Reading for November 25th

Read Ezra 10.1-5. In 10.1-5: The people's response. The narrative now returns briefly to a third-person form to describe the community's reaction to Ezra's sermon in prayer form. The function of the brief notice is to empower Ezra to act on behalf of the community's own request. In verse 1: A very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel: One of the keys to this section is the idea of an assembly. A large number of persons heard Ezra's prayer and wept bitterly, indicating their deep grief. In verse 3: Now let us make a covenant: Recognizing the gravity of their situation, the assembly calls for action to remove the foriegn wives from the community's midst as a sacred act, to be done as dictated by Ezra and those who tremble at the commandment of our God, the members of the community particularly concerned with obedience to the law. In verse 5: The leading priests and levities, and all Israel: reversing the order of the report from the "officials" in 9.1, accounmt ensures that the community as a whole observes the new covenant. Comments or Questions..