In | Ezra 10

According to the letter from Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:11-26), Ezra was sent to make “inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem” (v. 14), fortify the daily activities at the temple (vv. 15-20) and organize the community in general (vv. 25-26). In other words, he was tasked to stabilize the community. The Law of the LORD was to be his inspiration. Yet as he implemented his plan of action, other issues bubbled to the surface. 

According to Ezra 9:1, the officials approached Ezra to discuss issues of intermarriage. In response, Ezra immediately retreated into a period of intense prayer and fasting to discern the next course of action. He knew the situation was serious. If things were left unchecked, the community would succumb to the same egregious errors that caused the exile (9:5-15). So, Ezra instituted a drastic course of action that sought to purge the community of the root of the problem. 

Ezra understood that the identity of God’s people balanced on a knife’s edge during the second temple period. A lax commitment to God’s social vision would eventually result in the evaporation of their identity. All the community had was their Scriptures and their temple. To ignore them, or to undermine them, would virtually ensure they would be forgotten. 

So, before we question this inspired man, let’s try and understand the urgency of his context and ministry . . . and let’s certainly not question his devotion.