Ezra 10 - The matter is dealt with

10:1-4

Ezra made quite a show of his repentance, and a large crowd gathered. They too wept bitterly. Shekinah led the people and suggested that they send their foreign wives away and make a promise to the Lord. He encouraged Ezra to lead the people in this way.

10:5-44

Ezra agreed to this and led the people accordingly. Ezra continued fasting. A proclamation was sent out through all Israel calling them to assemble in Jerusalem. There were quite severe penalties for not obeying this call. All the people of Benjamin and Judah gathered. It was raining and all the people were distressed, perhaps having some idea of why they had been summoned.Ezra told the people how they had sinned.The people agreed, except for a few people. We then get a list of all those who had intermarried.

ezra 9:1-15 - wrong relationships

9:1-15

The leaders became aware that the people, even including the priest and the Levites  had taken foreign women as their wives. This was against the Law of Moses, we also see why. The foreign nations followed detestable practices, and would tend to lead the Israelites astray. In response they told Ezra. Ezra was distraught. He was appalled and was supported by other Israelites who feared the Lord. Ezra then prayed to the Lord. Note that he does not go with an attitude of self-righteousness, and refers to “our sins” rather than “their sins”. He repented on behalf of the nation.

Ezra 8 - protection on the return

8:1-36

We now get a list of the family heads who came up with Ezra from Babylon. Ezra organised people so that the temple duties could be carried out properly. Ezra proclaimed a fast for protection on part of the journey, He had told the king that God would protect them, and wanted the name of the Lord to be honoured.

They were indeed protected on their journey

Ezra 7 - The king supports the Law of God

7:1-10

We now get the first mention of Ezra, and various details about him.. The key thing is that he was well versed in the Law of Moses. The journey from Babylon took about four months. We are told that the Lord was with him, and that this was because  he had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord. So he was qualified to be a teacher of the Law.

7:11-28

Ezra had a letter from Artaxerxes. The king was concerned that Ezra should ensure that the people are following the Law properly. He was also to take silver and gold artefacts, and to make proper sacrifices. It is interesting that the pagan king was so keen that the Law of God be properly implemented. The king's attitude encouraged Ezra. We are used to our governments being anti-God, or at best lukewarm.  We should not be afraid to pray for a change of heart in our leaders.

Ezra 6:1-22 - Building work completed

6:1-7

Darius issued an order for the archives to be searched, and it was discovered that Darius had indeed issued a decree. So Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai and other officials were told to stay away  and not to interfere with the work.The Jews were to be allowed to get on with the work.

6:8-22

Moreover they were to ensure that the JEws were supplied with all that they needed. There were to be severe consequences for disobeying the order. This was a decree of King Darius. The decree was carried out with diligence, So the work carried on, the ministry of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah continued to be important,and the work was completed.The Passover was then completed, and there was great celebration.

Ezra 5:1-17 - The work continues and a letter is sent to King Darius

5:1-17

Haggai and Zechariah are now mentioned. Their prophetic ministries played an important role in the rebuilding work. Zerubbabel and Joshua seem to have led the rebuilding work, and the two prophets supported them. Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai went to see what was happening, but the work was not stopped. They wrote to King Darius and suggested that a search be made of the archivist to see if indeed Cyrus had decreed the rebuilding work. The Jews had told them that they were doing the work of God, and that Cyrus had decreed it, and had ordered the return of various artefacts.

Ezra Chapter 4 - Opposition and the work comes to a halt

4:1,2

There was opposition to the rebuilding, as Nehemaih also found when he set about rebuilding the walls. So there was opposition to their setting up a place of worship, and to their setting up defences. The enemies adopted subterfuge, pretending to be wanting to help worship the Lord. As Jesus said in Matt 7:21, “not everyone who says Lord, Lord....” We need to beware of those who claim to follow the Lord, but in reality do not.

4:3-8

Zerubbabel and Joshua were wise, and knew that these people were not really followers of the Lord. However, the enemies bribed officials  to frustrate the work. We can expect opposition, and of a harassing nature. When Xerxes succeeded Cyrus they took a more direct approach, lodging an accusation against Judah and Jerusalem.. In the days of Artazerxes they sent him a letter, written in Aramaic.

4:9-16

The letter claimed that the rebuild was part of a rebellious act. Israel has always suffered false accusations, as we have today in the October 7th war. The enemies claimed there would be no more taxes for the king. They urged the king to search the records to see how rebellious Judah was.

4:17-24

The king made a search and seemed to agree that Judah had a troublesome history, so he ordered the work to stop. So the rebuilding work came to a standstill.