Day #268

Sermon - Audio
Ezra 7-10 - Audio
Ezra 7-10 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Ezra 7-10

These last chapters give the account of how Ezra led the second (and much smaller) group of some 1,500 men and their families back to Palestine, focusing on three highlights:

1.) Artaxerxes’ decree (Ezra 7:11–28). When Ezra returned he came with a number of significant concessions from the king. As declared by the king, money and supplies were given, taxes were waived, and Ezra was given authority and power. This was a big deal, because now the Old Testament law determined the civil and religious rules of the land.

2.) Ezra’s prayer (Ezra 9:6–15). When Ezra arrived in Judah he found that the people of Israel had not kept themselves separate from the peoples of the land - they had begun to intermarry with them. Not only was intermarriage commonplace, but the spiritual and political leaders in Judah were the worst offenders!

3.) The people’s response (Ezra 10:1–15). The people were deeply affected by Ezra’s passionate prayer. They volunteered to repent, and to make a solemn covenant (a contract or promise) to send away their pagan wives and their children, and so purify their nation.

Some details:

8: 21-30 Ezra proclaimed a fast in preparation for the journey as an acknowledgment that God is in total control. They were carrying at least 25 tons of gold, silver, and expensive bronze objects – no wonder Ezra was concerned about the people’s safety.

8:35-36 The section ends in an interesting climax—God’s good hand was so evident on His people that even surrounding peoples helped them in the sacrificial system, the means of fellowship with God.

9:3-4 Ezra tearing his clothes was a typical response of a godly person when they found out about sin, but pulling hair from his head and beard was a sign of unusual grief. Ezra knew that this kind of sin was what had led them into captivity in the first place.

10:1-4 One man, Shecaniah, spoke for the people and was calling on the nation to do something distasteful and difficult, something that could cause bitter division between family members and friends. However, his argument was on the basis of the Law of God which was supposed to be the people’s rule of life.

Let’s think about it: Were they right to divorce their wives and send them away? Do two “wrongs” (their marriage to, then divorce from pagan people) make a “right” (a purified nation)? What decision makes sense for God building his holy society?

Bible Knowledge Commentary -- Teacher’s Commentary