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Commentary on Ezra 9 verses 5–15
What the meditations of Ezra's heart were, while for some hours he sat down astonished, we may guess by the words of his mouth when at length he spoke with his tongue; and a most pathetic address he here makes to Heaven upon this occasion. Observe,
I. The time when he made this address - at the evening sacrifice, Ezr 9:5. Then (it is likely) devout people used to come into the courts of the temple, to grace the solemnity of the sacrifice and to offer up their own prayers to God in concurrence with it. In their hearing Ezra chose to make this confession, that they might be made duly sensible of the sins of their people, which hitherto they had either not taken notice of or had made light of. Prayer may preach. The sacrifice, and especially the evening sacrifice, was a type of the great propitiation, that blessed Lamb of God which in the evening of the world was to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself, to which we may suppose Ezra had an eye of faith in this penitential address to God; he makes confession with his hand, as it were, upon the head of that great sacrifice, through which we receive the atonement. Certainly Ezra was no stranger to the message which the angel Gabriel had some years ago delivered to Daniel, at the time of the evening sacrifice, and as it were in explication of it, concerning Messiah the Prince (Dan 9:21, Dan 9:24); and perhaps he had regard to that in choosing this time.
II. His preparation for this address. 1. He rose up from his heaviness, and so far shook off the burden of his grief as was necessary to the lifting up of his heart to God. He recovered from his astonishment, got the tumult of his troubled spirits somewhat stilled and his spirit composed for communion with God. 2. He fell upon his knees, put himself into the posture of a penitent humbling himself and a petitioner suing for mercy, in both representing the people for whom he was now an intercessor. 3. He spread out his hands, as one affected with what he was going to say, offering it up unto God, waiting, and reaching out, as it were, with an earnest expectation, to receive a gracious answer. In this he had an eye to God as the Lord, and as his God, a God of power, but a God of grace.
III. The address itself. It is not properly to be called a prayer, for there is not a word of petition in it; but, if we give prayer its full latitude, it is the offering up of pious and devout affections to God, and very devout, very pious, are the affections which Ezra here expresses. His address is a penitent confession of sin, not his own (from a conscience burdened with its own guilt and apprehensive of his own danger), but the sin of his people, from a gracious concern for the honour of God and the welfare of Israel. Here is a lively picture of ingenuous repentance. Observe in this address,
1.The confession he makes of the sin and the aggravations of it, which he insists upon, to affect his own heart and theirs that joined with him with holy sorrow and shame and fear, in the consideration of it, that they might be deeply humbled for it. And it is observable that, though he himself was wholly clear from this guilt, yet he puts himself into the number of the sinners, because he was a member of the same community - our sins and our trespass. Perhaps he now remembered it against himself, as his fault, that he had staid so long after his brethren in Babylon, and had not separated himself so soon as he might have done from the people of those lands. When we are lamenting the wickedness of the wicked, it may be, if we duly reflect upon ourselves and give our own hearts leave to deal faithfully with us, we may find something of the same nature, though in a lower degree, that we also have been guilty of. However, he speaks that which was, or should have been, the general complaint.
(1.)He owns their sins to have been very great: "Our iniquities are increased over our heads (Ezr 9:6); we are ready to perish in them as in keep waters;" so general was the prevalency of them, so violent the power of them, and so threatening were they of the most pernicious consequences. "Iniquity has grown up to such a height among us that it reaches to the heavens, so very impudent that it dares heaven, so very provoking that, like the sin of Sodom, it cries to heaven for vengeance." But let this be the comfort of true penitents that though their sins reach to the heavens God's mercy is in the heavens, Psa 36:5. Where sin abounds grace will much more abound.
(2.)Their sin had been long persisted in (Ezr 9:7): Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass. The example of those that had gone before them he thought so far from excusing their fault that it aggravated it. "We should have taken warning not to stumble at the same stone. The corruption is so much the worse that it has taken deep root and begins to plead prescription, but by this means we have reason to fear that the measure of the iniquity is nearly full."
(3.)The great and sore judgments which God had brought upon them for their sins did very much aggravate them: "For our iniquities we have been delivered to the sword and to captivity (Ezr 9:7), and yet not reformed, yet not reclaimed - brayed in the mortar, and yet the folly not gone (Pro 27:22) - corrected, but not reclaimed."
