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Ezra was a God fearing man, yet he prayed, "And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens." (Ezra 9:6)
He owned the people's sin, and even the national sin, and brought this before the LORD in a humble prayer of humility.
Ezra 9:8 says " And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD 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."
A nail in his holy place is a metaphor using either a nail or peg firmly fastened into a wall so that vessels could be hung from it securely. Others have derived the metaphor from camp life: upon the peg being driven into a firm soil depended the security of the tent. [Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges; Exegetical]
It could be considered a foothold, that which holds: in the case of Israel it was their returning from Babylon, with the ability to have a remnant left and to start over. Driving the first nail fastens one beam to another. In the Church it is sound doctrine, and those who keep and defend sound doctrine, earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3) and exposing any error that may try to creep in.
Now one of the issues in Ezra's day was that many of the people had taken "strange wives" of which they had been commanded by Yahweh the LORD not to do: it was an unequal yoke.
Ezra 9:14-15 reveals the seriousness of this matter: "Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this."
There's a tract by A.W. Pink, "A Call to Separation" written before World War 2 that says this,
"The days in which we are living are marked by a spirit of compromise. On every side we behold unholy mixtures, ungodly alliances, unequal yokes. Many professing Christians appear to be trying how near to the world they may walk and yet go to heaven."
Farther on as you read, it has this to say, which ties in specifically with the same issue as Ezra was dealing with:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together." This applies to marriage. There are but two families in this world: the children of God, and the children of the devil (1 Jo 3:10). If, then, a daughter of God marries a son of the devil one, she becomes a daughter-in-law to Satan! If a son of God marries a daughter of Satan, he becomes a son-in-law to the devil! By such an infamous step an affinity is formed between one belonging to the Most High and one belonging to His archenemy."
Now, if one becomes a Christian after they were already married, and the unbelieving spouse is content to remain in the marriage, they can remain married, as it's written in 1 Corinthians 7:13-16. But it's a whole 'nother story if a born again sanctified believer makes the unwise decision to marry an unbeliever. One should be praying in regard to ANY form of relationship, and any unequal yokes must be shunned, because it is the Christian ultimately that will suffer. Even Solomon was dragged down by this thing: marrying strange women, foreign wives, who enticed him to idolatry and the occult.
We spoke of the nail in God's holy place. This nail must be sure: it must be in solid material for it to hold. You do not hammer a nail into rotten wood: it will not hold. You do not drive a tent stake in loose sand, it will pull out, and the tent will fall. Likewise you do not drive your spiritual nail into watered down doctrine, twisted scripture, loose living and carnality, nor unequal yokes.
In Nehemiah 9:26 it's dealing with the same thing as Ezra, and says after Israel was blessed, "Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations."
It seems the Churches in America were blessed. God blessed the Christians of this country with a greater light than any other nation besides Israel, for Israel had direct revelation strait from God Himself through many prophets, and then Jesus. America cannot claim that. But, the light of the Gospel, our access to the Word of God, the number of churches and chapels and cathedral in our land is astounding: yet largely Christianity has faltered.
Professing Christians have rebelled against God, and while they are not killing the prophets outright, many are slaying the prophets by their tongues, who warn of the compromise and those who still preach on repentance and hell, and the dreadful seriousness of sin; the glory and majesty of the Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the return of the LORD in His glory. Yes, many professors of Christ revile the preachers of righteousness, calling them legalists, Christian nationalists, and whatnot. Ok, sometimes the Christian nationalists label fits when people spend more time on politics or idolize certain politicians more than they do God and the things of God. But usually it's a broad label smacked down upon any conservative or fundamentalist Christian.
Are you a nail in the holy place? Are you driven in to sound doctrine and a life of holiness and prayer? Is it all Jesus, or is it Jesus plus some other thing? Or, is Jesus the side dish while the world is the main course? There's a bumper sticker that says "God is my Copilot." I wouldn't put that on a car. God had better be your pilot, because if YOU are the pilot, and God takes orders from you, or is only there to relieve you, or take over if you are incapable, that's a problem!
We need to be that nail firmly fastened. And there is still some solid ground to be fastened into. There is a remnant. The Rock is Christ, and the Rock is solid. Be sure your Christ is the Rock, because there are many false Christs and other Jesus' out there that are nothing but Satan's angels of light, and mixed with doctrines of men and new age occultism. Know the real Jesus, and have a nail in His holy place.
