People often say, Marriage is the graveyard of love. All the sweet affections turn sour after entering the confines of formal marriage, and the vows made at the beginning seem to lose their meaning. Surely, everyone hopes for a lasting and joyful marriage, but the development of marriage and its underlying secrets are beyond our anticipation. Next, let Pastor Liu guide you to open the Bible and see what a blessed marriage truly looks like.
Questions to Ponder:
Many people say that with the title of Christian, one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven without worry. Is this really the case?
How can those who have sinned re-enter God's protection?
What kind of marriage can receive blessings?
In fact, this chapter speaks of Ezra's theological concepts. He has his own interpretation of the history of the past hundreds of years, from the Israelites to Samaria, to Judah, and then to Ezra's day. He has his own set of theological concepts. At the very center of his theological concept, which is also a very important part, is marriage. That is to say, marriage is a concentrated manifestation of spiritual issues. Christians must take your marriage very seriously. We will come back to the issue of marriage later, and first look at Ezra's theological views.
How Ezra Views Sin
Saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to utter shame, as it is today.” (Ezra 9:6-7)
This is the first point. God originally promised that you and I would have a prosperous life, and God's good will in our lives is beyond doubt. But what makes God's chosen people unable to live out such a glorious image? It is sin. I often ask some Christians, Is it possible to live without sinning? Impossible. How can people live without sinning? After hearing this, you might wonder where they received such information. The Israelites, they read the Bible, the Pentateuch, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, and after reading it, they said: This is impossible. How can people live without sinning? Let's take a look. There are so few men in the church and so many women, are you going to let her never marry? A question was raised. The specific problem he saw immediately overturned all the words of the Bible. So where is the problem? The problem is that he doesn't believe, right? If he believes, even in the stones, God can raise up descendants for Abraham. So how is it impossible? Because he doesn't believe that God is the foundation. We go back to the New Testament, when old John wrote 1 John, I believe he was very old, but he summed up a rule, that those who are of God do not sin, and those who are born of God do not sin.
Today, many of us Christians say: Can people live without sinning? It's impossible. It's impossible for people in the world not to sin. This concept completely does not conform to the Bible. So we must know one thing, if you see a Christian who cannot live out a prosperous life and lives very badly, you know his spiritual condition, without even thinking about it, he must be living in sin. This is Ezra's theological view. But as for whether there is a Job, there may be such a Job. In fact, Ezra also read the Book of Job, there was already the Book of Job at that time, but he did not say: We Israelites are Job. Because of our sins, we were handed over to the kings of the nations, to be killed, plundered, robbed, and put to shame. That is to say, today you must know for sure that if a Christian is put to shame, it is closely related to his sin. This is not referring to others, you and I are the same, one by one, because this is Ezra's theology.
So we could originally live out God's glory, live out prosperity and goodness, and the produce of this land would work for us, and we could eat the good things of this land and be strong. But today what we see is an extremely desolate scene. Don't think that the three words Christian can guarantee peace. Only by keeping and following God's commandments can you be guaranteed peace. So many people bring up, Look, this is so-and-so Christian, he is like this and that. Oh, I don't think it's right. That doesn't prove anything, it only proves that person is living in sin. So if a person is not holy, he cannot see the Lord. If a person lives in sin, it is impossible to prosper, if you are a Christian. If you are not a Christian, as far as sinning or not sinning is concerned, it is all the same, there is no such thing as prosperity or not. There must be a difficult scripture in their family. This is Ezra's first theological concept. So we must see killing, plundering, robbing, and being put to shame, just like today. You know that sin is in control of this person.
Once there was a person who came among us. This person was very unlucky. I have never seen such an unlucky person. The people upstairs in her house were renovating, and the people upstairs turned the area above her bedroom into a toilet. The people downstairs couldn't sleep, and there was always the sound of flushing toilets above their heads, which was very annoying. Then she went to sue, but she lost the case. She also sold financial products. A customer was very rich and invested a lot of money. He invested in twenty financial products, and nineteen of them were profitable, but only one was not profitable. As a result, the money lost had to be compensated by her, and she was sued in court. You say how unlucky this person is. It's not that he didn't make money. All twenty of them added up to make money, and the person who sued her was still her cousin. Then she came among us. After hearing this, we said to her: Sister, turn away from sin. She didn't admit that she had sinned. She felt that she was very good. But today we must know. People who do not live well do so because they do not live a holy life.
