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The trickiest passages can often be better understood by drinking from the well of other Bible teachers and scholars.
We are no longer under them, but they still carry a huge amount of significance in the Old Testament.
The most significant moral of the Ezra 10 story is that sin is messy and incredibly tricky to untangle yourself from when it also involves other people.
Read 2 Corinthians 6:11-18 in light of Ezra 9:1-4. How does one help explain the other?
Read through the chapter slowly, noting the verses, words, or phrases that catch your attention or stir your spirit. Lean into them to see what the Spirit of God wants to show you.
Ezra 9 is one of those chapters that almost quakes with intrigue for me – as if my heart is, in fact, trembling in response to it in the same way Ezra describes the men who gathered with him in his stunned astonishment at the willful depth of the sin of God’s people.
Remember: God includes lists of names in Scripture for a reason. Slow down your reading and tally the number of people who returned with Ezra in Ezra 8:1-20.
Take note of any repeated words or phrases in this chapter. Circle them and look at how they highlight a key theme of the passage.
Do some research and look into the differences between the titles attributed to Ezra in verse 11.
Don’t neglect those biblical definitions. Note the words that pull at you as you read and dig into them as you study.
Ezra 7 is another notable chapter detailing God’s continued favor on and provision for His people in the eyes of the king.
Remember: don’t skip the lists of names. Dig into them. Look closely at Ezra’s heritage and what it means for his position in this story.
Compare what the Bible says about Ezra in the first section of chapter 7 to what it says about Zerubbabel (or any of the other men in the first homecoming).
