| EZRA, A MAN OF THE HEART |
| He applied God's word to himself before preaching it to others. |
| While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites - men, women and children - gathered around him. 10:1 |
| Ezra knew how to get things done. He had the political savvy to win a Persian King's support for the trip back to Jerusalem, the salesmanship to convince Jewish family leaders to go along, and the organizational know-how to mount the long, conplicated, and dangerous expedidion. At the same time, Ezra was a priest who depended on God. He set aside days for fasting and prayer. He knew and lived by the Old Testament law, but used it as a path to a profound relationship with God. When he studied Scripture, he applied it to himself before applying it to others (7:10). A Strong Negative Reaction Ezra's party got to Jerusalem 80 years after the first exiles had returned. Yet within four months the Jewish leaders were asking this latecomer for advice on the most sensitive matters. They told Ezra that Israelites were marrying their idolatrous neighbors. At the news, Ezra completely lost his composure, tore his clothes, and sat down stunned (9:3). His grief-filled prayer of repentance inspired a large crowd to join him in bitter weeping. Then and there they resolved to break up the marriages. The women and children were to be sent away. Ezra, a practical man even in his emotional condition, put the machinery into operation and saw it done. Why did Ezra react so negatively to these marriages? How could he allow children to be sent away from their fathers, families split? Some people see proof that he was racially oriented, bound to exclude non-Jews from Israel. |
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