Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 9:6
And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
6. A brief exordium: expression of personal shame and national guilt.
I am ashamed and blush ] These words occur together frequently as in Jer 31:19 ‘I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth’. Isa 45:16; Psa 35:4. Ezra’s expression of shame and confusion is the echo of the prophet’s words, ‘Beashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel’ (Eze 36:32), the very opposite of their spirit, who ‘were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush’ (Jer 6:15; Jer 8:12).
to lift up my face to thee ] The consciousness of sin will not permit the humble supplicant to ‘lift up so much as his eyes to heaven’ (Luk 18:13). The first person singular is here dropped.
for our iniquities are increased over our head ] The metaphor is drawn from the waters of a flood (cf. Gen 7:17-18). Compare Psa 38:4 ‘For mine iniquities are gone over mine head’.
and our trespass ] R.V. our guiltiness. The word ‘guiltiness’ (‘ashmah’, not ‘ma-al’ ‘trespass’ of Ezr 9:1) is used here and in Ezr 9:7; Ezr 9:13; Ezr 9:15, Ezr 10:10; Ezr 10:19. It is the state of guilt resulting from sin, e.g. Lev 4:3, ‘if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt (ashmah) on the people’; Ezr 6:5; Ezr 6:7, 2Ch 28:13 ‘For ye purpose that which will bring upon us a trespass (marg. ‘guilt’, Hebr. ‘ashmah’) against the Lord, to add unto our sins and to our trespass; for our trespass is great’, 2Ch 24:18 , 2Ch 28:10, 2Ch 33:23, Amo 8:14 ‘Swear by the sin (ashmah) of Samaria’. Psa 69:5 ‘My sins (marg. Heb. guiltinesses) are not hid from thee’.
is grown up unto the heavens ] Compare the same metaphor applied to ‘rage’, 2Ch 28:9 ‘In a rage which hath reached up unto heaven’. Either, which is most probable, hyperbolically of magnitude, as of the tower of Babel, ‘whose top may reach unto heaven’ (Gen 11:4), cities walled up to heaven (Deu 1:28), the judgement of Babylon (Jer 51:9), or metaphorically, as if the magnitude of the guilt had forced itself upon the notice of God like the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:20-21).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6 15. Ezra’s Prayer
Ezra’s prayer, as a confession of national sin, should be compared with the prayer of the Levites (Neh 9:6-38), and more especially with the prayer of Daniel (Dan 9:4-19). As in the confession of Daniel, the personality of the speaker is merged in that of the nation, The sin of the race no less than its shame and its punishment is acknowledged in the ‘we’, ‘our’, and ‘us’. The self-abnegation and love of Ezra as of Moses (Exo 32:32), and of Paul (Rom 9:3), accept the obligations of nationality as the source of guilt as well as on privilege to the individual.
The general plan of the confession resembles that of Daniel. It consists of (1) general confession, Ezr 9:6 (cf. Dan 9:4-6), (2) the sins of former time, Ezr 9:7 (Dan 9:7-8); (3) God’s mercy and goodness, Ezr 9:7-8 (Dan 9:9); (4) Israel’s sin in the face of the Divine warning, Ezr 9:10-12 (Dan 9:10-14); (5) the fresh guilt and final appeal, Ezr 9:13-15 (Dan 9:15-19).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 6. I am ashamed and blush] God had been so often provoked, and had so often pardoned them, and they had continued to transgress, that he was ashamed to go back again to the throne of grace to ask for mercy in their behalf. This is the genuine feeling of every reawakened backslider.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He includes himself in the number of the transgressors, not only by a rhetorical figure called communication, but partly because he himself was guilty of many sins; and partly because the princes and priests, and so many of the people, having done this, the guilt was now become national.
Increased over our head; like deep waters, in which we are as it were drowned, and ready to perish. Compare Psa 38:4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And said, O my God,…. Here begins the prayer of Ezra, and that with faith in God as covenant God, even when he was about to make confession of sin, and repentance for it; that prayer is right which is put up in faith, and that repentance genuine which is accompanied with faith, and flows from it:
I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; a true sight and sense of sin causes shame and blushing, and never more than when a man is sensible of his covenant interest in God, and of his grace and favour to him, particularly in the forgiveness of his sin, see Eze 16:61
for our iniquities are increased over our head; arisen and swelled like mighty waters, which seemed to threaten an overwhelming of them:
and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens; being done in an open, public, and insolent manner, and in such numbers, that they were, as it were, piled up in heaps, reaching to heaven, and calling down vengeance from thence. Ezra includes himself as being one of the same nation; and these sins being so common were become national ones, which involved all the individuals, and exposed them to the divine resentment.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Ezras prayer is set down for us.
TEXT, Ezr. 9:6-15
6
and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to Thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.
7
Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day.
8
But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.
