9:1 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust.
The teaching of Ezra brought revival to Israel. They began to fast.
Revival means “to return to consciousness.” It means falling into death and being brought back into consciousness. An example is the Lord Jesus Christ. His physical body was lifeless, dead, and hanging on a cross. Then, He revived Himself, began walking on the earth, began teaching, and ascended into heaven.
Israel was dead. They needed revival. They needed new life. After Ezra began teaching the entire counsel of the Word of God with the expository method of book by book and verse by verse teaching, then he brought new life to Israel. This type of teaching can bring revival back to America. This kind of teaching can change the electorate, give them better spiritual insight and better bible doctrine, and help them to vote more responsibly.
If America does not head towards the expository teaching direction, then in one generation, America will be full of Laodician churches. These churches will replace expository teaching with music concerts, skits, plays, and entertainment. They will be rich and wealthy on the outside, but rotting with dead men’s bones on the inside. These new churches will possess brand new shiny paint jobs, exquisite architecture, the most modern technology, indoor children’s playgrounds, large air-conditioned auditoriums, plush seats, lots of money, slick talking preachers, but the Word of God will be compromised in these places. Teaching the Word of God decreases attendance, but it does not increase attendance. For example, Jesus had many disciples and students who were following Him, but when He began hardcore teaching on election and predestination, every student left Him except for His twelve disciples. Satan kept one of his own men in that group.
Therefore, in chapter 8, Ezra’s example teaches the church how to start a revival in one’s home city. The solution is simple. Teach the entire counsel of the Word of God in an expository and not a topical matter. The pastors in modern churches need to pay more attention to teaching the Bible rather than in searching for seeker-friendly methods, sentiments, and emotional appeals. It is the only way to change the electorate so that they will vote responsibly for politicians who have strong and complete bible doctrine.
9:2 Those truly of Israelite descent separated from all the foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
The teaching of Ezra caused Israel to separate from the Gentiles who had brought demonism into the land. Ezra’s teaching caused Israel to confess their sins and turn back to the Word of God.
9:3 For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God.
The feasts were vacation periods for Israel when they could concentrate on the Lord. During this vacation period, the children of Israel stood and listened to bible teaching for six hours per day. They confessed their sins and worshiped God for another six hours per day. This seems fanatical to many modern carnal Christians, because they are not interested in the things of God. They would rather spend their vacation walking on the sand at the beach.
There are many vacations which can be taken at nice places where strong bible doctrine is taught as part of the vacation program. For example, Dr. Arnold Fructenbaum’s summer camps on the border of New York and Canada are excellent vacation spots. Other suggestions are the Creation museums in San Diego and Cincinnati, the Bible park in Orlando, the Noah's Ark exhibit in Cincinnati and Israeli tours with Dr. Fruchtenbaum. If a family chooses a bible doctrine-themed vacation, then it is important to choose a teacher who possesses strong and uncompromising bible doctrine.
9:4 Then the Levites—Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the steps and called out loudly to the LORD their God.
Eight priests stood upon the stage and began to recite a long prayer of praise and confession. This prayer may have been written by Ezra in advance.
9:5 The Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God!” “May you be blessed, O LORD our God, from age to age. May your glorious name be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise.
These eight priests asked everyone in the congregation to stand up and hear the prayer.
9:6 You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, along with all their multitude of stars, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You impart life to them all, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Israel praised God for His creation. The beauty of the universe gives testimony to a Creator. God alone made the heavens and the earth. He sustains earth. He created all of the beings of the angel world.
It is an insult to God for a biblically-ignorant and biased scientist to claim that all of the beauty of the universe exploded out of nothing. Nothing is nothing! No matter, no space, no energy! It is simply foolish and unscientific for foolish teachers to teach foolish students that nothing exploded into everything. 0 x 0 always equals 0.
Man is so totally depraved and evil, that if God chooses not to open his eyes, then man will foolishly believe that nothing exploded into everything. This is what evil men will do to escape a God who will judge their sin and throw them into the Lake of Fire forever. The skeptic loves his sin, but he hates Christ. He hates Christ, because Christ will not let him get away with his sin. The skeptic should praise God for His creation. He should not blaspheme God and worship nothing. He should thank God for His creation, his life, his health, and his job. Americans need to stand up and publicly confess Jesus as Creator of all things.
