Ezra: Priest for the People

September 20, 2009

Background Scripture: Ezra 9:5 – 11, 15
Lesson Passage: Ezra 9:5 – 11, 15

Perhaps the most under-appreciated need we have in this life is the need for someone to stand between God and us. Without a barrier, light would quickly consume darkness until darkness existed no more. So it is with holiness and sin. The holiness of God would totally destroy the presence of sin and its source and bearers if it were not for God’s self-imposed restraint. When God provided the Law to Moses, in it he also established a sense of his own holiness by way of the commandments. The Law without a mediator would only be a death sentence to humanity. God prescribed the office of the priest as a mediatory office. The priest stood before God on behalf of the people. The priest acknowledged the sins of the people, made sacrifices unto God as a show of penance and petitioned God for mercy. God allowed these actions to provide a covering for the sins of the people or a barrier between them and him. The complementary office was that of prophet. The prophet spoke the word of God to the people so that they might know the will of God at that time for them. Whenever the Law pointed out fault or sin, it also pointed out the appropriate action that should follow. After the Law was delivered to Israel, the people were in a constant cycle of breaking the Law and being punished for it. When God finally allowed Israel to go into captivity to the Babylonians it seemed as though the relationship was over. But God never forgets his promises. He had made promises to the forefathers of Israel that he would not cast their offspring away from him forever. If he allowed them to be punished for their sins, he would also allow them to be restored when they repented and returned to him. At times, those returning had compounded the problem by doing more wickedly in the meantime than their initial trespass. This was the case in our lesson today. Ezra learned that after the exile of Israel, Israel’s leaders, rulers, priests, and Levites, had intermingled with the original nations of Canaan. The nation of Israel had been repeatedly warned against doing that for hundreds of years. They were told that those nations were being expelled from the land because their actions were an abomination to God. If they intermingled, Israel would participate in the same abominations. Not only did many of Israel mingle with the nations socially but they also intermarried. This mixing of the blood of Israel with that of the Canaanites was too much for Ezra to bear. He tore his clothes, plucked out his hair, and sat on the ground disgusted. When the evening sacrifice time came, Ezra prayed an intercessory prayer on behalf of Israel. It was a priestly prayer. Ezra acknowledged God’s faithfulness and laid out Israel’s sins before God. He thanked God for preserving a remnant that continued to trembled at his voice or show him proper reverence. He further acknowledged that what Israel had received was the grace of God in spite of the failures of the nation. Whether Israel understood Ezra’s actions or not, he was providing for them what was most needed at the time. Ezra interceded as a priest for the people.

Robert C. Hudson
September 8, 2009