Leaders Repent First

Ezra 10; Psalm 31:9-18; Proverbs 21:3

 

When the Israelite exiles returned to Israel, you would think that they would have learned to avoid offending and disobeying their God. But they hadn’t. They still sinned by intermarrying with neighboring nations and becoming familiar with their gods and practices; the Israelite leaders “led the way” (Ezra 9:1-2).

 

While they may not have learned not to sin, they seem to have learned the value of repentance. Ezra led the people to confess their sin and turn away from it. The sin was widespread. So when the people gathered, it was overwhelming to deal with all their sin right away. But the sin still needed to be dealt with, confessed, repented of, rejected.

 

So they came up with a plan. The leaders would represent the people’s heart by repenting first, and the people would follow their leaders in repentance over the next few months:

 

Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us. – Ezra 10:14

 

The leaders led the people into sin. It was up to the leaders to lead the way back to God.

 

Father, please help me to follow Christ wholeheartedly day by day, because You have made me a leader. May I not sin, but may I lead my family, friends, and fellow-believers in righteousness. However, when I sin and lead others into sin, may I not insist that they get right first. May I humble myself before You and repent—may I lead others in repentance so that we all keep our eyes on You and our feet on Your path. Give me the grace to humbly repent first.