Spiritual Revival
405
showed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and
to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes,
and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen;
yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended
mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving,
to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof,
and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
“And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have
forsaken Thy commandments, which Thou hast commanded by Thy
servants the prophets.... And after all that is come upon us for our
evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that Thou our God hast
punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such
deliverance as this; should we again break Thy commandments, and
join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not
Thou be angry with us till Thou hadst consumed us, so that there
should be no remnant nor escaping? O Lord God of Israel, Thou art
righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we
are before Thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before Thee
because of this.”
Verses 6-15
.
[622]
The sorrow of Ezra and his associates over the evils that had insidi-
ously crept into the very heart of the Lord’s work, wrought repentance.
Many of those who had sinned were deeply affected. “The people
wept very sore.”
Ezra 10:1
. In a limited degree they began to realize
the heinousness of sin and the horror with which God regards it. They
saw the sacredness of the law spoken at Sinai, and many trembled at
the thought of their transgressions.
One of those present, Shechaniah by name, acknowledged as true
all the words spoken by Ezra. “We have trespassed against our God,”
he confessed, “and have taken strange wives of the people of the land:
yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.” Shechaniah
proposed that all who had transgressed should make a covenant with
God to forsake their sin and to be adjudged “according to the law.”
“Arise,” he bade Ezra; “for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also
will be with thee: be of good courage.” “Then arose Ezra, and made
the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should
do according to this word.”
Verses 2-5
.
This was the beginning of a wonderful reformation. With infinite
patience and tact, and with a careful consideration for the rights and