August 9

Today's Reading

Notice in Ezra today how much gold and silver they were transporting. It was common in those days (and today in parts of the world) for caravans to be attacked by bandits. The decision to fast and rely upon God's protection was a bold witness to Artaxerxes and the members of his inner circle. God honored the faith of the Israelis. When they arrived in Jerusalem, Ezra was appalled by the intermarriage of the spiritual leaders. Like Solomon before them, they had married wives from other religions and allowed them to bring their idolatry into the marriage with them.

1 Corinthians parallels Ezra today. It was known that a man in the church was living in sin with his father's wife. Nothing was being done and Paul demanded that the take action before the work of the Gospel was destroyed. Note this man is mentioned again in 2 Corinthians and he had repented. Hallelujah! Church discipline is painful and often messy, but it has to be done.

Psalms: as I write this, I think about someone I know who seems to be suffering deeply at the hand of enemies. I found comfort in this prayer.

Proverbs: it is easy to rail against leaders with whom we disagree. May we all grow to deeply believe Proverbs 21:1.

How have today's passages spoken to you?