Ezra 10:1-17 English Standard Version The People Confess Their Sin 10 While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3 Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law. 4 Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.” 5 Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib, where he spent the night, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. 7 And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles. 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. 11 Now then make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them. 16 Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of fathers' houses, according to their fathers' houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter; 17 and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women. Apparently, Ezra's prayer was cried out loud so that the people could hear him praying and weeping. During his prayer, many people of the town came to him to encourage him, support him, and join him in his prayer. They confessed corporately and individually that they had sinned before God and that they needed to repent, and they knew there was still hope for Israel if God chose to forgive them. They knew from the book of Psalms that the LORD forgave David for his inequity when he repented and came before the LORD with a broken and a contrite heart, which the LORD will not despise. The people approach with the same kind of broken hearts here, and they come expecting the same kind of forgiveness.
They agree to renew their covenant with the LORD once more and to put away all their foreign wives they have taken from the forbidden places. Ezra made all the priests and Levites swear to follow through on this promise, and they swore with an oath to do so. A convocation was then called that all the people had to attend, and Ezra stood up in front of all of them and confronted them with their sin. He called them to confession and repentance, and they all replied, "It is so; we must do what you have said." However, since there was heavy rain that day, the people asked if they could return home and have their leaders meet together and make a decision for them and come back and inform them of the details later. They agreed that dates and times should be set by which each Israelite man should have separated himself from any foreign wives he had and sent them away out of the Land. Anyone who had not done so by the established date and time would be in rebellion against the Law and should receive the full punishment prescribed by the Law. There were only two men who opposed this and two other men who agreed with them after they stated their opposition. Thier opposition was likely that they did not want to separate themselves from their foreign wives. By the first day of the first month (the start of the new year), the matter had been settled and they were ready to see who had and had not complied with the Law. Our next passage would reveal that even among the priests and the Levites, there would be those who swore with an oath to obey and were still living in disobedience. We'll talk about that next time. Ezra 9 English Standard Version Ezra Prays About Intermarriage 9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God, 6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem. 10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” This passage speaks to a topic that is hard for us to connect with because we don't live in that theocratic society of Old Testament Israel. Ezra sees that the those who are responsible for teaching the Law and upholding it as an example for others are openly breaking it by taking wives for themselves from among the Gentiles. The priests were first to marry within the tribe of Levi if possible, and if not possible, then they were to take wives from among the righteous members of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Yet, the Levites and priests had intermarried with the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. Marital relations were forbidden with these people because God knew they had a pagan worldview antithetical to the Law and they would take the LORD's people away from the gospel purposes that He had for them. They would not try to make themselves holy to be like the LORD's people, but instead they would try to make the LORD's people wicked like them. So, there is something to be learned by us still today that the LORD doesn't want us to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (a New Testament principle) and that a Christian should not marry a non-Christian.
