of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present had offered, chap. 7, 15. 16. V. 26. I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver and silver vessels an hundred talents and of gold an hundred talents; v. 27. also twenty basins of gold, covered cups for pouring out drinkofferings, of a thousand drams, literally, "darics," Persian money; and two vessels of fine copper, of excellent polish, precious as gold. The value of all these treasures has been estimated at about two and one half million dollars. V. 28. And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord, set apart for the special service of Jehovah; the vessels are holy also, intended for use in divine worship only, set apart for this purpose; and the silver and the gold are a free-will offering unto the Lord God of your fathers, voluntarily contributed by both the Jews of Babylon and by their heathen neighbors, together with the king and his counselors. V. 29. Watch ye and keep them, as consecrated custodians, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites and chief of the fathers of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord, where all these treasures were to be delivered intact. V. 30. So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels to bring them to Jerusalem, unto the house of our God, they accepted the commission with the same solemnity with which it was tendered. V. 31. Then we departed from the river of Ahava, from the region on the Euphrates known by that name, on the twelfth day of the first month, some time having elapsed during which the Levites who were summoned joined the caravan, to go unto Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way, both the organized and the unorganized desert robbers. "To accomplish a journey so long and so arduous in perfect

safety is one of the most astonishing events recorded in history. Nothing but the vigilant care of a superintending Providence could have brought them securely to their destination." 2) V. 32. And we came to Jerusalem, after a journey of about four months, and abode there three days, resting from the effects of their journey. V. 33. Now, on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest, apparently in charge of the Lord's treasures; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui, Levites, all these witnesses being present to see that everything was done decently and in order; v. 34. by number and by weight of every one; and all the weight was written at that time, everything noted down carefully in an official document, so that the correct preservation might be confirmed. V. 35. Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, those who had returned in this caravan, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel: twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering. Cp. chap. 6, 17; Lev. 4. All this was a burnt offering unto the Lord. V. 36. And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants and to the governors on this side the river, both to the satraps, as civil officers, and to the chief military officers in the satrapy between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean; and they, these Persian magnates, furthered the people and the house of God, they brought their influence to bear in favor of the Jews. Even as the Jews of that time took care of the outward treasures of their worship, so the Christians must be the guardians of the spiritual treasures entrusted to them, the Gospel and the Sacraments.

2) Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, 293.

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Ezra's Sorrowful Prayer. THE EVIL OF INTERMARRIAGES EXPOSED. V. 1. Now, when these things were done, namely, the delivery of the treasures and the money, the bringing of the sacrifices, and the paying of respects to the official representatives of the Persian king in the satrapy of which Judea was a part, the princes, certain chief men among the people, came to me, saying, The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, of the remnants of the Gentile nations

that were still found in the land, doing according to their abominations, showing a tendency to relapse once more into gross idolatry, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites, whose idolatrous practises had persisted in the country during all these centuries. V. 2. For they, the Jews who had previously returned from Babylonia, have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed, the children of Israel as a peculiar people, as a nation

consecrated to Jehovah, have mingled themselves with the people of those lands; yea, the hand of the princes and rulers, of the leaders of the people, hath been chief in this trespass, which was a plain violation of the divine Law, Deut. 7, 2. 3. The mixed marriages threatened the purity of Israel and imperiled the higher blessings connected therewith. V.3. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, both the inner dress and the outer cover, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, all signs of most overpowering grief and righteous anger, and sat down astonied, staring dully into nothingness, as one helpless in angry displeasure. V. 4. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, those impressed with the terror of Jehovah's possible wrath, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away, of those living in captivity, of the people who had returned with the first company of exiles; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. Ezra foresaw the dangerous results of the condition as reported to him and was overwhelmed with the difficulty of correcting the evil. Mixed marriages are always dangerous, for experience has shown that the believing spouse is more often misled into misbelief and indifference than the unbelieving is brought to the knowledge of the truth.

EZRA'S CONFESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S SIN. V. 5. And at the evening sacrifice, about the middle of the afternoon, I arose up from my heaviness, from the stupor which had benumbed him; and having rent my garment and my mantle, once more indicating his anger, sorrow, and grief, I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the Lord, my God, in a gesture of humble supplication, v. 6. and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush, a very emphatic expression of his repentant sorrow for his people, to lift up my face to Thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens, their great abundance being like a flood which threatened to engulf the Jews forever. V. 7. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day, as the history of both Israel and Judah under the kingdom had shown; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to be killed outright, to captivity, to languish in exile, and to a spoil, their land having been plundered time and again by the enemies, and to confusion of face, to the deepest shame and humiliation, as it is this day. V. 8. And now for a little space, for almost sixty years, grace hath been showed from the Lord, our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to

