning against being joined to others (2Cor 6:14). Any sort of serious intentional partnership such as marriage to someone of another faith will compromise your worship of God. 

It’s not like these local people groups couldn’t turn away from their gods and worship the God of Israel. Earlier Ezra describes how not only the people of Israel celebrated Passover and were joined by “every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel” (Ez 6:21). This isn’t about racial discrimination. This is NOT about ethnic purity. This is about worshiping the same God.

Ezra didn’t have to see the end result to know where this was headed. He was fully aware of history. Way back when Moses was leading God’s people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land that very first time, Yahweh warned the Hebrews of what would happen. “Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and  you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods” (Ex 34:11-16). Just in case you’re wondering, whoring is not good. We see almost the same list of other people in Ezra. Just call them the usual suspects. Here we go again.

Despite God’s warning through Moses, the Israelites began hooking up with local pagan hotties and before you know it they were worshiping idols with their new wives (Num 25:1-3). Yahweh warns them a second time to stop fooling around with people who don’t worship and follow the God of Israel (Dt 7:1-2). “You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me to serve other gods” (Dt 7:3). It happened before and it’s happening again. 

In many ways, it was sort of stuff that led to God sending them into Babylonian captivity in the first place. That all started when the great King Solomon hopped into the sack with every beautiful woman he saw, no matter who she worshipped (1Ki 11:1-13). He turned his palace into the Playboy Mansion of Jerusalem. Even more disgusting than his shameful sexual escapades was the fact that Solomon lost his passion to serve and follow the LORD. Instead he ordered the construction of altars to the various idols for each of his honeys. And sadly, it won’t be the last time. In the coming years, both Nehemiah and Malachi will deal with the very same garbage (Neh 13:23-27; Mal 2:10-16). Yup, here we go again.

While we can’t be exactly sure what happened when “the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the land” (v2), Scripture gives us a few clues. Back during Moses’ day, local idolatry included child sacrifice. “They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods” (Dt 12:31). I’m not an expert in family ministries, but this sure seems to be the wrong way to go when it comes to children’s church. Remember, God made a promise to Abraham to bless the world through His offspring (Gen 22:17-18). I’m pretty sure He wasn’t talking about burning them in the fire as child sacrifices. 

The people’s rampant unfaithfulness absolutely ripped apart Ezra’s heart. Twice he uses the word “faithlessness” (v2, 4).This is the Hebrew term ma’al, which describes a conscious unfaithful or treacherous act, a breach of trust, or infidelity. The people have failed to trust in the ultimate goodness of God to provide what they need. They’ve taken it upon themselves to get what they want. This is the sin of Eden all over again (Gen 3:1-7). The local ladies are forbidden fruit. Instead of letting the LORD provide something or someone better, they listened to their libido instead. Here we go again.

With his heart torn in two, Ezra shows his frustration in a very public fashion. “As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled” (v3). These are customary responses by an exasperated leader back in the day. And I’m sure it also hurt like the dickens. Twice the Big E describes his reaction as being “appalled” (Heb. shamem). It’s being stunned, stupefied, and devastated. Think of Col. Kurtz’ infamous words from “Apocalypse Now.” “The horror.” After all that they had been through together. After a lifetime of exile in Babylon. After a 1,000 mile expedition through the desert. After being an eyewitness to the very hand of God to make this all happen. After all of that, they turn their backs on the One who has been so good to bring them home only to start shacking up with local ladies who don’t know Yahweh. At the end of the day, he pleads with God over the gut-wrenching sin right in front of his eyes. The horror. Here we go again. 

Ezra has every reason to be shocked and outraged. It’s happened before. And it will happen again. But one day, One will come who is completely faithful. A little less than 500 years later, God will personally take on human flesh and do what we could never do for ourselves. He’ll live the perfect life that we failed to live. He’ll died the death for our sin that we should have died. He’ll rise to a spectacular new life that we don’t deserve. Christ Jesus will exhibit a trust in His Father that will never waver or wobble. I can’t say that about my faith. I place my trust in Who He is and what He’s done on my behalf. He’s faithful even when I’m not (2Tim 2:13). As a matter of fact, Jesus is the perfect Husband. His care and sacrificial love for His bride is the example for hubbies everywhere (Eph 5:23, 25-32). The faithlessness of the Israelites points us to the One who is perfectly faithful. One day, Ezra’s prayer will ultimately be answered in the form of a Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee. Until then, here we go again.