Monday, July 15, 2024

When God Rebuilds... Ezra/Nehemiah Part 23 Ezra 10:1-17 God's People Confess Their SIns

                                                                                                                                             July 14th, 2024

From The Series: When God Rebuilds…

Part 23 God's People Confess Their Sins

Ezra 10:1-17

Mountain View Evangelical Missionary Church

This morning we are coming to a difficult chapter in the Bible for Christians to deal with. It certainly poses an interpretive challenge for pastors to preach in this chapter. After all, there seems to be a contradiction between what the Old Testament is saying here about divorce and what Jesus taught about in the New Testament regarding divorce. This difficulty in the interpretation of chapters 9 and 10 will be dealt with in next weeks message, so stay tuned.

Last week and last chapter, we learned that the Teacher of The Law, the respected Ezra had discovered that many of the Israelites had ignored the Mosiac Law against marrying women of foreign birth. We saw that the reason for this prohibition was that these foreign-born wives influenced their husbands to lead their hearts away from Yahweh and cause them to worship false gods. We saw how even the wisest and most powerful king whom the Israelites had ever ruled over them was not immune to this pressure.

When informed of this transgression, we (red) read and studied how Ezra became so grieved that he exhibited a lot of the same behaviours an observant Jew would show upon learning of the death of a loved one. Some of these behaviours he took to the next level such as pulling out portions of his hair and beard rather than just shaving them. We also discovered that this anguish was so severe that it was described using a Hebrew word that is only found here in the entire Old Testament. The anguish was a mix of amazement, deep grief, and intense moral indignation.

Then Ezra did an amazing thing. He sat down and silently considered what this level of betrayal by the Chosen People, the Holy Seed meant. Then he rose and fell on his knees before God and prayed one of the greatest prayers of contrition that is in the Bible. Ezra recognized some of God's greatest attributes and the sins of the Israelites. He then openly confesses before the LORD without excuse or explanation for their actions, instead, he concentrates on the righteous punishment that is due God's people. Ezra ends the prayer without asking a single thing of God.

This morning's lesson resumes the biblical narrative with Ezra finishing his prayer, and we will now turn our attention to the guilty parties and their reactions. We will observe the effects that these acts of contrition will have on God's people. The other thing we must pay attention to is that it is the reaction of God's people that we are most concerned with. The biblical author is not concerned with the reactions of the Canaanites, Hittites, or even the Samsonites. Our attention is drawn solely to the reactions of God's people. With that being said, please join me and open your Bibles or turn on your devices to Ezra chapter 10 starting at verse 1.

READ Ezra 10:1-17

Look with me back at verse 1, we see the word "while" which is an excellent conjunction. This might even be an example of an unfortunate chapter break here. The conjunction does draw our attention back to the previous chapter where we see Ezra has just finished his amazing and exemplary prayer. Scripture tells us that Ezra's actions were being noticed by others in the city and word was spreading. As often happens with these types of events, a crowd begins to assemble outside the Temple.

We see that the crowd begins to be moved by these actions of Ezra, and they become convicted by the prayer that Ezra had offered up to God. Look at verse three for a minute. The crowd also begins to weep, and a spokesperson comes forward and proposes a solution, "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. Notice this word "lord" here does not have a capital letter in it. It is not referring to God here. We will deal with the morality of this solution next week.

Before we begin dealing with the three points of today's sermon, I want us to camp here on the first four verses of this chapter and pay attention to the attributes of God that are on display here. Too often, when we read the Bible our first instinct is to think of the passages in a man-centered frame of mind. We often ask, "What does this passage say about me, or about mankind?" When our first instinct as Christians should be "What is this passage saying about God?", or, "What does this passage tell me about Jesus?" That is the proper God-centered process of reading the Bible, "What does this reveal about God?"

Turn with me to these first four verses and let's discover together the attributes of God that are revealed through His Word and the actions of His people. What are these verses trying to tell us about The Trinity?

The first thing that jumps out at me is the Holiness of God present in this passage. Why did Ezra react so fiercely when he heard the news of the unfaithfulness of the Judeans? Because of the Holiness of God. We saw last week how in the final two chapters of the Book of Ezra how the metaphor of a marriage is used here to illustrate the sins committed against God. "Unfaithfulness" and "impurity" are used to describe the actions of the returned exiles. God is presented as the faithful groom and his bride has wandered away, turning her heart towards others. The bride has been unfaithful.

