“And now, O God, what can we say after all of this? For once again we have abandoned your commands!” Ezra 9:10 NLT
Ezra understands how obvious it is that Jews have abused the Lord’s commands and that no apology can be said to make it right. Ezra, in his confession in the sin of his people, recounts the Lord’s goodness that was placed upon them; a remnant of people still remain though they deserved death, they received relief from slavery and were not abandoned, the Lord caused the kings of Persia to treat them favourably, the Lord allowed the Israelites the opportunity to rebuild the Temple of God, and He provided a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. Even after all this, the Israelites still chose to disobey and to be unfaithful to the Lord
When I read stories regarding the Israelites, particularly their failing to follow the Lord’s commands, I find myself thinking ‘what are you doing? The Lord has been with you and protecting you, and you just promised the Lord that you wouldn’t do that again!’ And then I realize that I am no different.
Even though our sins reach to the heavens, thankfully it’s in the heavens that we find God’s mercy. May our cries of confession and repentance be like Ezra’s – true and shameful. For the greater we think of our sin the worse it looks to us. This leads us to a changed heart due to having a higher appreciation for the Lord’s mercy that He bestows upon us.
Lock Your Wings 
Good thoughts.
This stood out for me: “For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.””
Ezra 9:2 NLT
“Mixed Marriages” in this circumstance was Israelites and non-Israelites. A more profound “mixed marriage” exists when a believer marries someone who is not. The Bible warns about not becoming yoked with an unbeliever but it would be concerning to have a pastor willingly participate in that union. A believer will begin to adapt to the culture and character of the unbeliever and their children will be forced to choose between their parents’ faith or lack of it. The believers morals and values can become polluted by the customs and patterns of this world and the marriage subject to division.
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