말보다 말씀! 빚보다 빛!

[Key Verse]
“While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly.” (Ezra 10:1)

[Our Story]
There was a stream near the neighborhood where I grew up. In the summer, I would swim there with my friends. There was a wide sandy bank where we played sports and games. Of course, we also caught fish. The water was so clean that we could even see sand-dwelling fish like gobies. Even without catching them, just watching the fish swim was fascinating. But over time, the water wasn’t as clear as it used to be. It began to lose its color and transparency. Eventually, we couldn’t see the bottom anymore, nor the fish. The water started to smell. Dead fish floated to the surface. One day, I wiped my arm in the stream without thinking, and later that day, my skin itched and turned red. Adults in the neighborhood warned us not to swim there anymore. Even our schoolteachers expressed concern. People said it was because of increased pesticide use and runoff from nearby livestock farms. The stream remained polluted until the rain came. Only after the rain washed it clean did the water begin to recover.

[Bible Story]
Ezra chs 9 -10 tell a story of sin being washed away. Ezra returns with the second wave of exiles to Jerusalem. But soon after the joyful return, Ezra is devastated. He finds out that the Israelites—priests and leaders included—have married foreign women. At that time, such marriages were forbidden by God’s law (Deuteronomy 7:1–5). Ezra is so ashamed and broken that he can't even lift his face before God. He cries out in prayer, confessing that their sins have piled up so high they reach the heavens (Ezra 9:5–15). While Ezra prays, people gather around him and weep bitterly. One of them, Shekaniah, proposes a radical step—to send away the foreign wives and children, in obedience to God's law (Ezra 10:1–5). Ezra calls the people to repent publicly at the temple. As they weep, they begin to let go of their sin. It’s a powerful moment of communal repentance. Names are listed—those who chose to let their sin go. That list, written with tears, becomes a list of restoration (Ezra 10:18–44).

[Your Story]
Are there sins you’ve stored away instead of letting go? Are you still holding on to what should have been washed away? Are you living with sin that stinks, but you’ve grown used to it? Just as polluted water needs to be flushed out to become clean again, so must sin be released from our hearts. When the rain comes, the water clears. When the grace of the Lord pours down, our hearts can be cleansed. That’s when we can truly live again. That’s when revival begins.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

With joy,
Pastor Hyung Joong Kim
Copyrightⓒ 2025 by Hyung Joong Kim