~Insert Catchy Title Here~

I've been reading in Ezra the past few days.

(I know, I know, the excitement.)

But actually, it's really been speaking to me this time through.

The first part that struck me was at the end of the second chapter. The foundation for the new alter and temple had been laid. The Israelites had begun offering sacrifices again, something they hadn't done in years. The entire community gathered at the temple foundation to celebrate the new beginning. But a funny thing happened amongst all the shouts of praise, amongst all the joy.

The older priests and levites, the older people who had seen Solomon's temple, wept.

They cried because they remembered the grandness of the old temple. They compared the new to the old, and found the new wanting.

Instead of being happy that they would once again have a temple and be able to worship the way God intended, instead of looking forward, the mourned what had been.

I am so guilty if doing this. Changes come, good changes, God-ordained changes, and instead of embracing the new, I try to cling to the old. Never mind that He removed the old, I want it still.

The next part comes at the end of the book. Ezra discovers that many Israelites- including priests and levites- have married unbelievers, something strictly prohibited by God. He instantly begins to wail and mourn. He tears not only his clothes, but also hair from his head and beard. He prays, confessing the sin of his people, asking God to forgive them. The people around him begin to be remorseful also. They agreed they had sinned and they said they would send away the wives they had taken, and even the children they had.

They were willing to give up the families they had made to purge the sin from their land.

It made me think of this post Jon Acuff wrote. (If you don't read him every day, you really should. ) Do we slow dance with sin (or in the case of the Israelites, did we marry it?) or are we actively getting rid of it (vomiting it up or divorcing it)? How serious are we about getting the sin out of our lives?

I am in no way, shape, or form advocating divorce. It was used for illustrative purposes only.