Ezrra 10:4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

It was a day of great revival. Ezra prayed and the people were deeply affected by the words of prayer of Ezra and mourned over their sins. They came together and confessed their sins. There were tears and much weeping. They were truly sorry for their sins.

Yet Ezra assures them: “Yet now there is hope in Israel” (Ezra 10:2).  The case is sad, but it is not desperate; the disease is threatening, but not incurable. There is hope that the people may be reformed. Ezra encourages them: “Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it” (Ezra 10:4).

Those words were encouraging and deserve our attention and consideration:

Arise – It means, don’t sit still; get up and do something. The journey to a thousand miles begins with the first step. The first step is the hardest. The most difficult thing is to get a man off the couch. But once he gets out of that cushy position, he is a different person.

When the prodigal son realised his sin, he said: “I will arise” (Luke 15:18). He got up and turned away from his sinful condition and returned to his father. The same is for us: the first step is to get away from sin or an addiction is always the hardest but the most essential.

for this matter belongeth unto thee – If we have sinned, it is our business to confess and repent of it. Don’t blame the devil and don’t blame anyone else. The prodigal son realised his and confessed it and decided to make the change: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18).

If only we would realise that all sins are towards God and grieve God at His heart, perhaps, we would make a change. The matter is in our hands; it is up to us to confess and seek forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

we also will be with thee – The greatest encouragement we can give to a brother who has sinned is to tell him we are with him. We are not going to condemn him but help him to turn anew. Yes, we hate the sin but we are going to love the brother. He needs to know that we love him.

There is a human tendency to stay away from a brother who is clearly behaving unchristian like. This is self-righteousness and it is not helping that brother. In the parable of the prodigal son, it is the attitude of the elder brother when the younger brother returns home; he was angry and would not join in the celebration (Luke 15:28). He is not helping his younger brother. The way to bring a sinner to repentance is to love him: “Know that he who turns back the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:20, MKJV).

be of good courage –They were ashamed. Fear of embarrassment causes many to hide their sins. Ezra exhorts them to pluck up the courage, confess their sins, and determine to repent and do the right thing.

When King David realised he had sinned, he confessed it: “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13). It takes great courage for one to confess his sin. But repentance becomes easy when a confession has been made. “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3).

and do it – Just do it! Why hesitate? Why ask for more time to think over it? If it is sin, determine to repent of it and do it now. When the angels told Lot that God would destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and asked him to leave the city immediately, Lot lingered (Genesis 19:16). He hesitated and was reluctant.

Don’t give the devil anymore time! Just do the right thing: determine to forsake sin: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

Brethren, we can forsake sin and help a brother to repent of his sins if we would just do what Ezra told the Jews: “Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it” (Ezra 10:4).

 Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.