All right, all right, join the Journey family, friends, and guests. You're listening to Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter. Thanks for joining. Today, we are wrapping up our study on the book of Ezra, and I am back in the studio with Mr. Casey Crane.

Hey, Emma. Casey, we got a big topic today. Sure do. So we're going to jump in, catch us up, and then let us know where we camping out.

Okay, so at this point in Ezra, the temple is already built.

Ezra's in the land.

He's a spiritual leader.

And now the focus of these last three chapters is going to shift to a specific and glaring sin issue in the Jewish community.

I'm going to read from Ezra chapter 9 versus 1 through 2.

It really lays it out for us.

It says, after these things had been done,

the officials approached me and said,

the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites

have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands

with their abominations from the Canaanites, the Hittites,

all theites.

I'll just give it.

For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons

so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands.

And in this faithlessness, the hand of the officials and the chief men has been foremost.

So I want to call us back to why that's sin in the first place.

Yeah. Clarify. Why is this a problem in this specific context?

Right. So Deuteronomy chapter 7, verse 3 and 4, this is in the law, says,

you shall not intermarry with them, talking about the peoples of the land, all the Ites.

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