(4.)The late mercies God had bestowed upon them did likewise very much aggravate their sins. This he insists largely upon, Ezr 9:8, Ezr 9:9. Observe, [1.] The time of mercy: Now for a little space, that is, "It is but a little while since we had our liberty, and it is not likely to continue long." This greatly aggravated their sin, that they were so lately in the furnace and that they knew not how soon they might return to it again; and could they yet be secure? [2.] The fountain of mercy: Grace has been shown us from the Lord. The kings of Persia were the instruments of their enlargement; but he ascribes it to God and to his grace, his free grace, without any merit of theirs. [3.] The streams of mercy, - that they were not forsaken in their bondage, but even in Babylon had the tokens of God's presence, - that they were a remnant of Israelites left, a few out of many, and those narrowly escaped out of the hands of their enemies, by the favour of the kings of Persia, - and especially that they had a nail in his holy place, that is (as it is explained, Ezr 9:9), that they had set up the house of God. They had their religion settled and the service of the temple in a constant method. We are to reckon it a great comfort and advantage to have stated opportunities of worshipping God. Blessed are those that dwell in God's house, like Anna that departed not from the temple. This is my rest for ever, says the gracious soul. [4.] The effects of all this. It enlightened their eyes, and it revived their hearts; that is, it was very comfortable to them, and the more sensibly so because it was in their bondage: it was life from the dead to them. Though but a little reviving, it was a great favour, considering that they deserved none and the day of small things was an earnest of greater. "Now," says Ezra, "how ungrateful are we to offend a God that has been so kind to us! how disingenuous to mingle in sin with those nations from whom we have been, in wonderful mercy, delivered! how unwise to expose ourselves to God's displeasure when we are tried with the returns of his favour and are upon our good behaviour for the continuance of it!"
(5.)It was a great aggravation of the sin that it was against an express command: We have forsaken thy commandments, Ezr 9:10. It seems to have been an ancient law of the house of Jacob not to match with the families of the uncircumcised, Gen 34:14. But, besides that, God had strictly forbidden it. He recites the command, Ezr 9:11, Ezr 9:12. For sin appears sin, appears exceedingly sinful, when we compare it with the law which is broken by it. Nothing could be more express: Give not your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons. The reason given is because, if they mingled with those nations, they would pollute themselves. It was an unclean land, and they were a holy people; but if they kept themselves distinct from them it would be their honour and safety, and the perpetuating of their prosperity. Now to violate a command so express, backed with such reasons, and a fundamental law of their constitution, was very provoking to the God of heaven.
(6.)That in the judgments by which they had already smarted for their sins God had punished them less than their iniquities deserved, so that he looked upon them to be still in debt upon the old account. "What! and yet shall we run up a new score? Has God dealt so gently with us in correcting us, and shall we thus abuse his favour and turn his grace into wantonness?" God, in his grace and mercy, had said concerning Sion's captivity, She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins (Isa 40:2); but Ezra, in a penitential sense of the great malignity that was in their sin, acknowledged that, though the punishment was very great, it was less than they deserved.
2.The devout affections that were working in him, in making this confession. Speaking of sin,
(1.)He speaks as one much ashamed. With this he begins (Ezr 9:6), O my God! I am ashamed and blush, O my God! (so the words are placed) to lift up my face unto thee. Note, [1.] Sin is a shameful thing; as soon as ever our first parents had eaten forbidden fruit they were ashamed of themselves. [2.] Holy shame is as necessary an ingredient in true and ingenuous repentance as holy sorrow. [3.] The sins of others should be our shame, and we should blush for those who do not blush for themselves. We may well be ashamed that we are any thing akin to those who are so ungrateful to God and unwise for themselves. This is clearing ourselves, Co2 7:11. [4.] Penitent sinners never see so much reason to blush and be ashamed as when they come to lift up their faces before God. A natural sense of our own honour which we have injured will make us ashamed, when we have done a wrong thing, to look men in the face; but a gracious concern for God's honour will make us much more ashamed to look him in the face. The publican, when he went to the temple to pray, hung down his head more than ever, as one ashamed, Luk 18:13. [5.] An eye to God as our God will be of great use to us in the exercise of repentance. Ezra begins, O my God! and again in the same breath, My God. The consideration of our covenant-relation to God as ours will help to humble us, and break our hearts for sin, that we should violate both his precepts to us and our promises to him; it will also encourage us to hope for pardon upon repentance. "He is my God, notwithstanding this;" and every transgression in the covenant does not throw us out of covenant.
