O Lord God of Israel, Thou art righteous, a Judge whose holiness would constrain Him to bring punishment upon the congregation if its members would continue in the present transgression; for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before Thee in our trespasses, for we cannot stand before Thee because of this. The

implication was that, unless, by the help of divine grace, they would repent and bring forth fruit meet for repentance in a prompt change of tactics, the wrath of the righteous God would be sure to strike them. A confession of this kind also includes the prayer for forgiveness and will therefore surely be heard.

The Adjustment of the Intermarriage Problem.

EZRA'S REFORM MEASURES ADOPTED. - V. 1. Now, when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, for it was in the court of the Lord that he made his prayer, as shown in chapter 9, there assembled unto him out of Israel, out of those present for the evening sacrifice, a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore, they were plunged into great depths of grief over the evil circumstances into which so many had plunged themselves by contracting forbidden marriages. Ezra's passionate prayer, therefore, was a sensation which attracted people to the court of the Temple in increasing numbers. V. 2. And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, evidently a man of some importance, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, acting unfaithfully and without loyalty, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land; for, though not himself guilty, he spoke in the general name of the people; yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing, a removal of the evil was still possible in his opinion. V. 3. Now, therefore, let us make a covenant with our God, by obligating themselves before God with a solemn vow, to put away all the wives, by an absolute divorce, and such as are born of them, the children of such mixed marriages, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God, the will and the precepts of the Lord being interpreted by the spiritual leaders of the people; and let it be done according to the Law, rather, "it shall happen according to the Law," as explained by Ezra and his colleagues. V. 4. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee; Ezra was the one man competent to take charge of the problem, both on account of his familiarity with the Law of God and on account of the authority vested in him by the king of Persia. also will be with thee, to back him up in any plan proposed by him; be of good courage and do it. V. 5. Then arose Ezra and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they should do according to this word, he obligated them by

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a solemn oath and thus stimulated their zeal. And they sware. V. 6. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, he left the place in the court where he had prayed, and went into the chamber of Johanan, the son of Eliashib, where he could meet the princes and elders of the Jews in private; and when he came thither, he did eat no bread nor drink water, keeping up an absolute fast as a sign of mourning, in order to impress all the others with the sincerity of his motives; for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. V. 7. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, both of the first and second band of returned exiles, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem, v. 8. and that, whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, who had immediately agreed to the proposition of Ezra, all his substance should be forfeited, devoted to God, confiscated for the use of the Temple, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away, excluded from the Jewish Church by a sentence of excommunication. V. 9. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month, between the end of December and the first part of January, the coldest and most disagreeable season in Palestine; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, out in the court and in the open square before the court, trembling because of this matter, excited and worried on account of the cause for which they had been summoned, and for the great rain, which at that season falls in torrents. V. 10. And Ezra, the priest, stood up and said unto them, Ye have transgressed and have taken strange wives, dwelling with them in a wedlock which did not meet with the approval of the Lord, to increase the trespass of Israel, for the entire congregation would be held responsible for this evil. V. 11. Now, therefore, make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, acknowledging their wrong, and do His pleasure, in bringing forth fruits meet for repentance; and separate your

selves from the people of the land and from the strange wives. It was a radical measure, but one which would prove immediately effective in cleansing Israel from defilement. V. 12. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, their resolution firmly and unhesitatingly expressed, As thou hast said, so must we do, feeling themselves in conscience bound to be obedient. V. 13. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, the season being too disagreeable, neither is this a work of one day or two, and therefore to be disposed of while they waited; for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. V. 14. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, as a commission to adjust the entire affair, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, they were to be notified on what days they should come, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, as witnesses and assistant judges, to investigate each case thoroughly, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us; with the cause of the wrath removed, the Lord's wrath itself would cease. V. 15. Only Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah, the son of Tikvah, were employed about this matter, literally, "stood against this thing," they withstood the proposed resolution; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them, all four desiring to continue the custom of intermarriages. And the children of the captivity did so, they acted according to their proposal. And Ezra, the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, heads of father-houses, and all of them by their names, were separated, as a commission to handle this matter, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter, they held a session to take up the cases. V. 17. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. The sessions thus lasted, in all, very nearly three months. Any Christian congregation which finds that evils have crept into its midst is in duty bound to investigate the matter and to remove all offenses.

V. 16.

CATALOG OF MEN WHO HAD TAKEN STRANGE WIVES.-V. 18. And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives; namely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. V. 19. And they gave their

hands that they would put away their wives, pledging themselves most solemnly by giving their right hand; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. Cp. Lev. 5, 14. 15. V. 20. And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. V. 21. And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. V. 22. And of the sons of Pashur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. V. 23. Also of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. V. 24. Of the singers also: Eliashib; and of the porters: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. V. 25. Moreover, of Israel, of the lay-members of the congregation: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. V. 26. And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. V. 27. And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. V. 28. Of the sons also of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. V. 29. And of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. V. 30. And of the sons of Pahathmoab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. V. 31. And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, v. 32. Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. V. 33. Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. V. 34. Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel, v. 35. Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, v. 36. Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, v. 37. Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, v. 38. and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, v. 39. and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, v. 40. Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, v. 41. Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, v. 42. Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. V. 43. Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. V. 44. All these had taken strange wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had children, a fact which, of course, increased the difficulties of Ezra's task. All those who have sinned openly ought to acknowledge their transgression in the same manner and put away the offense. Every Christian congregation should be zealous about the honor of God and the welfare of all the souls in its midst.

