Revival

I just finished the book of Ezra and was once again struck by the core issue dealt with in the revival of the nation of Israel. It wasn't issues of study, proclamation or military conquest, it boiled down to simple relationship issues. The last verse of Ezra states, "All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children."

Wow, sin is sticky! The man of God, "Ezra" took the sin of Israel seriously. He publicly mourned over the sin. He did not exclude himself from the infirmities that touched Israel and he did the most important things, lamented and confessed it all before God. The result was a national repentance. A unified admission and repentance in the area relationships in particular.

A difficult decision was made. Wives and children impacted. God honored. In the New Testament, the scripture gives definition to the very same issues raised in Ezra's day. Fortunately in the age of grace, the gospel or our Lord Jesus Christ is far superior to the law and is able to clearly address the issues of marriage and family relationships. Having said that, it is no surprise that since Genesis 3, the primary place the Adversary chooses to work is in the relationship between a man, his wife, his family and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As our relationship with Christ goes, so goes the family. As our relationship with the family goes, so goes the church. The glorious reality is that the blood of Christ is well able to overcome the damaged caused by carnality and sin and resurrect a spirit of obedience and fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ. I was once again encouraged by my time in Ezra as I could clearly see confession lead to transformation. The Lord will soon return and reconcile us to Himself physcially. It will be a wonderful day to rejoice in the victory we have in Christ. In the mean time, it is increasingly important that we focus on the Lord and trust God with our families for unfortunatly many are taken captive by the devil at his will.