(2.)He speaks as one much amazed (Ezr 9:10) "What shall we say after this? For my part I know not what to say: if God do not help us, we are undone." The discoveries of guilt excite amazement: the more we think of sin the worse it looks. The difficulty of the case excites amazement. How shall we recover ourselves? Which way shall we make our peace with God? [1.] True penitents are at a loss what to say. Shall we say, We have not sinned, or, God will not require it? If we do, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Shall we say, Have patience with us and we will pay thee all, with thousands of rams, or our first-born for our transgression? God will not thus be mocked: he knows we are insolvent. Shall we say, There is no hope, and let come on us what will? That is but to make bad worse. [2.] True penitents will consider what to say, and should, as Ezra, beg of God to teach them. What shall we say? Say, "I have sinned; I have done foolishly; God be merciful to me a sinner;" and the like. See Hos 14:2.
(3.)He speaks as one much afraid, Ezr 9:13, Ezr 9:14. "After all the judgments that have come upon us to reclaim us from sin, and all the deliverances that have been wrought for us to engage us to God and duty, if we should again break God's commandments, by joining in affinity with the children of disobedience and learning their ways, what else could we expect but that God should be angry with us till he had consumed us, and there should not be so much as a remnant left, nor any to escape the destruction?" There is not a surer nor sadder presage of ruin to any people than revolting to sin, to the same sins again, after great judgments and great deliverances. Those that will be wrought upon neither by the one nor by the other are fit to be rejected, as reprobate silver, for the founder melteth in vain.
(4.)He speaks as one much assured of the righteousness of God, and resolved to acquiesce in that and to leave the matter with him whose judgment is according to truth (Ezr 9:15): "Thou art righteous, wise, just, and good; thou wilt neither do us wrong nor be hard upon us; and therefore behold we are before thee, we lie at thy feet, waiting our doom; we cannot stand before thee, insisting upon any righteousness of our own, having no plea to support us or bring us off, and therefore we fall down before thee, in our trespass, and cast ourselves on thy mercy. Do unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee, Jdg 10:15. We have nothing to say, nothing to do, but to make supplication to our Judge," Job 9:15. Thus does this good man lay his grief before God and then leave it with him.
And in the evening sacrifice I rose from my affliction, etc. Ezra had prepared himself through the contrition of his heart and the affliction of his body, so that he might be made worthy to hear divine compassion, and thus he broke forth into the words of prayer. He bent his knees, spread his hands, and poured out prayers to the Lord at the time of the evening sacrifice; not doubting that this sacrifice would be more pleasing to God—because it was offered in a spirit of humility and a contrite soul—than if it had been offered with the flesh and blood of sheep. Symbolically, by bending his knees with his garment rent, spreading his hands to God, and pouring out prayers and tears, he turned the minds of many to repentance, as it is written in what follows, showing the Lord Savior, who deigned to pray for our sins both before His passion and at the very time of His passion; and who, with His hands extended on the cross, willed the garment of His flesh to be torn and mortified with wounds for our restoration, so that He, as the Apostle says, who died for our sins, might rise for our justification (Rom. 4). This was suitably done at the time of the evening sacrifice, either because the Lord, at the end of the world, offered the sacrifice of His flesh and blood to the Father and commanded us to offer it in bread and wine; or because, with the completion of the legal sacrifice, He freed us by His passion and, separating us from the peoples of the earth, made us heavenly, and granted that we might cling to Him with pure heart and body. The prayer itself, by which he, though just, associated himself with the sinful people, saying:
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SUMMARY
Ezra 9:5 vividly portrays the prophet Ezra's profound spiritual anguish and decisive turn to prayer upon discovering the widespread intermarriage among the returned exiles. This pivotal moment, occurring at the significant time of the evening sacrifice, marks his transition from stunned grief to active intercession, characterized by deeply symbolic actions of repentance and humility before the LORD, setting the stage for his powerful prayer of confession on behalf of the people.