¹ Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. ² Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.

Ezra 10:1-2 (NASB)

Conviction set in

As Ezra was confessing and humbly seeking God in prayer, some of the guilty came to him to confess their sin. Even whole families came! God was convicting them of their sin and uncleanliness and stirring in them a desire to repent and be clean. 

In fact, I have to believe that God was already moving in their consciences to convict them of their sin well before Ezra showed up and prayed. The law pointed out their sin and their consciences convicted them. 

God moves first 

The people had been in sin for a while. They had become comfortable with it. God sent revival by way of Ezra before they asked. God moves first. And He moves when we pray.

There was mitigated celebration when Ezra arrived. Then the cat got out of the bag and they went from celebration to repentance very quickly. 

God moving us

Same with us today. It’s God who moves first. Our flesh has no desire to do what is right. When believers sin, the Holy Spirit residing in us convicts us of our sin, our consciences are pricked. This is God’s work. We respond with confession (agreeing with God and calling sin sin) then repenting – turning from sin toward God. And then we do it again! (:

Yet now there is hope

This is the reason I chose Ezra – because it ties to Haggai, which is a book of hope. Even though they (we) sin, there is always hope. Always! What was their source of hope? Was it because they responded to the conviction and were repenting? Yes, but more. What is it? Leave a comment.