9
For we are slaves; yet in our bondage, our God has not forsaken us, but has extended loving-kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10
And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Thy commandments.
11
which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants the prophets, saying, The land which you are entering to take possession of is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end and with their impurity.
12
So now do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.
13
And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since Thou our God hast requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us an escaped remnant as this,
14
shall we again break Thy commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Wouldst Thou not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape?
15
O LORD God of Israel, Thou art righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before Thee in our guilt, for no one can stand before Thee because of this.
COMMENT
Ezr. 9:6-9 rehearse the story of the captivity to Ezras time.
Ezr. 9:6 records his embarrassment over the peoples sins. Though he had not committed them, yet he uses the first person, our, indicating his full identification with the people, This was the function of a priest, as a mediator, interceding in behalf of his people, This is the mark of any great leader, understanding those whom he leads, and sharing in their fortunes. So Moses had asked God to include him in any punishment of His people (Exo. 32:32).
Note the parallelisms so characteristic of Hebrew poetry in his prayer; iniquity paralleled by guilt; risen or multiplied paralleled by grown; above our heads paralleled by to the heavens.
Ezr. 9:7 is particularly a confession of the sin of the people; by praying it in public he would hopefully be voicing or shaping the thoughts of all who heard. Ezra acknowledged that their military defeat and captivity had been occasioned by their sin. It may not be possible to say positively today that the nation which does not sin would be spared military defeat, but it would at least remove one of the causes.
Next, in Ezr. 9:8, is a mention of Gods grace, which must ever follow the acknowledgment of sin. By Gods grace a remnant had been able to return from exile. By His grace they had been given a firm hold, or abiding place (this is the significance of the peg, or nail, driven in securely, on which other things could depend), within Gods house. So the table of showbread with its twelve loaves (Lev. 24:5-9) within the Tabernacle and Temple had been a reminder that the twelve tribes had a place before God and were on His mind continually. By His grace the sparkle would be brought back to their eyes (that is what enlightenment accomplishes) and they would be renewed.
Ezr. 9:9 tells us that their bondage was not completely over. Their nation was still very much under the control of the Persians, and all their activities could only be undertaken with their permission. The wall referred to here is not the physical wall of stone which surrounded the city; that had not yet been rebuilt; it was that protection with which God surrounded His people. That protected not Jerusalem alone, but all Judah as, well.
Ezr. 9:10-15 deal with the situation which was before Ezra at that very moment.
Ezr. 9:10 acknowledges that what the people had done was a violation of the commandments which God had made known previously to them.
Ezr. 9:11-12 are a composite, made up of quotations from many Scriptures. The Anchor Bible lists a number of different passages:
a)
the land you are going to possess: Deu. 4:5 ff
b)
a polluted land, polluted by the peoples of the lands: Lam. 1:17; Lev. 18:25 ff; Lev. 20:22 ff.
c)
their abominations: Deu. 18:9; 2Ki. 16:3; 2Ki. 19:2; 2Ch. 28:3; 2Ch. 33:2, and Ezekiel often.
d)
have filled it from one end to the other: 2Ki. 21:16.
e)
do not give your daughters: Deu. 7:3.
f)
do not even seek their peace or welfare: Deu. 23:6.
g)
that you may be strong: Deu. 11:8.
h)
eat the good things of the land: Isa. 1:19; Gen. 45:18.
i)
bequeath it to your sons forever: Eze. 37:25 b.
This says something of Ezras knowledge of the Scriptures, and of his expectation that they would be available or familiar to his hearers.
Moses is quoted (Deu. 7:3) among the prophets, for this is how he spoke of himself (Deu. 18:15). Add this to the fact that the books of Kings were classified among the prophets in the ancient Hebrew canon, and every one of these phrases can be found among the writings of the prophets.
Ezr. 9:13 calls to mind two gracious acts of God. (1) The punishment of the Captivity was merciful; it was less than they deserved. This evaluation varies from Isaiahs (Isa. 40:2), who proclaims that God had meted out double for Israels sin. There is no conflict between the two: Isaiah is speaking of the fact that God has counted the debt more than paid, and they may rest in the enjoyment of forgiveness. Ezra is showing humility in acknowledging that God would have been justified if He had required more. The person standing in the place of the sinner can never claim that forgiveness is deserved or earned; he has no right, being the offender, to say what is a reasonable repayment for his offense.
(2) The second gracious act of God was in allowing them to return from captivity. History does not record the names of many nations as completely vanquished as Israel was, who have been spared and given another opportunity to rise to worldwide significance. Ezra has already listed the many ways in which God led a foreign power to assist their reconstruction.
Ezr. 9:14 draws the conclusion therefore that it would be most unwise for them to repeat the selfsame error that brought them to captivity before. It would be presuming too much to expect that God would spare them and deliver them again, or that He would leave the slightest remnant of their nation the next time.
