Ezra 10

Ezra 10:11

Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives."

What does it mean to separate from their wives?  Is this separating in the type that we use today, where you're still legally married but no longer living together?  So were they sending their wives back to their parents' households, but not divorcing?  Was that done back then?  Or did this mean to divorce them, and send them and their children away?

Or perhaps, did it mean they were simply going to stop being intimate?  Make "separate bedrooms" for their wives and those children, cutting them out of the family but continuing to care for them?  The text isn't clear, and I'm not sure which I want.  I despise divorce, but is God calling for it here?

Ezra 9

Ezra 9:11

which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end and with their impurity.

The Israelites were commanded not to marry foreigners from the land they were invading.  Yet here they have done it, so now we're looking back on why it's a problem.  From my perspective, I don't think God would have had an issue with any foreigners who had come to know God being married to a Jew.  Look at Rahab, she obviously did, and was in Jesus' lineage.  So it's not a matter of bloodline or ethnicity.

The real reason is shown in this verse.  These people are unclean in their actions.  They do what's wrong, and do it a lot.  If you marry them, do you think they're just going to stop doing those bad things?  Almost certainly not.  Instead, they're going to continue to do them, and they'll either wear down your awareness of the evil of the action, or convince you to actively participate yourself.  You're not supposed to marry a foreigner (or, in modern context, a non-believer) to prevent yourself from being dragged into sin.

Ezra 8

Ezra 8:22

For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, "The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him."

Ezra first proclaimed to the king that God would protect them, then seems to think he may have made a mistake.  He affirms that God will punish those who are against Him, but then thinks he may need the king's protection against either foreigners or criminals en route to Jerusalem.  However, he's just declared God's power, and can't back down from it now by asking for temporal help.

Did Ezra make the right call here?  First, should have have stated God's power and will so forcefully?  They are certainly true statements, but God does not necessarily protect His people from physical harm or loss.  But he's suggested such, so he can't take it back without diminishing God in the view of the king.  So his pride may have put him into a bad position, from which only God can bail him out.  For if they had gone without troops, and had been attacked, surely that would have damaged God's sovereignty in the king's eyes.

Ezra 7

Ezra 7:24

We also inform you that it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God.

I wonder if this is the verse that inspired someone to decide that churches were to be exempt from taxes.  It makes sense from other directions, too, of course, but I wonder what the original impetus was in modern government to have tax exemption.  Was it simply the desire to demonstrate that the state does not hold sway over the church?  Or was it this verse, where it was done thousands of years before?

And don't ask me what the Nethinim were, I have no idea.  I don't recall the term being used before.

Ezra 6

Ezra 6:21

The sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the LORD God of Israel, ate the Passover.

It almost sounds like there are two groups here.  First, there are those who returned from exile.  These we know about, from earlier in the book.  They left their homes and came back when the king allowed them to.  But there's also this group who had separated themselves from foreign impurity.  How this is phrased, this sounds like another group, maybe one that had snuck back in and formed some kind of hidden colony, until the exiles returned and they could join them.

But is this really talking about one group in two ways, or two different groups come together?  I'd always thought it was one group, but now I'm not so sure.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it.  Perhaps it was two waves of exiles returning, one once there was a start to construction so they had somewhere to go to.  Maybe they were really two groups, merged in purpose if not in passion.  But whichever it is, the important thing was that they had followed God's call, and were finally able to celebrate His first ceremony again.

Ezra 5

Ezra 5:12

But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

It's unclear if the people of the time understood why God allowed them to be defeated by Babylon.  It's not even clear if they knew or cared that God was involved.  They may have been totally indifferent to God, or they may have been simply confused at what had happened to their shield of protection.

However, it's clear that during the exile, at least some of the Jews came to realize what had happened.  Their fathers had sinned against God, and He had punished them by using a foreign king.  They understand this now, and are doing all they can to obey God now.  They can't change the past, but they can turn the present back to Him.

Ezra 4

Ezra 4:2

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek you God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here."

I'm not sure what they were trying to do here.  These people are the enemies of the Jews, so why are they volunteering to help?  At first I thought it was just to sabotage construction, slow the process down and mess things up.  That would certainly discourage any more Jews from coming back, if the Temple was mis-built and either not suitable, or perhaps even dangerous.  If it collapsed after they'd put all their sacred objects in it, and those objects were destroyed, that would probably shut the whole project down.

However, I'm wondering now if they were trying something more insidious.  They knew they were not "clean," and their working on the Temple would corrupt the work.  So what if they were trying to corrupt the work?  If non-believers were to work on building the Temple, it's quite possible that God would reject the building as unsuitable for His habitation.  At minimum, this would demoralize the Jews.  He might even punish them for polluting it, and they wouldn't have minded that either.  Whichever it was, they were definitely lying to their own ends, hoping the Jews would be so desperate for assistance that they would let them botch the entire project.

Ezra 3

Ezra 3:12

Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,

Not many remained from the time of the first Temple.  But those who did never thought they would ever see this day.  Their homeland had been invaded, their people scattered, their Temple turned to rubble.  They have been in exile for decades.  Maybe they always knew why this had happened, or maybe they realized it over time.  But they eventually knew that they had sinned against God, and they were paying the price.

