Mom's Translation
5 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God 6 and prayed:
"O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.
8 "But now, for a brief moment, the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 "But now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we have disregarded the commands 11 you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.'
13 "What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we again break your commands and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 O LORD, God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence."
Bee's Thoughts:
Thank God for the passage... a reminder of God's mercy and kindness to His children. Like what I wrote at JOE blog, "A Very Tring Day", God has shown His mercy on me. I am lost for words to thank Him as I am very tired now.
Dear Lord,
Though I am super tired now, but I still want to say "Thank You". Thank You for 2006, not only You have given me peaceful and contentment, You have also given me a new job so fast. Let me be faithful in all I do, so that Your glory may shine through. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Ezra gave the best example of how to practice what we have learnt from God’s words into our life. As a sign of total submission and humility, Ezra knelt down for confession and asked God for forgiveness. Ezra also knows well about God through his study of the Law and his close relationship with Him in prayers. He knows God is gracious, loving and slow to anger. By putting into action to what he has learnt, Ezra corrected his people to turn away from living a sinful life.
Thank You Lord for teaching me the importance to take time to read Your words. Thank You also for Bee, my very good and encouraging team member in this daily devotion. Without her I think I would have skipped many, many days! Thank You Lord that through Your words, I’ll be able to strengthen and prepare myself for the coming ‘battles’. At the same time, I’ll be able to encourage, guide and help my brothers and sisters in Christ. In Jesus’ name I pay, Amen.
.......the devotion of Bee & Tommy