Ezr. 9:15 repeats the conviction that God is righteous in the things He has done for them. The last half of the verse is in the frame of reference of a court scene; Israel stands before God having been taken in the very act of sin and known to be guilty. No one can stand, i.e., abide or be acquitted (cf. Psa. 1:5 for similar language) before God, the judge from whom no transgression is hidden.
WORD STUDIES
PEG: Nail, tentpeg (Ezr. 9:8, Yathed): the basic idea is of that which is driven in firmly, or fixed fast, to render something stable. A good ruler or prince, on whom the welfare of the state depends (i.e., hangs down), would be described as a tentpeg (Zec. 10:4).
BONDAGE (Ezr. 9:8-9): condition of laboring, working, serving. A servant or a slave would be described by this term. It occurs in the name Ebed, or Obed; remember Davids grandfather in Rth. 4:17? It is used of tilling the ground also (Gen. 4:2). In slightly different form it is used in a religious sense, of our service or worship.
WALL (Ezr. 9:9, Gader): that which surrounds or encloses. The three consonants appear in different order in our words guard and garden. So God guards His people, as His garden.
OFFERING (Ezr. 9:4-5, Minchah): for a description of this particular offering see Exo. 29:38-46. The word emphasizes its nature as a gift or present. Although it can describe offerings of either meat or grain (it is used of both Abels and Cains offering, Gen. 4:3-4), it usually designates the meal (grain) offering. By its nature as a gift, its chief purpose was to portray fellowship between God and His people.
SUMMARY
Ezra was informed by the rulers that a number of the people, including religious leaders as well as citizens and rulers, had violated Gods law and married foreigners. This would involve the introduction of pagan religion into their culture, and would endanger their social structure. Ezra reacted by tearing his clothes, pulling his hair, sitting in silence, and finally praying. People gathered about him as he confessed his countrymens sins, as he recalled how God had dealt with similar infractions in the past, and as he acknowledged that they had no excuse for their action and no reason for believing they could escape punishment.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
6. O my God The following prayer of Ezra is, for its occasion, a most perfect model of intercessory supplication. Or rather, perhaps, we should say, it is a most perfect utterance of humiliation and confession before God, for there is no word of direct supplication here. Much is suggested and implied, but every utterance is that of confession of past and present sin, and personal humiliation before God. Ezra enumerates the manifold sins of his nation in connexion with the manifold mercies of God, and confesses that all the woes and punishments of Israel have been less than their sins. He ventures not to pray for mercy and pardon, but presents the people in their trespasses before Jehovah, confessing that they are not able to stand. Compare Daniel’s prayer, (Dan 9:4-19,) where is found much of direct supplication.
Our iniquities over our head Like a flood they have been rising higher and higher, until we are quite submerged and overwhelmed.
Grown up unto the heavens Like a tower of Babel, which has been built higher and higher, as if to defy the very God of heaven.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 6. And said, O my God, &c. Nothing can be more humble, devout, and pathetic than this address, in which Ezra acknowledges that he was confounded when he thought of the greatness of their sins, which were ready to overwhelm them; and of the boldness and insolence of them beyond measure, even though they had seen the divine vengeance upon their forefathers in so terrible a manner, that they had not yet worn off the marks of his displeasure. He had, indeed, begun to shew favour to some of them; but this so much the more aggravated their wickedness, in that so soon after their restoration and settlement in their native country they had returned to their old provocations, notwithstanding the many admonitions in the law and the prophets, to have nothing to do with the people of Caanan, except it were to expel and drive them out. What then can we expect, says he, but the utter destruction of the small remnant that is left of us, if, after all the punishment which God has inflicted upon us, and now that he is beginning to be gracious unto us, we relapse into the same offences for which we have so severely suffered? For while we remain monuments of his mercy, and yet appear before him in our abominations, we must be dumb, and have nothing to plead in excuse of our detestable ingratitude.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader! what sweet and gracious signs of sorrow, and of real communion with God. The blushing, and dropping countenance, under the conscious sense of the divine presence, are among the truest tokens of this state of the soul. Reader! do not fail to remark the precious lesson held forth to all true believers in Christ in this example. We as fully enjoy the manifestations of Jesus, and the love of Jehovah in him, when we lie low in the dust before him, as when in those rapturous moments we are like the apostles in the mount of transfiguration, and the Son of God unveils to us his glories, and our interest in him. Mat 17:4-5 . I stay not to particularize the several features of Ezra’s devotion: I rather desire the Reader to mark, in his own view of things, the leading points in