Heavenly Father, cause us to be diligent in Your Word that we would know Your ways and walk in them following Your commandments, statutes, and ordinances. Grant that we would resist the devil, flee immorality, and mortify sin in our flesh. By Your grace grant that we would walk in all holiness before You. Amen.

Today’s Hymn

Words: William Cowper, in Conyer’s Collection of Psalms and Hymns, 1772.

About these lines, Cowper wrote to his aunt:
I began to compose them yesterday morning before daybreak, but I fell asleep at the end of the first two lines. When I awaked again, the third and fourth verses were whispered to my heart in a way I have often experienced.

O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD
Click here for tune.

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

Thought Provoker

Have you ever been in a situation where you knowingly sinned by promising to do something you know you should not have and then later realized that to follow through on the promise would be a sin? What should you do? To keep your promise would be sinful, but wouldn’t it also be sinful to break your promise? See in the example of Israel in Ezra 10 how there is no sin in repentance that bears fruit.

Dad’s Study

Immediately upon Ezra’s arrival in chapter 9 he is informed of the sin of the people regarding inter-marriage with the nations around them. This was a clearly established law in Israel dating back to when Abraham sought a wife for Isaac in Genesis 24:3 and was handed down by God as part of the Mosaic law in Deuteronomy 7:3. God commanded they be separate so that by inter-marriage the Israelites would not be led astray to follow after the false gods of the surrounding nations. This was a serious sin that seems to have been committed by many of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, who were in the first generation after the return. Verse 18 lists the sons of Jeshua as those who inter-married. Jeshua was one of those who returned to the land in the first return with Zerubbabel. Approximately 80 years later we see the first generation to be born in the land has returned to the sins of their fathers. It is even worse that it was the priests and Levites who were unequally yoked with idolaters.

Ezra goes into mourning, confessing the sins of Israel before God. He sees the danger of God’s judgment coming on the nation again. While praying, a large assembly gathered to Ezra, those who also were grieved by this great sin. It was proposed that all those who repented of this sin should show forth fruits of that repentance by obedience. Thus it was determined that each mixed marriage would be examined and the Israelite men would put away, or divorce, their wives. Each marriage was investigated by the heads of fathers’ households. Interestingly, this chapter does not tell us the final disposition of these marriages. It is said that it was to be done according to the law (verse 3), they were called to separate themselves from “foreign” wives (verse 11) and there is a list of those who had married foreign wives. Some commentators presume that the purpose of the investigation was to determine if the wife had become a believer in the God of Israel. If so, she was no longer considered a “foreign” wife.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

This passage should not be considered normative regarding divorce. This was a proper application of the Mosaic law to Israelites. Matthew Henry said this, “As to being unequally yoked with unbelievers, such marriages, it is certain, are sinful, and ought not to be made; but now they are not null, as they were before the gospel did away the separation between Jews and Gentiles. ” There is now no distinction amongst Jew and Gentile in such ways. Scripture is clear, we are to be equally yoked with believers in marriage (2 Cor. 6:14), and to intentionally do otherwise is a sin, however, God’s view of divorce has not changed any, He still hates it (Malachi 2:16). Scripture now commands the believer who finds themselves unequally yoked, either by virtue of their own sinful disobedience, or by virtue of having come to Christ after marriage; to stay married so as to be a sanctifying influence for their unbelieving mate and children (1 Cor. 7:14).

Catechism

Question 2

Q. What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify him?

A. The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (Eph. 2:20; 2 Tim. 3:16) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy him (1 John 1:3).

Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table (Psalm 128:1-3).

Today’s Hymn

Words: William Cowper, in Conyer’s Collection of Psalms and Hymns, 1772.

About these lines, Cowper wrote to his aunt:
I began to compose them yesterday morning before daybreak, but I fell asleep at the end of the first two lines. When I awaked again, the third and fourth verses were whispered to my heart in a way I have often experienced.

O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD
Click here for tune.

