Ezra 9:6-15
Summary for Ezra 9:6-15: 9:6-15 a Ezra’s prayer provides a model for intercessory prayer (cp. Neh 1:5-11 b; Dan 9:4-19 c). It includes confessing sin (Ezra 9:6-7 d), remembering God’s past grace (9:8-9 e), admitting that the people have ignored God (9:10-12 f), and recognizing their unworthiness (9:13-15 g). 9:6 h I am utterly ashamed ... our sins are piled higher than our heads: Although he was not one of the offending parties, Ezra personally identified with his people (see thematic note for Community Identity at end of chapter).9:7 i Ezra forthrightly summarizes Israel’s past history. The people and their leaders had sinned and were justly punished.
• just as we are today: The effects of Israel’s punishment were still evident in Jerusalem at this time.
Summary for Ezra 9:8-9: 9:8-9 j God’s abundant grace and unfailing love should affect how people respond to him (cp. Deut 30:1-5 k). After all that God had done for the remnant, it was shameful that they were so ready to betray him.
• the kings of Persia to treat us favorably: Babylon and Assyria had tortured and exiled their enemies (2 Kgs 17 l; 25 m), but Persia treated exiled people kindly and returned them to their homelands (see Ezra 1:1-3 n).
• protective wall: This phrase refers to God’s presence protecting the nation of Judah, not the physical walls of Jerusalem, which were rebuilt several years later by Nehemiah.
Summary for Ezra 9:11-12: 9:11-12 o Your servants the prophets warned us: God had clearly revealed what he expected from his people (see Deut 7:3-4 p; Mal 2:10-12 q) and had promised great blessings if they followed his covenant stipulations (see Lev 26:1-13 r; Deut 28:1-14 s; Jer 32:36–33:18 t; Ezek 37:15-28 u; Hos 14:1-8 v).
9:14 w Won’t your anger be enough to destroy us? The sin of intermarriage with non-believers was so serious that they had no hope of survival if they did not repent.
9:15 x you are just: God’s anger with sin is based on his justice and holiness.
Thematic note: Community Identity
In modern Western society, the individual is considered to be the primary social entity. In Israel, by contrast, an individual’s identity and significance were determined by his or her membership in the community. All Israelites were expected to partake of the common identity of the community as the “children of Israel” and to embody the characteristics that marked the whole.
In the Old Testament, the people are often referred to or addressed in the singular, emphasizing their oneness. The Decalogue (Exod 20:2-17 y) and the blessing of Aaron (Num 6:24-26 z), for example, are given in the singular. The individual could often represent the group, and the group could be referred to as an individual. Nehemiah, for example, asks forgiveness for the sins that caused the exile to Babylon as though he had been one of those transgressors (“we have sinned,” Neh 1:6-7 aa). Nehemiah was governor of Judea from 445 to 433 BC, about 140 years after the destruction of Jerusalem (586 BC), so he did not participate in the sins leading to the Exile. Yet in his prayer, he identifies with his people in their sinfulness. In this same way, the high priest could represent the entire people on the Day of Atonement (see Lev 16 ab). Because the individual Israelite was so strongly identified with the community, the sin of the individual would become the sin of the community if not addressed (see Lev 4:3-21 ac; 20:1-5 ad).
In like manner, the Christian community is described as the “body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:27 ae; Eph 4:12 af). The members partake of Christ’s identity through the Holy Spirit. That is, as the body of Christ they manifest Christ’s life in their lives, and as a unified whole they reveal him to the world. Paul exhorts the Galatians to share the burdens of others (Gal 6:2 ag) and so to model Christ’s example (Matt 11:28-30 ah).
Passages for Further Study
Exod 20:5-6 ai, 8-10 aj; Lev 4:3-21 ak; 20:1-5 al; Josh 7:1-26 am; Neh 1:6-7 an; 1 Cor 12:12-27 ao; Gal 6:2 ap; Eph 4:11-13 aq
Ezra 10:1-17
10:1 ar Ezra’s genuine mourning in response to his people’s sin moved many of them to join him.10:2 as Shecaniah was the first person brave enough to publicly admit that he had been unfaithful to God. Admission of guilt gives the hope of forgiveness for sin.
10:3 at A covenant is a binding agreement, in this case specifically to divorce ... pagan wives that the people of Israel had inappropriately married. By taking this action, they would renew their commitment to the Sinai covenant.
• Women were generally given custody of their children when a marriage failed (cp. Hagar and Ishmael, Gen 21:14 au).
10:4 av it is your duty: As an expert in the law (see 7:10 aw), Ezra was responsible for leading the people to a God-honoring solution to the problem of intermarriage. Because the law of Moses did not contain explicit directions for divorcing pagan wives, Ezra needed to develop a plan consistent with the requirements of Scripture and fair to the participants.
10:5 ax The solemn oath involved both a promise to take action and a self-imposed curse for failure to do what was promised (see Ruth 1:16-17 ay; 1 Sam 14:24-28 az).
10:8 ba if the leaders and elders so decided: It was reasonable for Ezra to add this exception clause because it might simply be impossible for some people to come to Jerusalem to participate in settling this matter.
10:9 bb on December 19 ... it was raining: The cold and wet weather made an outdoor meeting uncomfortable.
10:15 bc It is unclear why these four people opposed the plan. Perhaps they wanted a stricter penalty, or perhaps they or members of their families did not want to divorce their foreign wives. That there were only four dissenters shows the overwhelming support the policy had gained among the rest of the exiles. Sadly, a few years later, a similar problem of intermarriage with pagan wives created another crisis within the community (Neh 9–10 bd).
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