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Leader Bible Study | Ezra Read the Law (Ezra 7-10; Nehemiah 8)

Find 1 John 1:9 in your Bible and read it slowly two or three times. Many Christians are familiar with these words; perhaps you have them memorized. We agree that God wants us to confess our sins to Him. We believe that God is faithful to forgive His children by the blood of Jesus. But do you find it easy to confess your sin to God? If not, why? Do you believe the lie that keeping quiet about our sin will prevent God from knowing about it?

In Ezra 9, leaders approached Ezra and declared to him the grim reality of the people of Judah who were caught up in devious behavior and lifestyles. Following the second return of exiles to Jerusalem, the men of Judah began to intermarry with foreign women again. It was as if they had completely forgotten God. Ezra’s response of honest confession before a holy God ought to teach us something about his character and about our need to do likewise.

First, Ezra stood before God and the faithful of Judah, and he cried out before the Lord. Ezra didn’t point fingers as he went before God. He didn’t shift the blame or use the chance to gossip about others in his community. Ezra did precisely what we see later recorded in 1 John 1:9: he confessed his sin to God.

Ezra truly believed that it was right to bring his sin and the sin of his community before God, to lay it all out before the Lord and to seek God’s forgiveness by faith and repentance. And not only did Ezra see the good of confession, he found reason to celebrate as he did. 

Read Ezra 9:13. Ezra recognized the necessity of confession and then celebrated that God’s grace was still enough, still active, and still effective toward His people.

Ezra took his sin seriously and confessed it before a holy God. And Ezra confessed with hope that the God he had sinned against had been gracious and would continue to be so. 

When we bring our sin before God, let us do so with humility rooted in our deep need for God and confidence grounded in our understanding of His amazing grace.

TERMS TO KNOW

Confession: admission, declaration, or acknowledgment; a significant element in the worship of God. Most occurrences involve one of two primary responses to God: confession of sin or confession of faith.

As we read the Bible, it is crucial that we recall the voice behind the words: the voice of God. Only God has the highest authority, holds all knowledge, and is perfectly good. Maybe you need to remember as you read and listen to God’s Word that this is the Lord’s declaration.

Leader Bible Study | The People Promised to Be Faithful (Nehemiah 9-10)

What comes to mind when you think about confession? Do you think of sadness? Weeping and guilt? Shame and failure? What about worship?

When was the last time you came before God in true confession? What led to your admission of failure before a holy God?

The Bible is clear that “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4). But what does the Bible say about what confession should look like? What does the Bible say should lead us to confession?

Nehemiah 9 gives insight in how to answer that question. God’s people had gathered and were fasting and beginning to confess their sin when the priests chimed in with an appropriate pattern for how that confession ought to progress.

In this text, we discover that true confession of sin will never come before genuine recognition of the holiness of God. God’s people had promised to be faithful, but following their return from exile, the men of Judah intermarried with foreign women. They were unfaithful to God, disobeying His commands. Yet God remained faithful.

The pattern of the priests is to first recognize, exclaim, and celebrate God’s goodness, faithfulness, holiness, and righteousness. Only out of these truths comes the reason for confession. For it is only when we see the majesty of the holy God that we see the weight of our sin and the punishment due to us as a result. Then, and only then, will we be drawn to the altar of honest confession before God. Yes, conviction must come, but it will only come when there is first an awareness of the greatness of God.

Set aside time to intentionally approach God to confess the sin in your life. God wants your eyes fixed firmly on Him, even in moments of reflection and confession. For the moment we lose sight of Him is the moment we negate the gravity of our sin and the necessity of confession.

Faithfulness: being true to one’s word or commitments as to what one has pledged to do, professes to believe, and so on.