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October 9 - Ezra 10 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is Wednesday, it's the
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  9th of October and you have pressed play on a chapter a day.
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  Bible reading. And that is what we do friends.
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  We read a chapter of God's word every day so that your and my
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  days can be punctuated and filled with the words of our God
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  ringing in our ears and bouncing around our minds as we go about
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  living our daily lives. And sometimes, you know, we
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  might read through the Gospels. Oh, and it's all so obvious, and
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  it's Jesus, and it's Him doing his thing.
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  And other times we find ourselves where we are at the
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  moment, reading through these stories from the Old Testament,
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  reading about God's people as they returned to their homeland
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  after time in exile in Ezra and Nehemiah.
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  And these stories sometimes feel a little dry in comparison with
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  the New Testament stories. But this is the backdrop, This
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  is the heritage and the back story to which Jesus arrives
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  from. And these are God's people
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  setting up that very same city that Jesus, some 400 years
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  later, is going to be walking through with these stories
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  shaping his heart and his mind, as well as the people that he
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  speaks with and deals with. So this really is US
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  understanding the context in which Jesus comes and just
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  radically blows up everything the way that they thought it was
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  going to be and shows us a different way.
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  So back in these days when you sinned and and turned your back
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  on God, if you didn't do it so badly that God decided to punish
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  you, you would come back to God with repentance and with
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  sacrificial offerings and this would restore relationship.
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  But we live in a new covenant, don't we, friends, where this
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  great sacrifice has been offered in the form of Jesus for us.
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  So let us read about this backdrop.
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  Let us read the next chapter, in fact, the last chapter of Ezra
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  before we continue in the story in the book of Nehemiah reading
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  together today, Ezra chapter 10. While Ezra prayed and made this
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  confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front
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  of the temple of God, a very large crowd of people from
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  Israel, men, women, and children, gathered and wept
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  bitterly with him. Then Shecheniah son of Jehiel, a
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  descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, We have been unfaithful to
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  our God, for we have married these Pagan women of the land.
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  But in spite of this, there is hope for Israel.
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  Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our Pagan
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  wives and to send them away with their children.
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  We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who
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  respect the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the
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  law of God. Get up, for it is your duty to
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  tell us how to proceed in setting things straight.
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  We are behind you, so be strong and take action.
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  So Ezra stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests
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  and the Levites and all the people of Israel swear that they
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  would do as Shecheniah had said, and they all swore a solemn
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  oath. Then Ezra left the front of the
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  temple of God and went to the room of Jehovah Nun, son of
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  Eliashib. He spent the night there without
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  eating or drinking anything. He was still in mourning because
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  of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles.
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  Then the proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem
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  that all the Exiles should come to Jerusalem.
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  Those who failed to come within three days would, if the leaders
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  and elders so decided, forfeit all their property and be
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  expelled from the assembly of the Exiles.
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  Within three days all the people of Judah and Benjamin had
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  gathered in Jerusalem. This took place on December
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  19th, and all the people were sitting in the square before the
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  temple of God. They were trembling, both
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  because of the seriousness of the matter and because it was
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  raining. Then Ezra, the priest stood and
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  said to them, You have committed a terrible sin by marrying Pagan
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  women. You have increased Israel's
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  guilt. So now confess your sin to the
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  Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands, Separate
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  yourselves from the people of the land and from these Pagan
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  women. Then the whole assembly raised
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  their voice and answered, yes, you are right, we must do as you
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  say. Then they added, this isn't
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  something that can be done in a day or two, for many of us are
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  involved in this extremely sinful affair.
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  And this is the rainy season, so we cannot stay out here much
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  longer. Let our leaders act on behalf of
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  us all, Let everyone who has a Pagan wife come at a scheduled
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  time, accompanied by the leaders and judges of his city, so that
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  the fierce anger of our God concerning this affair may be
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  turned away from us. Only Jonathan, son of Asahil,
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  and Jazea, son of Tikvah, opposed this course of action
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  and they were supported by Meshalom and Shabbati, the
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  Levite. So this was the plan they
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  followed. Ezra selected leaders to
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  represent their families, designating each of the
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  representatives by name. On December 29th, the leaders
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  sat down to investigate the matter.
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  By March 27th, the first day of the new year, they had finished
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  dealing with all the men who had married Pagan wives.
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  These are the priests who had married Pagan wives from the
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  family of Jesua, son of Jehozadak and his brothers
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  Marseilla, Eliezer, Jarab and get a liar.
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  They vowed to divorce their wives and they each acknowledged
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  their guilt by offering a ram as a guilt offering.
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  From the family of IMA, Hanani and Zebediah.
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  From the family of Haram, Marseilla, Elijah, Shamaya,
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  Jahil and Uzziah. From the family of Pashaw,
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  Eliawani, Messiah, Ishmael, Nathanel, Josebad and Elisa.
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  These are the Levites who were guilty.
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  Josebad, Shimay, Kalaya, also called Kelata, Pethahaya, Judah
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  and Eliezer. This is the singer who was
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  guilty, Eliashib. These are the gatekeepers who
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  were guilty, Shalom, Tellem and Urai.
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  These are the other people of Israel who were guilty.
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  From the family of Parosh, Ramaya, Izia, Malkajah, Mejamin,
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  Eliezar, Hashabaya and Binaya. From the family of Elam,
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  Matanaya, Zechariah, Zaheel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah.
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  From the family of Zatu, Eliyawani, Eliashib, Matanaya,
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  Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza. From the family of Babai,
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  Jehovahnan, Hanaya, Zabai and Athalai.
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  From the family of Bani, Meshalam, Malik, Adaya, Jashub,
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  Sheil and Jeremoth. From the family of Pahath, Moab,
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  Adna, Kalal, Binaya, Massiah, Matanaya, Bazalal, Minui and
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  Manasa. From the family of Haram,
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  Elieza, Ishaja, Malkajah, Shemaya, Shimyon, Benjamin,
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  Malik and Shemarai. From the family of Hashem,
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  Matanay, Matata, Zabad ephilet, Jeremiah Manasa and Shimei.
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  From the family of Bani Madai, Amram UL Binaya, Bedaya, Kalohi
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  Vanaya, Merrimoth, Elishib, Matanaya Matanaya and Jasu.
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  From the family of Binuai Shimay Shalamaya, Nathan, Adiya,
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  Maknadabai, Shashi, Shahrai, Azarel Shalamaya, Shamaraya,
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  Shalam, Amariah and Joseph. From the family of Nebo, Jayo,
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  Matanaya, Jabbad, Jabina, Jedi Joel and Banaya, each of these
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  men had a Pagan wife and some even had children by these
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  wives. Our Lord, we may not have taken
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  Pagan wives, but we have certainly moved away from You in
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  the way that we have chosen to live.
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  Thank You that even though we have done this, You continue to
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  love us and forgive us. We turn back to You, Lord, and
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  we will sin again today and we will turn back to You.
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  And in many ways that we will sin, We won't even know that we
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  are doing it, but we just thank You that You have given us the
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  gift of Jesus. And that not just once, not just
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  twice, not just three times every day, but in this ongoing
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  way of sanctification, Jesus sacrifice continues again and
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  again to be enough to render us pure and acceptable in your
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  sight. O Father, thank you for giving
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  us Jesus who makes all this possible.
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  And that when you look at us, you see Jesus perfection, and
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  you see us, your children, and you run to us, and you throw
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  your arms around us like the father of the prodigal son.
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  Here we are, your wayward children, and we love you and we
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  are grateful for you. And we pray all of this in the
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  sanctifying, saving name of Jesus.
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  Amen.