Ezra 10:10-11

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them,
“You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel.

“Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will;
and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

How did the people respond?

Ezra 10:12-13

Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice,
“That’s right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do.

“But there are many people; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

The people agreed.
They had been unfaithful to the Lord.
They had married foreign wives.
They had added to the guilt of Israel.

They agreed it was their duty to confess and repent.

But, there was a problem.

There were many people.
It was the rainy season, and raining at the moment, and they could not remain in the open.
They knew that it would not be a quick task.
Why?
Because they had transgressed greatly in the matter.

Oh that people today would respond in like fashion.
Rather than repentance, we seek to justify our sin.
Rather than confessing, we seek to “explain”.
Rather than submitting to the leading of the Lord, we seek to provide methods to “forgive ourselves”.

May we do as the people did.
Upon hearing the truth may we say…

• “That’s right!”
• “It is our duty to do so”
• “We have transgressed greatly in this matter”

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