Tag: bsf exile and return lesson 12

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

November 12, 2025October 26, 2025 by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 10:1-17

Ezra continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. The people supported him and repented as well. Ezra issued a proclamation for the people to separate themselves from the people around them, including their foreign wives. All the peoples agreed.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

9a) Ezra set the example, and the people followed. Ezra’s authentic public grief had a powerful impact, igniting a corporate conviction that caused the assembly to weep with him. His response didn’t just shame them; it moved them to take ownership, propose a radical covenant to separate, and commit to a unified, organized process of repentance.

b) How else will people change and follow the ways of the Lord if they don’t recognize the gravity of their sins? And, the Lord will forgive if sins are confessed. Grasping sin’s gravity is crucial because it reveals its true cost. It motivates genuine, costly repentance by showing sin as a relational rupture with God, not just a mistake. This understanding protects our community from corruption and magnifies our gratitude for the precious gift of grace and forgiveness.

10a) Shekaniah acknowledges that they have done wrong in the eyes of the Lord, but recognizes there is still hope. He proposes a solution: to make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.

b) The plan was to separate themselves from the peoples around them and from their foreign wives.

11) Many times. I prayed about it and worked on it daily. Every time it was hard, but I am better, and while I still fail, every small step towards God is a victory!

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

I love how we see the power of leaders setting the right example for the people to follow and the results when this happens. Great stuff!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

The heart of Ezra’s sorrow is what impacted the people so.

Shechaniah knew there was hope because of the power of God’s spirit working within the people to confess their sins. He proposed concrete action to fix it.

Divorce was permitted by the Law (Deuteronomy 24:1), and this seems to be a good reason to do so for the Israelites at the time.

The children would be expelled as well because children stayed with their mother. Children do suffer for the sins of their parents (then and now). But, it seems not all had children (Ezra 10:44).

Ezra issues a proclamation and fasts. The people all agreed.

The pagan wives would be examined, and if they agreed to follow the Lord, they could stay. There were only about 114 wives actually expelled. The rest converted.

God still takes a strong stance on marriage within the faith. Christians should marry Christians but if a Christian is married to an unbeliever, they should not divorce. Instead, they are to be a witness to the spouse and stay together for the kids (1 Corinthians 7:12-17).

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

Ezra 10:1-17 details the community’s dramatic, unified response to the sin of intermarriage, moving from emotional grief to a practical, organized plan of repentance.

Interpretation

Public Confession (vv. 1-8): As Ezra wept and confessed, a massive assembly of men, women, and children gathered, joining him in bitter weeping. A leader named Shecaniah spoke for the people, acknowledging their sin but also declaring, “There is hope.” He proposed a radical, public covenant: to send away all foreign wives and their children. He urged Ezra to lead, and Ezra immediately made the leaders swear an oath to do it. A proclamation was then sent for every exile to gather in Jerusalem within three days or forfeit their property and be excommunicated.
Collective Agreement (vv. 9-15): The entire community gathered in the open square, trembling in the cold rain and from the gravity of the matter. Ezra stood and formally charged them to confess their sin and separate. The assembly shouted back in agreement, “It is our duty to do as you have said!” Recognizing that the sin was widespread and could not be handled in a day, they wisely proposed a systematic plan: a committee of leaders would investigate every case, town by town, over time.
The Process Begins (vv. 16-17): This proposal was accepted. Ezra and the appointed family heads immediately began the difficult investigation, which took them three full months to complete.

Conclusion

This passage is the climax of Ezra’s reform, showing a nation genuinely broken over its sin. It demonstrates a move from personal grief (Ezra’s) to corporate responsibility (the people’s). The community not only confesses but also commits to a painful and thorough process of purification, showing they were serious about restoring their covenant identity and turning away God’s wrath.

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

November 11, 2025October 26, 2025 by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 9:5-15

Ezra prayed to God. He acknowledged the people’s great sins. He thanks God for their return to Jerusalem and the temple rebuilding. He again acknowledges their sins and how they are unworthy of God’s grace, mercy, and presence.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

6a) Ezra addressed God on his knees with his hands spread out to the Lord. His face was down due to the greatness of the shame and sin he felt. He prayed and acknowledged the people’s sins, God’s mercy, and their unworthiness to stand before Him. It shows that he is fully aware that God is all-mighty and he is nothing before Him. Ezra’s prayer reveals he is a leader of profound humility who sees God as both perfectly righteous and incredibly merciful. He doesn’t approach God as a detached, righteous leader scolding sinners, but as a broken member of a guilty community.

b) The same. Humbly. With an attitude of a repentant heart and a desire to do better. Approach God with total honesty and humility, not excuses. Confess your sin directly. Acknowledge His perfect righteousness and your own guilt. Don’t bargain, but appeal to His mercy and grace, which He promises to those who genuinely repent.

