Ezra 9:10

But why does he recite this proof of the Lord's grace and mercy? It was to show the character of His people's sin; for he goes on, "And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken your commandments;" and then he confesses that they had sinned against both light and grace. He conceals nothing, and excuses nothing, but spreads it all out before God. He owns what would follow if they broke God's commandments again after all this mercy, and joined with these peoples in their abominations. God might well be angry with them until He had destroyed them, so that no remnant would be left.

Knowing the word of God through Ezra, they have discovered in it the character of God who can in no way associate Himself with impurity. Has He not said, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44)? And so in his prayer Ezra refers to the word of God, which he knows so well: "For we have forsaken your commandments, which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land which you go to possess is an unclean land through the filthiness of the peoples of the lands."

Ezra was a man of prayer. His prayer held confession, thorough and holding nothing back. In a day of ruin, when we look at the state of God's people, there can be no true prayer without true confession. And true confession is not saying, "They have sinned," but, "We have sinned." "Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this."

At the time of the evening sacrifice, the offering gave a small picture of the sacrifice of Christ. Ezra got up with his torn garments and fell on his knees to come near to God in the remarkable prayer recorded in verses 6-15. In that prayer he made no actual request. From first to last it was humble and heartbroken confession of sins in which he personally had no share.

Notice that Ezra does not ask forgiveness for the people, but simply confesses Israel's guilt before the Lord, leaving God to do as He sees fit with them.

The serious question was mixed marriages. Of two people already married, one had been won to Christ by the gospel and the other had not. In this the grace of Christianity stands in striking contrast to the strictness of Judaism. One of the ways Israel remained a holy people was by refusing to mix with the nations in marriage. Those who married in this way, or took foreign wives, were polluted, and their children were unclean. When they felt and judged the sin, they proved it by offering a ram for the trespass and by putting both away.

This prayer of Ezra contains a solemn warning for us, so we do well to consider it. God has shown great mercy in the history of Christendom. Since the time of the Reformation revivals have come, but each one has been marked by the same tendency to go back to former evils. It would indeed be good if every true believer today knelt before God with words like Ezra's. Such words spring from convictions and a heart like his.