The New Testament refers to the church as the bride of Jesus. We have seen the same unfaithfulness in many churches and denominations that have turned away from the plain teachings of Scripture. They have turned to either a culturally compromised interpretation of God's Word or an outright ignoring and denial of its teachings. Much of the Christian church of today is just as guilty of unfaithfulness as the exiles were in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. May we ever guard against this false teaching here at Mountain View Church. This guarding against false teaching is precisely why I list the scriptures from the sermon in the bulletin. So you may check what I say against what the Bible teaches. God's Word should be your ultimate authority in your life. Not what the pastor says, not what the EMCC President says, not even what the denomination or church tradition says. If it contradicts what God's Word teaches, we must reject all things that compromise or contradict the Bible, if we are to remain faithful. Your allegiance is first to Jesus Christ, above all others. If the pastor or the premier tells you to do something that contradicts what Jesus taught, you are to ignore them. From the health officer to the Prime Minister, we are all subject to Jesus Christ, whether they acknowledge Him or not. Why? Because of His Holiness. Because Jesus deserves our respect and allegiance. He earned that when He hung on that Roman Cross and bore our wrath from God that was due to us. To respect and obey is the very least we can do. So, we see God's Holiness on display here in this passage. What else can we see?

Look at the end of verse three, the final sentence there, "Let it be done according to the Law." We see God's Justice is on display here through the respect that was given to the Law by the exiles. The exiles recognized that God's Law was good and necessary to follow because it came from God who had proven Himself to be a loving Father. These preachers who teach that we no longer need the Law because we have Grace drive me crazy. They show a misunderstanding of the purpose of Grace and the ministry of Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus declared, "17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Jesus then warns those who teach that we can set aside these commands will be considered least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Law presents God's Justice to us. They also provide guardrails for our lives to keep us from falling into the sin-filled ditches that run parallel to our Christian walk. On one side we find the ditch of culture, or the world and the other ditch is selfishness, hedonism, conceit, narcissism, a life lived only for oneself. We need guardrails and boundaries to keep our lives on track, and to help us battle our sinful nature.

I was talking with a friend yesterday who was down in Texas for several weeks last winter helping at a pregnancy care home. Several of the women in the home had come from the streets or were battling addiction issues. Some were from homes that were not stable or even well-developed. What I mean by well-developed is that there were generational sins in the home. One young woman was introduced to vegetables at the home because all she had ever been fed her entire life were items that could be torn open from a bag and cooked in the microwave. Many of the women were raised in homes that lacked structure and boundaries.

The pregnancy home had rules. One of the rules was that their phones had to be locked up at night so they would not be disturbed. If one of the workers forgot to ask for the phones, my friend said that some of the women would get upset and ask for the phones to be taken. Why do you suppose they would ask for that to happen?

The women asked for the rules to be enforced because rules and boundaries are a form of love. It is a way for a parent or someone who is in charge, to demonstrate that they care enough about you to put limitations on you to keep you safe. Sometimes we need to be kept safe from our selfish actions. That is why, God being presented as a loving Father is the perfect depiction to help us to understand why God allows some of the things to happen that he does.

Boundaries, rules, and The Law are signs of God's Love for us. Lovie is another attribute of God that we see here in these verses. Correction is another sign of God's love. Scripture has many examples of God's love being displayed through His correction in our lives.

Hebrews 12:5-6 informs us of this, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." The writer of Hebrews is actually quoting Proverbs 3:11 to 12.

Another Proverb puts it a little more bluntly, "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1. Hating God's correction is seen as stupid by the Bible. We will not always like the correction when it happens, as a matter of fact, we will often try to play the victim when these corrections come into our lives. It is so easy to ignore our culpability in the consequences of our sins. Culture will often try to blame others or blame luck and karma as the culprits, seldom acknowledging their responsibility for the circumstances that they find themselves in.

One more Proverb on this matter, and there are many other verses in the Bible about God's correction. Proverbs 15:10 instructs us, "10 Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die." Notice the path metaphor being used here. This is so appropriate for us as Christians because we often speak of our "walk with Jesus" as a metaphor for our being discipled in the ways of Jesus Christ. This is a dire warning, "Stern discipline awaits"... Poor knowledge of the true character of God will lead one to think that God is some sort of cruel taskmaster waiting for someone to mess up so that they can be punished.

The sternness may not come from God, the sternness may come from the consequences of our failing to follow the Law. Let me illustrate: suppose you are driving and you get in a wreck. Maybe you hit a patch of black ice and you slide into a power pole. You weren't driving fast, you had your sealbelt on, and you have auto insurance. A minor dent in the front fender and a bit of a scare are all that is suffered. All things considered, you will be inconvenienced by the accident but you will probably escape serious consequences. The police are called and they determine that this was due to unknowable road conditions so no charges are filed and you don't even get a ticket. You learn to slow down even more when icy conditions are present. Little correction is required.