7) Because the people needed God’s grace and mercy once again. Recalling God’s faithfulness was their only source of hope. As Ezra confessed, they deserved total destruction. Remembering God’s mercy—proven by their very existence as a “remnant”—was their only basis for appealing to His gracious character, giving them the courage to repent rather than fall into complete despair.

8 ) It’s very encouraging. We all sin, but God always forgives. We just need to come to him with a repentant heart and ask for forgiveness and move forward with a desire to do better.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

Great example of how to pray in the midst of sin in your life.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

Ezra prayed on his knees like so many in the Bible did (Solomon, Daniel, Stephen, Peter, Paul, and Jesus!).

Yet, many in the Bible don’t pray on their knees, so it’s not a requirement, but it is good!

Ezra spread out his hands, which was very common in OT times. This shows surrender and readiness for God.

Note that Ezra offers no excuses for their sins. He just lays it out there. He rightly asks for mercy and appeals to God’s position and His righteousness.

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

This section is Ezra’s powerful, public prayer of confession. After his initial shock (v. 1-4), he moves to formal repentance, which unfolds in three parts:

Corporate Shame (v. 5-7): Ezra rises from his grief and prays. He doesn’t blame “the people”; he fully identifies with them, using “I” and “our.” He expresses profound shame (“I am… ashamed and disgraced”), confessing that their current sin (intermarriage) is not an isolated mistake. Instead, it’s a continuation of the same unfaithfulness their ancestors practiced, which he identifies as the very reason God sent them into the Babylonian exile (“our guilt has mounted up… we were given over…”).
Acknowledgment of Grace (v. 8-9): He immediately contrasts their sin with God’s recent, undeserved mercy. He acknowledges that God could have destroyed them completely. Instead, God graciously preserved a “remnant,” gave them a “foothold” (or “a peg”) back in Jerusalem, “revived” their spirits, and even gave them favor with the Persian kings to rebuild the Temple and find security (“a wall”).
The Gravity of the New Sin (v. 10-15): This is the core of his anguish. He asks, “what can we say?” He highlights the community’s shocking ingratitude. Despite God’s grace and after experiencing the severe punishment of exile, they have still knowingly broken the specific commands about separation (v. 11-12). He recognizes that God has punished them less than they deserved (v. 13) and that by repeating this sin, they are provoking God’s righteous anger to the point of total annihilation, “leaving no remnant or survivor” (v. 14).

Conclusion

Ezra’s prayer is a model of true repentance. He makes no excuses, shifts no blame, and does not try to minimize the sin. In fact, he argues that God’s recent grace makes their new sin even worse, not more excusable.

He concludes not by begging for a specific outcome, but by affirming God’s total righteousness (“you are righteous”) and their own total guilt (“no one can stand before you because of this”). It is a complete surrender, an admission that they have no defense and stand condemned, placing the entire community at the mercy of the just God they have offended.

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

November 10, 2025October 26, 2025 by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 9:1-4

Ezra learned that the people of Israel, including the leaders, the priests and the Levites, had intermarried with the pagan people around them. Ezra was appalled.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

3a) Idol worship, human sacrifice, divination, sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, casts spells, who is a medium or spiritist, or who consults the dead, those who cheat/have differing weights in their bags

b) Unsure. Sometimes these things are impressive, but they are really empty. People who are down can easily be persuaded. These practices were enticing because they offered immediate, tangible benefits and a path of social and economic convenience, appealing directly to basic human desires for security, pleasure, and acceptance.

4a) God told the Israelites that when they enter and possess the Promised Land, they must destroy the nations living there totally. They are to make no treaties with them or intermarry with them. They will turn them away from the Lord, and the Lord’s anger will burn against them. They are to break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.

b) God wants to protect His people and keep them holy so that they can be faithful to Him and be His chosen people.

5) Sin is incredibly dangerous, and it’s so easy to continue down the path of sin once someone starts. God does everything He can to protect us from the devil’s ways. His love for us knows no bounds.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

I love the emphasis on the importance of keeping God’s commands. So vital today!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

The spiritual life of the returning Israelites was in shambles. The intermarriage with the pagans can affect all aspects of society. Even the leaders were involved.

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

In Ezra 9:1-4, leaders report to the priest Ezra that the returned Jewish exiles, including priests and Levites, have failed to remain separate from the surrounding peoples and have intermarried with them. This is seen as a grievous sin and a direct violation of God’s covenant commands.

Ezra’s reaction is immediate and visceral: he tears his garments, pulls hair from his head and beard, and sits down completely appalled. His extreme display of grief demonstrates the profound spiritual horror he feels, recognizing that this unfaithfulness threatens the community’s restored relationship with God and repeats the sins that led to their exile in the first place. Others who respect God’s law gather around him, sharing his devastation.

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