To: Jane (4 Apr 2012)

The references in the margin of your Bible will help to explain itself.  If you don’t have that type of Bible, I suggest that you race down to the Bible Book Store and get one…quick. ;-) The Holy Spirit does the rest.

 

Job 11:4-6 “For you have said, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in your eyes’. But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against you; and that he would show you the secrets of wisdom, for they are double to that which is!

Know therefore that God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves.”

Ezra Explains

Ezra 9:13 “After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this;”

Who and What they did

Ezra 9:1-8 “Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers have been chief in this trespass.

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonished.

Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.

At the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God. And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

And now for a little space grace has been showed 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.”

 

I think Job lived after the Israelites came out of Egypt but Ezra lived while they were in Babylon and after they came out of Persia by command of Cyrus.  They still couldn’t get it together and were again in disobedience.  Nehemiah had to go rebuild the wall.  It took 52 days.  They carried the promised [holy] seed of Abraham. Jesus was that holy, promised seed of Abraham.

 

Exodus 34:6 "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,"