Ezra-Nehemiah: Falling Rain

When we read the Bible, it is best to remember that it is not a book of simple morals, or noble heroes, or nice tidy examples. It is a story of God pursuing mankind in the throes of the human condition. There are beautiful things and ugly things, tragic characters and flawed heroes. There are moments of triumph and failure. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and the answers aren’t given. Sometimes the wicked thrive and the righteous suffer. Such is the wisdom and beauty of God’s relationship with mankind. David killed and took another man’s wife by exercising his kingly privilege. Ignoring what happened to Tamar, David basically ruined the kingdom of Judah. Casting Hagar and Ishmael out was a tragic response to the abusive treatment Hagar experienced from Abraham and Sarah (forcing her to sleep with him in Genesis 16, having his child, the strained relationship that resulted). What about Ezra? The people of the Land are allowed to return to Judah to rebuild after the exile. This hopeful time though becomes an anticlimax. The temple is not like the temple before. The people resume their ways of injustice and dishonor the Sabbath for economic gain. But what about the conflict with the people who were already there? Who were they? Was Ezra right to require those men who intermarried to divorce and send their wives and children away into the darkness and rain fall?

Jack Handey’s Deep Thoughts, “If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is ‘God is crying.’ And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is ‘Probably because of something you did." Maybe? Families being separated, the hearts of fathers turning from their children, children turning their hears from their fathers. These are the things that break the heart of God.

in 586 BC, when Babylon hauled away the rich, powerful, and educated people from Judah, they left the poor to tend the land. The meek inherited the earth as Jesus said. Among the poor, there were likely Hittities, Amorites Perezites, and others. 2 Chronicles tells us that these were used as forced labor by Solomon to build the temple. So the passages of utter annihilation were likely war hyperbole with the idea that the destruction was complete. In the dedication of the temple, Solomon also reviews some instruction from Moses as recorded in Deuteronomy. Among these, the inclusion of non-Israelites who want to worship Yahweh. Even the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 refers to his descendants being a blessing to all people. Who did the exiles find upon return to Judah? A mixture of people.

Samaritans are part of this group. The Samaritans have a long history of conflict with the Judeans. From the time of the rape of Dinah and the vengeful slaughter of those in Shechem by Simeon and Levi in Genesis 34, to the time of Jesus when he meets the woman at the well and tells of the man attacked on the roadside, these groups were bitter enemies. It is not hard to understand why Ezra would regard the group as “adversaries". Ten of the twelve tribes of Israel were associated with Samaria. Ezekiel even prophesied that in the Messianic Age, Israel and Judah would rejoin as one nation again and a New Temple would be built. It is not hard to understand why the people Ezra rebuffed dug into to frustrate his plans. However, does this conform to the vision God gave Ezekiel of the New Temple and New Jerusalem? Will it be accomplished in this manner? Was this a missed opportunity or just a necessary step along the way?

The visions of Ezekiel seems to reveal something that is missing in Ezra-Nehemiah. The New Temple, New Jerusalem will be multiethnic in fulfillment of the covenant to Abraham and usher in the Messianic Age. Even with the First Temple, Solomon gave instructions to foreigners who would worship Yahweh. After all, humans began as one body made alive by the Divine Breath of God. (See 1 Chronicles accounts the sons Noah as the origin of these people groups.) The restoration of the Garden will reflect this in its culmination. Also, Ezekiel describes New Jerusalem as a city without walls. Yet rebuilding the walls are a priority here. I am not condemning the actions of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. I am simply saying that we should evaluate their actions in light of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision and how that vision relates to Jesus. Did Jesus build ethnic walls or tear them down?

