11Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.

Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,

12Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,

Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,

13Who led them through the depths?

Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;

14As the cattle which go down into the valley,

The Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.

So You led Your people,

To make for Yourself a glorious name.

“You Are Our Father”

15Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation;

Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds?

The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.

16For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us

And Israel does not recognize us.

You, O Lord, are our Father,

Our Redeemer from of old is Your name.

17Why, O Lord, do You cause us to stray from Your ways

And harden our heart from fearing You?

Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.

18Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while,

Our adversaries have trodden it down.

19We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,

Like those who were not called by Your name.

Benediction

20Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1) Why does Moses invite others to join the journey?

2) How does the Ark symbolize יהוה’s leadership?

3) What does it mean to walk in His rest?

Lament for Babylon

1“Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.

2Take the millstones and grind meal.

Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

3Your nakedness will be uncovered,

Your shame also will be exposed;

I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”

4Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5“Sit silently, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called

The queen of kingdoms.

6I was angry with My people,

I profaned My heritage

And gave them into your hand.

You did not show mercy to them,

On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not consider

Nor remember the outcome of them.

8“Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,

Who dwells securely,

Who says in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.

I will not sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

9But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many sorceries,

In spite of the great power of your spells.

10You felt secure in your wickedness and said,

‘No one sees me,’

Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;

For you have said in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

11But evil will come on you

Which you will not know how to charm away;

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone;

And destruction about which you do not know

Will come on you suddenly.

12“Stand fast now in your spells

And in your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit,

Perhaps you may cause trembling.

13You are wearied with your many counsels;

Let now the astrologers,

Those who prophesy by the stars,

Those who predict by the new moons,

Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

14Behold, they have become like stubble,

Fire burns them;

They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;

There will be no coal to warm by

Nor a fire to sit before!

15So have those become to you with whom you have labored,

Who have trafficked with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own way;

There is none to save you.

Reconciliation with God

1Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. 2Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”

5Then Ezra rose and made the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath. 6Then Ezra rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, he did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. 7They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

9So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain. 10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. 11Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, “That’s right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do. 13But there are many people; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.” 15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.

16But the exiles did so. And Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers’ households for each of their father’s households, all of them by name. So they convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month.

List of Offenders

18Among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense. 20Of the sons of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah; 21and of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah; 22and of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.

23Of Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.

24Of the singers there was Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri.

25Of Israel, of the sons of Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah and Benaiah; 26and of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah; 27and of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza; 28and of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai; 29and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth; 30and of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh; 31and of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah; 33of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei; 34of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, 38Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42Shallum, Amariah and Joseph. 43Of the sons of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. 44All these had married foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Give Heed

1For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

Earth Subject to Man

5For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6But one has testified somewhere, saying,

“What is man, that You remember him?

Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him?

7You have made him for a little while lower than the angels;

You have crowned him with glory and honor,

And have appointed him over the works of Your hands;

8You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

Jesus Briefly Humbled

9But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

10For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. 11For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12saying,

“I will proclaim Your name to My brethren,

In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

13And again,

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.