Putting God First

OT: Ezra 9-10
NT:

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Ezra 9:1-5 — After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God and prayed.

Joshua long lamented the failure of his people to drive out the Canaanites from the land after the exodus from Egypt. God had commanded the tribes to conquer the land and drive the people out -- along with their gods. But the tribes did not drive out the people completely and the native residents became a thorn in Israel's side for hundreds of years. The gods of Canaan, Moab, Philistia and Edom became snares to the people of Israel. Kings and priests alike were swept away from the Lord and the abomination of this desertion caused the hand of God to drive His people into exile. Now, those who returned from exile were once again ensnared by the native peoples of Canaan -- and, most likely, those the Assyrians brought in to repopulate Israel. Israelite men were marrying non-Jewish women and having children. This interracial marriage was forbidden by God not because of purity in blood but instead because of purity of religion. The Canaanites did not follow Israel's god. They did not know the ways of the Law. And so they were a shackle for the Jews.

Ezra was distraught. Not everyone in Israel committed this sin but enough did to cause the priest to worry that the remnant of the last exile might be sent into exile once again. So he interceded before the Lord on behalf of his people. And then he took action. The foreign wives were to be sent away -- divorced, essentially -- and the Jews recommitted to the Lord. It sounds harsh now but it was for good reason then. The Lord God must come first in our lives if we are to be His followers. Jesus said you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve yourselves and serve God. You must choose who you will serve, as Joshua told the people of Israel (Josh 24:15). Serving God means putting Him above all other things in your life, including your relationships with other people. If you are a single Christian, choose your mate wisely. Don't settle for an unbeliever, even if you think you can covert them. No one can convert another except for the Lord. Keep your heart away from those who do not follow the Lord. If you have already married an unbeliever, pray for them every day. Seek to be a witness and keep harmony, if possible. May your service to God be a witness of His transformation in your life.

Be God's.