Smoodock's Blog

It is, often, difficult for us in our day, as we read God’s word, to understand the things that took place thousands of years ago in the times of Moses, David, Daniel, and, in the context of our present study, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Indeed, it was difficult in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah to understand the things that were done in the times of Moses and Joshua. Those things took place about a thousand years prior to the first release of the Jews permitted under Cyrus, ending the Jews’ captivity. It is Ezra who is described as a ready scribe in the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6), and, saying this, it is implied that Jeshua, the high priest, who went up to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:1-2) was not a ready scribe in the Law of Moses. He may have been the senior priest, the high priest, but he wasn’t as knowledgeable in the words of Torah as Ezra was. Thus, intermarrying with the heathen wasn’t understood to be rebellion against the Lord God of Israel, until the coming of Ezra.

Even Nehemiah didn’t forbid it during all the years of his two tenures at Jerusalem, until Ezra came and showed the nobility, the rulers, the Levites and the people their sin. Paul tells us that he had not known sin but by the Law (Romans 7:7). In other words, folks don’t normally behave sinlessly; they are bent toward immorality and rebellion. Even the most moral of us will behave sinfully, if we don’t know the word of God. It isn’t a conscious rebellion, vis-à-vis it isn’t a war that we knowingly wage against God, but it is rebellion, nevertheless. A person who doesn’t know the traffic laws of the land, may innocently exceed the speed limit, while consciously trying to drive safely. However, if he’s exceeding the speed limit, he becomes subject to the judgment of the law of the land. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, although such things may be taken into consideration by the authorities. So, in our present context, we are able to see that God is merciful, but he did send Ezra to Jerusalem to educate the people and stop the rebellion.

It is a difficult thing to change one’s worldview, and it can be a very traumatic experience, if it ever occurs in one’s life. It seems that the nation, as a whole, was convicted by the preaching of Ezra, during the annual festivals that occurred in the seventh month of that year. The holy days ended with the Feast of Tabernacles, the 15^th to the 22^nd of the seventh month. Immediately afterward, on the 24^th day of the month, with only one day between assemblies,[1] the children of Israel remained in Jerusalem, but mourning over the things they had learned (Nehemiah 9:1). The Jews had been convicted of their sins against the Lord, and stood apart from all strangers, which, apparently, included wives and children who were heathen among them, and they confessed both their sins and the sins of their fathers, which they were presently repeating (Nehemiah 9:2).

For one quarter of the daylight portion of the day (cp. John 11:19), or about three hours (as we measure time), the Jews stood and listened to the Law, as it was read to them. For an additional quarter, they mourned, confessing their sins and worshiped before the Lord (Nehemiah 9:3). After this the Levites and the Jewish authorities stood upon the steps of the House of God and commanded the people to stand and bless the Lord, and with a loud voice they cried out to the Lord their God (Nehemiah 4-5).

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[1] This single day may have been the weekly Sabbath, which, itself, is a day of celebration, so mourning couldn’t commence until one day later or the 24^th of the month. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why one day separated the celebration from the mourning. Why would it be important to pause one day before commencing one’s confession of sin? If the 22^nd of the month began at sunset on Thursday (as we measure days today), the Last Great Day of the Feast wouldn’t end until sunset, Friday, which would automatically begin the seventh day Sabbath, or the 23^rd of he month. So, the 24^th day of “this month” (Nehemiah 9:1) would have been the first day of the new week.