Today’s passage: Ezra 10

Helpful thoughts:

• By God’s grace, Ezra was not the only one in Israel who was grieved by the sin of the people.
• This would have been quite the scene.  This was a large gathering of contrite people brought together to repent and turn from their sin, under a downpour of rain.
  • The entire process of purifying the people took three months (Verses 16-17).  This was not a simple verbal confirmation, they saw this vow through to the very end of it’s fulfilment.
  • The problem was widespread enough they knew it couldn’t be dealt with efficiently in only one location at one time (Jerusalem).  Local leaders were needed to carry out the repentance process.
• These actions seem extreme to our modern sensibilities, yet they sought to carry out God’s command for the nation of Israel from Deuteronomy 7:1-6.  These unlawful marriages were to end.  The children who would be turned away from God by their pagan parents were to remain with that parent.
  • Sin brings on more consequences and pain than we would expect.
  • We are not in the place to choose the consequences of our sin.
  • It is very hard to do everything just right when responding to sin.
• With that in mind, it’s helpful to remember that this book is a book of history, not any new commands.  We read in this passage the people of Israel seeking to repent of their sin, but we don’t get to see the whole picture.  One would hope these women and children were at least sent away with appropriate provisions.  It is hard to think about.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:8-12)?  When we are angry with our consequences or critical of other people’s actions in response to our sin, where is our heart?  What will true repentance look like?
2. How does humility and love for one another totally change our perspective about our own sin and the way it impacts others?  How does love fulfill the law (Galatians 5:14)?
3. What was the greatest consequence of our sin and what has it purchased for us forevermore (Romans 6:5-11)?

Today’s passage: Ezra 9

Helpful thoughts:

• Israel had been forbidden from intermarrying with the nations in the land because of the ways it would pull their hearts away from the one true God (Exodus 34:10-17).  This was not a law against marrying people of other ethnicities purely because of their ancestry, it was first a concern of worship (See Ruth and Boaz! – Ruth 1:16-17).
  • The religious leaders participated in this intermarriage right along with all the others (Verse 1).
• The tearing of his clothing and pulling out his hair were signs of great distress.  Ezra sat astonished that so many in Israel would do such a thing, and his prayer to God explains why.
• Verse 15 gives a great summary of the situation at hand:
  • Israel existed and there was a remnant because God is faithful (Not because they were great…)
  • They stood before God now in another round of sinfulness.
  • God has no fellowship with sin.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was Israel able to stand before God?  Why were they not consumed?  What attributes of God are on display in this chapter?  How are these attributes displayed in the Gospel, which allows us (sinners as well) to stand before our holy God with a righteous record?
2. Why was it perhaps silly for Ezra to be shocked that Israel had been in sin again?  Why was it right for him to be astonished?  Why does it make so much sense for us to passionately pursue righteousness?
3. Who are Christians to marry (2 Corinthians 6:14)?  What is the most important aspect of our life and identity?  Why should it be just as astonishing that a follower of Christ would unite themselves to someone who is not also for Christ?  What light of wisdom should this shed on those we might seek a relationship with prior to marriage?

Today’s passage: Ezra 8

Helpful thoughts:

• The list of people (Heads of households are named, most if not all their households would have made the journey with them) who traveled with Ezra back to Judah is recorded here.  This was not the only caravan of people who made the journey.  And, there were many who never went back.
• Ezra had to make an appeal to get Levites to go home in order to serve the Lord and the people at the Temple.
• Ezra and the people showed a concern for the glory of God which overcame their fear of man (Verse 21-23).

Questions to consider:

1. How did Ezra’s desire for God to be known among the Persians affect his actions?  If he had only been concerned for himself, how might he have acted?  What does love for God and others do to our thinking and actions (1 John 4:18)?
2. Why was it so important for Ezra to ensure there were Levites to go back to Jerusalem?  If they had a Temple and no one to serve in it, what could they do?
3. How can this apply to the church today?  Who has been called to serve (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)?

