Wed., 1/10/18 Devotion (Ezra 10:2)

Today's encouragement comes from Ezra 10:2, where we read these words:

"And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, 'We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.' "

When all looked dark and hopeless, an otherwise obscure Old Covenant churchman (Shechaniah) comes alongside the despondent leader Ezra, and offers this encouragement (above). The reality is that there is always hope for us in our Lord Jesus Christ, so long as we are still alive. No matter how much discouragement and disappointment anyone in the church faces—all as a re-sult of (someone’s) sin—there is still [quote], “Hope in Israel in spite of this."

That is what happened in ancient Israel’s Old Covenant church, as the pagan wife issue had to be dealt with. Are we encountering anything that would al-most cause us to despair? So long as we have access to Jesus, by grace through faith in Him, we always have hope.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Whatever may be wished for in an all-sufficient Comforter is all to be found in Christ.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed"]