God Will Remember Us
Even such people, living in sin, should have been drowned, but God remembers. But now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant, and to give us a peg in his holy place, (Ezra 9:8) and then what to do? To grant us some revival in our bondage. It is in such a desolate era that they hope to bring the exiled Israelites back to Jerusalem. God's meaning is, you see this corrupt situation, you should repent, right? If you have a heart of repentance, God will once again have mercy and allow them to revive somewhat in their bondage. They were servants of the Persian king, but in their bondage, God did not abandon them. You see Ezra's theological concept is very clear, God has not abandoned you and me. Even if you are a sinner, if you are willing to turn away from sin, God still remembers you, shows you favor in the eyes of the Persian king, and wants you to revive. That our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.
The second theological concept is that no matter how deep you live in sin, if you are willing to turn back, God will show mercy again, allowing you to find favor in the eyes of the king, hoping you will be revived. In fact, throughout the Old Testament, you will see that God very much hopes that people can live in prosperity. But people are constantly trapped in sin. When they are trapped in sin, God disciplines them. After the discipline, God still hopes they will be revived and prosper. As a result, they are still trapped in sin. What a tragedy! That is, people cannot keep and follow God's decrees and laws. If you look at God's decrees and laws with a picky eye, there will be many problems. Why can't there be intermarriage? My son and his daughter are in such a good relationship. They are so lovely. Why can't he do it? Then he went to ask the chief priest. When he got to the chief priest's house, he saw that his son had also married one. There is no need to ask, it's good. See, these are seen from a human perspective, you cannot understand. Because God's law is spiritual.
God's law is spiritual, and we are carnal. We carnal people have no way to follow God's spiritual law. That is to say, God's law reveals the mysteries in the spiritual realm. It is not judged by physical eyes and human logic. That is to say, human logic is human logic, and God's logic is God's logic. But God's logic transcends our human logic. When we act according to human logic, we are in corruption. If you are God's chosen people, but still act according to human logic, it is very sad. Because you have God's good promises in your life, but you put them down and follow what is imagined in your mind.
What is the simplest imagination of people? Working hard, loving God will delay my making money. For more than twenty years, I have never stopped coming to worship God on Sundays. Although I still have many other problems, did I lose or receive grace? The answer is clear: I received grace. God has always remembered us and always hoped that we would be revived. What happened as a result? As a result, people are still constantly living in sin. So Ezra's second point of theology is that God has not abandoned us.
The Israelites often said that God has abandoned us. On the way out of Egypt, they said that God has abandoned us. We don't know what happened to the God who led us out of Egypt. As soon as they lost faith, they didn't know what happened. Then people began to walk the path of sinners. They had no faith in God. Today you must have faith in God. God will not abandon you, God will never abandon you. God will always take care of you. If you are willing to turn away from sin, God will definitely take care of you. So in Ezekiel it says that if you are a righteous man, and then you fall into sin, God will abandon you. If you are a sinner, and suddenly wake up and turn away from sin, God will take care of you again. It's very clear.
People who worship idols will defile that land
Once the land is defiled, that land will be cursed. Why? Because the people of that land have done abominable things. Everyone must know that you must be careful about what God hates. Let's take a look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus Chapter 20. Thank God for only giving us ten commandments, not one hundred commandments or six hundred commandments, then we would not be able to figure it out. But you must remember these ten commandments, every one of them is a spiritual principle.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:2-6)
See, these carved things are carved idols, it is a spiritual matter. Artistic creation is so good, so beautiful, but it is spiritual. A person collected two stone lions and placed them at the door of their house. As a result, their family often encountered disasters. Later, after they believed in the Lord, they threw away the stone lions, and their lives were peaceful. You need to know that many things are very spiritual. What can the stone lions do? They can't do anything, but they bring a lot of disasters.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:7-17)
There was a young man in Beijing who was wrongly killed. After his death, a reporter took photos of their home and put them on the Internet. When I saw it, oh! I didn't even know how he died. I thought he was wronged, but it turned out that he wasn't wronged at all. The whole house was full of things that should be destroyed. He killed himself without even knowing it. Brothers and sisters, you can't understand with human eyes. Today we see piles and piles of people giving false testimony in order to gain benefits. There are also piles and piles of unspoken rules now, because people feel that they have to live like this, but the Bible says very clearly that if you violate these kinds of things, you will definitely incur a curse.