give us a nail in His Holy Place, the figure being that of a peg on which domestic utensils were hung and the meaning that God had again given them a part and a right in His house, in His Temple, that our God may lighten our eyes, by removing the night of trouble and weakness resting upon them, and give us a little reviving in our bondage, by bestowing salvation, strength, and encouragement. V. 9. For we were bondmen, held captive by the enemies; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, restoring them once more as a nation and as a congregation of Jehovah, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem, by protecting them against all their oppressors. The mercies of God having been mentioned, the sin of the people stands out all the more strongly by comparison. V. 10. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Thy commandments v. 11. which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants, the prophets, for their mixed marriages involved idolatry, saying, The land unto which ye go to possess it is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. V. 12. Now, therefore, give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, Ezra here quotes from Moses, Ex. 23, 32; 34, 16; Deut. 7, 3, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever, that ye may be strong and eat the good of the land, enjoy all its richest blessings, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever, as a permanent possession of the children of Israel. V. 13. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, the punishment of their exile, seeing that Thou, our God, hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, literally, "hast restrained a part of our sins from below," namely, in this, that His punishment was below the measure of their misdeeds, and hast given us such deliverance as this, v. 14. should we again break Thy commandments and join in affinity with the people of these abominations, by entering into mixed marriages with them? The thought is that the remembrance of the leniency of the Lord in dealing with the people ought certainly to restrain them from transgressing His precept. Wouldest not Thou be angry with us till Thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? This fate the general blameworthiness of the people in the new transgression would certainly have deserved. V. 15.

O Lord God of Israel, Thou art righteous, a Judge whose holiness would constrain Him to bring punishment upon the congregation if its members would continue in the present transgression; for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before Thee in our trespasses, for we cannot stand before Thee because of this. The

implication was that, unless, by the help of divine grace, they would repent and bring forth fruit meet for repentance in a prompt change of tactics, the wrath of the righteous God would be sure to strike them. A confession of this kind also includes the prayer for forgiveness and will therefore surely be heard.

The Adjustment of the Intermarriage Problem.

EZRA'S REFORM MEASURES ADOPTED. — V. 1. Now, when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, for it was in the court of the Lord that he made his prayer, as shown in chapter 9, there assembled unto him out of Israel, out of those present for the evening sacrifice, a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore, they were plunged into great depths of grief over the evil circumstances into which so many had plunged themselves by contracting forbidden marriages. Ezra's passionate prayer, therefore, was a sensation which attracted people to the court of the Temple in increasing numbers. V. 2. And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, evidently a man of some importance, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, acting unfaithfully and without loyalty, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land; for, though not himself guilty, he spoke in the general name of the people; yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing, a removal of the evil was still possible in his opinion. V. 3. Now, therefore, let us make a covenant with our God, by obligating themselves before God with a solemn vow, to put away all the wives, by an absolute divorce, and such as are born of them, the children of such mixed marriages, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God, the will and the precepts of the Lord being interpreted by the spiritual leaders of the people; and let it be done according to the Law, rather, “it shall happen according to the Law," as explained by Ezra and his colleagues. V. 4. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee; Ezra was the one man competent to take charge of the problem, both on account of his familiarity with the Law of God and on account of the authority vested in him by the king of Persia. also will be with thee, to back him up in any plan proposed by him; be of good courage and do it. V. 5. Then arose Ezra and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they should do according to this word, he obligated them by

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a solemn oath and thus stimulated their zeal. And they sware. V. 6. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, he left the place in the court where he had prayed, and went into the chamber of Johanan, the son of Eliashib, where he could meet the princes and elders of the Jews in private; and when he came thither, he did eat no bread nor drink water, keeping up an absolute fast as a sign of mourning, in order to impress all the others with the sincerity of his motives; for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. V. 7. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, both of the first and second band of returned exiles, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem, v. 8. and that, whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, who had immediately agreed to the proposition of Ezra, all his substance should be forfeited, devoted to God, confiscated for the use of the Temple, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away, excluded from the Jewish Church by a sentence of excommunication. V. 9. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month, between the end of December and the first part of January, the coldest and most disagreeable season in Palestine; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, out in the court and in the open square before the court, trembling because of this matter, excited and worried on account of the cause for which they had been summoned, and for the great rain, which at that season falls in torrents. V. 10. And Ezra, the priest, stood up and said unto them, Ye have transgressed and have taken strange wives, dwelling with them in a wedlock which did not meet with the approval of the Lord, to increase the trespass of Israel, for the entire congregation would be held responsible for this evil. V. 11. Now, therefore, make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, acknowledging their wrong, and do His pleasure, in bringing forth fruits meet for repentance; and separate your

selves from the people of the land and from the strange wives. It was a radical measure, but one which would prove immediately effective in cleansing Israel from defilement. V. 12. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, their resolution firmly and unhesitatingly expressed, As thou hast said, so must we do, feeling themselves in conscience bound to be obedient. V. 13. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, the season being too disagreeable, neither is this a work of one day or two, and therefore to be disposed of while they waited; for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. V. 14. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, as a commission to adjust the entire affair, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, they were to be notified on what days they should come, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, as witnesses and assistant judges, to investigate each case thoroughly, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us; with the cause of the wrath removed, the Lord's wrath itself would cease. V. 15. Only Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah, the son of Tikvah, were employed about this matter, literally, "stood against this thing," they withstood the proposed resolution; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them, all four desiring to continue the custom of intermarriages. And the children of the captivity did so, they acted according to their proposal. And Ezra, the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, heads of father-houses, and all of them by their names, were separated, as a commission to handle this matter, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter, they held a session to take up the cases. V. 17. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. The sessions thus lasted, in all, very nearly three months. Any Christian congregation which finds that evils have crept into its midst is in duty bound to investigate the Imatter and to remove all offenses.

