Ezra 9:5

EZRA'S PRAYER REGARDING ISRAEL'S SIN IN THE MIXED MARRIAGES

"And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe rent; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God; and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended lovingkindness unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness: now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such a remnant, shall we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness;for none can stand before thee because of this."

"At the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation" (Ezra 9:5). "This is probably to be identified with the ninth hour (3:00 P.M.) (Acts 3:1)."[11]

"Our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens" (Ezra 9:6). This was also the conviction of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9:29-35), and likewise that of Daniel (Daniel 9:5-8). "The captivity had effectively done its work in convincing a previously proud and self-righteous nation of their gross wickedness and unfaithfulness to God."[12]

"Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty" (Ezra 9:7). "The guilt which Ezra confessed was not merely that of his contemporary generation but that of their whole history. The guilt of the corporate community transcended that of a given generation."[13]

"To give us a nail in his holy place" (Ezra 9:8). "This metaphor is probably derived from a tent-pin, driven into the earth to secure the tent."[14]

"We are bondmen ... God hath not forsaken us ... to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem" (Ezra 9:9). Although the Persian kings had granted favors to the Jews regarding their return to Jerusalem and the building of their temple, they nevertheless still remained subjects of the Persian king, bound to obey him in everything. The mention of "a wall" here does not mean that the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt. "The word wall means a fence, and is used of a fence around a vineyard; and it is used here metaphorically for protection."[15]

"Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets" (Ezra 9:11). Ezra here, by the words, "The land unto which ye go to possess it," clearly had the Mosaic age in mind; and we have already cited three references in the Books of Moses that forbade foreign covenants including marriages; but the mention here of "prophets" has led some scholars to point out that there are no specific commandments in the prophets regarding this. However, as Moses was the Great Prophet unto whom even the Christ was compared; and since all of the prophets endorsed the Mosaic Law and commanded the people to observe it, "It was proper for Ezra to designate the Mosaic Law as the sayings of the prophets also."[16]

"God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve" (Ezra 9:13). It is significant that Ezra includes himself along with the guilty people, identifying himself in every way with the sinful nation. Note also that he acknowledges the righteous judgment of God in the acceptance of his punishments as being "less than they deserved."

We appreciate Bowman's rejection of the criticism of some radical scholars who deny the authenticity of this prayer, on the basis of several, erroneous assumptions and `guesses.' He wrote: "This prayer does not have an artificial or secondary nature, but is psychologically as well as historically appropriate. It is relevant to the occasion and necessary for the development of the situation."[17]

This magnificent prayer was used by the Lord to rally Israel around Ezra and to provide sufficient support for the drastic rejection of the mixed marriages.