Today we see that the people in the land of Israel are all doing defiled and abominable things, and then they are all cursed. Then the problem comes, these people are all carrying demons. Don't just look at the outward physical appearance. It's good, but you don't know what spirit is living inside it. So Ezra's fourth concept is So do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.” (Ezra 9:12) In Ezra's eyes, he is very clear about what is happening in the spiritual realm.
If a Christian girl marries a non-Christian boy, the evil spirit will immediately enter her, and it is impossible to live well. When I was at the Polytechnic Institute, I met a girl whose mother committed suicide. Her mother was a Christian when she was young. That kind of Christian is very sad, and she married her father (who did not believe in the Lord). As for whether she was forced or something, we can't see from a human perspective, but we can see that the devil deliberately wanted to kill her, and then she jumped off the building. What a deep wound will be formed in a child's mind, her own mother committed suicide, what caused it? It is not believing, not knowing that it is a very important thing in the spiritual realm, so everyone cannot take marriage lightly. If her mother hadn't married anyone, what would it matter if she lived to that age? It doesn't matter, but if she marries for the sake of marrying, it will cause such a tragedy.
Today, I haven't heard of many good examples of Christians marrying non-Christians that I know of. It's very sad. But if they believe in the Lord after marriage, that's another matter. So Ezra's theological concept is that marriage is a spiritual matter. History shows us that Solomon was a very wise man, but he married many foreign women as wives and was corrupted. That is to say, no matter how smart a person is in this world, you cannot be smarter than a ghost, because the devil has been in this world for thousands of years or even tens of thousands of years, but you have only lived for decades, you cannot overcome it. The devil is trying every means to find someone to devour. Through marriage, it immediately enters him, and you cannot obtain life. Then some people will say that there are more girls than boys in the church, so what should we do? It's better not to do anything than to do it wrong. If you do it wrong, this life will be very sad.
Everyone don't think that you have to get married. What does it matter if you don't get married? That's better than committing suicide after marriage. Everyone don't think that it's something great. Even so, it's better than marrying a foreigner. That's like getting out of a wolf's den and into a tiger's den, asking for trouble! Originally, God can make us strong in our midst, can eat the good things of this land, can enjoy all the good things on this land, but people don't know how to look at these important issues such as marriage with spiritual eyes. If such a smart person like Solomon was defeated by foreign women, what kind of person are you? You cannot win, don't even think about it! You think that you can transform him by marrying him and bringing him to church. It is better to bring him to church first and make him a Christian before you start dating. No need to rush!
As a result, those who found favor in the eyes of God from among the Gentiles, that is, in the presence of the Persian king, returned to Jerusalem. Their task was to build the temple. Ezra was the third group to return. So what happened to the previous two groups? The high priest, petty priests, Levites, and Israelites all married foreign women as wives, or gave their daughters to them in marriage. Why? It is that they did not understand what happened in the spiritual realm. The law is spiritual, don't look at it with carnal eyes. I will tell you a very serious thing: if people just live a small life in this world, they will easily step into sin. Don't live a small life in this world, that is, a normal three meals a day, rest, and then work the next day.
Only thinking about these things in their minds, and then paving roads when encountering mountains and building bridges when encountering water, whatever comes their way, this person will do everything. Because he thinks it is a matter of course. So the God in the Bible tells us, Blessed is the one who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night (Psalm 1:2). Why meditate day and night? It is the set of ideas that people are born with. Often some brothers and sisters among us use their natural ideas to argue with me. I really can't argue with them, because speaking according to the flesh, what they say is very right, very right. In fact, there are many very wise things in the world.
