Reading for November 26th

Read Ezra 10.6-15 In 10.6-15: Ezra's decree against intermarriage. Rather than issue a proclamation in his role as imperial representative, Ezra convenes as assembly of the community to deliver the regulation to separate themesleves from the people of the lands. The narrative underscored the willingness of the community to reform itself, with few exceptions. In verse 6: Ezra withdrew: having intercede on behalf of the community, Ezra could now retire to another less public place to plan how the community would enact its reforms. His fasting is a traditional means of expressing sorrow for sin. In verse 7: A proclamation: The call to convene an assembly goes to the returned Exiles, perhaps to differentiate the community from non-Israelite populations that may have moved into the region after the fall of the Judean kingdom. In verse 8: Property ... forfeited: a penalty the presupposes community control over each indidual's possessions. There is evidence that the Persian empire orgainized some districts into economic collectives in which the individual had wealth only as a part of the collective. Being excluded from the collective would have dire economic consequences. Congregation: the same word in Hebrew as "assembly in 10.1. In verse 9: Then ninth month: Kslev, approximately December of the modern calendatr, a time of cold rains in Palestine. In a humman touch,the author notes the people were trembling from the awe someness of the matter at hand and the cold rains. In verse 10: Tresspassed: The violation of separateness has not only caused individual alienation from God, but has afeected the community's relationship with God. In verse 11: Separate yourselfs: It is not clear if the order to separate is a general one, for which sending away the foriegn wives is the specific action, or if an additional issue is involved. In verse 14: The whole assembly agrees with Ezra's proposal but makes a series of practical suggestions for its implemention. The work of sorting through those marriages that needed to be dissoloved would continue until intermarriage was no longer the guilt of the community. Comments or Questions..