it, which bespeak the gracious impressions he was under. The general confession of the sins of Israel he dwells upon, and takes care to point out the part he himself took in them. Every gracious soul doth this, and in his approaches to the mercy-seat feels his own as if they were the heaviest. And how sweetly doth he dwell upon the divine mercies, in their abundance, fulness, and continuance: as if the Lord had taken occasion, from man’s undeservings, to magnify his mercy, and the exceeding riches of his grace; that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Never, blessed Jesus, was there an instance like to thine, when thou camest to seek and save that which was lost! I beg the Reader to notice these precious things in Ezra’s holy mourning before the throne and mercy-seat. A more beautiful instance of the powerful effects of grace upon the soul, except in the parallel humblings of Daniel, (Dan 9 .) is not to be found in the Bible. But I cannot dismiss this view of Ezra, without calling on the Reader to mark one feature more in his approach to God upon this occasion, and the more so because it leads my soul to yet an higher subject, from whence if I mistake not, the whole virtue and efficacy of Ezra’s devotion derived its strength, I mean the spreading out his hands unto the Lord his God, meaning God in covenant, as his God in Christ. Doth it not carry the Reader’s mind, on the wings of faith, to Calvary, where Jesus arms were stretched out on the cross, as if in a twofold posture of entreaty, both with God and man. Can we behold Ezra stretching forth his hands in supplication for Israel on this occasion, and shalt we forget, or overlook thee, thou blessed Jesus, whose precious feet were fixed to the cross, while thine arms were stretched forth, at once looking up to the Father in intercession, and spread abroad below to embrace all that came to thee, as if saying, Behold me, behold me; look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else, and beside me there is no Saviour. Isa 45:21-22Isa 45:21-22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ezr 9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Ver. 6. And said, O my God ] This was a prayer of faith, and founded upon the covenant, that beehive of heavenly honey, as one well calleth it.
I am ashamed and blush
For our iniquities
Are increased over our head
And our trespass is grown up unto the heavens
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
trespass.Hebrew. ‘ashma (feminine.) = guilt incurred. The rnasc. = guilt imputed (as in Lev 5:7. Num 5:8. 2Ki 12:16. Psa 68:21). App-44. Not the same word as in Ezr 9:2. Compare verses: Ezr 9:7, Ezr 9:13, Ezr 9:15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I am ashamed: Job 40:4, Job 42:6, Jer 3:3, Jer 3:24, Jer 3:25, Jer 6:15, Jer 8:12, Jer 31:19, Eze 16:63, Dan 9:7, Dan 9:8, Rom 6:21
our iniquities: Gen 13:13, Psa 38:4, Isa 1:18, Isa 59:12
trespass: or, guiltiness
grown up: 2Ch 28:9, Luk 15:21, Rev 18:5
Reciprocal: Gen 18:27 – I have Exo 32:31 – sinned Jos 7:1 – committed 1Ki 8:47 – saying 1Ki 18:42 – put his face 2Ch 6:37 – We have sinned Ezr 10:10 – to increase Neh 1:6 – confess Neh 9:2 – confessed Psa 44:15 – confusion Psa 106:6 – General Son 2:14 – that art Son 4:3 – thy temples Isa 24:5 – because Jer 5:6 – because Jer 14:7 – for our Jer 14:20 – We acknowledge Jer 30:15 – for the Jer 44:3 – of their Jer 51:9 – her judgment Eze 14:13 – when Eze 36:31 – shall ye Eze 36:32 – be ashamed Dan 9:5 – have sinned Hos 2:5 – hath done Jon 1:2 – for Zec 1:2 – Lord Mat 18:24 – ten thousand Luk 18:13 – standing 2Th 3:14 – that he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 9:6. O my God, I am ashamed and blush Nothing can be more humble, devout, and pathetic, than this address, in which Ezra acknowledges that he was confounded when he thought of the greatness of their sins, which were ready to overwhelm them, and of the boldness and insolence of them beyond measure, even though they had seen the divine vengeance upon their forefathers in so terrible a manner, that they had not yet worn off the marks of his displeasure. He had, indeed, begun to show favour to some of them; but this so much the more aggravated their wickedness, in that, so soon after their restoration and settlement in their native country, they had returned to their old provocations, notwithstanding the many admonitions, in the law and the prophets, to have nothing to do with the people of Canaan, except it were to expel and drive them out. What then can we expect, says he, but the utter destruction of the small remnant that is left of us, if after all the punishment which God hath inflicted upon us, and now that he is beginning to be gracious unto us, we relapse into the same offences for which we have so severely suffered? For while we remain monuments of his mercy, and yet appear before him in our abominations, we must be dumb, and have nothing to plead in excuse of our detestable ingratitude. Dodd. For our iniquities He includes himself in the number of the transgressors, because he himself was guilty of many sins; and because the princes and priests, and so many of the people, having done this, the guilt was now become national. Are increased over our head Like deep waters, in which we are, as it were, drowned, and ready to perish.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased {d} over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up unto the {e} heavens.
(d) That is, we are drowned in sin.
(e) They so exceed that they cannot grow greater.