Now they have, by God's doing, been allowed to return to their land, and they are rebuilding their Temple.  For decades this place has been abandoned, and now they have seen the foundation of a new Temple laid.  They cannot control themselves, they are so overwhelmed with joy and thanks to God for renewing their hope.

Ezra 2

Ezra 2:62

These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood.

Apparently, some of those returning claimed to be Levites, and were ready to be priests in God's new Temple.  But their claims could not be confirmed by the records that survived.  It's not clear whether they had come falsely, or been taught that they were Levites when they weren't, or if they were honest but the records were incomplete.  Whichever the reason, the returning Jews decided to err on the side of caution.

There were times in Judah's history when this would not have been a problem.  Many times occurred when wicked kings did not follow the laws God had set for the priesthood, and anybody could be a priest if they wanted.  But here, the Jews are rebuilding what was lost, and they decide that they must be sure the work is done purely, with proper holiness.  So those who could not be confirmed to be of the priestly line could not participate, even if they actually were pure.  If in doubt that something is a sin, don't do it.

Ezra 1

Ezra 1:2

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Cyrus, the new ruler of (effectively) the world, has suddenly acknowledged God.  We don't know why he did this, or what happened to cause him to even know God exists.  He had conquered the previous nation shortly before, and we know that God has sent a sign which Daniel interpreted to be the prophecy of that nation's downfall.  Perhaps learning this is what made Cyrus aware of God.

Still, why did he suddenly decide that he should rebuild the Temple?  And why in Jerusalem?  He could have made any kind of honoring site to God, like an Asherah pole.  And he could have done it anywhere; his capitol would certainly have been more convenient.  So why put this new temple in Jerusalem?  Was he advised to do so by someone like Daniel?  Or did his other advisers suggest this, since that was where the old Temple had been?  Whichever it was, it's clear God paved the way for His people to return, by using a foreign king as His instrument.

2 Chronicles 36

2 Chronicles 36:15

The LORD the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;

The time of God's judgment on Judah had come, as promised.  They had turned away from Him once again, and He had had enough.  But He is not going to condemn them without giving one last chance to come around, so He sends people to give the last warning.  He doesn't just swoop in and destroy them, He first gives them a chance to see the light.

What would have happened if they, or perhaps even just some, had listened?  Would God have spared the people until later?  Or might He have made the fall of the nation less violent?  Would just some of the nation have been spared, those who had returned to Him, as a lasting remnant?  Might they have still been taken, but have been a better influence on the people into which they were around?  We'll never know, but it's an interesting question to ponder.

2 Chronicles 35

2 Chronicles 35:21

But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah?  I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry.  Stop for you own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you."

This is very interesting.  An Egyptian king both knows God, and knows that God has called him to attack another nation.  When else in this time did that happen?  We're used to seeing God use Israel and Judah against other nations, but not this time.  This time, he uses Egypt against someone else.  We don't know who that nation is; we only know that they are at the Euphrates, which means that the Egyptian army would have to cross Judah to get there.

Why did Josiah not listen to the king of Egypt?  I can understand if he thought the king was simply saying what he thought Josiah wanted to hear.  But was that it?  Did the king's pride perhaps get in the way?  He saw someone else being used by God, in a way that meant almost literally stepping on him to do God's work, and he resented it?  Did Josiah do something that angered God, or was this a test that Josiah failed?  I don't know, but I can't say I would have likely done anything different.

2 Chronicles 34

2 Chronicles 34:22

thus says the LORD, "Behold I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.

The Law has just been rediscovered, and read to the king for the first time.  We don't know exactly what the people have been doing wrong, even after the king's purging of the false gods, but it must have been bad.  Josiah immediately sent inquiries to a prophetess, and learn what they should do.  God speaks through her, and warns them that he will exact the penalty proscribed for their unfaithfulness.

I have to wonder, though, why did he not do so earlier?  Why did she not speak God's condemnation of them before this?  My only guess as to why is that He was waiting until they realized what they had done wrong.  Is punishment as effective when you don't know why you're being punished?  Do you feel guilty, or deserving of punishment, when you don't know you've broken the rules?  Then, what happens when you find out you did break the rules unknowingly?  The nation might be condemned for its evil, but God could still choose to spare some who changed their ways after learning what was right.

2 Chronicles 33

2 Chronicles 33:13

When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

Manasseh had deserted God, and he paid the price.  But once he had hit bottom, he called to God for help.  God answered his prayer, and he was restored to his position and power.  But how this is phrased, I'm not sure he understood what he was doing.

Manasseh had definitely hit bottom, that much is clear.  He had nowhere left to go, and was rotting in a foreign dungeon.  But when he prayed to God, I'm not convinced that he really believed God could do anything.  How this is phrased, it sounds like he was trying it because he had already tried everything else.  He didn't pray expecting God would forgive him and do a miracle; he just was trying the one thing he hadn't done yet.  But then he was saved, and realized that it was God's doing.  I don't doubt that his repentance was genuine, but I'm not convinced it was because he'd truly seen the error of his ways.