9:7 “You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham.
The Levitical priests praised God for the Abrahamic Covenant. Most modern Christians have never even heard of the Abrahamic Covenant. Christians need to praise God for the Abrahamic Covenant as well, because both Jews and Gentiles are blessed by this covenant.
9:8 When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.
Israel praised God for removing the evil nations out of Israel and giving them the land. One day, God will remove the evil people off of this world and give their land to the Christians. Christians need to praise God for His future relocation plan.
Evil is so terrible, that if left alone, it will seduce everyone on earth into satanism. One drop of evil will poison every single human being in history. The only cure for evil is that the Great Physician must remove the poisoned heart and replace it with a new heart and a new mind. The Holy Spirit must awaken the dead spirit which every baby possesses at his physical birth. Without this regeneration, man is spiritually dead. He in not interested in the mind of God. He will believe in anything, except the Bible. He will believe in atheism, paganism, evolution, cults, isms, or anything else which the devil throws out into the satanic world system. This is the condition of the lost man. He is born with a free will, but because he is born with a dead spirit in a blind condition, then he will always choose the lies of the satanic world system over the truths of the written Word of God. Those carnal Christians who are not addicted to studying the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level need to mature, pray to God to change their attitude, and then began a serious Bible study.
9:9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.
God allowed the affliction in Egypt so that He could be glorified. He allowed this Pharaoh to cause misery to the chosen people of God so that the angelic world and the future elect could learn from this example. If God would have left Israel alone, then Pharaoh would have exterminated the chosen people of God. If God would leave the people of the satanic world system alone, then everyone of them would become a Pharaoh. Everyone on earth would persecute and murder believers, because they do not want to hear a message which condemns them to hell. They do not want to hear the truth. They love their sin and want to continue this sinful lifestyle, even if it costs them their eternal life.
9:10 You performed awesome signs against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians had acted presumptuously against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day.
Israel praised God for choosing them as an elect nation and saving their ancestors from the slavery of Egypt. During the River Valley civilization period, Egypt was an ancient satanic world power. God intervened and reduced Egypt to ashes. God will intervene again and reduce the Antichrist to ashes. He will once again save Israel from a satanic world system which wants to exterminate them.
America may have received as much light as Israel. Americans need to praise and thank God for placing them in a nation where the Word of God was honored for such a long time. Instead of protesting against the political leaders, Americans should study and teach the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. The way to change the political leaders is by raising up an electorate with strong bible doctrine. The problem with America is not the politicians, but the biblically-ignorant electorate who continually vote them into office.
9:11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into surging waters.
Israel praised God for drowning the Egyptians. The Egyptians wanted to exterminate the Jewish people off of this earth. If they would have been successful, then no Messiah would have been born. If no Messiah would have been born, then the satanic world system would exist forever. Therefore, it was a good thing for God to drown these Egyptians. This example of history demonstrates to the angels and to all living creatures the effects of evil upon the world.
9:12 You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.
Israel praised God for the presence and guidance of the Shechinah Glory. The Shechinah Glory was the literal presence of God on earth. The Shechinah Glory dwelt with Israel in the wilderness, in the Tabernacle, and in the Temple of Jerusalem. During the days of Ezekiel, Israel did not want the Shechinah Glory around anymore, so He sadly left very slowly, hoping that Israel would change their mind. The Shechinah Glory did not return again until the birth of Christ. Jesus was the Shechinah Glory wrapped in human skin. The Shechinah Glory will return at the Second Coming of Christ. At the end of the darkness of the Great Tribulation, every eye will see Him return.
9:13 “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You provided them with just judgments, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
Israel praised God for physically coming down to earth at Mount Sinai and giving Moses the Law. The Mosaic Law reveals the mind of God. The Mosaic Law was the constitution, or the governmental plan of Israel. If all nations followed this example of government, then their nation would be blessed. No one except Christ could keep this Law, so this Law could not save anyone. It could demonstrate judicially that everyone was a sinner who needed a Savior.
