A Window of Grace- Ezra 9:8-9

By the time you finish reading 2 Kings, the people of God had so ruined their testimony and their relationship with God that they were on the threshold of captivity. These events are commented on by Albert Barnes -
“At the conclusion of 2 Kings, and also of the preceding book, 2 Chronicles, we have seen the state of misery and desolation to which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were reduced through their unparalleled ingratitude to God, and their innumerable backslidings and rebellions. These at last issued in their captivity; the inhabitants of the former country being carried away by the Assyrians, and those of the latter by the Chaldeans. The former never recovered their ancient territories, and were so disposed of by their enemies that they either became amalgamated with the pagan nations, so as to be utterly undistinguishable, or they were transported to some foreign and recluse place of settlement, that the place of their existence, though repeatedly guessed at, has for more than two thousand years been totally unknown.”
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

It seems that the people of God had established a destructive pattern that led to their eventual captivity. Note the pattern- ingratitude, continuous backslidings, constant rebellion, and their intermingling with the pagan nations. Remember, it was a pattern not a one-time failure or an occasion where they stumbled, but a regular and deliberate pattern that they knew was wrong. So many of us act surprised when we realize that we have been taken captive by sinful habits, yet would not break the pattern that led us there!
(However before you misunderstand what is meant by intermingling – Ezra was grieved at the marriage of God’s people with pagans, grieved at the intimate nature of their intermingling. We are to avoid becoming intimately connected with the worlds system and its philosophies.)

With this background, we now look at what is meant by “A Window of Grace.” In (v.8) the NIV says, “But now for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious…” This literally meant an interval or small window of time – a window of grace given to these people for a specific purpose.
The Lord provides his people with such gracious opportunities and even when we’ve squandered them away, our Father mercifully gives us another chance…Leith Anderson said, “Adversity is often the window of opportunity for change. Few people or organizations want to change when there is prosperity and peace. Major changes are often precipitated by necessity.”
Captivity was as about as necessary as it can get. These people needed change and God was graciously giving them a small window of time to make this change. Theologians believe we live in an interval of time called “the age of grace.” An age that allows men to come to God through Jesus Christ by God’s grace, and this age is supposed to end when
the church is raptured or taken away. The moments of revival that God gives us are meant to shed light on our sinful condition and reveal to us understanding of what he wants to work on in our lives.
As Christians, we sometimes behave in a similar manner as the people in this story. We become ungrateful and slip into destructive patterns until our gracious God steps in and provides a window of grace to get things right with him. The window of grace gives us time to do three things –
Examine our ways – We need to be ashamed of our sin and deeply sorrowful. I mentioned this several weeks ago…sin is serious. It is nothing to make light of or to think that God winks at it. (James 4:8-10; Ps 36:5; Ro 5:20)
Repent of our ways – We need to confess our sins (C.f v.6; 1 Jn 1:9) Ezra’s prayer spoke volumes about his character. He identified himself with the people in their sin even though he himself was innocent. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “Ezra understood that the nation stood together under the covenant and that this breach of responsibility, especially since it had been led by leaders of the nation, could jeopardize the entire nation before God.” You’ve heard it said that your sin affects more than just you. The church is a community and when we sin, it affects the community of believers. This flows to the next point…
Change our ways – We need to be aware or reminded of the consequences of sin
(1Jn 3:4-6,9; He 10:26-27,29-31).

As we close, I want to bring your attention to a phrase that caught my attention –
“And now for a little moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.” Ezra 9:8 ASV

I believe this gives us insight into what we may pray for as we bring this message back to God at the altar. It was used in several different ways, but in each one, we can see the significance. The term “nail” symbolized a union between the builder and the deity. In other words, the one who was working on the temple, as he placed a nail in the wall, saw this as a symbolic union between him and God. This term also meant a peg in the wall used for hanging utensils. Finally, it was used to speak of the tent stakes used by God’s people as they moved according to his word.
We may borrow from all three – we do in fact have a union with God through Jesus Christ, but perhaps some of you need to work on this relationship…your relationship is suffering and you do not feel close to God like you once did. On the other hand, maybe you have lost your usefulness to God because you are pursuing your own agenda. Then again, perhaps you have been disobedient to the voice of God and you have not moved when you heard his voice…because of apathy, laziness, or rebellion.
God is giving you a window of grace today.