Reading for April 23rd

 Read Ezra 9.5-9.9. In 9.5-9.6: Our iniquities ... and our guilt are references to the practice of intermarriage; both terms are often used for severe transgressions of the law. In verse 7: To utter shame; as is now the case:Though Persian monarchs have generally been supportive, there is still the sense of a diminished community because of the need to rely on Persian support. In verse 8: Who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place: God's recent gracious acts are reviewed, including allowing the community to survive at all and providing a point of security in Jerusalem. In verse 9: For we are are slaves: Despite the favor the monarchy has granted, the community is still is servitude to the empire. The expression will be echoed in Neh 9.36. To set up the house of our God serves as a general heading, the specific actions being to repair its ruins and to provide a wall in Judea and Jerusalem. The wall is a metaphor, standing for a boundary or separation from the surrounding region by staying away from intermarriage. To violate this wall becomes all the more serious, a rejection of God's gift intended to help establish the house of God. Comments or Questions..