Nehemiah 5:1-9 or Ezra 1:1-11

See the text and comments for October 30, one week ago.

Acts 20:7-12

See the text and comments for October 30, one week ago.

Luke 12:22-31

See the text and comments for October 30, one week ago.

Ezra 10:1-17

The People's Response

10:1 While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel; the people also wept bitterly. 2 Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra, saying, "We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Take action, for it is your duty, and we are with you; be strong, and do it." 5 Then Ezra stood up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do as had been said. So they swore. (Ezra 10:1-5, NRSV)

The people join in with Ezra’s prayer of confession (Ezra 9:5-15). They “also wept bitterly” (10:1). “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women,” they said (v. 2), but they offer to “make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children” (v. 3). They ask Ezra to “take action” to deal with the situation (v. 4), so he agrees, and starts by administering an oath: he “made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do as had been said” (v. 5).

Mass Divorce of Foreign Wives

6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God, and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. 7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that if any did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all their property should be forfeited, and they themselves banned from the congregation of the exiles.

9 Then all the people of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. 11 Now make confession to the LORD the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives." 12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, "It is so; we must do as you have said. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for many of us have transgressed in this matter. 14 Let our officials represent the whole assembly, and let all in our towns who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every town, until the fierce wrath of our God on this account is averted from us." 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levites supported them.

16 Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of families, according to their families, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter. 17 By the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women. (Ezra 10:6-17, NRSV)

At the invitation of the leaders (Ezra 10:4), Ezra acts to resolve the problem of mixed marriages. But first he fasts and mourns “over the faithlessness of the exiles” (v. 6). “All the returned exiles” are called to assemble at Jerusalem (v. 7) under penalty of forfeiting their property and banishment from the congregation if they fail to come (v. 7), which indicates the severity of the problem in the mind of Ezra and the officials. To the assembled “people of Judah and Benjamin” (v. 9), Ezra repeats the charge (v. 10), and directs the people to confess their sin and “separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives” (v. 11). The people generally agree (v. 12), but request time for the process to be carried out (v. 13), and suggest a procedure, “Let our officials represent the whole assembly, and let all in our towns who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times” (v. 14). The dissenting voices were few (v. 15), so the suggested procedure was carried out (vv. 16-17).

or Nehemiah 1:1-11

The following text and comments on Nehemiah 1:1-11 is repeated here from Thursday, October 27, 2005.

Nehemiah’s Inquiry about Jerusalem

1:1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, 2 one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They replied, "The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire." (Nehemiah 1:1-3, NRSV)

Nehemiah, a Jew who is a palace servant of King Artaxerxes I, inquires “about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem” (Neh. 1:2). The answer was:

The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (v. 3)

In a year when we have heard of the Tsunami in Asia, twenty-three named tropical storms from the Atlantic side (so far), including devastating hurricanes, and other disasters such as the earthquakes in Pakistan, we might be tempted to ask, Just how bad was their situation, really? But in their circumstances, the wall was protection from various threats to their way of life. We might compare their situation to the damaged levees of New Orleans, which in their own way failed to protect a way of life in the city. The rebuilding will, of course, take very different forms in the two situations, but both situations left people in despair. Mary Joan Winn Leith perhaps explains why Nehemiah was able to use considerable resources provided by the Persian Empire:

From an imperial perspective, Nehemiah’s job was to build a city wall and an imperial fortress (the citadel of the Temple, Neh. 2:8) just outside the city. The fortress and the fortifications of Jerusalem may have been part of the general Persian deployment of garrisons suggested in the archaeological record. The Persians did not encourage the building of walls in Levantine cities, probably considering them symbolic of civil independence; Samaria, for example, never had an urban wall system in the Persian period. The unusual nature of Nehemiah’s wall-building with the blessing of the great king is highlighted in the biblical narrative.

