Passage Read: Ezra 6-9
Meditation Verses: 9:1-2
Thought
Israel was supposed to destroy most of the people listed here, all who lived in the land of Canaan. The Book of Joshua tells us that many of these nations were not destroyed, but eventually subjugated and made servants of the community. They persisted in the land and became snares to the people of God, until God finally drove all Israel out of the land. So God commanded that they be destroyed, Israel failed to do so, and in their failure, the Canaanites were in effect given a second chance to know the truth, turn from their evil ways, believe in the Lord and walk in His ways. Instead, somehow, they retained their evil ways even to the return of Israel from exile. As nations, as whole peoples, they did not repent and believe in the Lord. Individuals may have, but not the whole. To the day of Ezra's arrival in Israel, they continue to be a stumbling block to Israel, proving God right in His earlier judgment.
Application
We err on the side of giving grace, which is a good thing, up to a point. When God sets up clear boundaries, either rules and standards by which we judge fellow believers or conditions under which we walk away from unbelievers, leaving them in their sin, we are not wiser or better than God when we ignore those boundaries. Rather, we muddy the waters and dilute God's message and its life-and-death consequences. We're not showing mercy and grace when we continue to live in close fellowship with people who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel, whether unbelievers or people who claim to believe. Instead, we're telling them that faith in Jesus and obedience to His Word isn't really all that important, and we're showing that we don't really believe in Him either! We're more under their influence than they are under ours, which is exactly what continually plagued the Israelites. That's why they were spiritually weak and continually falling into sin and rebellion. I'm not doing anyone any favor by overlooking their sin, and others aren't helping me by overlooking mine! Jesus taught His followers to call people to repentance, and if they refused, the disciples were to move on--the message was so urgent and so many people still need to hear it! He also taught His followers to rebuke each other for their own sins, to help each other grow in the righteous and holy life Jesus died and rose again to bring them. If we refuse to repent, we're to be cut off from fellowship as discipline so that we become ashamed and do repent. The purity of God's people is at stake, the purity of God's message and the only hope of real salvation is at stake. I can't treat lightly my own sin or the sins of others. If I really care about people, I need them to know the danger they are in if they refuse to humble themselves before the Lord. It seems the Apostles were so much more direct than we are today; compared to them, I'm too soft on sin, whether my own or others, and too careless of the honor of Jesus Christ. I don't have the same confidence in my understanding of Jesus and His will, but for the good of others, I need to develop that confidence.