Reading fpr November 22nd

Read Ezra 9.1-4. In 9.1-15: Acknowledgement of intermarriage and Ezra's response. The narrative dealing with Ezra comes to a dramatic point in this chapter. Portions of the community reveal that intermarriage has taken place, and Ezra offers a long prayer of confession trusting that God will not destroy the community because of this sin. The entire framework is expressed in graphic terms, in whiich intermarriage is colored by terms associated with the most severe violations of God's sancity. The aura of holiness and purity which must surround the Temple as God's dwelling place is now transferred to the community as a whole. The community becomes the house of God. In verse 1: After these things: Ezra has disposed of some of the formalities of his mission, and then is confroonted by the issue of intermarriage. This list of peoples contains the seven stock enemies of Israel that appear in a number of places in the Hebrew Bible. While marriage with foreigners was not prohibited, marriage with any of these enemies was considered unacceptable because of the dangers of idolatry (example, Deut 7.1-4). There is nosuch evidence that such peoples would still have been identifiable in the time of Ezra. In verse 2: The holy seed has mixed itself extends language from the "holiness code" of Lev 19 to the population. In Lev 19.19, mixing with different seeds is prohibited as an affront to God's holiness. Such action is characterized as faithlessness in this narrative, or acting without regard for God's holiness. The entire condemnation of intermarriage here is a process of creatively combing ideas and themes into a new teaching. In verse 3: I tore my gramentand my manttle, and pulled hair from my head and beard: these are traditional signs of deeply felt grief. In verse 4: All who trembled at the words of the God of Israel is a reference to those who took seriously the commandments of God, reflecting the original awe of the people when God first revealed his law upon the mountain (Ex 19.16-20). Comments or Qustions.