Ezra 7-10
Assuming that the Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 7:1 is Artaxerxes I, it is now 458 BC, and Ezra, the priest and scribe for whom this book is named, arrives on the scene. Ezra is a scholar who is well versed in the Law of Moses. (Ezra 7:6,10-12) As we can see from the first-person narrative in much of today’s reading, Ezra is the author of this book. In fact, he is likely the author of I and II Chronicles, too, which goes to say that he is very well aware of the history of Israel and Judah.
With full support from the king of Persia, Ezra leads a fresh set of Jews out of Babylonia to Jerusalem. Everything about that effort goes exceedingly well. But after arriving in Jerusalem, Ezra learns some distressing news: The people of Israel — and especially the leadership — are intermarrying with the surrounding pagan peoples. (Ezra 9:1-2) Ezra recognizes that this is a big problem because Ezra knows his history. He knows that the exile was no accident. He knows that the prior devastation of Jerusalem and Judah was not simply bad luck or an underfunded Defense Department. He knows that the Fall of Jerusalem was the direct result of the nation’s unfaithfulness to the LORD, and he knows that that unfaithfulness was fed largely by the pagan practices of the surrounding peoples whom Israel had failed to annihilate when they first conquered the Promised Land. And now the returned exiles are going down that same path!
So what about us? Are we learning from ancient Israel’s history? Are we learning from our own more recent history? Do we keep repeating the same mistakes? Do we heed the voice of those like Ezra who call us to return to the LORD? Do we recognize the need for holiness, to be set apart for God? Are we willing to confess our failures, to repent, and to obey the voice of the LORD?