Thoughts on Ezra « Old Line Elephant

17Jan/12Off

Thoughts on Ezra

Finished reading Ezra yesterday. For those who don't know - Ezrra chronicles a group of Israelites / Judean's returning home to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem. Ezra is part 1, Nehemiah is part 2 of the story. Ezra specifically is from the perspective of scribe / Priest Ezra.

Executive summary? The Persians allow the dispersed Hebrew people to return to Jerusalem to rebuild. In fact, they give them back some of the gold, silver, etc stolen by the Babylonians years prior. Ezra is one of the leaders who help rebuild the temple, consecrate it, and rebuild the priesthood. They finally have a Passover; celebrate the temple of booths; and have the temple rebuilt once more for worship and sacrifices.

Ezra also includes some letters from the Persian leaders, locals who opposed the effort, and those who supported the effort. It's an interesting look into the mindset of those who opposed the Hebrew's plans and the kindness of the Persian leadership toward our God. Fascinating, as the Persian leaders in that timeframe were Zoroastrians - but they were ready to let the Hebrew people return and help them.

One of the more interesting portions are the end of the book. In this section, the local Hebrews admit that they had intermarried with the locals, something the Lord had frowned upon. Why? Frankly, it was because the locals had different gods. These different gods would permeate into the Hebrew households and pull them away from the Lord. That was his problem. Not interracial marriages - as Ruth (a Moabite) was blessed by the Lord. Through Ruth came David. Through David came Christ. These local wives were turning these Hebrews away from the Lord. Christ says that if something takes you away from Christ, cut it out of your life. That included ones eye, hand, etc. If a foreign wife was keeping these people from serving the Lord, dragging them into idolatry, the Lord wanted them to leave these wives. Bottom line.

We should remember this today. If there is something in your life - be it music, strong drink, or a vice that leads you to sin - cut it out of your life. Again, it sounds harsh - but it will help. It will bring you closer in your walk with the Lord. Without that sin pulling you down, imagine what you can do.

Again - as always, I ask you to join me in reading the Bible cover-to-cover. I call upon all Christians to do this at least once. Preferably more.

Tagged as: Bible, Christianity, Ezra, Faith, Opinion Comments Off

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