For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
We may think that we are doing good, but God knows what is truly in our hearts, better even than we do. God knows what our true motives are and will show us how to do the right things for the right reasons, if we ask Him to.
If we turn to God for protection He will not allow us to be disgraced. No matter how desperate our situation may seem, God will rescue those who put their full trust in him. Let us not cling to anything other than God, such things have no power to save us.
This passage reminds me of many in the Church in the U.S. today. Paul condemns the Corinthians for being proud that one of their number was committing sexual sin. There are portions of the Church today who are stand up for a brag about their support for those who commit sexual sins. Paul tells us that rather than do that we should refuse to associate with such people. In doing so, we must remember that our purpose is not to punish the sinner, but to call them back to faithfulness to God. We are to make clear that their actions are destructive both to themselves and others. We cannot look the other way and pretend that those who claim to be following Christ, yet are actively practicing self-destructive behaviors, are in good standing with God. Note that the situation Paul was addressing was not one where the person was caught in the power of sin and striving to find the strength to escape. The situation was one where the person involved was claiming that there was nothing sinful about their actions (at least, that is how I read it).
We, also, need to note that Paul did not instruct us to avoid those who commit various sins who do not acknowledge God. Let us make sure that we communicate to those who claim to follow Christ and openly sin that they are failing to faithfully follow Him. Yet, let us always remember that the purpose is not to bring harm or hurt to that person. The purpose of our interactions with everyone should be to open them to the working of the Holy Spirit so that they might more faithfully serve God (or start serving God).
Once more we get a lesson on undertaking a task for God. As the people prepared to travel from where they had gathered to set out, Ezra called on them to fast and humble themselves before God. They prayed asking God to protect them from robbers and bandits (and any other dangers) on their trip to Jerusalem. Ezra did not want to call on the secular authorities for a military escort because he had bragged (accurately) of God’s ability to protect them from dangers. The other part of Ezra’s preparation was that he selected certain individuals to be accountable for the treasure which they were carrying. He made a specific account of what was being transported and turned it over to these people, making it clear that they were to account for these items when they arrived in Jerusalem. It is important to be clear who in the group is responsible for the money and equipment which the group is using.
When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, some of the people came to him to complain about those previously returned Exiles who had married those living in the land, or given their sons in marriage to women from among those living in the land. It is easy to get caught up with the concerns about racial purity which this passage expresses and miss the real concern. The problem with marrying the local women was the practices which they followed in order to complete these alliances. The problem was not with Jewish men marrying non-Jewish women. The problem was that the Jewish men adopted the pagan practices of their wives. In the same way today, Christian men and women should only marry those who also follow Christ, or risk being seduced away from God by their spouse.