Ezra’s enthusiasm and heart reflects a desire to restore Jerusalem to its former glory. But, as Isaiah prophesies, perhaps God is doing something new. Is he aware of it? The new temple is built and there is no fire from heaven, there is no cloud filling it, the generosity and celebration of the people is mixed with lament. This is not like it was before. Are they looking to days of their glory or are they desiring the glory of God? In Ezekiel, the glory of God leaves Solomon’s temple and is taken away, into captivity with the people. But it will return. It does not appear to return at this time. However, in Acts we read of the fire of God returning, the cloud filling the temple, the generosity and celebration of the people who are now God’s own temple, His city without walls. This multiethnic temple was filled with the glory of God. God was doing something new. The glory filled Solomon’s temple as they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorating their wandering in the desert, led by the Presence of God, reminding them that they are pilgrims in this world. In Acts, the Feast of Shavu’ot was underway, celebrating the covenant of God with His people at Sinai, a wedding, and the giving of the Torah. The day the law was given, Exodus tells us 3,000 died. In Acts, the day the Spirit was poured into the people, 3,000 came to life. This too alludes to Ezekiel’s prophesy of the dead coming to life. What was is no more. This is something new.

So, does God command the Judean men to divorce their wives and send their families away in order to restore Judah? No. God does not command this of Ezra. Israel had no such statutory law regarding this. 1 Chronicles gives us an example of how the work of God in His people has advanced through these marriages. The line of Jesus is dependent upon these relationships. Why would that be important? Because God never restricted His blessing to just Israel, although He clearly chose Israel to be a blessing to the whole world. The King of Tyre blesses Yahweh, “Maker of heaven of and earth, God above all gods” in 2 Chronicles when he contributes to the building of the temple ( a foreign king and a foreign craftsman). Ezekiel describes God’s fondness for Tyre. The people of Nineveh repent and call to Yahweh because God sought them out and coerced a reluctant prophet to love his enemy. Deuteronomy 32 says the land and the people will be atoned for and the Gentiles will rejoice. God’s love reaches beyond Israel. God used non-Israelites for beautiful things, like building the temple.

Ezra 9 lists people groups that are forbidden for marriage. Granted, these people groups are those from the conquest of the Land. But look at it closely. Judah had children by a Canaanite woman, Shua in Genesis 38. He then had twins by his daughter-in-law, Tamar. One of those twins, Perez, is an ancestor of Boaz. Rahab was a Canannite woman and mother to Boaz. Ruth, a Moabite, married Boaz and from their lineage we have David and Jesus. Boaz fathered Obed, Obed Jesse, Jesse David and eventually Jesus (Matthew 1). Uriah was a Hittite described as noble and who acted nobly. Matthew 1 mentions Uriah in the line of Jesus because it was his wife, Bathsheba, who was the mother of Solomon. But why mention Uriah, a Hittite? Look at the people mentioned. Flawed pasts, married to non-Israelites, yet from this, God would come and dwell with man.

Ezra 10 tell us that this edict by Ezra was not unanimous. In fact, it was split with two opposed, two in support. Ezra read the Torah and he reads it as condemning intermarriage for all times and for all purposes. Yet, as we just examined, this is not reflective of common law of Israel. He also reads it as condemning those who seek the peace and prosperity of Babylon, the land of their exile. Although, this is exactly what Jeremiah tells the people to do in Jeremiah 29. What does the text say about intermarriage?

Exodus 34 denounces marrying people of the land that they conquer. But, again, this is because they are so corrupt in their worship practices of foreign gods. They were doing horrible things. Joshua 23 says the same thing to the same people facing the same challenge. As they took the Land, they were to be distinctly Yahweh’s. The same thing is said by Moses in Deuteronomy as final instructions just before they invade the Land. Moses did make provisions for non-Israelites who chose to worship Yahweh. Judges 3 warned of marrying other people and serving their gods. The issue is the gods. Not the people. Of course, Ezra had to ignore Numbers 30 regarding honoring your vows. You cannot read Judges and ignore the serious nature of vows as seen with Jephtah. Ezekiel 16 tells of the wickedness of Israel, but YHWH says “nevertheless, I will remember our oath.” The story of Israel is a mixture of amazing happening from marrying non-Israelites and horrible things. The trajectory of the story, the aim of the prophets, is a heart devoted to shema. The Messiah would come and all things would be restored. Enter Jesus, who came along and welcomed all people- Samaritans, Romans, Jews, Gentiles. And Jesus addressed divorce.

