Thursday, April 17, 2025

Reading for April 24th

 Read Ezra 9.10-15. In verses 10-11: For we have forsaken your commandments, which you have commanded by your servants the prophets: The quotation comes from fragments of various texts pieced together, notably Deut 7.1-4; 11.8; 23.6; Isa 1.19; and Lev 18.24-30. In verse 13: After all that has come upon us relates to the destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of a number of leading citizens under the Babylonians. In verse 14: Shall we break your commandments again and intermarry: This phrasing equates the idolatry of the late Judean kingdom with the practice of intermarriage in Ezra's day, (Which would mean the community has survived, yet guilt has again come on the community from its intermarriage with surrounding peoples. The implication is that the community must remove the guilt (that is, intermarriage) or face certain destruction at the hands of a just and holy God. Comments or Questions..

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