V. 16.

CATALOG OF MEN WHO HAD TAKEN STRANGE WIVES.-V. 18. And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives; namely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. V. 19. And they gave their

hands that they would put away their wives, pledging themselves most solemnly by giving their right hand; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. Cp. Lev. 5, 14. 15. V. 20. And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. V. 21. And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. V. 22. And of the sons of Pashur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. V. 23. Also of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. V. 24. Of the singers also: Eliashib; and of the porters: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. V. 25. Moreover, of Israel, of the lay-members of the congregation: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. V. 26. And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. V. 27. And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. V. 28. Of the sons also of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. V. 29. And of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. V. 30. And of the sons of Pahathmoab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. V. 31. And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, v. 32. Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. V. 33. Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. V. 34. Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel, v. 35. Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, v. 36. Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, v. 37. Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, v. 38. and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, v. 39. and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, v. 40. Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, v. 41. Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, v. 42. Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. V. 43. Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. V. 44. All these had taken strange wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had children, a fact which, of course, increased the difficulties of Ezra's task. All those who have sinned openly ought to acknowledge their transgression in the same manner and put away the offense. Every Christian congregation should be zealous about the honor of God and the welfare of all the souls in its midst.

Fourteen years after Ezra, the learned doctor of the Law, had instituted his reforms of worship in Jerusalem, another prominent man came to the capital of Judea from the land of the exile, namely, Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah, the author of this last book of the Old Testament canon. He had held the important office of cupbearer to King Artaxerxes Longimanus when he received information from Judea which caused him to apply for leave of absence, in order to remedy, if possible, the unfortunate conditions then obtaining in the land of his fathers. For fourteen years he held the position of Governor of Judah, during which time he introduced many reforms among the people, abolished usury, revived the knowledge of the Law, restored the strict observance of the Sabbath, enforced the payment of religious

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dues, and compelled those who had married foreign, idolatrous wives to divorce them.

The Book of Nehemiah is plainly divided into three parts. In chapters 1 to 7 Nehemiah states the occasion for his journey and his work in building the walls and gates of the Holy City. In chapters 8 to 10 he tells of the solemn restoration of divine worship, for which he worked together with Ezra. In chapters 11 to 13 we have lists of various kinds and a few statements concerning the last deeds of Nehemiah, including his reforms of sundry abuses. The book was probably written between 433 and 431, at Jerusalem.1)

1) Cp. Fuerbringer, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 40. 41; Concordia Bible Class, April, 1919, 50. 51.

Nehemiah's Grief over Jerusalem. V. 1. The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah, this designation distinguishing him from others of the same name, chap. 3, 16; 7, 7. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, the ninth month of the Jewish church-year, in the twentieth year, namely, that of King Artaxerxes of Persia, the year 445 B. C., as I was in Shushan, the palace, one of the cities of the royal residence between the Eulaeus and Shapur rivers, in what was known as Elam, v. 2. that Hanani, one of my brethren, a real full brother of Nehemiah, chap. 7, 2, came, he and certain men of Judah, for there was always some communication between the Jews living in the East and those in Palestine; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, literally, "the deliverance, who were left over out of the exile," who were now, in a measure at least, enjoying the rights of a nation, and concerning Jerusalem. V. 3. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province, in Judea, some ninety years after the exile, are in great affliction and reproach, in adversity on account of the scornful treatment of the neighboring peoples; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Zerubbabel and Ezra had been empowered to rebuild the Temple and to repair the dwellings of the city, but beyond this their jurisdiction had not extended; the ruined condition was still apparent on all sides. V. 4. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and

wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, withdrawing from his duties at court and giving vent, in his retirement, to the most overwhelming sorrow, and prayed before the God of heaven, v. 5. and said, I beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, awe-inspiring, before whom men tremble, that keepeth covenant and mercy, the merciful covenant to which the Jewish economy was looking forward in the Messiah, for them that love Him and observe His commandments: v. 6. let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open, in an attitude of most careful attention, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant which I pray before Thee now, day and night, cp. 1 Kings 8, 29. 52, for the children of Israel, Thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against Thee, for the entire congregation bears the responsibility of the individual's sins, unless these are reproved in the proper manner; both I and my father's house have sinned. It is only by a full and free acknowledgment of sinfulness that men can gain the ear of the Lord. V.7. We have dealt very corruptly against Thee and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, both the precepts of the covenant and the obligations toward mankind in general had often been neglected. V. 8. Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations, Lev. 26, 33; Deut. 28, 64; v. 9. but if ye turn unto Me, in true repent