Read Ezra 10:18-44

Any parent or adult who has supervised children knows that the time that is most fearful is when they go suddenly, terribly, quiet. Usually that means they are up to no good. Generally, they are hoping and thinking that they will get away with it. Inevitably, they are wrong. Whether discovered straight away or some hours later, the no good is uncovered.

We have a similar approach to sin. While some of our sins are public and apparent to all, plenty of sins are committed quietly. We think we might get away with it, and that perhaps we will not be called out about it. But just as the sin of certain Israelites was uncovered and revealed in Ezra’s day, there are no sins that will be left uncovered for anyone else either. Our only hope is in the cover that comes from the sinlessness of Jesus, given to us to wear.

Ezra’s return with a mission of reform got off to an interesting start when he realised that the Israelites who had returned from exile were compromising with the world. Many in the community had taken foreign “wives” (whether actually married or cohabiting is unclear), a violation of the Law which required Israel to avoid intermarrying other cultures because it may have drawn them away from their holy calling.

Ezra’s realisation and his mournful prayer led to a spiritual reformation in Israel, with the people recognising the need to correct their behaviour, repent of their sin, and seek after holiness. Several months of investigation began, where individuals were examined and the truth of their situation determined. Finally, the date arrived when what was done with the hope that nobody would criticise was called out.

Ezra’s list starts with those who surely should have known better. “Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women” (v.18). Even descendents of Jeshua, the high priest who helped build the new temple, had sinned (v.18). “They pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt” (v.19).

If the high priest’s family was guilty, other priestly families were also guilty (vv.20-22). And the Levites were not exempt either (v.23). Nor the singers and gatekeepers who led in public worship and guarded the temple grounds (v.24).

These were the most prominent of the social mix in post-exile Jerusalem. If anyone could think they might get away with avoiding punishment, it was them. But Ezra did not care how influential they were. Because God does not care either. They had broken God’s commands, and so had sinned. Their sin would not be covered up.

That was especially so because they were the ones who were supposed to lead God’s People in worship and sacrifice. Likely, they had been leading everyone astray.

From the list of the influential and powerful, Ezra’s list moved to the rest of Israel. A list of guilty parties, their sin forever immortalised in God’s Word, completes the book of Ezra (vv.25-43). “All these had married foreign women, and some of the women had even borne children” (v.44).

Looking at this list, there were tens of thousands who had returned. But only a small percentage had sinned in this way. Yet the sin was corporate. It belonged to them all. Just as the sin of Achan affected the whole of Israel in Joshua’s day (see Joshua 7), so too the sin here affected all of God’s People.

These men perhaps hoped they could “hide out” within the covenant community. They perhaps heard “the words of this sworn covenant, [and] blesse[d] himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike” (Deut. 29:19).

What is hidden will one day be revealed. God will not allow sin to affect his covenant community. God’s judgement comes upon any who behave as if they can hide their sins within the wider covenant community, whether that of Ezra’s day or the Church today.

That is especially the case when it comes to leadership. There is a reason that Ezra’s list started with the leaders; the standards for them were higher. So too today, elders will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). Leaders must come before God with humility, seeking to be made more like Jesus, and less their sinful self. What is hidden will one day be revealed. No unpardoned sin will go uncovered.

But for those who seek forgiveness, there is a cover for sin. In Ezra’s day they repented and offered a guilt offering (v.19). In our day, we repent and put our trust in the guilt offering that God made for us, and which that ram pointed to – Jesus.

We cannot hope to hide from God’s wrath, whether in his Church community or outside it. But we can wear Christ’s righteous clothes, that cover our sins and make us holy and fit for God’s presence.

Read Ezra 10:1-17

In our day of rugged individualism, the idea that we collectively bear responsibility and guilt for actions can come as a shock. How can the actions of others affect me? As Christians, we should not be as shocked as others. After all, we acknowledge that through Adam’s sin we all fell, and through Jesus’ righteousness we are made whole with God. Those are corporate acts on our behalf, even if performed by an individual.

Ezra’s grief over the resurgent sins of Israel led many of God’s People in Jerusalem and the surrounding area to confession and repentance. Seeing Ezra’s grief over their sin, their own consciences were pricked and they were drawn to acknowledge their need for forgiveness from God.

