WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

An international Sunday school lesson commentary

For Sunday April 11, 2021

 

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THE FAITH-IN-ACTION PREACHER

(Confessing of sin)

(Ezra 10:1-18)

 

   The Book of Ezra chronicles the story of the return of the Israelites to the land of Palestine following their release from their 70-year captivity in Babylon. When they returned home, they saw it as the fulfillment of GOD’s promise through HIS prophets. They would now receive a second chance to get things right with GOD, WHO had promised to never completely abandon them. They had been judged and punished for their iniquities, and most were excited and ready to re-enter into the land that they had come to love so much.

    In Ezra chapter 1, he had spoke about how GOD had stirred the heart of King Cyrus of Persia to rescind Babylonian policy and allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem, and, how HE had stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to rebuild HIS temple there.

    Ezra chapters 7-10 deals with events that took place in Jerusalem after Ezra’s personal return from Babylon in and around 458 B.C. Fifty-eight years had passed since the Passover celebration that is recorded in Ezra chapter 6, and the Persian Empire is now headed by King Artaxerxes, the grandson of King Darius.

    Ezra was a direct descendant of Aaron, the original Levite priest, and brother of Moses, “the Prophet of Deliverance”. He was also a “Scribe” who was well-versed in “the Law of GOD” that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. When he came to Jerusalem (chapter 7), King Artaxerxes gave him everything that he asked for, because the hand of GOD was upon him, just as HIS hand had been upon his predecessors, Darius, and Cyrus. Some additional Israelites, as well as some of the priests, Levites, and other temple officials and servants, came up to Jerusalem with Ezra during this seventh year of Artaxerxes reign.

    During this time in Palestine, the teachings of GOD’s Law was being increasingly ignored, and temple worship was becoming more and more lax and routine with each passing day. When Ezra arrived, he brought with him, large donations for the temple, and a royal commission to appoint judges, and to enforce both, Old Testament and Persian Law in Judah. However, he had also been instructed by Artaxerxes to “use the wisdom of GOD” in his appointing of all officials, and to appoint only those who were familiar with GOD’s Law to govern over the people of Judah.

    Ezra himself was charged by Artaxerxes to personally teach all those people who were not familiar with GOD’s Laws, and if they refused to comply with HIS Laws, and the laws of the Persian Empire, they would be immediately punished with “death”. And because Ezra was determined to study and obey the Law of GOD, and to teach GOD’s Word to the people of Israel, GOD graciously blessed him and his company of faithful servants with safety as they traveled through dangerous territories with large amounts of treasure.

    And so, we see here in Ezra chapter 10, that, as a result of Ezra’s faithful works, the people were moved to confess their sins and repent. Here in verse 1, this “Prophet of Faith-in-Action” is seen praying, confessing, and throwing himself to the ground in front of “the Temple of the LORD”, and a large crowd of people, men, women, and children, gathered around and begin to weep bitterly with him.

    That day all the people who were assembled there, confessed their unfaithfulness to GOD, and all the men made a covenant with GOD mainly to divorce their pagan wives, whom they were “unequally yoked with”, and send them away with their children (v.3a). They vowed to, from that day forward, follow the advice of those who respect the commands of GOD, and to strictly obey the Word of GOD moving forward, particularly towards intermarriage.

    The sincerity of Ezra’s distress over Israel’s sin in this passage is emphasized by the intensifying Hebrew verbs that are used to describe his actions in the original language. His physical posture and his spiritual posture are equally expressed here before the LORD, as both his body and spirit exude brokenness and sorrow.

    It is not enough just to be sorry for our sins. It is also a necessity that we correct our ongoing sinful behavior under GOD. Ezra, for example, also went into a rare “total fast”, in other words, lasting all day and all night, from all foods and water, to show GOD the seriousness of his repentant state.

    Ironically, out of the 113 men who had intermarried with pagan women, almost 25% of them were religious leaders. Whenever spiritual decline is seen in Christian leadership, there is very little prospect for the spiritual health of the future Church to convince others to come to CHRIST. Our faith, or lack thereof, is always best exemplified through our behavior, and not so much through our public speech and persona.  

   

A Sunday school lesson by,

Larry D. Alexander

 

 

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