Kingdom Keys - Ezra Series

So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.

A few weeks ago, we learned how the book of Chronicles was not so much about human failure (although they detail a lot of it) but about the power and promises of God. Out of the failure of human effort, God’s purpose succeeds and all that He intends to do will be accomplished.

So if you have your bible, we move into the Book of Ezra. The people of Judah were allowed to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple. Ezra was among the first exiles to return. It takes place a little over 500 years before Christ, as the Jewish people begin to return with their possessions and new families and a new worldview. A worldview heavily influenced by the Babylonians and Persians. Therein lies today's message for us. Let’s pick up the issue from chapter 9:

After these things had been done (reestablishment of theocracy), the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”

3 When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.

The leaders had come to Ezra to share why they believed the people were not as favored by God as they had been. The originals carried off after being conquered had succumbed to the secular culture of their day as evidenced by their willingness to violate God’s command not to marry outside the nation. A practice God had said would unleash “the Lord’s anger to burn against you and will quickly destroy you” (duet 7:4).

Ezra, after becoming aware of the problem, becomes overwhelmed by guilt and regret. Ezra felt this admission with every fiber of his being. He says:

“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today….

Jump down to verse 13

13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.”

Ezra understands the sin and its ramifications. He is genuinely remorseful. After this prayer, he does what prophets do. He makes a public spectacle of himself to draw attention to the problem to draw people to the faithful solution. As a result, the leaders begin talking about sending the foreign wives and children from the country. An action, we might find harsh.

However, the word translated in 10:2 as "marrying" is not the usual word for marriage but means ”giving a home to.” Some scholars believe this means the women were harlots and others were illegitimate unions to unbelieving spouses.

Although sending the women and children away seems drastic, the leaders chose the solution as the best option. They were determined to act to separate themselves from sin. It is clear from the writing that each case was considered carefully and cases where a woman did turn away from idol worship were to be considered differently.