The joy of Ezra’s return had been shattered by the realisation that God’s People had been unfaithful to God’s Law by compromise with the pagan nations around them, expressed in their cultural context by intermarriage with unbelievers. This realisation had led Ezra to a great prayer to God, throwing himself and his people on God’s mercy.

Ezra’s great prayer did not go unnoticed by others. While he prayed before the temple, “a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly” (v.1). Ezra’s own heartfelt upset convicted others of their corporate wrongdoing.

Ezra’s leadership led an otherwise unknown man, Shecaniah, to confess “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” (v.2). He proposed that God’s people made a “covenant” to remove the office by sending away the wives and children in accordance with God’s Law (vv.3-4). These may not have been legal marriages but adulterous relationships, based on some of the Hebrew words used.

The issue continued to upset Ezra, and while he managed to get the people and leading priests and Levites to commit to the proposal, he still retreated to mourn (vv.5-6). Meanwhile, a proclamation was made to bring all the returned exiles to Jerusalem in three days unless they wanted to forfeit their property and be banned from the congregation (vv.7-8).

With the people assembled, sitting trembling because of the issue and the rain, Ezra explained how they had broken faith with God by their actions (vv.9-10). In a form of public hearing, Ezra demanded that the guilty “make confession to the LORD … and do his will” (v.11).

The assembly collectively responded that they would do so (v.12). The problem was, the rain and the number of people made it too hard to sort at once. So officials as representative leaders were to hear the cases and decide upon them (vv.13-14). Only a small number objected to this approach, one of which (Meshullam) probably objected because he himself was guilty (v.29).

Ezra selected men to act as the representatives of the people in hearing the cases (v.16). The number of cases becomes clear when the text tells us that it took three months to hear these cases and come to decisions (v.17).

The length of time indicated that it was a widespread passage. Ezra’s journey to reform the worship and morals of God’s People was clearly a necessary situation. There was widespread disrespect of God’s Law, and so the whole community was affected. Corporate repentance was required, and corporate action by the people to resolve the situation and restore them towards the holiness that they were to aspire to, as they awaited the coming of Jesus the Messiah in their midst.

This shows the leadership of Ezra, and the type of leadership that we should all aspire to. Where others had led the way in introducing sin into the community (9:2), Ezra led the way in repentance. Even though Ezra had not personally sinned, he knew that the people had sinned as a body and that they needed to repent. He identified with the people and sought God’s forgiveness.

That repentance brought the same from many of God’s People who observed him, and were convicted by the Holy Spirit to do the same. It also brought a sense of perspective, as it was Shecaniah who encouraged Ezra that all was not lost. Sometimes, leaders need reminding of God’s mercy too.

It was through Ezra’s leadership that repentance came to God’s People, and steps to restore the holiness (or, set-apartness) of the people. All of this was possible because of God’s mercy in not judging them as he ought to have straight away.

And this was possible because God sent Jesus to lead us to repentance. Even though Jesus never personally sinned, he knew that we as individuals and as a body needed forgiveness. Jesus identified with us and sought God’s forgiveness by offering his own perfect, sinless life as a sacrifice in our place, to wipe away our sins.

That sacrifice applied to us through conviction by the Holy Spirit, leads us to repentance and faith, making us holy before God.

Read Ezra 9:1-15

One of the hard parts about reading and engaging with the Old Testament is understanding the special laws and obligations which fell on the Jewish people as they waited for the coming of Jesus. How do these apply to us, if at all? Some people make sharp distinctions and write the Old Testament off as history. Others use it to advance their pet prejudice or issue.

As Bible-believing Christians, it is important to do neither. We need to understand the point of the laws, and what they meant for the Jewish people and for us today in the light of Christ. That is true of Ezra’s objection to intermarriage. This was not based on racism, but religious purity. And importantly, Ezra’s response reminds us that whatever the corporate sin of our church in this day, the answer is the same as our own personal sins. To pray for God’s mercy.

After the long journey home, Ezra spent several months back in Judea and began his teaching ministry. Certain officials came to Ezra and identified a worrying issue. “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations” (v.1).

How had they not done so? “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” (v.2).

God’s Law required the Jewish people to keep themselves separate from the pagan cultures surrounding them (Exodus 24:10-14; Deuteronomy 7:1-4). This was not about racism. It was about worship. At best, intermarriage introduced competing religions into a Jewish household and confused the kids. The reality was usually compromise and walking away from worshiping God. This was God’s chosen people. The people who would bring the Messiah. This could not happen.