The New Testament talks about what happens if someone who is already married becomes a Christian in the midst of their marriage and their spouse does not, but that is not the case here. All of the people that Ezra is speaking to are ethnically Jewish--specifically they are from the tribe of Levi, and many are from the family of Aaron (they are the priests). They didn't suddenly become Jewish one day through a conversion experience. They were born into Judaism and if they don't want to be Jewish, they have the choice to be excommunicated and go live among the Gentiles (and be under the judgment and condemnation that God would bring upon them), but there is no situation in which an unbelieving Jew should be serving as a priest or a Levite that is responsible for teaching the Law of the LORD to other and living as an example of faithfulness and holiness. It breaks Ezra's heart to see this, and he mourns and grieves to the point of tearing his clothes and weeping and cries out to the LORD in prayer, for he fears the LORD's judgment is going to come upon them for living in such open rebellion to the LORD's Law that they are to uphold and teach. It's not just the Levites who are guilty though, but also the leaders who from the tribe of Judah. The government officials also seem to be ignoring the Law that they are supposed to uphold and enforce. With political and spiritual leaders like this, who can the people look to as examples, and how can these leaders possibly lead the people in the right direction when they have rebelled against the LORD in one of the most important decisions any man can make in his life? The issue is not just that of pulling the man away but pulling the hearts of the hearts of their children away and raising the next generation to not worship the LORD or obey His law, statutes and decrees. The whole covenant community could be lost as we would say today "without a single shot being fired." That is, this seen as spiritual warfare from the enemy to try to undo the covenant promises that the LORD has made to His people--either trying to get Him to abandon them, or them to abandon Him. Either way, Satan imagines that the way to get the covenant to be broken is for these leaders to share their marriage beds with the Gentile nations around them which the LORD told them to have no part in--in fact, these were the nations for the most part that Moses, Joshua, and the Israelites were supposed to destroy during the time of the Exodus and Conquest. Ezra looks at how the LORD has been at work to return them to the Land through the miraculous work the LORD has done in the hearts of these Persian kings, and now the Land has already been polluted by the wickedness of these pagan peoples. This is in clear violation of God's Word in the Law and in the Prophets--Ezra seems to indicate that the LORD has sent prophets to the people to tell them not to behave this way, and the people had ignored them. Ezra says that it is clear that the whole nation is guilty, for even those that haven't been doing this themselves have known it was happening and let it go on in their presence. They did not call their neighbors to repentance or demand that their leaders be Holy Unto the LORD or that the Law of the LORD be fulfilled in this matter and that this sin of high-handed rebellion be enforced by such men being cut off from the covenant community (excommunicated--if they want to take Gentile wives and live as Gentiles, then they have chosen to no longer live under the Abrahamic Covenant). God being Just and Righteous must judge this iniquity, but Ezra prays instead that the LORD would cause the hearts of the people to repent so that the people would not have to go into Exile again. God is up to something so big that Ezra prays that the disobedience of these leaders will not tarnish and thwart what He is doing. The LORD will use Ezra to speak out against this evil and call the nation--especially it's spiritual and political leaders--to repentance. We'll see how that goes and how the priests, Levites, and officials respond as we continue studying the book of Ezra. Ezra 8:24-36 English Standard Version Priests to Guard Offerings 24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. 25 And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 26 I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30 So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God. 31 Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. 32 We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. 33 On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded. 35 At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God. In this passage, Ezra turned over possession of the sacred items of silver, gold, and bronze to the priests along with the freewill offering of silver and gold offered by the king, his cabinet members, and the leaders of the community that were present. Everything was weighed out and accounted for and put in the hands of 12 priests and the Levites in general to be responsible for it until they could reach Jerusalem and put these items in the hands of the high priest and place the sacred articles in the Temple. The silver and gold that was a freewill offering was first to be used to replace anything in the Temple that was needed and then, after that, could be used by the priests and the Levites as they saw fit (it could go into the LORD's treasury if they didn't need to use it for anything else).
