Today is the 10th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it is great

to be here with you today, just like it is great to be together every day. And since we're

here together, let's do what we do. Let's take another step forward in our lives and

another step forward in the scriptures. Today we pick up where we left off and that happens

to be Ezra, the book of Ezra right now, and day, we'll read chapter 10.

While Ezra was bowing in prayer in front of the temple, weeping and confessing these sins,

a large group of Israelites, men, women, and children gathered around him weeping bitterly,

then Shekhanayat, son of Jahael, of the clan of Ilam, said to Ezra,

we have broken faith with God by marrying foreign women, but even so there is still hope for Israel.

Now we must make a solemn promise to our God that we will send these women and their children away.

We will do what you and the others who honor God's commands advise us to do. We will do what God's

law demands. It is your responsibility to act. We are behind you, so go ahead and get it done.

So Ezra began by making the leaders of the priests, of the Levites, and of the rest of the people

taken oath that they would do what Shekhanayat proposed. Then he went from in front of the temple

into the living quarters of Yohanan, son of Eliaship, and spent the night there grieving over

the unfaithfulness of the exiles. He did not eat or drink anything. A message was sent

throughout Jerusalem and Judah that all those who had returned from exile were to meet in Jerusalem

by order of the leaders of the people. If any failed to come within three days,

all their property would be confiscated and they would lose their right to be members of the

community. Within the three days on the 20th day of the ninth month, all the men living in the

territory of Judah and Benjamin came to Jerusalem and assembled in the temple square. It was raining

hard and because of the weather and the importance of the meeting everyone was trembling.

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