Ezra’s response reflected this concern. Ezra tears his garments in grief, and sits appalled (v.3). Why? Not because of bigotry, but because this was exactly how his people had ended up in exile years before. The video was playing again. Those who like Ezra desired to worship God faithfully joined him in mourning (v.4).

Then, finally, Ezra stood up, but to pray (v.5). Identifying himself with the covenant people he confessed “our iniquities have risen higher than our heads” (v.6). He also confessed it was also of long duration, “from the days of our fathers to this day” (v.7). There was no minimising the reality of sin or how long it had happened.

Yet despite this sin, God showed mercy “to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place” (v.8). They are slaves to the Persians and deserve nothing less (v.9), but still God had “grant[ed] us a little reviving in our slavery” (v.8).

After this, Ezra moved specifically to the confession of the particular sin, where they had forsaken God’s commandments by intermarrying with unbelievers and being tempted into apostasy (vv.10-12). Despite the judgement which God had sent on them “for our evil deeds and for our great guilt” (v.13) and despite God punishing them “less than our iniquities deserved” (v.13) they had broken his commandments again (v.14).

Finally, Ezra placed themselves in God’s hands. There was no request for pardon. Rather, Ezra considered the possibility that God’s patience with them might have run out (v.14). Instead, all Ezra could do was recognise God’s justice, and acknowledge “we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this” (v.15).

Ezra recognised the guilt that his people had gathered on themselves by reverting straight back to the very problems which had resulted in their judgement in the first place. As a result, he threw himself on God’s mercy. Ezra, and all the people, deserved nothing less than God’s just condemnation and wrath.

We too are in the same position. While our sins are different to theirs, in that context, we too are guilty of our own compromise with the world, to which we in different ways (whether literally or figuratively) unequally yoke ourselves. Those compromises affect our devotion to God, drawing us away from following him to following after the ways of this world.

Like Ezra, we too need to acknowledge and confess our guilt specifically. We must name our sins, recognising its reality and duration, not minimising it. We need to recognise that we are following in the sinful patterns of those before us, and throw ourselves upon God’s mercy.

Because God’s patience with his people does not run out. Ezra does not end here, it continues. God sent his promised Messiah, Jesus, through that remnant. God’s patience and mercy for our sin met his perfect justice and judgement at the Cross, when Jesus bore our sins and God’s judgement.

Like Ezra, when we pray for God’s mercy, we find his forgiveness in the Gospel.

Read Ezra 8:21-36

Change is something which brings anxiety in even the best of us. Whether it is a career change, a relocation, starting a family and moving to one income, a significant commitment or any other adjustment to the life we lead, it is entirely natural to feel uncertainty and fear. Thankfully as believers we have the promise of God that whatever happens, it will ultimately work for our good in whatever way God has ordained.

For Ezra and those returning to Jerusalem, the journey was one of substantial change and danger. They were leaving behind the only places they knew, to go to a land they had never seen. They faced the prospect of banditry and death on the way. They needed the sovereign protection of God. Ezra’s anxiety points us to how we too can step out in faith, despite our fears, and trust God to lead us safely to him.

After Ezra gathered those returning with him to Jerusalem for the religious and political reforms so desperately needed, and convinced the lacking Levites to join the return, we might think the next step was to unpitch the tents and hit the road. But it was not.

Instead, Ezra “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” (v.21).

Ezra and his group were quite understandably nervous. While we do not usually worry about a road trip to another city, the journey ahead of them was quite dangerous. Bandits and thieves were a common reality, even for the humble traveller. 

But this was no poor group of pilgrims. Ezra tells us in verses 25 to 30 of the substantial gold and silver items which they were taking back to Jerusalem. So many, that priestly guards had to be arranged to watch over and account for the sum and value of these items. A plot line for a heist movie, in other words.

And so Ezra and his thousands of supporters fasted and prayed for three days, for God’s protection. They were especially reliant on him, because Ezra felt that they needed to demonstrate God’s superiority to the false gods around, and he had declined troops from the king as a result (v.22). In other words, Ezra had likely proclaimed the truths of Scripture. Now, the rubber was hitting the road and he had to live by his words. Sounds familiar to me.

Thankfully, God “listened to our entreaty” as they fasted and prayed and implored his protective hand, trusting in God’s goodness “on all who seek him” (vv.22-3). An older Ezra, writing his tale, could look back and see God’s goodness displayed.

