modeling repentance

O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.

Ezra 9:15

Ezra modeled for the people he led just how to confess sin. There were those men among the returning Jewish exiles from Persia who began inter-marrying with gentiles in Jerusalem. This was just the sort of disregard for the covenant that Ezra knew had gotten the Jews exiled in the first place. Ezra recognizes the guilt of this before the people and his candor (even though Ezra personally was not guilty of intermarriage), led the nation back to repentance. The book ends with people publicly weeping in repentance and officials that are guilty of this sin being identified.

Ezra’s prayer still stands as a good model of real repentance. These details are helpful as we confess our own sin:

1) Recognize the balance of the justice and the grace of God. Ezra holds these in a healthy tension by both adoring God’s justice and celebrating a remnant God has graciously restored to Jerusalem.

2) Recognize your guilt concerning sin. Although Ezra himself had not intermarried, the statement “we are guilty before You” is a statement of the responsibility of everyone to repent of a national sin and disgrace.

3) Accept the consequences. Ezra knew until this sin was confessed, forsaken, and turned from, the nation would not worship God in the temple they had restored.

4) Actions follows confession. The story in chapter 10 continues with a public repentance service that was followed by the identification of those guilty (especially leaders and priests). This shows that God’s Word was believed and taken seriously to be followed once again.

This helps me frame how to pray over societal sins. They aren’t other people’s sins. They are sins WE ALL must confess and weep over. I need to take some responsibility. We are guilty of racial injustice in this country. We are guilty of killing the unborn. We are guilty of denying justice. We are guilty of mistreating the poor. We are guilty of selfish destruction. We are guilty of worshiping a plethora of false gods. And God is also just and gracious with us so that we are not destroyed. How we need to plead His mercy and repent of our evil!