They broke camp on the twelfth day of the first month and made their way towards Jerusalem. Nothing is said about the journey other than the LORD was with them and kept them safe and gave them success. Because the text says that the LORD delivered them from enemy ambushes, it sounds like they were the target of such ambushes, but they know the LORD fought for them and protected them all along the way. What a testimony! Everyone and everything arrived safely, and they camped at Jerusalem for three days once they had arrived. On the fourth day, they presented the sacred objects that had been put into the hands of the priests at the Temple--the names of the men who took possession of these holy items and offerings are named here--and everything was weighed, counted, and recorded to make sure nothing was lost along the way. The inventory taken by Ezra before they left matched exactly with the inventory when they reached Jerusalem. For the Exiles who were returning with them, there was great celebration, as they were happy to be home. They offered all kinds of sacrifices and offerings on the LORD's altar from the offerings made by the king and his nobles--twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All these were made as a burnt offering to the LORD. They also delivered the king's commission to all the satraps and governors of the province Beyond the River--that anything that the Jews needed for worship in the Temple was to be paid for out of the royal treasury of the province Beyond the River. They also would have delivered the news that the priests and their families were to not pay tax or duty or have any such revenue collected from them and that no one was supposed to interfere with their ability to worship at the Temple so that they might offer prayers and offerings on behalf of the king and his people. There was more in Darius's letter, but I'll let you go back and read it for yourself in Ezra 6:1-12 if you need a reminder of all the good things that came to the people of Jerusalem and Judah through the LORD by way of the decrees of Cyrus and Darius. Ezra 8:21-23 English Standard Version Fasting and Prayer for Protection 21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. The first order of business after taking account of everyone with them and making sure everyone was with them that should be with them was to order a time of prayer and fasting. The purpose of this time of prayer and fasting was to pray for protection for them as they travelled the long distance from Babylonia to Jerusalem and Judah. They were carrying lots of valuable good with them that would have made them targets for thieves and robbers, especially since it does not sound like they had a detachment of guards with them to protect them and their goods. This is one of the surprising things to me about the king's order, but it sounds like if the king had the faith to trust that God Himself would protect them, and so did Ezra, for they had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the Power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him." In other words, the king probably offered protection for them, and they refused because the LORD was able to protect them and bring judgment and wrath on anyone who may try to harm them. We are told that the LORD listened to them and gave them safe travels and protected all the people and goods along the way.
I'll also mention that calling for corporate fasting and prayer is not as unusual among the Jewish Christians as it is for the Western Christians. We think of times of ritualistic fasting in the West like Lent where it is a season of fasting. However, the Christians living in Israel right now have proclaimed a time of fasting and prayer and asked other Christians around the world to join them in prayer for protection from their enemies that surround them and the real threat of nuclear weapons that increases day by day from Iran and its proxies. They also are praying for unity within the body and that this would be a time when churches would be able to focus on issues within their own church that need disciple that are keeping their congregations from being united, for "Judgement starts in the house of God," and if there is judgment to come, then we as Christians had better make sure God's house is in order. They are also praying for the safe release of all remaining hostages, but also for the salvation of all those who are now being called their enemies. Only through the work of the gospel can true and lasting peace come. If you feel led to join them in fasting and prayer for the next few days, they know that the risk of violence against them increases as Ramadan approaches. They realize this is a time of spiritual warfare and we need to use the weapons of spiritual warfare that the Lord told us to use--prayer and fasting. Psalm 122:6-9 English Standard Version 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! 7 Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” 8 For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Ezra 8:15-20 English Standard Version Ezra Sends for Levites 15 I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, 17 and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; 19 also Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; 20 besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name. Before getting too far into the journey, Ezra took quick inventory of who was with him (see the genealogy from last time), and he noticed that while there were a few priests who had come with him, there were no regular Levites with them whose job it was to serve in the Temple (and in the community) alongside the priests to help them accomplish their duties. At this, Ezra and the leaders of the people that were with him sent word back to Iddo, a leading man in Casiphia, that the Levites should be sent to them so that they could minister in the house of the LORD--none of the Levites were to choose to stay behind.
Then 38 Levites and 220 Temple servants joined them. It was a small number, but the LORD can do great things with even a small amount of people who are willing to do the work. In fact, the Scripture is full of storeis where this is exactly how the LORD likes it, so that He gets all the glory for what he is going to do. Ezra 8:1-14 English Standard Version Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra 8 These are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: 2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. 5 Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. 6 Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. 7 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. 8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. 10 Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. 11 Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. 12 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. 13 Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. 14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. This second wave of exiles returning to Jerusalem and Judah was open to anyone who volunteered to go. This is the record of the heads of the families who went and the number of men from each family. One person from each of the priestly families, and one from the royal family there was one representative. I'm not familiar with the other family heads, but they must be other people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Overall, there were about 1500 men depending on if the family heads were counted in the total numbers that were with them or not.