After their time of fasting, they departed “from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem” (v.31). And how did the journey go? Little we know for certain, except the most important thing. “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way” (v.31).

They stepped out in faith, and arrived at their destination. “We came to Jerusalem” (v.32). They rested for three days, and then on the fourth day carefully counted out and weighed the gold and silver goods carried back for use in the Temple (vv.33-4). The lack of further note suggests that what left Babylon arrived in Jerusalem.

What then was left, after four months of travel? After the laughter and the fear, the uncertain steps and the safe arrival? What else, but worship! They 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” (v.35). They were Israel: God’s people, in God’s place, worshiping God. Handing out the king’s commissions to his governors (v.36) was an appendix to the most important thing. Praising God.

Ezra’s example is one we can follow as well as we walk through our own seasons of change. As believers, we know that for all those in Christ God works all things together for our good, just as Ezra could proclaim “the hand of our God is for good on all who seek him”. Same God, same goodness.

Same approach. Turn to God in prayer. Cast your worries on his goodness. Step out trusting God, that the outcome will show God’s goodness, be for your good, and bring God glory.

Walking through change does not take away our worries. But in the journey, God is with us. Walking that path in prayer, trusting in God’s goodness, helps us on the journey. Because through drawing close to God, we feel his presence with us.

One way or another, we will reach the end of that change. Whether it is a stop on the road of this life, or the end of this life and its many changes. And there, in God’s presence, we shall follow Ezra’s example once more. We shall worship God there!

Read Ezra 8:15-20

Whether it is a sports club, a hobby group, a church, or any other sort of organisation, there is always a need for volunteers and helpers. People who do not mind working away at their part of the bigger picture, helping all the cogs turn, and making sure things happen. Take a look around at church this Sunday and note all the different people and the different things they do to make our church and its various outreaches run! It is far more than just the ones with the titles. They are our real unsung heroes.

The Old Testament people of God were no different. There were plenty of important tasks to ensure the proper worship of God which had to be done, and were assigned to the Levites. The Levites were integral in making sure that the Temple and the Priests were doing exactly as they were meant. So for Ezra, the lack of Levites in the initial group of returnees was concerning. But God provided, as God always does. And God provides for the service of his kingdom here today, as he always has.

Ezra was returning to Jerusalem to bring about further reform of the worship and rule of God’s People there. He went as a man appointed by his earthly king, on the command of his Heavenly King. He did not travel alone, but with thousands of other returnees.

A trip of this nature was tough, time consuming, and dangerous. You needed to be prepared, both for the trip and for when you arrived. Food and other provisions, and security were required. Access to a river was important. No doubt that was why Ezra and his travellers gathered near part of the Euphrates River system, at “ the river that runs to Ahava” (v.15). 

There, they camped for three days and Ezra reviewed who had come (v.15). But there was a problem. Ezra lacked Levites! If his reforms were going to take root and bear fruit, then Levites were an integral part. A missing piece of the puzzle.

So Ezra sent for leading men among the Jews, “Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight” (v.16). Ezra was an organiser, but he needed help from men who knew how to influence. So these men were sent to Iddo, a leading man in a now unknown place called Casiphia, to rustle up some Levites to head back to Jerusalem (v.17).

Ezra told them what to say, to encourage these Levites to respond to the holy task which God had appointed their ancestors to (and by descent, them). While Ezra probably could have called on royal troops to press-gang Levites into the party, this was not his approach. Persuasion yes, but ultimately men responding from the heart to the summons.

The persuasion was successful. Eighteen descendents of Mahli, along with 20 descendants of Mehrari, answered the call (vv.18-19). One of these men, Sherebiah, is a particular “man of discretion” (v.18) indicating his great worth to Ezra and his task. Together with these 38 Levites, Ezra’s persuaders found “220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites” (v.20).

All of this was not merely the best efforts of charismatic men and an administrative guru. Rather it was “the good hand of our God on us” (v.18) to grant Ezra that which he needed for the task ahead of him.

Notice that Ezra did not “let go and let God” in solving the lacking Levites problem. Ezra clearly trusted in God to provide all that he would need, but he still used his brain to think through the problem, engage the right people, and provide the right arguments. Trusting in God does not mean that we check our brains at the door, or wait passively for God to provide. We must still use the talents and abilities that God gives us, and others around us, to be instruments of God’s will.