Before I believed in the Lord, I liked to read the philosophy of ancient Legalists, Xunzi, Guanzi, Shang Yang... I admired them very much. They governed the country very well and were very wise. What they said was very good. Later, when I read the Bible, I found that what they said was not good at all, because it was human wisdom, and human wisdom can only solve very small problems. Whether ancient or modern, they are all dominated by the idea of management. What do they manage? Basically, it is money. Including Li Si, Lu Buwei and others... Turning a small investment into a huge profit came from Lu Buwei. He said that he wanted to do a business that would turn a small investment into a huge profit. Later, he became the prime minister of the Qin State. He was a businessman. He had the mentality of a businessman, and he still made money when he became the prime minister. These things in ancient times basically revolved around money. Shang Yang's Reform was done by giving someone a certain amount of gold for doing something, but no one believed it. Someone did it, and then they gave him gold. It was all money.
Today we live in this capitalist society where money is the most important thing! Everyone is drilling into the eyes of money and forgetting what it means to live. Then there is a whole set of worldly value systems, a very perfect value system. Let me give you an example. This is a digression. Why am I talking about these things? Because the Israelites were trapped in this. All they thought about every day was living a daily life, how much they earned today, how much they lost tomorrow, and they only thought about all these things in their minds. As for what it means to live, they forgot all about it.
Doing business and making money is also pretty good. The Canaanites are also pretty good. I am a business partner with him. Then let your son come to our family, and let my daughter marry over. They got together, very reasonable, very naturally, but that is not God's law. Let me give you an example, why do I say that these worldly philosophies are basically based on money? One day, Guanzi was with the king. The king said that he wanted to collect taxes. For every child born in someone's family, he would collect a poll tax. Guanzi said, This is not good. People will not want to have children. Then what should we do? the king asked. Guanzi said, Salt. The amount of salt a person eats in his lifetime is fixed. He can't not eat salt! Collect taxes on salt, and he will still have children. Very clever, you can't even feel it, but that is human cleverness! I believe that when this kind of thing enters our minds, we think that Zhuge Liang, Shang Yang, and Guanzi are very powerful, but once you fall into the eyes of money, it's very bad!
But our God's law is not built on the eyes of money. Our law is built in the temple of the eternal God. We are blessed today, receive grace, and can eat the good things of this land... not because we practice human-based philosophical concepts, but because we have the concept of worshipping God faithfully. When we worship with God as the center, you will definitely be strong! In any case, living a holy life will definitely be strong! A few days ago, there was a young man who came in and out of our church many times, but he just couldn't get out of the eyes of money, because he was a salesman, selling things and making money, but he couldn't get out of the eyes of money. He couldn't cross the eyes of money and enter the temple of God. Encourage everyone to start trying and know that the temple of God is all the good things in our lives.
## To Disobey God is to be Unable to Stand Before Him
**Should we again break your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consume us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape? O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left a remnant, as it is this day. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this. Ezra 9:14-15**
This was Ezra's conviction, if you have sin on you, you cannot stand before God. This is what I want to tell everyone, no matter what, strive to live a holy life, living in holiness is the way to solve people's lives, is the way for us to be strong. We are God's chosen people, we are completely different from the people of the world. The people of the world can rely on Shang Yang, Guan Zhong's theories to govern everything. But we are the chosen people of the Eternal God, we rely on God to live a holy life in the world, and then we can live strong, and enjoy the good things of this land. Intermarriage with foreigners, from now on, don't even think about it, rather be a bachelor, be a leftover (holy) woman, than to take this risk, to incur God's wrath, you will not be able to stand before God.
Understanding Ezra's theological concepts, basically sin is the key to people living in this kind of being killed, plundered, robbed, and ashamed. Living a holy life, not intermarrying with foreigners, and not having any dealings with them in terms of interests, that is the key to letting us live strong, eat the good things of this land, and enjoy all the good things on this land. Today we must really steel our hearts, no matter what, we must live a holy life!