Jesus always goes back to Genesis when addressing points of tension in the law. Tov and ra are discerned in wisdom, in the fear of the Lord. Jesus said Deuteronomy 24 did not mean God was ok with divorce. It is ra; it destroys relationships and community. The decree of Moses was an accommodation to protect the vulnerable from those with hard and adulterous hearts. Divorce then is a common law, not a statutory law. In other words, it placated a situation, but was not the Divine Ideal. The Divine Ideal is a rightly ordered heart. This is what Jeremiah and Ezekiel describes as the work the Spirit will do to restore all things. The recreating work of the Holy Spirit remakes our hearts so that they are capable of the Divine Ideal. The way Jesus responded to Torah is vastly different than the way Ezra responded to the Torah. I’m just saying…

There was no prohibitory law in the civil affairs of Israel. In the conquest of the land, they were told not to intermarry with the women of the land. In Numbers, idolatry and sexual participation in its rites was a problem. However, Genesis 15 tells us that this land was not given to Israel earlier because “the sin of the Amorites is not yet complete.” When the sin of their idolatry was mature, as CS Lewis would suggest, they no longer just grumble but became a grumble; the injustice required justice. The Israelites were chosen to rule and reign in the land under the authority of Yahweh, in like manner of Adam and Eve in the Garden before the fall. The people of the land were too far gone. They were not to be partners, not fit to rule. Yes, the Israelites were to be distinct, as is the point of Leviticus, but that distinction comes from how they love God and love others. All who choose to hear Yahweh are welcome.

Malachi addresses the divorce as well. God hates divorce. Some of the men were leaving their families for pagan women for whatever reason. Likely not because they liked the same books. In doing this, they abandoned the covenant they made with their wife and their role as father and husband. The ethnic identity of the women was not the issue. The fact that the men “did what was right in their own eyes” and were animated by their lusts was the issue. The heart of the people was adulterous, toward God and each other. This is the heart of sexual immortally from the very beginning. Destruction of relationships and community because of desire turned inward and magnified as supreme. The “I” reigns and the “Thou” is crushed.

Tevye the Dairyman has a chapter about his daughter Chava marrying the son of a priest. In typical manner, Tevye wrestles with God. “What did being a Jew or not a Jew matter? Why did God have to create both? And if He did, why put such walls between them, so that neither would look at the other even though both were His creatures?” Indeed! When the Messianic Age comes, will it not be more like this and less like the actions of Ezra’s split decision.

The conclusion of Ezra-Nehemiah is anticlimactic in the sense that the return to Jerusalem does not bring in a Messianic age. The temple is a facsimile of its former self. The wall is not in the final vision of New Jerusalem. The ethnic divisions are counter to the vision of New Jerusalem and the covenant with Abraham. It is counter to the life of Jesus and the the work of the Holy Spirit. The people return to their socioeconomically unjust ways and love money more than they love God as evidenced in their treatment of the Sabbath. The seed bed of wickedness that led to their destruction and exile is still there. The disputes with those remaining in Jerusalem and the people in the Land, the building of walls, and the forced separation of families did nothing to bring about the righteousness of God. And Nehemiah closes with the pitiful sentiment, “at least I tried.” Ezra closes in rain fall and children leaving their fathers. Malachi’s prophesy of the hearts of fathers returning to their children, and children’s to their fathers is seen differently in light of this. It is here that the contemporary prophet Zechariah is considered. “It is not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord.” The efforts of well meaning religious people who desired to make Jerusalem great again sputtered and collapsed.

What are we to make of this story? We examine in as part of the whole. When I act with justice, when I love mercy and when I walk humbly, I am looking to the Divine Ideal of Jesus Christ; I am yielding to the work of the His Spirit as it remakes. I find that I read the Torah with fresh eyes and brand new heart. I do not wish to condemn Ezra. The weight of my ambition stumbles before the work of the Spirit as well. I am just thankful that Christ’s table is open to all who are hungry and thirsty. Immanuel, “God with us”, has come to us and remains with us by the His Spirit. Ezekiel’s title for New Jerusalem, “God is There”, fits what God was doing in Acts. More so than when “rain pelted the women and children “(Bullet the Blue Sky, U2).