Because of our
sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and
captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is
today (Ezra 9:7).
As Ezra made his
journey to Jerusalem, he no doubt reflected on what had caused Judah’s
destruction and delivered them into exile. From the beginning, the men of
Israel had been warned to not intermarry with foreign women who would lead them
astray after their gods, and from the beginning they had ignored this advice.
Here we have another example of how disobeying the first commandment led to
ruin for the people of Israel. You shall have no other gods before
me (Exodus 20:3). Then
he arrived in his homeland and discovered that the returning exiles were
engaged in the same practices. It must have struck him as inconceivable.
But in retrospect,
as we look over the biblical accounts, it is clear that there were times that
men of Israel married foreign women without reverting to the worship of foreign
gods. Jesus’ genealogy includes at the very least Ruth (a Moabite) and Rahab (a
Canaanite). Though technically personae non gratae, these women hold positions of honor in
Jewish tradition.
We look to these
stories of inclusiveness, and to God’s promise that all peoples of the earth
might be blessed through Abraham’s seed, as clear signs that God loves all
people – not just a select few.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Are there people you’ve
considered unclean whom God considers clean? …people outside your circle that
God would invite you to embrace?
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