9:14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through Moses your servant.
Israel praised God for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day of spending time with God. The way to spend time with God is to understand His mind. The mind of Christ can only be known through the study of Scripture by a gifted pastor teacher. The Bible is never commanded to be read. It is commanded to be studied.
Most Christians think that they can read the Bible and the Holy Spirit will directly teach them. This is simply not the case.
Ephesians 4 teaches one how to study the Bible correctly. Pastor teachers are given to the church as a gift to teach the Bible to those who want to learn. Those who read the Bible will not be able to understand it without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sends pastor-teachers with the gift of teaching to explain the deep truths of Scripture to those who desire to learn. The pastor teacher may teach by sermon, book, bible translation, or media. The Bible was not written in English, so the pastor teacher needs to know the original languages so that he can make sure that he is teaching the truth. Any bible teacher who is too lazy to study the original languages should not be teaching. He is the blind leading the blind. He will lead others into doctrinal error. Congregations should not support lazy bible teachers whose blindness will lead them over high cliffs.
9:15 You provided bread from heaven for them in their time of hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their time of thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.
Israel praised God for providing their ancestors with manna from heaven. This bread from heaven was a type of Christ. Jesus claimed that He was the true bread from heaven.
Israel praised God for providing their ancestors with water from the rock. The water from the rock was a type of Christ. Anyone who thirsts can come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
9:16 “But they—our ancestors—behaved presumptuously; they rebelled and did not obey your commandments.
Israel confessed the sin of their ancestors. Israel possessed light, but they rejected it. They preferred to live in darkness. They were given as a gift a perfect government with perfect laws from God, but they rejected it.
9:17 They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. You did not abandon them,
Israel confessed the sin of their fathers. Their wilderness fathers were the only nation in the world who was given daily miracles from God, yet their fathers refused to teach these miracles to their children. They wanted to forget about these miracles and live a life in sin.
Israel was so totally depraved and evil, that she would rather go back to Egypt as a slave and live in sin rather than live in freedom, showing obedience to God. They were not interested in becoming priests to all of the nations and leading the Gentiles back to the one true God.
Israel praised God because of His divine attributes. God forgives those who sin against Him.
God is merciful, meaning that He is nice and kind when someone does something evil against Him.
God is compassionate, meaning that He likes to give nice things to His children. The nicest thing that God can give to one is understanding of the Word of God. One cannot understand the mind of Christ without knowledge from the Scriptures.
God is slow to get angry. He understands the sin nature, because Christ had to resist all kinds of sin at the highest level. The temptations of Jesus were much more difficult to overcome than any human, because Jesus had to set His powers of deity aside. As a human, he suffered more than any man. He had the divine power to end the suffering at any time, but He chose not to do so. Satan offered Jesus the kingdom without the cross, but Jesus refused it. The great temptation of Jesus was to NOT use His divine power to stop His suffering.
Israel praised God, because of His faithful love. God loves Israel, He loves the elect, and He loves the sinful world of the non-elect. He loves them all with a loyal love which will never disappear. It is not God’s will for anyone to suffer, but His permissive will allows men to make their own choice on these issues. The elect will always choose God. God will allow the non-elect to make their own choice, but they will always reject God. Evil is a bad thing for God’s universe. He must have a garbage dump to keep the evil contained. The Lake of Fire is God’s garbage dump of evil.
9:18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious blasphemies.
God’s love is so faithful, that God still loves Israel, even though they blaspheme Him by worshiping demonic idols.
9:19 “Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.
God is so compassionate, that even though Israel blasphemed God by worshiping demonic idols, the Shechinah Glory still faithfully led Israel across the wilderness and into the Promised Land.
9:20 You imparted your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths; you provided water for their thirst.
Even though Israel blasphemed God by worshiping demonic idols, the Holy Spirit continually instructed Israel. God continually rained down manna from heaven. God continually brought forth water out of rocks.
9:21 For forty years you sustained them. Even in the desert they never lacked anything. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
Israel praised God, because He took care of two million of their ancestors in the hot and arid desert for forty consecutive years. He supplied them daily with manna from heaven, water from rocks, and their clothes never wore out. As far as health, their feet never swelled from walking. None of the children under twenty years died in the desert.
