DBG - May 29 - Ezra 8-10

In this chapter Ezra gathers people to join him in returning to Jerusalem.

vs. 1-14 – 1,754 men accompany Ezra as he goes to Jerusalem.  It is sad to note how few of the Jews embraced the opportunity to return to their homeland.

vs. 15-20 – The location of Ahava is debated but likely it is near the Euphrates and Babylon.  The caravan pauses to prepare for the journey and Ezra attempts to recruit more to join them.  While there are some priests among the number, there are none of the other Levite divisions.  Ezra is able to recruit 258 to join them.

vs. 21-23 – Any great endeavor should be bathed in prayer before it commences.  Ezra leads the people in fasting and prayer for safety for their journey.

vs. 24-30 – The valuables that they are travelling with are divided among twelve groups of priests.  They are entrusted with their care for the journey.  Everything is weighed and catalogued at the start so they can determine if anything is lost on their arrival in Jerusalem.

vs. 31-36 -  The caravan arrives safely at Jerusalem.  After three days of resting and settling in, the treasures are presented to the Temple and verified that nothing was missing.  Sacrifices were made and the new arrivals set to their work.

In this chapter Ezra confronts the sin of the Jews already in the land.

vs. 1-4 – It is reported to Ezra that the Jewish settlers had lapsed in their separation (see Deuteronomy 7:2-3 for an example of this command) by intermarrying with Canaanites.  This was a problem for many reasons, including the association with pagan peoples and the adoption of their practices.  Ezra is astonished upon hearing this and goes into mourning over the sin.

vs. 5-15 – Ezra prays to God, confessing the sins of the Jewish people.  He does not ask for forgiveness but acknowledges that their actions were an affront to the One that had so graciously allowed them to return from captivity.

In this chapter the problem of the pagan wives is resolved.

vs. 1-4 – Ezra’s prayer and actions move the people to repentance.  Schechaniah (“dweller with Jehovah”) acts as spokesperson for the people in acknowledging their sin.  His father Jehiel (“God lives”) is listed among the guilty in vs. 26.  He proposes that all of the pagan women that had been taken for wives and their children be “put away”.  This would a divorce according to the Law in Deuteronomy 24:1-2.

vs. 5-8 – Ezra continues to mourn the sin of the people as a proclamation goes out that all the Jews were to gather in Jerusalem.  Those that refused to come, and they are given a three-day window to arrive, would be excommunicated from the Jewish community.

vs. 9-17 – The gathering takes place on the 20^th day of Chisleu, our late-November and December.  It is the rainy season that is their winter.  It is raining as the people gather to determine how to handle the situation of the pagan wives.  It is determined that they will begin the process of removing the wives in ten days on the 1^st day of Tebeth, our December.  The work continues until the 1^st of Nisan, the start of the Jewish religious calendar. 

vs. 18-44 – Here is the roster of those men that had taken pagan wives.  It is an everlasting reminder of God’s earnest desire for holiness in His people.  The guilty were to put away their wives and offer sacrifices.  In vs. 20-24 are the guilty priests and Levites.  They are presented first because they should have led Israel better in the ways of holiness.

We rarely consider the consequences of our actions in the proper scale.  It was vitally important that the Jews that returned from Captivity begin right and lay a solid foundation for the nation to rebuild upon.  They compromised and allowed sin to enter the nation in the taking of pagan wives.  The reaction to this may seem harsh to the modern mind, but you must consider the time and the need.  Having 2,500 years of perspective helps.  But what of our own shortcomings?  They may seem light in the moment but what about decades or centuries later?  This is but one of the many reasons we are to walk as close to the Bible’s instructions as we possibly can.

Our hymn today, “To Thee, Omniscient Lord of All”, is a prayer of repentance written originally in Norwegian by M.B. Landstad.  This translation is by Carl Doving. 

To thee, O Lord, the God of all,
With contrite heart I humbly call,
And view my sins against thee, Lord,
The sins of thought and deed and word;
In my distress I cry to thee,
O God, be merciful to me. A-men.

My Lord and God, to thee I pray,
O cast me not in wrath away;
Let thy good Spirit ne'er depart,
But draw me closer to thy heart;
That is my penitential plea,
O God, be merciful to me.

Let thy belovèd precious Blood
Be to my soul a cleansing flood,
To wash my sins and guilt away;
That, pardoned by thy grace, I may
Go to my house with peace from thee:
O God, be merciful to me.