Return from Iniquity

He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity.
Job 36:10
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Return from Iniquity
In case you were unsure, we humans have a proclivity towards sin. The tragic result of the fall. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). From the very beginning of our existence, we are covered in sin.  But God does not leave us there. As Elihu says, “He opens [our] ears to instruction and commands that [we] return from iniquity.” Through His Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit brings us to saving faith to know Christ as our Savior. Yet the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh continue to lead us astray.  We continually follow the wide path to perdition forsaking God’s truth for the lies of the tempter.  And in love God continues to call us back. We are to “return from iniquity.” We are not to stay in our sins but repent and turn away from them. And when the forces of evil pull at us we cling ever more tightly to the cross of Christ. It is there that we find rescue. Washed in the blood of the Lamb, our filthy rags are washed clean. “He opens [our] ears to [His] instruction and commands” and in doing so, we recognize our Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27). “For [we] were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of [our] souls” (1 Peter 2:25). We return to the fold of the Good Shepherd’s flock, led by His Word and Sacraments, to lie down in green pastures beside still waters.