“The Trap of Sin”
BIBLE
READING: Ezra 7-10
What would you think of an individual who had been warned of the dangers of
burning themselves on a stove, only out of curiosity, places their hand on the
stove and severely burns themselves? What would you think of that same
individual if he touched the stove a second time after burning himself?
We might say that person was a few bricks shy of a load. Well essentially
that is exactly what the Israelites do. During the days of the
conquest of Joshua, God warned them to not intermarry with the nation in whose
land they were taking. The Israelites did not listen to the command
of God, causing the introduction of idolatry into their culture. The
idolatry continued so much, that it was one of the main reasons Israel was sent
into captivity in the first place. Now, as they have returned home to
begin the long process of the rebuild, they have once again fell into the same
trap of intermarrying among the pagan nations. In Ezra 9, we see Ezra praying
for God to forgive them of committing the same sin that got them sent off in
the first place. In this prayer we see regret, shame and contrition, from
not just Ezra, but many of the people who were involved in the sin. We
could say that they were just like that person who touched the stove.
However, we must be careful of how critical we are over the Israelites.
How many times have we committed a sin, asked for forgiveness of that sin and
then only a short time later commit the same sin again. Sin is an easy
trap to fall into. We must be careful to not allow ourselves to continue
to fall into the trap, but to ask God for guidance and strength to fight off
our worldly urges to commit the same sin, over and over again.
Prayer
Requests:___________________________________________________________________________________
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