"So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice."
Ezra 9:3-4
Ezra was "astonished" by the sin among God's people, and he had an amazing response. The Hebrew word means to be appalled, stunned, desolate. He was so devastated by the sin among God's chosen people that he pulled out his hair. And there were others who "trembled at the words of God." It is sad that I get so inured to sin that it does not affect me much. I began to tolerate it instead of being appalled. O sure, I say, "Tsk-Tsk," but to be so emotionally unmoved only demonstrates my own dulled sense of sin. Instead, I need to "tremble" and be moved by His holiness. Oh God, please keep me sensitive to sin in myself and among God's people so I am appalled by it.
Today's Thought: The person who trembles at God's word has a violent reaction to sin.
Have an "astonished" day. Love you.
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