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezra 9:5 is rich in Symbolism, as Ezra's every action—arising from his "heaviness," tearing his clothes, falling to his knees, and spreading out his hands—is a deeply symbolic gesture conveying profound grief, humility, and earnest supplication. These physical acts are external manifestations of intense internal spiritual agony and moral revulsion at the sin of the people. The verse also employs Pathos, evoking a strong sense of pity and empathy for Ezra's suffering, which in turn underscores the gravity of the people's transgression and invites the reader to share in his lament. The progression of Ezra's actions, from arising from his stunned state to tearing his garments, then falling to his knees, and finally spreading his hands, creates a sense of Climax and Movement, transforming passive despair into active, desperate intercession and leading inevitably to his subsequent prayer. This sequence demonstrates a deliberate and deeply felt response, highlighting Ezra's role as a faithful intercessor.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezra 9:5 is a powerful testament to the nature of true repentance and intercession. Ezra's profound personal grief over the corporate sin of Israel exemplifies a leader who deeply identifies with the spiritual state of his people, even when he is personally blameless in the transgression. His actions reveal that genuine sorrow for sin is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment but a visceral, all-consuming anguish that compels one to humble oneself before a holy God. This verse underscores the seriousness of covenant disobedience and the necessity of a heartfelt, active response to spiritual compromise. It teaches that approaching God in confession requires a posture of humility, reverence, and desperate dependence on His mercy, mirroring the call for inward transformation over mere outward ritual. Ezra's example sets the stage for the corporate repentance that follows, demonstrating the power of a leader's brokenness before God to catalyze spiritual renewal in a community.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezra's passionate and visceral response to the sin of intermarriage in Ezra 9:5 provides a timeless model for believers today. It challenges us to cultivate a profound sensitivity to sin, both in our personal lives and within the community of faith. His example teaches us that true spiritual leadership often begins with a deep, empathetic identification with the struggles and failures of others, moving us to intercede on their behalf with genuine anguish and humility. In a world often desensitized to spiritual compromise, Ezra reminds us that a holy God demands a holy people, and that our response to sin should be marked by sincere grief, repentance, and a desperate turning to Him. His actions call us to abandon passive observation and embrace active, fervent prayer, trusting that God hears and responds to the contrite heart. This passage encourages us to examine our own hearts for complacency regarding sin and to embrace the transformative power of genuine brokenness before God.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was intermarriage such a serious sin for the Israelites?
Answer: Intermarriage was a grave sin because it directly violated God's covenant commands given to Israel, specifically designed to preserve their spiritual purity and identity as His chosen people. Passages like Deuteronomy 7:3-4 explicitly prohibited marriage with people from surrounding pagan nations. The primary concern was not racial purity but spiritual purity: these marriages inevitably led to the Israelites adopting the idolatrous practices and customs of their foreign spouses, corrupting their worship of the one true God and leading them away from the covenant. It was a threat to the very purpose of Israel's existence as a holy nation set apart to bear witness to God, as they were meant to be a distinct people, a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6), whose purity reflected God's character.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezra 9:5, with its depiction of a righteous man deeply grieved by the sin of his people and interceding on their behalf, finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Ezra's identification with sin, though he himself was not guilty of the specific transgression, foreshadows Christ's perfect identification with humanity's sin. Unlike Ezra, who could only lament and intercede, Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, actually "became sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21) on the cross. The "evening sacrifice" at which Ezra arose to pray points to Christ's once-for-all sacrifice, the ultimate "evening sacrifice" offered at the end of the day, which perfectly atoned for sin and fulfilled all temple rituals, making "purification for sins" (Hebrews 1:3) and rendering further sacrifices unnecessary (Hebrews 9:26). Ezra's posture of falling on his knees and spreading out his hands in desperate supplication echoes Christ's own agony and prayer in Gethsemane (Luke 22:41-44), where He wrestled with the immense weight of humanity's sin before submitting to the Father's will. Ultimately, Jesus is the perfect Intercessor (Hebrews 7:25), who not only prayed for His people but offered Himself as the spotless sacrifice, fully restoring the broken covenant relationship and enabling true repentance and reconciliation with God for all who believe (Romans 5:10-11).