Let's change a few things in the scenario. You are now driving the repaired car on a dry road a few months later and you feel the need for speed so you ignore the speed limit. You have forgotten the lesson learned driving last winter and you take a curve on the road at too high a speed and this time you go flying off the road and hit another power pole. You still had your seatbelt on, so personal injury to you is not a big deal. But this time the car is totaled and after the last accident, your insurance rates went up too much for you to afford the insurance so now you have no coverage. You were just driving the backroads and you didn't think there would be an issue. But now the consequences are more serious and so a larger correction is required. Police are called, charges are filed, points and a fine are imposed on you and now that you can't be trusted, your insurance rates skyrocket until you can prove yourself reliable again to the insurance companies.

We see from these real-world examples why serious correction is sometimes needed for us. Sometimes it is for the sake of punishment, but sometimes it is done for the sake of course correction and redemption. We have seen from our studies of Habakkuk and Ezra that God gave severe correction to His Holy People as a means of bringing them back to Him and having them love Him and put Him first in their lives. So if you are going through rough times, maybe it is because you haven't put God first in your life.

There are a few other attributes that we can see of God in this passage. Let's look together. Look again at verse three and the statement, "those who fear the commands of our God". Here we can glean the attribute of God's wrath from this verse. God's wrath is a consequence of His Justice. God's Justice is a result of His Holiness. All of those things are a result of God's unchanging Nature, which is another attribute on display here.

The exiles knew from generational experience with Yahweh that He had an unchanging nature which was brought about because of His holiness. God's Holiness prevented Him from turning a blind eye away from mankind's sins. This Holiness demanded Justice, and not just any justice, but a righteous justice that is borne out of God's Holiness and Unchangeablilty. God uses the same weights and measures for all of mankind when it comes to judging our sins.

Proverbs 20:23 gives us this insight into God's character, "23 The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him." What this was referring to was the practice of some shopkeepers and business owners who would keep two sets of weights for use on the balance scales when selling their goods. One set of weights would be accurate and they would use those weights with family, friends, and allies from their own people's group. If someone wished to purchase a pound of rice, you would put the one-pound weight on one side of the balance scale and then begin to fill the other pan with rice. When the two sides were balanced and even, the customer was assured of receiving one pound of rice.

Dishonest shopkeepers would have another set of weights that looked similar in shape and size but they did not have an accurate weight. Perhaps they had some lead drilled out of the centre and were therefore light by a few ounces. When you used these weights on enemies or those you disliked because they didn't look like you, although the pans appeared to be balanced, because the weight was light, you received less than you paid for. Because the LORD detests differing weights and measures, all of mankind is due the same punishment. We are all owed eternal separation from God's presence and eternal damnation because of our sinful nature and rebellion against God.

When the Apostle Peter was in the city of Joppa and in the home of Cornelius, The Book of Acts records Peter giving this message in chapter 10, "34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." Some translations use the phrase that God is "no respecter of persons". I like that translation a little better because I think it allows the application of that verse to be broadened a little bit. Favouritism is not just abolished between people groups but also between classes of people groups. What Peter is trying to say here is that God is not impressed by your genetics, your social status, your accumulation of wealth or power, or even how many followers you have on Instagram, we will all be judged equally and rewarded accordingly.

I've danced around the question long enough, I’m sure you wish to know how can we avoid the due penalty that we are owed. Where is the loophole that we can exploit to avoid our impending doom? If I make a large enough donation to the church, will that help me? Can I pray to a saint for help? If I promise to give up drinking, will that get me into heaven? What if I pinky swear not to sin again, does that count? None of these are the solution to your problem.

We should be like the jailer in Thyatira (Thee-A-Tie-Ra). If you remember, the Apostle Paul and his coworker Silas had been arrested for the sake of the Gospel and they were thrown into prison. Through a miracle, the doors to the prison were opened and the chains fell from the prisoners. The jailer rushed in and became convinced of the authenticity of the Gospel message that they had been preaching and the jailer asked Paul, "30b  “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household." Acts 16:30b-34.

What did the jailer and his family have to believe? That Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a perfect and sinless life. He was a man tempted by all manner of temptations that each of us will face, yet still remained sinless. A man, but more than just a man, for He was also God who had taken on human flesh. A sinless and spotless Lamb that became the substitutionary sacrifice that would though without sin, would become sin on our behalf and bear the rightful punishment due to mankind for the rebellious nature and disobedience against God.

