“And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground.” (Ne 8:6 AV)
What an incredible sight this must have been. A remnant has returned to restore the Temple and city wall. On the day these projects were completed, the entire congregation assembled, and the word of God was read. This lasted an entire day. Sacrifices were once again offered for the sins of the people. Feast days were observed anew. The people were so moved by God’s mercy that they worshipped in the sincerest of all manners. They bowed their faces to the ground. They would not so much as look unto heaven whence came their help. They confessed their sins twice. Just in case they missed something, they did so a second time. The beauty of this holiness came at the expense of some hard lessons. If we are saved and wish to be perfectly Christlike with a sincere and transparent relationship with the LORD, then there are some hard lessons to learn along the way.
This revival came at the expense of failures and consequences. Israel learned the hard way that faith is difficult, but expected. They learned the hard way that obedience is required. Israel went through some deep waters. They suffered much because of their choices of disobedience and fear. When they were successful, this also came at a cost. Trusting God is difficult. Obedience often comes with persecution. Whether they were faithful or not, the journey of the saints was a hard road. Yet, when they were released from their captors and returned to their own land, Israel realized just how merciful and gracious God was. And, He still is. They returned to their homes. They returned to their country. They returned with relative liberty to worship God as instructed once again. A heart of gratitude and humility is what made the head bow.
I don’t know about you, but I go to bed each night asking the LORD to help me worship Him as He deserves. He is my Creator. I am His lowly creator. He deserves more than the best that I have. He deserves more than I can give. This doesn’t mean the soul should give up trying. The more this soul strives to love God as He is worthy to be loved, the more it becomes apparent that there is much work to be done. This work is hard work. This work means uncomfortable situations. This work comes as we learn to fear the LORD as we should, yet not to where His love becomes ineffective. This work requires much confession. It requires much prayer. Most of all, this work requires the unabated work of the Holy Spirit. If we are to love God as He deserves to be loved, then the Holy Spirit cannot be frustrated. He must be listened to and followed. Our God is far better to us than we deserve. The intimacy with God we crave comes at the end of some hard times. But it is better to go through those times and love God with all our hearts, than to rest at ease in our sin and fears never having known or loved God as was possible!
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