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

Thought Provoker

The Apostle Paul commands believers not to become unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14). The picture is of two animals pulling a plow. A yoke is a wooden frame that fits around the neck of both animals so that they can pull the plow as if they were one. The law commands that a farmer is not to yoke together an oxen and a donkey (Deut. 22:10). What’s the problem?. Different animals have different strides, dispositions, and sizes that make is nearly impossible for them to work together as one. One is faster and is worn out by pulling along the slower. Different sizes result in painful chaffing by the wooden yoke. Rather than working together they work against each others. From the language of the farm we learn that Christians are not to be unequally yoked. This is especially true when it comes to marriage. A Christian is not to marry a non-Christian. Rather than walking through life together as one, they work against each other towards their spiritual ruin. In today’s passage we learn of how serious it is to break the law of God.

Dad’s Study

Today we read that the Princes and the people of Israel disobeyed God and took for themselves daughters of pagan lands (vs. 1-2). Why is it that God commands His people to marry within their faith (Deut. 7:3)? Because it is God’s will that purity of the faith be maintained. Those who marry outside their faith are tempted, like Solomon, to allow pagan practices to invade true religion. Also, there is the danger of idolatrous spouses leading their spouse and children away from the Lord altogether. That’s why Ezra was shocked when he heard this bad news. Ezra tore his clothes and pulled out the hair on his head and face (vs.3). Ezra so identified with the people that their sins drove him to his knees and he spread out his hands in humble confession to God (vs. 5-15). As we are going to see in the next chapter, God’s forgiveness does not shield us from the consequences of our sins. A commission was set up to judge each marriage. If they determined that a marriage was a “mixed marriage” the wife was repudiated along with their children (Ezra 10:16-19). The pain must have been enormous as families were shattered, never to be seen again. God designed marriage to be the joining together of two, to become one flesh. You cannot walk as one if you are unequally yoked. Children are one of God’s marriage blessings. What a spiritual tragedy to bring children into a world where they might be eternally lead away from the true God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

Christian young people, heed God’s word, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” This begins with an early commitment not to even date or court unbelievers. Many believers’ hearts were emotionally snagged through what they thought to be an “innocent” date. Remember, this is one of those temptations that Satan uses to snare the older single believer. Discouraged by singleness, it is easy to stop waiting on the Lord and take things in your own hands. Trust in the Lord to bring you a spiritually mature mate in His time. In the meantime, be sure you are becoming that spiritually mature person. Also, leave open the possibility that God might be gracing you with the gift of singleness (1 Cor. 7:8).

Catechism

Question 2

Q. What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify him?

A. The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (Eph. 2:20; 2 Tim. 3:16) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy him (1 John 1:3).

Father, not my will be done but thy will be done. Help me not to think too highly of myself at the expense of others, or even worse, leading to a disregard of You. When I am in the valley of life, may I be quick to see Your hand in my situation and look to You for my sustenance and direction. And when I can once again see from atop the mountain, may I continually glory in Your goodness. Amen.

Today’s Hymn

Words: William Cowper, in Conyer’s Collection of Psalms and Hymns, 1772.

About these lines, Cowper wrote to his aunt:
I began to compose them yesterday morning before daybreak, but I fell asleep at the end of the first two lines. When I awaked again, the third and fourth verses were whispered to my heart in a way I have often experienced.

O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD
Click here for tune.

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

Thought Provoker

The student receives an “A” on her calculus test. The baseball player makes a game-saving catch. The CEO turns the struggling company into a profit-maker. The pianist hits all the right notes and wins first place in the contest. It’s easy, in the midst of accomplishments, to pat ourselves on the back and bask in the accolades. What’s not so easy is to direct the praise and glory to the One who truly deserves it—our Lord! We see a wonderful example of this “not-so-easy” response in our passage today.

Dad’s Study

In Ezra 8, a lengthy list of former exiles is chronicled as the second wave of God’s people return to their land, led by Ezra (the first return was led by Zerubbabel in chapters 1-6). After the detailing of this caravan in 8:1-14, a focusing on servants for the temple is highlighted, followed by a cataloguing of the gifts for the temple, which concludes this chapter. Great excitement and anticipation fill the air. Yet in the midst of this long-awaited return from exile in Babylon in Ezra 8, and even before it, the writer points the reader’s attention to a higher source, to the One far above the travelers to Jerusalem. “For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him” (7:9). Not lost in the return from exile is the One who remains at the helm, “And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me” (7:28).