We can compare this to the record taken in Ezra 2 when a much larger delegation of 42,360 went to Jerusalem for the first time under Cyrus. It doesn't seem like a very large group in comparison, but it was only a small delegation for the inspection and report and everyone else with them likely was going there to return home. Today we have a situation where many of the Jews have been dispersed throughout the world for various reasons--starting with the destruction of the Temple and the Diaspora in 70 A.D. and continuing through the time of the Holocaust, there was a need for the Jewish people to flee persecution and find safe haven wherever they could, even though it would many times be far away from the covenant Promised Land that belonged to them and their families. Now the LORD seems to be bringing them back to the Land again, which is a sign to me that everything He promised about the end times is going to happen. Just as this return got everything ready for the first coming of Christ, the Jews living and being in control of the Promised Land again (and probably rebuilding the Temple again from what we read in Scripture) will be a precursor to the coming Day of the LORD. Therefore, as we see this happening again, there is an urgency upon us to take the gospel to the whole world--both Jews and Gentiles--as there is not much time left. Ezra 7 English Standard Version Ezra Sent to Teach the People 7 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest-- 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. 11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now 13 I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury. 21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. 25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.” 27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. It's at this point in the story that we finally get a true introduction to Ezra, whose lineage is given to establish that he is truly a priest in the line of Aaron and to which order of the priesthood he belonged. We are told that he is not only a priest, but a scribe and an expert in the Law of Moses--meaning that he spent his life studying it and teaching others about it, and it probably meant that he had large portions of it (if not all of it) committed to memory so that he could easily make copies of it without any copy errors. Ezra would probably be quite old at this point in his life--probably too old to serve in the role of daily duties of the priest as the LORD had set up a forced retirement system, but he could still teach the Law to the people all the days of his life, and that seems to be his passion in his "retirement years."
We are also told that he found favor in the eyes of King Artaxerxes (probably Darius's son because of Ezra's age, though we don't have a name given to this king here, just the Greek title of Artaxerxes which was given to many Persian monarchs). In his seventh year, Artaxerxes allowed a second group of exiles to return to Jerusalem which included some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. Ezra led this group, and they arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of Artaxerxes's seventh year. Since the order was given on the first day of the first month, then the trip took them four months to complete. We learn that Ezra was not only a student of the Word and a teacher of the Word, but a doer of the Word. Look at verse 10 as I think it is a key verse in this passage, "For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel." God called Ezra into this role of being the teacher of His people not simply because of his knowledge, but also because they could study his life and see what Ezra was putting what was written in the Law into practice in his own life. He was not calling people to something that he wasn't already doing himself. There's a word for that--integrity. God loves to use men (and women) of integrity to transform their families, communities and culture. Ezra is such a person. Ezra and the people with him were sent with a letter from the king explaining their reason for making the trip and that they were there under the authority of the king. Anyone messing with them was going to have to answer to the king of the greatest empire in the known world at the time (though Alexander the Great was going to come on the scene not that long from now and the Medo-Persian Empire would be overthrown by the Greek Empire, and then eventually by the Roman Empire as God foretold in a vision to the prophet Daniel many years before it happened). The letter covers the rest of the chapter, so I'll see if I can summarize some of its main points. First, the letter was addressed to Ezra, meaning that Ezra was the official leader of this delegation, even though Ezra was not the political leader from the tribe of Judah, nor do we get the sense that he was the high priest at this time. He was just a man favored by the king and by the LORD who was willing to step into the role of leadership. The purpose of the trip was to allow any of the exiles, priests or Levites that wanted to return to Jerusalem to go back with Ezra. Ezra's mission is to make inquiries about the condition of Judah and Jerusalem and to take all the freewill offerings made by the king, his counselors, and the people of Babylon (part of the Medo-Persian Empire now) which would include vast amounts of silver and gold and he was to use these resources to buy whatever was needed to make sacrifices in the Temple again. It's amazing to me that a foreign king would take it upon himself to make sure that the Jews had enough money to buy all the animals, wine, oil, wheat