CONTENTS
This Chapter gives us the history which followed Ezra's prayer. Shecaniah incourageth Ezra to set about a reform. Ezra with fasting begins it. The people feel suitable sorrow, and the strange wives are put away.
There is somewhat truly interesting in this account of Ezra. His great concern manifested in those several acts of sorrow and humiliation, show what a holy zeal he had for the glory of God, and Israel's prosperity. But we must look deeper than the surface to discover the grand motive of Ezra's concern. The preservation of the holy seed from intermarrying with other nations of the earth, was one of the most important precepts of the law, and evidently given and made important with an eye to Jesus Christ. The prophets had it in commission to tell the church where Christ was to be born, and from what stock he was to proceed. Isaiah pointed to him as the seed of David: Isaiah 11:1. And Micah pointed to the place of his birth, Bethlehem; Micah 5:2. Hence, when the Lord Jesus came, though the Jews confounded their views by imagining Christ was of Galilee, because he came from Galilee, after the flight of his mother there on account of Herod, Matthew 2:22; Matthew 2:22. yet they uniformly bore testimony that Christ was, according to the scripture, to come of the seed of David, and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was. John 7:41-42. Hence Paul is express to confirm this grand truth, for he calls upon Timothy to remember that Jesus Christ was of the seed of David; 2 Timothy 2:8. Now from all these views of scripture together, we behold the great testimony to prove the descent of our Lord Jesus Christ, after the flesh, from the stock of David. But Reader! how should this have been ascertained and proved, if the children of Israel had intermarried with heathen nations? Oh! how sweet is it to behold God the Holy Ghost watching over the church of Jesus! And oh! how sweet is it to observe such lively faith as we behold in Ezra, and the mourning people, in looking forward to the promised seed of the woman to bruise the serpent's head. I desire, Holy Spirit, to adore thy love and mercy in those precious views here given of both.