were ashamed when confronted with sin. For instance, when Ezra returned to Jerusalem and found that God’s people had intermixed with the people of the world and had begun to practice their abominations, he sat down astonished and in humiliation prayed, "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.” Ezra 9:6

In the remainder of that chapter you will find that Ezra prays for God’s mercy and grace; then he confronts the people with their sin and demands repentance. When he does so, the people tremble in fear of the Lord and obey His Word even though it is painful and costly.

Now people are ashamed to blush. They boldly flaunt their sin and celebrate their diversity. Modesty has disappeared and has been replaced with a brazen generation that has no fear of God and no shame for sin. Now when people publicly announce that they have adopted the lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah we congratulate them for having courage. There is no sense of shame, no sorrow for sin - not even among God’s own people. We have become so fond of being called tolerant and broad minded that we wink at sin when we ought to be weeping - and we wonder why we don’t have revival.

There is nothing more needed in today’s society than a deep sense of shame and humiliation and it must start with God’s people! We cannot expect the world to do what God has instructed us to do. “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God;” 1 Peter 4:17

Would to God that we had more Ezras and Jeremiahs who are not ashamed to blush at sin and bold enough to call for repentance among God’s people before the wages of sin take their final toll.