While reading the books of Ezra and Nehemiah over the last month, I have given much thought to the bravery and steadfastness of these two leaders who took it upon themselves to be used by God to lead His people Israel back to the Promised Land, and to fully return to God.

It was heartening to read about their courageousness to face all the odds against them as well as the willingness of the Israelites to hear God’s word and obey it—at substantial cost.

If you would like to know more about the return of Israel to the Promised Land after their exile to Babylon, I encourage you to read both Ezra and Nehemiah.

God had chosen Israel to be His people many centuries before when He called Abraham out of Ur to follow Him to a new land that He would eventually give to Abraham’s descendants.

God also chose Jerusalem as the place on earth that He would place His name and live with His people, the Israelites.

Today’s post is about the response of obedience of the Israelites after their return from exile to foreign nations which was caused by their ancestors’ (and their own) disobedience to God.

God’s Expectations from His People

First and foremost, God expects loyalty to Him.

Why would He not? After all, He is the creator of Heaven and Earth and all living creatures of which man is made in His very own image and placed as steward over all His blessings.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

God is a jealous God. He wants us to worship Him alone.

Nothing should come before Him—not ourselves, family, desires, money, jobs, material possessions—absolutely nothing.

He loves us so much that He gave us His laws to follow and to teach to our children and to generations to come.

When we put God first and follow His decrees, we will be blessed in family, finances, and needs.  

God promised the Israelites that He would shower them with abundant blessings if they put Him first and worship only Him. (Leviticus 26:1-13)

If not, they would endure hardship and horrific circumstances. (Leviticus 26:14-39)

These promises and warnings are meant for us today as well.

I believe that we are removed from God’s cover of protection when we do not follow Him.

Satan loves this opportunity to sift us when we choose to be on our own and do things our way instead of God’s way.

But, when we repent and turn to God, He forgives us.

God’s Willingness to Forgive

It’s a good thing that God is willing to forgive our sins, because if not we would be eternally lost.

Often in the Bible, we read about God hearing the cries of His children and having mercy on them.

It is when we confess our sin to God and we are truly repentant that God forgives us and takes us back under His protection.

The Israelites’ return from captivity under the rule of Persia at that time (Persia conquered Babylon after the exile), is a prime example of God forgiving the sins committed against Him and blessing His people.

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.

Nehemiah 9:1-3

Remember when I wrote earlier that the Israelites were willing to obey God at a great cost?

Well, here it is in verse 2 above. “Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.”

Many of the Israelite men had married foreign women that worshiped other gods and led them away from God.

Their ancestors did the same including King Solomon. There is most definitely something to be said for leaders appointed by God to set the example for the people they govern.

Yes, these are harsh circumstances, but also fact during that time.  

Perhaps many were unaware of this sin as they were exiled for many years and not allowed to hear God’s word in a foreign country and did not realize they were sinning against God.

It was when they returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple and the walls surrounding the city that Ezra, the priest, stood before them to read God’s word and His commands.

When they heard the words of God’s law, they cried in shame and were repentant and willing to do whatever was just in the eyes of God.

They had endured captivity for so many years and were longing for a fresh start in their beloved Jerusalem.

They were grateful that God heard their cries and granted their desire to return to their own country.

It seems that Israel understood that God is sovereign and appreciated His goodness in making a way for them to return to the Promised Land. 

God’s Desire to Restore His People

Because of the Israelites’ woeful disobedience prior to the exile, they lost everything they had—family, homes, material possessions, income, as well as their country and freedom.

They were once again living in foreign lands and ruled by kings of other nations, devastated and hopeless.

BUT GOD was working in the background and was making a way to restore His chosen people.

God had never planned to desert Israel then nor will He do so today. (Psalm 137:6)

And God will never abandon us, because He has made a way for the whole world, every nation and every tribe, to be forgiven through His son Jesus Christ. 

Jesus is the only way to forgiveness, abundant life now, and eternal life. (John 14:6)

We need only to submit our lives to Him and abide in Him.

By abiding in Jesus, we too are expected to live righteously according to the same rules that God gave Israel.

One may argue that we need not live by the law because of Jesus’s atoning work on the cross.

However, Jesus said that we need to obey God’s commands, because He Himself came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. (Matthew 5:17)

My one prayer for my beloved country is that we would ourselves repent of our sin individually and corporately and turn back to God.

I am certain that God would heal our country if we did.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

This is the blessing that God promised King Solomon after he built and dedicated the first temple in Jerusalem.

Because we are grafted into God’s chosen through His Son Jesus Christ, we are also afforded the blessings given to Israel.

Thanks be to God for His grace, mercy, and forgiveness!

I hope this message stirs in your heart a desire to submit to and seek after God, and to abide in Him.

You will be blessed now and forever.

I hope you enjoy the song below.

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.