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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

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Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the chapter today Audio Bible.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Ezra chapter nine,

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Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. Later,

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Speaker 1: the Jewish leaders came to me and said, many Israelites,

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Speaker 1: including priests and Levites, are living just like the people

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Speaker 1: around them. They are even guilty of some of the

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Speaker 1: horrible sins of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizites, the Rebusites,

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Speaker 1: the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. Some

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Speaker 1: Israelite men have married foreign women and have let their

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Speaker 1: sons do the same thing. Our own officials and leaders

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Speaker 1: were the first to commit this disgusting sin, and now

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Speaker 1: God's holy people are mixed with foreigners. This news made

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Speaker 1: me so angry that I ripped my clothes and tore

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Speaker 1: hair from my head and beard. Then I just sat

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Speaker 1: in shock until time for the evening sacrifice. Many of

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Speaker 1: our people were greatly concerned and gathered around me because

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Speaker 1: the God of Israel had warned us to stay away

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Speaker 1: from foreigners. At the time of the evening sacrifice, I

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Speaker 1: was still sitting there in sorrow, with my clothes all torn.

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Speaker 1: So I got down on my knees, then lifted my

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Speaker 1: arms and prayed. I am much too ashamed to face you,

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Speaker 1: Lord God. Our sins and our guilt have swept over

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Speaker 1: us like a flood that reaches up to the heavens.

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Speaker 1: Since the time of our ancestors, all of us have sinned.

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Speaker 1: That's why we, our kings and our priests have often

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Speaker 1: been defeated by other kings. They have killed some of

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Speaker 1: us and made slaves of others. They have taken our

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Speaker 1: possessions and made us ashamed, just as we are today.

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Speaker 1: But for now, Lord God, you have shown great kindness

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Speaker 1: to us. You made us truly happy by letting some

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Speaker 1: of us settle in this sacred place, and by helping

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Speaker 1: us in our time of slavery. We are slaves, but

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Speaker 1: you have never turned your back on us. You love us,

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Speaker 1: and because of you, the kings of Persia have helped us.

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Speaker 1: It's as though you have given us new life. You

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Speaker 1: let us rebuild your temple and live safely in Judah

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Speaker 1: and Jerusalem, Our God, what can we say now, even

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Speaker 1: after all this, we have disobeyed the commands that were

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Speaker 1: given to us by your servants, the prophets. They said,

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Speaker 1: the land you are giving us is full of sinful

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Speaker 1: and wicked people who never stop doing disgusting things, and

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Speaker 1: we were warned not to our daughters and sons marry

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Speaker 1: their sons and daughters. Your prophets also told us never

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Speaker 1: to help those foreigners or even let them live in peace.

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Speaker 1: You wanted us to become strong and to enjoy the

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Speaker 1: good things in the land, then someday to leave it

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Speaker 1: to our children forever. You punished us because of our

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Speaker 1: terrible sins, but you did not punish us nearly as

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Speaker 1: much as we deserve, and you have brought some of

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Speaker 1: us back home. Why should we disobey your commands again

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Speaker 1: by letting our sons and daughters marry these foreigners who

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Speaker 1: do such disgusting things that would make you angry enough

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Speaker 1: to destroy us. All, Lord, God of Israel, you have

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Speaker 1: been more than fair by letting a few of us survive.

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Speaker 1: But once again our sins have made us ashamed to

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Speaker 1: face you. Let's pray, Lord, We thank you for your word,

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Speaker 1: and we thank you for the privilege of being able

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Speaker 1: to look at it together today, And Lord, it's fascinating

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Speaker 1: to have the privilege to be able to look at

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Speaker 1: Ezra's prayer and to think a little bit about what

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Speaker 1: he's talking about here as he describes the fact that

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Speaker 1: the Jewish people were marrying their pagan neighbors, and as

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Speaker 1: a result, they were adopting the pagan practices of the

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Speaker 1: neighboring nations, and their children were taught to practice these

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Speaker 1: things as well. Lord, we know that some of those

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Speaker 1: practices involved all kinds of debauchery, and in some cases

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Speaker 1: it also involved the sacrifice of children to false deities. Lord,

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Speaker 1: we know that that was not your will for your people.

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Speaker 1: And Ezra's heart was broken as he observed this kind

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Speaker 1: of intermarriage taking place among the people. Lord, you tell

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Speaker 1: us in your word that marriage is designed to represent

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Speaker 1: the love of Jesus Christ for the Church. And even

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Speaker 1: now you call us as believers to only make marry

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Speaker 1: those who share faith in your son, Jesus Christ. And

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Speaker 1: you call us to raise up our children to know

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Speaker 1: you and to love you. And you invite us to

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Speaker 1: come before you and to confess our sin like we

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Speaker 1: see Ezra doing, and to live in holiness and righteousness.

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Speaker 1: Before you, but not a holiness or righteousness that comes

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Speaker 1: from us, but one that is fostered by and imputed

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Speaker 1: to our account through faith in your son Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 1: So we're thankful for the gift of Christ's righteousness, and

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Speaker 1: we're thankful for the privilege to walk with you day

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Speaker 1: by day. And we're thankful Lord for the fact that

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Speaker 1: you love us. And we are likewise thankful that you

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Speaker 1: love the people of Israel and Judah, and we're extremely

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Speaker 1: patient with them. Lord, in our context, help us not

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Speaker 1: to test your patience, but rather we pray that we

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Speaker 1: would delight to live in a true and serious relationship

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Speaker 1: with you, and that our lives would show that our

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Speaker 1: faith in your son Jesus Christ is genuine. Lord, We're

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Speaker 1: grateful for what you reveal to us and your word,

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Speaker 1: and thank you for the privilege of being able to

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Speaker 1: look at it together. Today. We commit this day to

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Speaker 1: your care, and we thank you for your presence with

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Speaker 1: us in it. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.