Ezra: The Lord HelpsSample

For the Christian ‘No’ and ‘Lord’ are two words that simply can’t be put together in one sentence. That said, I just have! And we do! But we shouldn’t find ourselves saying, ‘No, Lord.’ If God is Lord of our lives, then it is a misnomer to say ‘No’ to Him. 

God’s people in Ezra’s day made the same mistake. When the Lord brought His people out of slavery in Egypt, He spoke clearly through His prophets (v. 11) about how His people should live. The Lord said, ‘Do not intermarry with [other nations]. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods.’ (Deut. 7:3–4). Yet Ezra has discovered that is precisely what the people have done, repeatedly, since returning to Jerusalem. In doing so they have disregarded the commands the Lord had given (v. 10). They have said, ‘No, Lord. No, we don’t want to obey your Word.’ 

In disobeying the Word of the Lord, they are disregarding the Lordship of God in their lives. We do the same, arrogantly saying we know best. We claim to know better than the Lord of all creation. 

For the people of God to intermarry with unbelievers is to put our salvation on the line. It is to run a huge risk because an unbelievers’ influence over us may be greater than our influence over them, so we end up following other gods. To marry an unbeliever is to think we know better than God and it is to play fast and loose with our salvation. 

No wonder Ezra was so appalled by the actions of God’s people intermarrying. No wonder he prayed this prayer of confession. We simply can’t say, ‘No, Lord.'

Reflection

Ask God to show you where you are saying, ‘No, Lord.’ Confess how you are ignoring God’s Word and living your own way. Ask for forgiveness and humble yourself before the Lord. Consider how disobeying the Lord’s instruction is to play fast and loose with your salvation.