Today’s passage: Ezra 7

Helpful thoughts:

• In the first few verses, Ezra’s lineage is given to show his place in Israel as a descendent of Aaron.
• Verse 6 and verse 10 are important to consider together.
  • The hand of the Lord was on Ezra (Grace).
  • Ezra determined in his heart to study the Word of God, obey it, and teach it.
  • This resulted in Ezra being “skilled.”
• Artaxerxes was a polytheist.  He had not become a true follower of God, but he did hold a respect for Him and chose to bless His people.  This resulted in a “freedom of religion” for the Jewish people.
  • The Jews went from being conquered exiles to now being given charge of the region west of the Euphrates River in the Persian Empire.  A bittersweet truth, as the older generation would still know this was less than what they had before (3:12).

Questions to consider:

1. What is the place of skill in Christian ministry?  God certainly looks at the heart and not the outward appearance, but what should result from a Christian who is committed to following hard after Jesus?  Is God worthy of our best?  And as we continue to practice our faith, how will what we call “our best” continue to increase in excellence?
2. What did Ezra (and what do we) have to do first before we know how to obey and follow the Lord (Verse 10)?  How does our learning impact our obedience?  How does our obedience impact our teaching?
3. What did Artaxerxes fancy himself to be in the beginning of verse 12?  Who is truly the King of kings as evidenced in what has transpired throughout this book?  Who remains in sovereign control over every king, prime minister and president today?

Today’s passage: Ezra 6:13-22

Helpful thoughts:

• The temple is built and put into service.
• There have been many decrees given by the kings of Persia in this book, but the only one that really mattered in the end was the decree of God (Verse 14).
• If we read verse 21 carefully, we find that those who worshiped the Lord at Passover consisted of Jews who had returned from exile and other people who became worshipers of the Lord from amongst the peoples in the land.
  • Israel was always to have welcomed the stranger and the alien (Leviticus 19:33-34).
  • The Old covenant people were Israel…the New Covenant people are the Church.  This principle is to be applied by the church!
    • The Church must welcome in all those who would “join them and separate himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord.”

Questions to consider:

1. In the last couple of days, there have been direct applications concerning the Temple and God’s people and how that relates to the Church today.  What dangerous positions could arise from confusing the commands for Israel to a modern national government (For us, the United States) when they would be better understood as being applicable to the Church?
2. It would have been really hard to read through the Old Testament Law and get everyone on the same page as far as obedience and orderly worship after seventy years without Temple worship, so why were the people so joyful?  If this would have been hard, why so much joy?  What can we learn from that idea today?
3. Who gave joy to the people of Israel (Verse 22)?   Where does our joy still come from today (John 15:11)?

Today’s passage: Ezra 6:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• By God’s sovereign grace, the King of Persia confirmed the Jews’ right to build the temple back up.
• More than that:  The King decreed the needed money to come not only from the Jews, but from all the people of the region (Even those who were in opposition).  The king even decreed that any interference with the reconstruction would be punishable by a humiliating death.
• With his decree, Darius was desiring to gain extra favor from another god (Verse 10, Though this was the One True God), the Samaritans received the opposite of what they’d hoped for (Instead of thwarting, now they had to help!), and the Jews were given approval and provision to build the temple of God.

Questions to consider:

1. In what ways is God’s sovereignty put on display in today’s passage?  What happens to those who bless God’s people and to those who curse/dishonor them (Genesis 12:3)?
2. How can God’s power, promises, and protection encourage you to pursue righteousness today?  Is there a single human being or earthly institution who holds any power over our sovereign God?
3. Why wouldn’t it be right to try to apply this passage to a desire to build a house or a business today?  What has God promised to build today as His temple (1 Corinthians 3:9-17)?

Today’s passage: Ezra 5

Helpful thoughts:

• The Jews had been given a decree to build by Cyrus, and now with a new king in charge, and with the approval from the Lord (Who is sovereign over every king on earth), they began to build again.
• The nature of the building materials in mentioned in verse 8 because those materials were often used for defensive structures.  The letter is trying to invoke concern that the Jews were preparing to defend themselves, insinuating looming rebellion against Persia.
• In their letter of appeal, the Jews make it clear, they are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.  He is the King of kings.  If Darius were to decline this task, he would be countering the decree of Cyrus…and God Himself.