Fourteen years after Ezra, the learned doctor of the Law, had instituted his reforms of worship in Jerusalem, another prominent man came to the capital of Judea from the land of the exile, namely, Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah, the author of this last book of the Old Testament canon. He had held the important office of cupbearer to King Artaxerxes Longimanus when he received information from

Judea which caused him to apply for leave of absence, in order to remedy, if possible, the unfortunate conditions then obtaining in the land of his fathers. For fourteen years he held the position of Governor of Judah, during which time he introduced many reforms among the people, abolished usury, revived the knowledge of the Law, restored the strict observance of the Sabbath, enforced the payment of religious

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dues, and compelled those who had married foreign, idolatrous wives to divorce them.

The Book of Nehemiah is plainly divided into three parts. In chapters 1 to 7 Nehemiah states the occasion for his journey and his work in building the walls and gates of the Holy City. In chapters 8 to 10 he tells of the solemn restoration of divine worship, for which he worked together with Ezra. In chapters 11 to 13 we have lists of various kinds and a few statements concerning the last deeds of Nehemiah, including his reforms of sundry abuses. The book was probably written between 433 and 431, at Jerusalem.1)

1) Cp. Fuerbringer, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 40. 41; Concordia Bible Class, April, 1919, 50. 51.

Nehemiah's Grief over Jerusalem. V. 1. The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah, this designation distinguishing him from others of the same name, chap. 3, 16; 7,7. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, the ninth month of the Jewish church-year, in the twentieth year, namely, that of King Artaxerxes of Persia, the year 445 B. C., as I was in Shushan, the palace, one of the cities of the royal residence between the Eulaeus and Shapur rivers, in what was known as Elam, v. 2. that Hanani, one of my brethren, a real full brother of Nehemiah, chap. 7, 2, came, he and certain men of Judah, for there was always some communication between the Jews living in the East and those in Palestine; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, literally, "the deliverance, who were left over out of the exile," who were now, in a measure at least, enjoying the rights of a nation, and concerning Jerusalem. V. 3. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province, in Judea, some ninety years after the exile, are in great affliction and reproach, in adversity on account of the scornful treatment of the neighboring peoples; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Zerubbabel and Ezra had been empowered to rebuild the Temple and to repair the dwellings of the city, but beyond this their jurisdiction had not extended; the ruined condition was still apparent on all sides. V. 4. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and

wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, withdrawing from his duties at court and giving vent, in his retirement, to the most overwhelming sorrow, and prayed before the God of heaven, v. 5. and said, I beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, awe-inspiring, before whom men tremble, that keepeth covenant and mercy, the merciful covenant to which the Jewish economy was looking forward in the Messiah, for them that love Him and observe His commandments: v. 6. let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open, in an attitude of most careful attention, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant which I pray before Thee now, day and night, cp. 1 Kings 8, 29. 52, for the children of Israel, Thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against Thee, for the entire congregation bears the responsibility of the individual's sins, unless these are reproved in the proper manner; both I and my father's house have sinned. It is only by a full and free acknowledgment of sinfulness that men can gain the ear of the Lord. V.7. We have dealt very corruptly against Thee and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, both the precepts of the covenant and the obligations toward mankind in general had often been neglected. V. 8. Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations, Lev. 26, 33; Deut. 28, 64; v. 9. but if ye turn unto Me, in true repent

ance and change of heart, and keep My commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, in every part of the great and wide world, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there, Deut. 4, 25-31. V. 10. Now, these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power and by Thy strong hand, from the bondage of Egypt as well as from the enmity of many other oppressors. V. 11. O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, Nehemiah alone, and to the prayer of Thy servants, the believing Jews, who desire to fear Thy name, for God's being is expressed in His

Word and work, according to which He is named; and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, namely, King Artaxerxes; for Nehemiah had made up his mind to ask for leave of absence, and he wanted. God to make the king favorably disposed to this petition. For I was the king's cupbearer, an office of great importance at Oriental courts, giving to the incumbent considerable influence, since he was also a counselor of the king. Even as Nehemiah prayed to the Lord in this instance, thus all true believers cry to Him at all times, praying that God would forgive the sins of His children, who are redeemed through the blood of His Son, accept them in His mercy, and strengthen and increase them for their work in His kingdom.

Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem. NEHEMIAH'S REQUEST GRANTED BY THE KING.-V. 1. And it came to pass in the month Nisan, the first month of the Jewish church-year, some four months after Nehemiah had received news regarding the pitiful conditions in Jerusalem, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, the years of whose reign were counted from some other month than Nisan, namely, by Persian reckoning, that wine was before him, it being the custom to drink a little wine with some dried fruits before dinner; and I took up the wine and gave it unto the king, serving it as his office required. Now, I had not been beforetime sad in his presence, it being poor policy at Oriental courts not to show a satisfied and happy face. V. 2. Wherefore the king, noting at once that something unusual had happened to sadden his trusted servant, said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. It was true then as it is now: "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken," Prov. 15, 13. Then I was very sore afraid v. 3. and said unto the king, Let the king live forever! the common formula of address to the king. Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my father's sepulchers, for Nehemiah seems to have been a descendant of the royal house of David, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? This explained the dejccted air which Nehemiah wore even in the presence of the king. V. 4. Then the king said unto me, rightly guessing that Nehemiah had a request to make in connection with this sad state of affairs, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven, sending up a silent prayer for strength and assistance. V. 5. And I said unto the king, If it please

the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchers, literally, "the city of the graves of my fathers," probably intended in a double sense, that I may build it. V. 6. And the king said unto me, (the queen, as some think, Esther, also sitting by him, this being a private occasion, at which the principal wife of the monarch could be present,) For how long shall thy journey be? And when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. This circumstance proves that Nehemiah enjoyed the favor and confidence of the Persian monarch in an unusual degree, since he himself fixed the length of his commission. V.7. Moreover, I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, to the great territory between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea, that they may convey me over, under the protection of a military guard, till I come into Judah; v. 8. and a letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, the royal palace of Solomon, which lay in ruins, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into, the Temple itself, which he would, of course, visit and inspect. So the materials for the building of all these structures were to be furnished from the timber of the royal park somewhere in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. All believers who are honestly concerned for the welfare of the Church will receive what they desire and work for. God Himself is zealous for His people, for His Church, and hears the prayers of His faithful children in its behalf.

NEHEMIAH ARRIVES AT JERUSALEM. — V. 9. Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now, the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me, not only on account of his rank as cupbearer of the king, but also as deputy governor of Judea, which he was on this trip. V. 10. When Sanballat the Horonite, apparently a Moabite, and Tobiah, the servant, the Ammonite, a freedman raised to some official dignity, assistant to the former, who seems to have been governor of Samaria, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel, who were just then in a bad way, a fact which gave the Samaritans the upper hand. V. 11. So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days, resting and casting up in his mind just how he might undertake the work of reconstruction, for there was need of it everywhere. V. 12. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me, just a few trusted attendants; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem, both the general plans and the special action that he had determined upon during the three days of his visit; neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. The survey of the ruined walls was to be made in all secrecy, lest the enemies, who had relatives in the city, might find out about it. V. 13. And I went out by night by the Gate of the Valley, most likely that of Hinnom toward the southeast, even before the Dragon Well, a fountain or pool on the opposite side of the valley, and to the Dung Port, the gate where the rubbish of the city was cast out and burned, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, lying in ruins, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. V. 14. Then I went on to the Gate of the Fountain, in front of the pool of Siloam, where the ancient wall turned northward from its southeastern corner, and to the King's Pool, Siloam itself; but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass, heaps of broken stones and rubbish everywhere were so high that his mule could not pick a path. V. 15. Then went I up in the night by the brook, he was obliged to go down along the Kidron, and viewed the wall, that on the eastern side,

and turned back, and entered by the Gate of the Valley, where he had set forth, now probably the Jaffa Gate, and so returned. V. 16. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did, he kept this survey a strict secret; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work, neither the executive officers of the province nor the church officials, nor any others engaged in the public service had been informed of the purpose of his visit. V. 17. Then said I unto them, in a meeting called for that purpose, in which Nehemiah produced his credentials and addressed them in an inspiring manner, Ye see the distress that we are in, the evil that had befallen them, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire; come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach, objects of scorn and derision on the part of the enemies. V. 18. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, how the Lord had so obviously prospered him in his undertaking up to this time, as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they, inspired by his energy, said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work, being filled with vigor and energy, with every vestige of drooping spirits removed. V. 19. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah, the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us, with bitter taunts and scoffing ridicule, and said, What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king? This was a mean insinuation, for the Jews had no intention of throwing off the yoke of the Persians. V. 20. Then answered I them and said unto them, The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we, His servants, will arise and build; but ye have no portion nor right nor memorial in Jerusalem. They had cut themselves off from the true worship of Jehovah and therefore had nothing in common with the true worshipers. The activity of the Church often is made the object of rude jesting on the part of its enemies. But the only proper stand is that of an uncompromising aloofness in favor of the truth.

The Building of the Wall.

THE WALLS OF THE LOWER CITY. — V. 1. Then Eliashib, the high priest, the grandson of Jeshua, who had returned with Zerubbabel, rose up with his brethren, the priests, and they builded the Sheep Gate, close to the Temple, probably on the north

eastern side of the city, where the sheep for the sacrifices were driven in. They sanctifiled it, with certain religious ceremonies, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, which, apparently, was a hundred cubits from the gate, unto the tower of Hananeel, the next