and salt needed to make all their sacrifices so that they could freely obey the Law at the king's expense. The rest of the money was given to them as a gift to do with as they pleased. There was no expectation of repayment, and no accounting was required--the king's only request/requirement was that the money first be used to make sure that the sacrifices could be made to the LORD. It seems that the king found even more vessels that had been stolen from the Temple (or he had made new ones to replace them) and these were to be delivered by Ezra to be put into the LORD's service. The king also said that if anything was missing that was needed for the LORD's service, payment to make such articles was authorized to be made from the royal treasuries--the king was bankrolling the worship of God and taking the full cost of it upon himself. This is the total opposite of the "separation of church and state" that we so often hear about in the West--yet the king did not suppose that he was to act as scribe or priest to be the teacher of the people or the one to offer the sacrifices. He only realized that the LORD had blessed him and his people with great wealth because they were to use it to take care of the LORD's people and that all the blessings the king experienced were because of the Abrahamic Covenant--"I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) Specifically, the king gave Ezra a "checkbook" for the royal treasuries from the province Beyond the River (remember, these were the peoples that lived in the Land while the Israelites were in Exile and they weren't happy that they were returning and rebuilding, and now they are being made to fund the reconstruction and resettlement effort). The province Beyond the River was to pay any amount requested by Ezra up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. These are massive amounts and I'll let you make those conversions or look them up in a concordance of some kind, but suffice it to say that the king is trying to make sure that he provides everything needed until the Land can start producing for itself, as it will take some time to be able to plant and grow the wheat, grapes (and turn them into wine) and olives (and turn them into oil). It was not that the kind was going to perpetually pay for everything out of the royal treasuries, but the king understands that there is no way that the people can start offering the required sacrifices because they are returning from captivity with nothing. He will have to supply them with the items needed for their sacrifices for a time. Moreover, the king made all the priests, Levites, doorkeepers, singers, and Temple servants--anyone who worked in full-time service to the LORD--tax exempt and free from paying and duty, tribute, custom, or toll. Essentially, he was telling everyone that these people were to be treated as members of the royal family, for no one charges tax or duty to their king or his sons. Jesus even makes a point of this in the New Testament about why He should have been exempted from the poll tax as He was the Son of God. People would understand the great honor that the king was bestowing on them and that he was telling everyone that these servants of the LORD were under the same protection that his own sons should be under. Then the king decided to deal with the issue of the corrupt government officials who had given issues to Ezra and the people last time. Ezra was given the authority to name new magistrates and judges for the entire province who could govern the province according to what was in the book of the Law. Ezra would be responsible for teaching not only the Jews, but also all the inhabitants of the Province the Law of the LORD, for the Law was not only given to the Jews, but to all who would live in the Land. Artaxerxes is exercising great wisdom and understanding in his decree that he needs to be a blessing to the Jews, but the Jews need to teach the Law to his people so that they can experiences the blessings, and not the curses of the Law. The king also gives Ezra the authority to execute capital punishment as prescribed by the Law for anyone living in the province Beyond the River who disobeyed the Law (those who were living in open rebellion to the LORD and His commandments and statutes). Lesser punishments of banishment, confiscation of goods and imprisonment were also allowed. This is a big deal for a king to give a people the right to choose their leaders, obey their laws given to them by God, and punish people according to that Law. We don't see the Jews having the same freedom under the Romans as they could only fine and imprison their own citizens but could not exercise capital punishment without the permission of the Romans (yet they did it anyways several times with stoning and then just blamed it on the people being an uncontrollable mob). The chapter ends with Ezra praising the LORD for putting such a thing into the heart of the king, for it obviously came from the mind and heart of God Himself, and once again blessing Ezra and His people with His steadfast, unfailing, covenant love that we have read so much about. It is apparently the LORD's steadfast love on Ezra that moved the heart of the king and his counselors (his cabinet as we would call them today) to act in this way. Ezra was encouraged and took as many men of Israel with him as would volunteer to go, for there would be much work to do in the reconstruction and resettlement efforts. We'll start next time with a genealogy of all those who travelled with Ezra. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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