Questions to consider:

1. The Jews were free to rebuild once they had clear instruction from the word of God.  Where do we find instruction that is sufficient for our decisions and actions in life (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3)?
2. The people must have known their obedience to God would bring about a negative reaction from the surrounding peoples and authorities.  How would they, and how can we, find strength and courage to please God and follow Christ when the world will certainly oppose (e.g. John 16:33, Acts 5:29, Philippians 3:13-14, Hebrews 12:1-2, Revelation 21:1-5)?
3. If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31-39)?  What has God called us to participate in building (Matthew 16:18, 2 Corinthians 5:16-20)?  What King has commissioned and commanded the work to be done (Matthew 28:18-20)?

Today’s passage: Ezra 4:7-24

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s passage, local Samaritan leaders wrote an appeal to the king of Persia to stop the building of Jerusalem.  He granted their appeal and ordered the reconstruction to stop.
  • The basis of their appeal was to express loyalty to the king and to the Persian Empire.  Because, as they wrote, they desired the success of the king and had pledged to him their loyalty, they declared it was in all their interest to put a stop to this potential threat of revolt.
• These events are not recorded in historical order.  The events of chapter 5 happen before what we read today.  The writer is simply informing the reader of the ways in which “the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build.” (Verse 4)
• After this decree, the rebuilding effort would be halted for about sixteen years.

Questions to consider:

1. What were the deceptions and manipulations used to persuade in this letter?  What information and adulation did these men include in order to convince the king to put a stop to the Jews’ building?
2. What would be the differences between persuading someone to get them to do what you want and speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)?  How would the words, the content, the goals, the benefactor, etc. change?
3. What might the people in Jerusalem have thought and felt after receiving this decree to stop building?  Had God changed His mind (Numbers 23:19)?  What was God building that was more important than walls and building?  How can this encourage us when we see any “set-backs” today (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:28-30)?

Today’s passage: Ezra 4:1-6

Helpful thoughts:

• This offer from the adversaries was dishonest.
  • The adversaries desired to thwart or hijack their plans to build, not help them.
  • Any worship or sacrifices that had been made to God would have been done similarly to the northern kingdom of Israel (A redesigned version of God) and/or within the context of a hybrid Jewish/Gentile worship (2 Kings 17:26-34).
• In this passage we see early animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans (A people who descended from the Jews of the northern ten tribes and the invading Assyrians.  They were half-Jewish, half-Gentile and they mixed their religious beliefs and practices).
  • Since the Samaritans could not have the temple in Jerusalem, they later built their own at Mt. Gerizim (John 4:19-21).
• The returning Jews were committed to the purity of their worship and were authorized to push forward by the decree of Cyrus.  God had provided for them to carry on in the face of local opposition, which they would face for many years and under multiple rulers.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was it right for the returning Jews to refuse the offer of these adversaries?  How could we answer this question with the first three of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-7)?
2. What are some ways that the world’s religious or philosophies can get absorbed into or syncretized with Christianity today?  Even the religion of Humanism (The high view of self)?
3. Why must we and how can we guard the truth of the gospel and our worship of the Lord in our modern culture?  What is the gospel according to God’s Word?  How have people altered the message with the insertion of other unbiblical ideas?

Today’s passage: Ezra 3:8-13

Helpful thoughts:

• The foundation of the Temple has been laid!  The people are excited, the sons of Asaph are singing and making music again.  What a great day!
• But, not everyone was so thrilled.  Those who were younger didn’t have any memories to compare the new Temple with.
• This Temple was not going to be as wonderful as Solomon’s Temple.  And worse, God’s glory wasn’t there (1 Kings 8:10-11, Ezekiel 10:18).

Questions to consider:

1. Why would it make sense that some rejoiced while others wept on that day?  What was worth rejoicing over?  How did the occasion for rejoicing bring with it the pain of why there had to be a new Temple at all?
2. In what way could both responses have been appropriate before the Lord? (Psalm 51:17)
3. In the life of any church that has existed as long as ours, there will be people who feel the same way when they think of the past.  How are we to biblically evaluate the health of our church: past, present and future?  Whose heart and life must we evaluate first as we look to the present and the days ahead?