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| RESPOND: (5 minutes) Close with a prayer when the students return to the classroom and promise them that you will pray for them in the coming week. INSIGHTS FROM THE SCRIPTURE: How to remain holy for God is a question we all must ask of ourselves. Ezra answered that question by demanding strict adherence to the law, which he interpreted to mean separation from the evil found around him. Ezra declared that anyone who was not a physical descendent of Abraham was evil and must be cut off. Before we dismiss Ezra as irrational, let’s consider his situation. Before the exile the people were counting on the temple and God’s covenant with Abraham and David to keep them safe. Ezra, as a scribe and priest, knew the law, and when he returned from exile he was appalled that the people were breaking the law just as they did before God’s punishment of the exile. He realized that God’s continued blessings were not unconditional, but were rewards for faithfulness. Ezra recognized God’s right to punish them for the sins they were committing, and his answer was to demand total separation from the possibility of being drawn away from God. Therefore, Ezra demanded the expulsion of the foreign wives (Ezra 10:3-6). Ezra felt that outward purity would lead to purity of the While we may frown on Ezra’s actions, the Jews following him applauded it. He became know as the Second Moses or lawgiver to the rabbis and the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. Saul, as a devout Pharisee, agreed with this thinking and we see it acted out in his persecution of the early church. Continued... |
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