Note also that there were a variety of those gifts given. Ezra was clearly an administrator. A man who liked to organise things. But he was not the best man to persuade a bunch of Levites to leave behind their lives, family members, and way of living for the uncertain future. Others were perfect for that. The church is just the same today. God prides us all with the unique connections and contributions we make to serving God in his kingdom. 

We all have different giftings and abilities, natural and spiritual. We all have a part to play. Some of us may even be the person “of discretion” needed for one particular task!

This all works because God is faithful to his promise. God appointed Levites to special tasks for his glory, and provided Levites for Ezra’s task. God appoints individuals to build his church today, and provides them for Christ’s tasks. Where there are servants lacking, God provides the number he desires for the task by his good hand.

Read Ezra 8:1-14

Oh great, another list. While lists and charts may tickle the fancies of us who like to put ducks in a row and administer things smoothly, it is hardly the most enjoyable reading. In the Bible, it is a tempting target for a bounce to the next section (come on, confess, you all have at least considered it). What does another list have to do with helping me grow to become more like Christ?

The answer is in the details. There are subtle pieces of information that teach us about how God was still working out his plan of salvation. Whether it is family groups, passing references to identities, or the number of families who returned with Ezra, Ezra’s meticulous record keeping and diarising is not just intended for the appendices to the Scriptures but to point us to Christ.

This section of Ezra is written in the first person. It may reflect the personal diary of Ezra the government official, recording what he did and why. As a servant of God, it serves the same purpose. And because it is in the Bible, it was written for our benefit.

In a culture, largely unlike ours, which put huge value on family lineage, the list records “the heads of their fathers’ houses, and … the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king” (v.1). Ezra recorded this because it gave weight to who returned. 

It also showed, when compared to the first returnee list in Ezra 2, that all but one (Joab’s family, v.9) were following after the first pioneers. Families had divided over whether to stay or go. But clearly, lines of communication between the family groups remained open over the decades. The group who returned with Ezra would have learned of the progress and spiritual condition (or lack of it) in Jerusalem. They went to join their family members who had gone before them.

We also note that two priestly families returned. They are listed first, as sons of Phineas and Ithamar (v.2). We do not know why these priestly sons remained in the first place, but perhaps they were serving the Jews who remained in Babylon. Eventually, the call for them to leave and return came to them too.

There is also a son of David, Hattush, who returned (v.2). Whether Hattush sits somewhere in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, which may have skipped generations, is not known. But it does further show God’s favour to the line of David which, despite not having a king on Judah’s throne for more than a century, was still continuing on quietly until Jesus came.

And what of the other names in the list (vv.3-14)? They represent a cross section of the Jewish people. Specifically, twelve families. That is no mistake. Twelve tribes. Twelve disciples. Twelve families. God is sending a message about his people in Ezra’s list. God was still working to preserve his complete people.

And speaking of completeness, the sons of Adonikam “those who came later” also appear in this list (v.13). The phrase quoted can also be translated “the last ones”. While we cannot say for certain, this may refer to the remainder of an entire family line who followed Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem, reunited with their brothers in Judah.

This listing is not an accident. It was placed here on purpose. God is telling us how he is working his salvation plan out, even in the little pieces of migratory movements. He is also reminding us of what is truly important.

Whether or not the number is larger (as in Ezra 2) or smaller (as here), God is working to save and preserve a people for himself. He is calling people from exile to his presence, to serve and worship him.

This list also gives us a cultural check. In our culture, youth is idolised. Everyone wants to look young. Sometimes it feels like everything is catered to children, including the way some churches focus their strategy for evangelism. But the Bible looks at it the reverse. Perhaps we have missed something. 

We should never neglect our children, who are important and valued gifts from God. Nor should we forget it is the home, particularly the Christian home, and the pulpit, that are where our children are properly formed. They cannot be formed if they are not well led by their parents, and especially wherever possible by a husband and father pursuing godliness in his personal life. As one myself, I pray that God would shape me in godliness as a better husband and father every day. This is something all of us can pray for, whatever our circumstances.

We can trust that faithful, patient Christian formation in the home and from the pulpit works because of God’s promises. And we can trust God’s promises, because even in this passage, God kept his promise to bring home exiles, and preserve David’s line. So in time, our Saviour and King Jesus, would come and bring us safely home to God’s presence.