Explanations for the fortification of Jerusalem include the suggestions that the Persians were hoping to foster or to reward Judean loyalty. Alternatively, in a region where Persian control was threatened by international military adventurism, Jerusalem became an inland defensive city and possibly a new center for the collection and storage of imperial revenues (delivered in kind and not in coin before the late fifth century). (Mary Joan Winn Leith, “Israel among the Nations; the Persian Period,” in Michael D. Coogan, ed., The Oxford History of the Biblical World, 1998, pp. 410-411)

But, of course, what Artaxerxes had in mind may have been far different from what God had in mind, and from that for which Nehemiah prayed.

Nehemiah’s Prayer of Repentance for the People

4 When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. 7 We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.' 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!"

At the time, I was cupbearer to the king. (Nehemiah 1:1-11, NRSV)

Nehemiah is in sorrow over the news of distress in Judah, and he prays a prayer of confession for the people there–his own people. "We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments...that you commanded your servant Moses" (Neh. 1:7). After reviewing some of the promises, he adds, "O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man! [i.e. Artaxerxes]" (v. 11).

Acts 24:10-21

Paul's Defense before Felix

10 When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied:

"I cheerfully make my defense, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation. 11 As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. 12 They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. 13 Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me. 14 But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. 15 I have a hope in God--a hope that they themselves also accept--that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people. 17 Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices. 18 While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance. 19 But there were some Jews from Asia--they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me. 20 Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council, 21 unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, 'It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.' "

After Paul’s appearance in the temple in Jerusalem led to a riot and the arrest of Paul (Acts 21:27-40), and after further events, including the discovery of a plot against his life (23:12-35), Paul is moved to Caesarea, where he remains in custody for two years. When Paul’s accusers arrive from Jerusalem to present their case against Paul (24:1-9), Paul speaks in his own defense. He compliments Felix (v. 10), and denies “disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city” (v. 12, cf. vv. 5-6). Paul admits to worshiping “according to the Way, which they call a sect” (v. 14) and hoping for resurrection, “a hope that they themselves also accept” (v. 15). He claims to have “a clear conscience toward God and all people” (v. 16), and reports bringing “alms to my nation” and coming “to offer sacrifices” (v. 17). He was in the temple, “completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance” (v. 18). He should be able to face his accusers, “some Jews from Asia” (v. 19). He only admits to the “crime” of crying out in the council, “It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today” (v. 21; cf. 23:6).

Luke 14:12-24

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:12-14, NRSV)

Luke presents a paragraph of Jesus’ teaching on humility (Lk. 14:7-14) which has no parallel passage in the other Gospels except for a brief saying, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” (Mt. 23:12; cf. Lk. 18:14). His advice about inviting “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” rather than “your friends, or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors” when one gives “a luncheon or a dinner” (Lk. 14:12-14) leads into the following parable.

For Matthew, this parable follows the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mt. 21:33-46) as a part of a series of teachings and debates in Jerusalem during the final week (21:28-25:46). Luke gives it a setting as a part of Jesus’ teaching at “the house of a leader of the Pharisees” (Lk. 14:1), in response to an exclamation from “one of the dinner guests”: “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (v. 15). For Luke, the dinner is given by “someone” (v. 16), whereas Matthew’s parable is about a “wedding banquet” given by a king (Mt. 22:1). Matthew’s detailed description of the preparations (v. 4; cf. Lk. 14:17) implies the importance of the occasion, and though both accounts decry the excuses of the first invited guests (Mt. 22:5-6; Lk. 14:18-20), Matthew’s account continues the focus on the rejection and killing of Jesus by the “wicked tenants” of the preceding parable. Those invited “made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them” (Mt. 22:5-6). While Luke’s version of the parable implies eschatological judgment and rejection of the ones first invited, “none of those who were invited will taste my dinner” (Lk. 14:24), that is, exclusion from the “messianic banquet” (cf. Marion Lloyd Soards, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Lk. 14:24), Matthew emphasizes this aspect with the removal of the guest “who was not wearing a wedding robe” (Mt. 22:11-14, cf. the parables of chaps. 24-25).

We may take courage from the fact that those excluded from the banquet were not merely overlooked. There was a conscious rejection of the invitation on the part of those who did not come, but the invitation was thrown open to “everyone” (Mt. 22:9), to “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame” (Lk. 14:21). Most of us are probably “crippled” in one way or another, but we are all invited.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com