This same emphasis upon the One truly in control also weaves itself through Ezra 8, “And by the good hand of our God upon us” (8:18). Note also 8:31, “Then we departed…and the hand of our God was upon us.” As Ezra leads the Israelites’ return to Jerusalem, he does not allow the people or us to forget Who is truly gracing the way back to the home city. Though danger lurks around the twists and bends in this multi-month journey of anticipation, God’s hand is upon them, a hand Isaiah describes as “not shortened (so that) it cannot save” (59:1). Though our God, who is spirit, has no hands, He allows the writers of Scripture to attach Him with these limbs. Using such anthropomorphic terms allows us to somehow comprehend the incomprehensible, to focus on His sovereign strength and consummate counsel and not so quickly our meager might and porous plans. But His hand is also an object lesson to the unbeliever.

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

His hand does not nullify or excuse our hand. He will do what only He can do, while we must do what we can do. Ezra and the people model this in 8:21 as a fast is proclaimed in order for the people to seek God’s direction in their journey. 8:23 informs us that the people then fasted and sought God—”and he was entreated of us.” Yet even in this brief response of the Israelites in 8:21 and 8:23, there flows on the scene sandwiched between these two verses God’s action: “The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him” (8:22).

Never lose sight of the hand of God, which is never slack and weak. Dads, ask your family these questions to further their understanding of today’s study.

Pastor Jim Stevanus

Catechism

Question 2

Q. What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify him?

A. The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (Eph. 2:20; 2 Tim. 3:16) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy him (1 John 1:3).

Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his
praise in the islands (Isaiah 42:12).

Today’s Hymn

Words: Attributed to Alexander Means. Music: From The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, by William Walker (New York: Hastings House, 1835); arranged by William Jenson Reynolds (1920-).

WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS?
Click here for tune.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Thought Provoker

If your host had a dozen eggs to scramble for his guests’ breakfast and only one of them was rotten, would you eat the breakfast? Surely you would respond, “absolutely not,” properly reasoning that the one rotten egg would spoil the whole batch. The same principle carries over in our Christian faith. The story is told about a mission church in one of the Caribbean islands who wanted to reach the local population that was steeped in Voodoo. Their Voodoo practices included the sacrifice of chickens. In order to get the locals to attend church the priest decided to put a voodoo altar just outside the front door of the church. The idea was that the unregenerate neighbors would come and kill their chickens on the altar and then come into the church and hear the Christian gospel. In other words, it was OK to mix a little paganism with Christian truth. However, the real loser was the church as the purity of the Gospel changed as salvation became the sacrifice of Christ plus the sacrifices of chickens. Today, we learn a very practical lesson about the dangers of “syncretism,” i.e. the attempt at reaching out to other religious beliefs by incorporating some of their beliefs with the truth of God’s Word.

Dad’s Study

One of the ways Satan attacks the work of God is by offering to join in and help. His temptation is to put aside our differences and join our efforts in the areas we agree. In today’s chapter the children of the captivity began a good work of rebuilding the house of the Lord (vs. 1-3). No sooner did they start when the enemy raised up his head. The Samaritans, a mixed people with a “mongrel religion,” made an offer to help. What a temptation! On the surface it sounded like a good idea. Everyone can use a helping hand. Lead by Godly wisdom the people of God rejected their offer. Zerubbabel rightly concluded that there is no “communion between light and darkness” (2 Cor. 6:14).

Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Truth in Practice

It is easy to spot the enemy’s temptation of syncretism on the pages of Scripture but it’s another thing to recognize it when it’s staring you right in the face. See if you and your family can make a list of current examples where the church is being tempted to mix its purity with the profane. What has been the church’s response? What are the consequences for yielding to these temptations?

Catechism

Question 82

Q. What is meant by the words, until he come, which are used by the apostle Paul in reference to the Lord’s Supper?

A. They plainly teach us that our Lord Jesus Christ will come a second time; which is the joy and hope of all believers (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16).