He died on the cross and was buried in the borrowed tomb of a rich man. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and exited the tomb. His resurrection was proof-positive that He had satisfied the wrath of God, and now our filthy rags of attempts at self-righteousness and been covered over by the royal kingly robe of His righteousness. It is because of Jesus' righteousness that Believers can stand in the presence of God, and will one day spend eternity with Him. This is a gift of Grace. An unearned, undeserved gift which is the ultimate example of God's mercy on His creation. What of those who have nothing to cover their rags? Those who continue to rebel and reject the Love, Mercy, and Holiness of God. They will get what they desire, an eternity spent apart from God. An eternity spent in torment.

Turn with me back to today's passage and let's discover where God's Mercy is on display here. Look at the end of verse 2 in Ezra 10, where Sheckaniah proclaims, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel." There is still hope being confidently declared here is a sign that the exiles understood the Mercy of their sovereign God. It is also a sign of God's long-suffering and Patience with His people. Two more attributes are on display here in this passage.

One final attribute that I wish to draw your attention to this morning is evident in verse 3. Immediately following the confession of the exiles being unfaithful to God and His laws, they wish to make a new covenant before God. This exhibits their trust in God's faithfulness. It is abundantly clear that the only party that has been faithful throughout the entire Old Testament narrative has been Yahweh, our God. Only the Trinity has fulfilled their side of every bargain that has been made between God and mankind. From Shepherds to Kings all have failed to keep the covenant. Yet, Shekaniah and the rest of the exiles desire to once again enter into a covenant with God. They make another promise, which some of them will undoubtedly break in the future, looking for favour and mercy from God.

Those were the attributes of God that I saw displayed here: Holiness, Righteousness, Justice, Wrath, Unchanging Nature, Long Suffering, Patience, Mercy, Faithfulness, and Love. Did you see any that I may have missed? Let me know if you did.

So, let's try and land the plane as they say. What does this mean for us in the church today?

First, we need to be aware that God's people confess their sins. We should always confess them to God, first and foremost. Sometimes it is beneficial if we confess our sins to one another so that we can seek help and accountability in dealing with our sins. We see from today's passage that when a sin is recognized, immediate action is required. We must confess to God and repent, we turn away from our sinful behaviour and turn back to God for forgiveness and guidance.

We all must confess. 1 John 1:8-10 tells us that we all need confession to God in our lives, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us."

Do you see what John is telling us in this very brief letter? If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and we make God out to be a liar. How do we do that, make God out to be a liar? If we were not all sinners, then the sacrifice of Jesus would not have been needed, and that would mean that God is a deceiver, or He is some kind of sick ego-maniac who went to the cross to seek attention for Himself. It would go against His Holiness, Righteous, and His Just nature. Do you see why it is important to have a well-rounded view of God and all of His attributes? If we only concentrate on "God is Love" then we end up with a flat theology and one that cannot withstand the attacks and criticism that the world throws at it. A flat theology that cannot fully explain the actions and motives of God that He has chosen to reveal to us. We end up with bland excuses like "that is a mystery of God" for every judgment by man against God. You end up with a shallow and immature faith full of fear and uncertainty because you are always unsure if you are pleasing God or not.

A mature faith is a happy faith. It is joy-filled and Christ-centered. You have security in your Salvation because you understand the nature of God and the reasons for actions that He chooses to reveal. When we confess our sins, or as the Bible puts it, "when we keep short accounts with the LORD" we enjoy a closer relationship with the Creator.

So, when sin is recognized immediate action is required. When we address the sin immediately, Scripture tells us that we prosper when we confess.

Proverbs 28:13 tells us, "13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them and finds mercy." Keeping our sins unconfessed prevents us from prospering. The Lord desires for His children to prosper. Not is the prosperity Gospel manner, but He desires for us to be as joyful as we can be. Joyful even in the face of persecution from our enemies. Joyfilled, because we have a right relationship with Christ.

Our final point this morning is that once we have been forgiven, we must also forgive.

Colossians 3:12-13 gives us these instructions, " 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Boy howdy, those are some tough words to live out, aren't they? I mean Lord, if you only knew what so-and-so did to me, you wouldn't ask this of me. I mean, if Jesus only knew what Mrs. Whatchamacallit said to me that one Sunday during potluck, or how Mr. Whosit never invited us to dinner never mind coffee. Jesus wouldn't expect that of me! To forgive those horrible people who are not nearly as good a Christian as I am!

Well, the Holy Spirit instructs us through His Word to "bear with each other and forgive one another as the Lord forgave you." If we did this inside the church, imagine what we could do outside in the world.

