Ezra 10 Today

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Ezra 10:1-44 -
The People Confess Their Sin
1While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and throwing himself to the ground in front of the Temple of God, a large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him. 2Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, "We confess that we have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. We will obey the law of God. 4Take courage, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight, and we will cooperate fully."
5So Ezra stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests and the Levites and all the people of Israel swear that they would do as Shecaniah had said. And they all swore a solemn oath. 6Then Ezra left the front of the Temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He spent the night F48 there, but he did not eat any food or drink. He was still in mourning because of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles. 7Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the returned exiles should come to Jerusalem. 8Those who failed to come within three days would, if the leaders and elders so decided, forfeit all their property and be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
9Within three days, all the people of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. This took place on December 19, F49 and all the people were sitting in the square before the Temple of God. They were trembling both because of the seriousness of the matter and because it was raining. 10Then Ezra the priest stood and said to them: "You have sinned, for you have married pagan women. Now we are even more deeply under condemnation than we were before. 11Confess your sin to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from these pagan women."
12Then the whole assembly raised their voices and answered, "Yes, you are right; we must do as you say!" 13Then they added, "This isn't something that can be done in a day or two, for many of us are involved in this extremely sinful affair. This is the rainy season, so we cannot stay out here much longer. 14Let our leaders act on behalf of us all. Everyone who has a pagan wife will come at the scheduled time with the leaders and judges of his city, so that the fierce anger of our God may be turned away from us concerning this affair." 15Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this course of action, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.
16So this was the plan that they followed. Ezra selected leaders to represent their families, designating each of the representatives by name. On December 29, F50 the leaders sat down to investigate the matter. 17By March 27 of the next year F51 they had finished dealing with all the men who had married pagan wives.
Those Guilty of Intermarriage
18These are the priests who had married pagan wives:
From the family of Jeshua son of Jehozadak F52 and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19They vowed to divorce their wives, and they each acknowledged their guilt by offering a ram as a guilt offering.
20From the family of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21From the family of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22From the family of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23These are the Levites who were guilty: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24This is the singer who was guilty: Eliashib.
These are the gatekeepers who were guilty: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25These are the other people of Israel who were guilty:
From the family of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, F53 and Benaiah.
26From the family of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27From the family of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28From the family of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29From the family of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30From the family of Pahath-moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31From the family of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
33From the family of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34From the family of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, 36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38From the family of Binnui F54 : Shimei, 39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43From the family of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44Each of these men had a pagan wife, and some even had children by these wives. F55
FOOTNOTES:F48: As in parallel text at 1 Esdras 9:2; Hebrew reads He went. F49: Hebrew on the twentieth day of the ninth month, of the Hebrew calendar. This event occurred on December 19, 458 B.C.; also see note on 7:9a. F50: Hebrew On the first day of the tenth month, of the Hebrew calendar. This event occurred on December 29, 458 B.C.; also see note on 7:9a. F51: Hebrew By the first day of the first month, of the Hebrew calendar. This event occurred on March 27, 457 B.C.; also see note on 7:9a. F52: Hebrew Jozadak, a variant name for Jehozadak. F53: As in parallel text at 1 Esdras 9:26; Hebrew reads Malkijah. F54: As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Jaasu, 38Bani, Binnui. F55: Or and they sent them away with their children. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in Him and receive Him, we are entering into a covenant relationship with His Spirit, likened for us to a marriage relationship – it is till death do us part. The thing about this covenant is, we don’t ever die!
Before we met and entered into covenant with the Lord Jesus we belonged to the world, we were already in covenant relationship with our father the evil one (devil = d’iabolos =d’evil= god of evil) We had to change Mater’s/Kings and kingdom allegiances. We had to separate from one covenant while solidifying another new covenant.
The Bible says if we are not for God we are against Him, period. There truly is NO middle road.
Luke 11:23 "Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.
Sin is all about separation from the pure fellowship of God and people, His creation, those He loves. Sin separates. In this chapter He is saying separate yourselves from that which brings separation between you and I, between us together in pure fellowship. Divorce that, rather than Me. Change covenant partners. You were in partnership with eternal death, now sever that partnership and come receive eternal life and the lifestyle that leads to that life forever.
If you take time to look up all of the names of all of those who thought they’d covenanted with the Lord, but had not separated themselves from sin and it’s slavery, you will see meanings that show us each one of our potentials in Christ. If we separate from sin’s stronghold on us, we will become what He created us to become.
One of the names mean: rest, one means: God’s helper, another means: friend, another: work of God, and then also, God is great…
We all say we want to see and be these things, but we think God will just wave His magic word over us and we’ll change. No, we are the ones that change and bring the changes to pass, by leaving completely what was and becoming what is. We won’t see the greatness of God nor will we rest or even enter the work etc, till we completely separate from the old lifestyles we embraced outside of our covenant with God.
One command of the great commission and of the Genesis mandate is to reproduce after our like kind. That means if you have pure faith in God whoever you influence, whoever spends time with you and follows you, will also have that, you’ll pass it on, they’ll copy you if they follow you. What if you live some with God and some with the world and have not separated from the world? Well you’ll also reproduce that lifestyle, and it won’t be pretty in the eyes of the covenant of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact it will add numbers of more who are against Him.
We reproduce, we have “children”, in and outside of the covenant with God.
How do we see the greatness of God? Reproduce after His kind. Be redeemed by the precous blood of the Lamb of God and redeem others with that blood, it is the highest payment ever given for sin. Valuable enough to share and save souls from hell, or do we believe that? Show your faith by your works, says the Lord.

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Isaiah 58:12 – in multiple translations….
The Amplified Bible
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
The Holy Bible, New International Version®
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
The New King James Version
Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
GOD'S WORD
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the foundations of past generations. You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live.
New Life Bible
And your cities which were destroyed long ago will be built again. You will set up the stones of the bases of the old buildings. You will be called the one who builds again the broken walls, and who makes the streets on which people live like new.