9:22 “You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land. They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.
Israel praised God, because God gave her the land of dangerous enemies who were more powerful than Israel. King Sihon and King Og ruled over many large and fortified cities, but God defeated them and gave the land of Canaan to Israel.
9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess.
Israel praised God for His multiplication skills. God was able to take a tribe of 70 Jewish people into Egypt and bring out two million Jewish people.
9:24 Their descendants entered and possessed the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites who were the inhabitants of the land. You delivered them into their hand, together with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with as they pleased.
Israel praised God for His Canaanite plan of genocide. Genocide is good if God calls for it. It eliminates evil out of the world.
Liberals who are not grounded in bible doctrine think that the Canaanites could have been rehabilitated. Man is so totally evil and depraved, that rehabilitation is impossible unless God completes the process. God rehabilitates the sinner by giving the sinner a new personality and cleansing him by the Water of God.
9:25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things—wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.
Israel praised God for His relocation plan. God exterminated the evil Canaanites and gave their land to Israel. The purpose of this relocation plan was to demonstrate to the world that evil nations would be purged out of this world. Israel would be raised up to become priests to the Gentile nations. They were to lead the Gentile nations out of demonism and back into the worship of the one true God.
9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.
Instead of removing the Canaanites out of the land, Israel joined the Gentiles and began worshiping their demonic idols. God sent prophets to bring Israel back to the worship of the one true God, but Israel killed the prophets. After killing the prophets, Israel began to worship demonic idols in the Temple area itself.
9:27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from their adversaries.
During the time period of the Judges, Israel continually sinned. God would send other nations against Israel to distress them. The people would cry out to God for assistance. God would send a judge to save them.
9:28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again.
Israel worshiped demonic idols again, so God allowed the Assyrians to place hooks in the noses of Israel and lead them out of the land.
9:29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances—those by which an individual, if he obeys them, will live. They boldly turned from you; they rebelled and did not obey.
Israel refused to keep the Mosaic Law.
9:30 You prolonged your kindness with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
God sent more prophets to Israel. The prophets took Israel to court and charged them with breaking the Mosaic Law.
9:31 However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.
Even though Israel always worshiped demonic idols. God never gave up on them. He was going to keep that promise to Abraham, even if Israel rebelled against Him.
9:32 “So now, our God—the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity—do not regard as inconsequential all the hardship that has befallen us—our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people—from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!
Israel praised God for His greatness, His power, and His awesomeness. God was praised, because He keeps His covenantal promises. God was asked to remember the hardships that Israel had endured upon them during their history. It is important to note that Israel’s disobedience led to these hardships.
9:33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. It is we who have been in the wrong!
God was praised for judging Israel in righteousness. Israel confessed her sin of acting unrighteously to God.
9:34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them.
Israel confessed that the political leaders, religious leaders, and their ancestors had not kept the Mosaic Law.
9:35 Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible goodness that you had lavished on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.
God blessed Israel, but Israel did not appreciate it or thank God for the light which she received. God has also blessed America. The founding fathers established this nation set upon biblical principles. However, modern Americans do not acknowledge, appreciate, or thank God for the light in which they were given. America continues to reject God and live in sin. This turning from God cannot be blamed on the politicians, because the electorate voted the corrupt politicians into office. As long as America's electorate is apathetic to the Word of God, America will continue to fall. America has rejected the light and chosen to live in darkness.
9:36 “So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy its good things—we are slaves!
Israel was a slave to Persia, because they paid them tribute and sent them soldiers. America is a slave to the Almighty Dollar. Abortion, pseudo-sciences, sex, and politics are all for sell to the highest bidder.
9:37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit, and we are in great distress!
All of Israel’s natural resources were being sent to Persian kings.
9:38 (10:1) “Because of all of this we are entering into a binding covenant in written form; our leaders, our Levites, and our priests have affixed their names on the sealed document.”
Israel established a new written covenant with God. It would not last very long. Israel would violate the new covenant very quickly. The details of this written convenant were record in chapter ten. Nehemiah, the political leaders, the Levites, and the priests all signed the written document.