Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezra 6-8.

Throughout the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah there are repeated references to the Returned Exiles separating themselves from the people living in the land.  Those references seem to suggest that those who were not among the Returned Exiles were not welcome to worship the Lord.  However, today’s passage contains a phrase which one could easily miss, and even if you catch it, you could easily miss its significance.  While discussing the Passover which the Returned Exiles celebrated after rebuilding the Temple, chapter 6 verse 21 says this: “ So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord, the God of Israel. ”  The words in bold in that quote tell us that while the Returned Exiles kept themselves separate from the culture of those living in the land, they allowed any of those who wished to fully embrace God’s Law to join them.  This little phrase, almost a throw away, changes how we should interpret all of the rest of the passages which discuss how the Returned Exiles interacted with those living in the land. Those who sought to find synergy between the idolatrous worship of the Gentiles were not welcome among the People of God, but any who chose to fully embrace God’s commands, no matter what their background, were welcome to join in.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.