Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.” ~~ Ezra 10:3-4
When the people of Israel, did not separate themselves from the people of Canaan, which the Lord has warned them about, they did things that were displeasing to God. It was bad enough for the people of Israel to break God’s law and marry the heathens around them, but it was even worse that even the priests and the Levites were involved in this, as well.
They had taken on husbands and wives of the land which eventually caused the grief of Ezra. When they heard his prayer to God to forgive them, they too realized the seriousness of what they had done, and they began to weep. It was not just the men who were disturbed by this, but all of the people.
They decided to make a covenant with God to repent. This would be a drastic move on their part since some of these people had children with their heathen wives, or husbands. But it didn’t matter, they were willing to make a covenant with God, to divorce the wives that were not Hebrews, and even give up their children that were born of them. Although it was drastic, this would be a real effort to make things right. Ezra believed this would be enough repentance for what they had done, to keep the LORD from killing them.
When we have disobeyed God, there are consequences and we can’t just sit around and allow things to continue to spiral out of control. We have to take action. True repentance will require us to do things that may be uncomfortable, almost unbearable, like walking away from those we think we love in order to do the will of God.
As in Ezra’s case, he was not alone in his effort to turn things around, the people were willing to join him in the renewed covenant to God. We too have to know that we are not alone, there are those who will come along beside us, they will pray with us and encourage us! They will also hold us accountable to keep our covenant.
But it starts with us; we have to RISE UP! Take hold of what has taken hold of us, one step at a time, rising higher and higher, knowing that every step we take, every prayer we make, there is help. The Father will send us the Holy Spirit, called the “Paraclete,” who is a Helper, Advocate, Encourager, and Friend who comes alongside us to help us.
The Psalmist also says in Psalm 121:7-8, that the Lord is the source of our strength, so we have another helper.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
When we rise up, He rises up!!
