Day 268—We are in the NINTH month of Bible reading covering more of Israel’s history and finishing the book of EZRA.

    Day 268 – Ezra 7 – 10 (The second wave of exiles returning, more Levites, intermarriage)

Ezra 7. Although we’ve read 6 chapters in Ezra already, this is when the young scribe, skilled in the law of Moses, actually goes to Jerusalem. He’s a young man, not old enough to be a priest yet, but he is descended from the original priest, Aaron.  It was in Ezra’s heart to study the law of the LORD and to teach it in Israel.

King Artaxerxes (after Esther’s king) granted him all he needed for the journey, plus some. The king said that “anyone who wanted to” could go to the land, along with all the silver and gold “that you find in the whole province of Babylon” and the people’s free will offerings (money, animals, offerings, oil, salt, wine).

Ezra was amazed at all this and blessed the LORD who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king. “And 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.”

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Ezra 8. Ezra lists the genealogy of those heads of houses that returned with him.  As he reviewed all the people going on the journey, he realized that NO LEVITES were present. Yikes!  He sent back to the religious leaders, asking them to send him “men who would minister for the house of God.”  258 Levites and temple servants were added to the number traveling.

Then Ezra prayed for “travel mercies.”  He was embarrassed to ask the king for protection because he had proclaimed that the hand of God would protect them. So they departed, and “the hand of our God was on us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.”  On arrival 4 months later, they offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the LORD.

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Ezra 9 First of all, Ezra was faced with a massive problem.  It seems that the people, the priests, and the Levites had intermarried with the Canaanites in the land.  Some had even had children with them.  Ezra was VERY upset, for he knew that THIS was how the people before had gotten into idol worship.  What if they did that now, and God gave them up forever???

Ezra humbled himself, tore his garments, and prayed.  “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!”   “We have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by your servants, the prophets.” “Shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice abominations. Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so there would be no remnant, nor any to escape.”  “Behold, we are before you in our guilt.” 

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Ezra 10. While he prayed and confessed, weeping before the house of God, a great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him, for the people wept bitterly. “We have broken faith with our God.” And they vowed, “Let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord.”  So, they separated themselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.

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NOTE:  Although Malachi 2:16 says that God hates divorce, Ezra and the leaders were not establishing “the norm” but were instead dealing with a special case in history.  The “lesser wrong” would be better than the “greater wrong.”  The messianic line of David would not be ended by being mingled with Gentiles.  This actually showed the MERCY of God. The only other solution would be to kill all those involved (men, women, children) by stoning as during the first exodus (Numbers 25:1-9)