The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of how God’s people came home form Babylon. They had spent man years there because they had disobeyed God. Now that they were home, they wanted to let God know how bad they felt about making him unhappy.

To show that he was sorry, Ezra tore his clothing and pulled hair out of his beard (Ezra 9:3). Other ways people would show they were sad or sorry for their sins included going for days without food, wearing rough clothing called sackcloth, and sprinkling dirt in their hair. God always wants us to treat sin as serious business. We need to be sure that we always ask for God’s forgiveness when we hurt him, ourselves, or other people