Time to Do Hard Things

Hard Things Expounded
“We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my Lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.”
‭‭Ezra‬ ‭10‬:‭2‬-‭3‬

Many Christians are going to hate this truth, so if the truth scares you, I would go any further...

So, earlier this week I made a post about doing hard things and realize that I may need to explain this a little better. So, here we go...

The children of Israel had been taken captive by Babylon some 70 years prior to this time where some are commissioned by Artaxerxes to rebuild the Temple of God. This is a great thing for them as they are beginning to be led by God to return. A place of Grace and Mercy by God for His chosen people. As temple worship is resuming and the people were working to rebuild, they would come to a different level of repentance. Like in captivity they repented of forsaking God and He brought that remnant back to Israel. While they were rebuilding they went to sacrifice offerings and repented of their failing to give to God what was His. With each step of repentance came greater opposition from the enemy and now Ezra, broken by the grieving because He had been made aware by God that there was still greater work to be done but it could not until Israel did some very hard things. They had taken wives of the strange land and many had even had children of these “strange wives”. God had commanded back in Leviticus that they were not to do this and now God could not go forward with their un-repented sin. Ezra prayed for them to repent and they did in Ezra 10:2-3, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my Lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.” This was going to be the hardest thing they had done. They had become so intimate with what was now “family” but they would have to cast them out. This may seem a harsh demand by God, but it is important for us, the New Testament Believer to understand.

Being intimate with sin has a very high cost. Not the price Christ paid on calvary, but a cost to the sinner. Imagine you had found a wife...a very attractive woman that you had taken the time to get to know, cultivate a relationship, marry and then have children. Now at the beginning of the relationship you knew it was against God’s Word and Will but it didn’t matter, it just felt so good. It seemed right to love like that and bring forth children together...how could God really not want this? But that isn’t the end of it. No, God’s Spirit is grieved and while you may have a great deal of worldly things and pleasures you simply cannot find joy and peace. You know why, even though you try to ignore the truth that you know God didn’t want that sin in your life...His Word warned you...His Spirit called you to holiness, but you ignored it as you just compound and complicate each relationship while straining your relationship with God. The issue is that the very thing you are in pursuit of , which is joy and peace with God, are unattainable. No matter how much you give to the church or attend church or serve at the church...you know there is still a problem. God’s Spirit dwelling inside of you won’t allow you to have that joy and peace while you ignore God’s Word. Then, God’s Word and Spirit convict so greatly, you know what you have to do. You have to separate yourself from everything that has taken you away from Him. This means the things that you have allowed to take that place of intimacy that belongs to God must be cut out of your life. Things that you have come to care for so deeply that it will be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done...

How much God hates sin is measured by how much sin hurts us, because of How Much God Loves Us. God knew from the start that this choice was going to hurt us. He knew what would have to happen if we went down that road but He doesn’t stop us. Sure, He tries to get our attention and remind us that what we’re looking for is found IN Him, but He cannot force Himself on us. So, He patiently, lovingly waits for us to realize just how much we need His very presence so that we might finally be willing to do the hard things. When we finally are in that place to cut out whatever things they might be that have hindered our walking with Him, we will finally have that peace and joy we have longed for as His presence overwhelms us because He loves us! Let that simmer for a bit.
Pastor Larry Hof