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:
- 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?
- 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?
- 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?