Rise Up! Lessons From Ezra On Walking With Your Head Held HighSýnishorn

The Israelites have a disobedience problem of their own. They married pagan wives and adopted their religious practices. From Ezra’s reaction, you’d think that every single one of the Israelites had disobeyed God. But when you take a look at the final verses of the book of Ezra, you read a who’s-who list of all the guilty parties. 

People have been memorialized in the Bible in many different ways. Some did heroic acts while others received miracles. I have to believe these guys were pretty bummed to be remembered to countless generations by being mentioned by name in Scripture this way: 

These are the Levites who were guilty: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 

This is the singer who was guilty: Eliashib. 

These are the gatekeepers who were guilty: Shallum, Telem, and Uri (Ezra 10:23-24). 

Oh, man. Those “who were guilty.” Not the tagline I’d want in front of my name. And that is only a few on very lengthy list of priests and others who were disobedient. 

If you slow down for a moment and count the names, you’ll find there are just one hundred eleven. Wait! Out of the thousands and thousands of people in Israel, only 111 were guilty?! That’s only just a tiny fraction of the people. Did Ezra overreact and blow this whole thing out of proportion? No. God is just that serious about obedience. He isn’t interested in partial obedience; He wants full obedience. 

While we can’t control the people around us, we do have control over our decisions, our choices, and our level of obedience. If we are honest, most of us have areas in our lives where we are partially obeying God but have been unwilling to obey Him when His call seems risky or overwhelming. 

You’re willing to serve at church in an area that is comfortable but unwilling to lead that group God is calling you to. 

You’re willing to make a visit or two to a counselor but unwilling to do the hard work and heart excavation it’s going to take to get healing. 

You’re willing to be honest about the healed parts of your life but unwilling to be accountable and vulnerable about your current areas of struggle. 

You’re willing to forgive someone who has said they’re sorry but unwilling to forgive another who withholds their apology. 

You’re willing to lead but you’re unwilling to make those unpopular calls and hard decisions that would make your work more impactful. 

You’re willing to partially obey but unwilling to fully obey the scary, overwhelming things He’s asking you to do. God wants your full obedience. Are you willing to step out in the risky adventure of completely obeying Him?