Amen.
He owned the people's sin, and even the national sin, and brought this before the LORD in a humble prayer of humility.
Ezra 9:8 says " And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD 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."
A nail in his holy place is a metaphor using either a nail or peg firmly fastened into a wall so that vessels could be hung from it securely. Others have derived the metaphor from camp life: upon the peg being driven into a firm soil depended the security of the tent. [Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges; Exegetical]
It could be considered a foothold, that which holds: in the case of Israel it was their returning from Babylon, with the ability to have a remnant left and to start over. Driving the first nail fastens one beam to another. In the Church it is sound doctrine, and those who keep and defend sound doctrine, earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3) and exposing any error that may try to creep in.
Now one of the issues in Ezra's day was that many of the people had taken "strange wives" of which they had been commanded by Yahweh the LORD not to do: it was an unequal yoke.
Ezra 9:14-15 reveals the seriousness of this matter: "Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this."
There's a tract by A.W. Pink, "A Call to Separation" written before World War 2 that says this,
"The days in which we are living are marked by a spirit of compromise. On every side we behold unholy mixtures, ungodly alliances, unequal yokes. Many professing Christians appear to be trying how near to the world they may walk and yet go to heaven."
Farther on as you read, it has this to say, which ties in specifically with the same issue as Ezra was dealing with:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together." This applies to marriage. There are but two families in this world: the children of God, and the children of the devil (1 Jo 3:10). If, then, a daughter of God marries a son of the devil one, she becomes a daughter-in-law to Satan! If a son of God marries a daughter of Satan, he becomes a son-in-law to the devil! By such an infamous step an affinity is formed between one belonging to the Most High and one belonging to His archenemy."
Now, if one becomes a Christian after they were already married, and the unbelieving spouse is content to remain in the marriage, they can remain married, as it's written in 1 Corinthians 7:13-16. But it's a whole 'nother story if a born again sanctified believer makes the unwise decision to marry an unbeliever. One should be praying in regard to ANY form of relationship, and any unequal yokes must be shunned, because it is the Christian ultimately that will suffer. Even Solomon was dragged down by this thing: marrying strange women, foreign wives, who enticed him to idolatry and the occult.
We spoke of the nail in God's holy place. This nail must be sure: it must be in solid material for it to hold. You do not hammer a nail into rotten wood: it will not hold. You do not drive a tent stake in loose sand, it will pull out, and the tent will fall. Likewise you do not drive your spiritual nail into watered down doctrine, twisted scripture, loose living and carnality, nor unequal yokes.
In Nehemiah 9:26 it's dealing with the same thing as Ezra, and says after Israel was blessed, "Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations."
It seems the Churches in America were blessed. God blessed the Christians of this country with a greater light than any other nation besides Israel, for Israel had direct revelation strait from God Himself through many prophets, and then Jesus. America cannot claim that. But, the light of the Gospel, our access to the Word of God, the number of churches and chapels and cathedral in our land is astounding: yet largely Christianity has faltered.
Professing Christians have rebelled against God, and while they are not killing the prophets outright, many are slaying the prophets by their tongues, who warn of the compromise and those who still preach on repentance and hell, and the dreadful seriousness of sin; the glory and majesty of the Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the return of the LORD in His glory. Yes, many professors of Christ revile the preachers of righteousness, calling them legalists, Christian nationalists, and whatnot. Ok, sometimes the Christian nationalists label fits when people spend more time on politics or idolize certain politicians more than they do God and the things of God. But usually it's a broad label smacked down upon any conservative or fundamentalist Christian.
Are you a nail in the holy place? Are you driven in to sound doctrine and a life of holiness and prayer? Is it all Jesus, or is it Jesus plus some other thing? Or, is Jesus the side dish while the world is the main course? There's a bumper sticker that says "God is my Copilot." I wouldn't put that on a car. God had better be your pilot, because if YOU are the pilot, and God takes orders from you, or is only there to relieve you, or take over if you are incapable, that's a problem!
We need to be that nail firmly fastened. And there is still some solid ground to be fastened into. There is a remnant. The Rock is Christ, and the Rock is solid. Be sure your Christ is the Rock, because there are many false Christs and other Jesus' out there that are nothing but Satan's angels of light, and mixed with doctrines of men and new age occultism. Know the real Jesus, and have a nail in His holy place.
Amen.