I want to share with you a couple of quotes from one of my favourite preachers. A fella from over Oklahoma way named J. Vernon Mcgee. Dr. Mcgee had a radio ministry called Thru the Bible and he would invite the listeners to come aboard the Bible Bus each week and discover together where God's Word would take them.

Dr. McGee wrote the following about this passage in the Bible, for the exiles “Turning to God” took priority over “turning from idols.” Repentance does not precede faith. Faith goes before and repentance follows—it follows as surely as the night follows day. If it doesn’t follow, the faith is not genuine—it isn’t saving faith." McGee goes on, " Repentance is the thing that is so lacking in the church today. Have you ever noticed that in the Bible God asks the church to repent? In the seven letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor recorded in the Book of Revelation God asks all but two of them to repent. God was talking to believers, not to unsaved people."[1]

"The trouble with the church today is that it is filled with cold, indifferent church members—perhaps many of them are not even saved. If revival comes, friend, you are going to see this indifferent crowd either come over on the Lord’s side or else they will make it very clear that they belong to the devil.[2]"

In 1991 Dr. McGee wrote the following, "This is a day when every minority is being heard except the Bible–believers. I think one could organize a rally of a host of people in our nation for a day of prayer. But what good would it do? God is saying to the lost, “Come to Me and be saved through Jesus Christ.” He is saying to His church, “Repent. Come back to Me. Come out of your coldness and indifference.” The thing that we need today is revival, and a revival will not come without repentance among believers[3]" End quote.

Now you may say, "How dare the pastor call my salvation into question. I came to Jesus and I am saved." Well, the Apostle Paul gives this very sobering advice to those who call themselves Christian, Philippians 2:12-13 says, "12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.[4]" That was the NIV.

The New Living Translation puts it this way, "12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. [5]"

Notice that it is God who is working in you. But we must be aware of our current state in our walk with Christ and ask ourselves daily, "Am I exhibiting the traits of someone who has God indwelling in them? If not, why not? What areas must I confess and improve upon with the help of the Holy Spirit?" The Holy Spirit will not do the work for you. You must do the work. The Spirit equips you to carry out the work.

How is God working in you? Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION

The quote for our conclusion comes from another English Congregational Pastor. Dr. Joseph Parker was born in 1830 in Hexham, Northumberland and died in 1902. Quote, "Let us strive after God’s view of sin. To Him sin is infinitely hateful; He cannot tolerate it with the least degree of allowance; it troubles His otherwise perfect and happy universe; it despoils human nature; it overthrows all that is Divine in manhood; it calls into existence the worm that gnaws forever; it is the cause of death and the source of hell. To underestimate the heinousness of sin is to put ourselves out of the line of God’s view; to understand sin is to understand redemption. Sin interprets the Cross; sin shows what is meant by God’s love. We cannot be right in our relation to Jesus Christ, we cannot be just to His holy Cross, until we regard sin with unutterable repugnance, until we rise against it in fiery indignation, fighting it with all the energy of wounded love, and bringing upon it the damnation of concentrated and implacable anger. I am not speaking of what are called great sins; I am not thinking of murder, of commercial plunder, of adultery, drunkenness, or theft; I am speaking of sin as sin, sin nestling secretly in the heart, sin rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel, sin indulged in secret places, sin perverting the thought, sin poisoning the love, sin sucking out the life-blood of the soul; I am thinking of sin, not of sins—of the fact, not of the details; and I ask, with passionate yet well-considered pointedness, Have we not been led to under-estimate the guilt of sin?"[i] End quote.—Joseph Parker, D.D.

For us to fully esteem the love of Jesus, we must fully detest the presence of sin in our lives.

Doxology:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?” b

35 “Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?” c

36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

 

Pastor Paul’s Points:

1) When sin is recognized, immediate action is required: A. Confession; B. Repentance; C. Contrition.

2) We prosper when we confess.

3) We forgive because we are forgiven.

Questions to meditate on this week:

1.     What attributes of God were present in this passage?

2.     Since we are Christians, doesn't that make us sinless?

3.     Where must revival begin?

 

 



[1] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: History of Israel (Ezra/Nehemiah/Esther), electronic ed., vol. 15 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 57.

[2] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: History of Israel (Ezra/Nehemiah/Esther), electronic ed., vol. 15 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 58.

[3] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: History of Israel (Ezra/Nehemiah/Esther), electronic ed., vol. 15 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 57–58.

[4] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Php 2:12–13.

[5] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Php 2:12–13.



[i] William Jones, Ezra, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892), 160–161.

 

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