Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.
A three-day summons brought every returned exile to Jerusalem, into the open square by the temple, in the winter rain of the ninth month. They trembled for two reasons — the sin now being dealt with, and the downpour — and commentators see God at work in both.
A summons that restored discipline
The people did not simply drift in. Anyone who stayed away was to be cut off, and one writer sees in that firmness the return of something long abandoned.
H. L. RossierThe energy of a few no longer tolerates any disobedience among the people. All must submit themselves. Anyone who refuses is counted as "wicked" and is cut off from the assembly... The people's moral slackness had completely neglected and stopped this discipline. Now it is exercised according to God.
Trembling on two counts
One writer keeps the outward misery and the inward grief together.
Edward DennettAll came, "all the men of Judah and Benjamin," in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. It must have been a striking scene, easy to picture... Their physical discomfort only added to the sorrow within.
Another writer notes the season, and offers a careful guess at what the rain may have said to them.
Michael HardtThey tremble because of "this matter" and because of the bad weather (it was in the middle of the rainy season). Perhaps the heavy rainfalls reminded them of God's judgement, but in any case they certainly added to their discomfort.
Why no one pushed back
The order would break up their own homes, yet no one fought it. One writer traces that back to Ezra.
Leslie M. GrantPerhaps it was Ezra's prayer and self-judgment that kept the people from resisting this order, for generally those who have sunk into evil are stubborn enough to resist any reproof. But God was working, as He always does in response to faith and self-judgment.
The rain as a real obstacle
The work could not be finished in a day. One writer finds God's patience in the delay.
H. L. RossierSometimes material difficulties oppose immediate purification. This could not be "a task for one day or for two", for the evil was widespread and, as everyone confessed, "we have greatly transgressed in this matter". In this way God makes them understand that it is harder to repair evil than to commit it. But He is full of patience and mercy, and He takes account of the heart's decision. He knows that the guilty are not looking for loopholes, and that they truly want to obey.
From trembling to separation
Trembling was not the end of it. Ezra told them to confess and to separate — and one writer finds the force of the chapter in the order he named.
Edward DennettToo often the soul deceives itself even by confession — confession without judging the sin... The order of the separation is also most instructive — "from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives." Marrying the foreign wives had been the sin, so you might expect these to be named first. But what had led to these marriages? Keeping company with the peoples of the land. This was the root of the trouble, so Ezra deals with it first. In every departure from God it is the same: until you find the root, nothing is gained and restoration is impossible.
Another writer shows what each half looks like without the other.
F. B. HoleIt is sadly possible to confess wrongdoing and yet go on with it in more subtle and hidden ways. It is also possible to see that a certain kind of wrongdoing does not pay, and to give it up, without ever confessing that it was wrong. But when the conviction of sin is genuine, a person first confesses the sin, and then forsakes it, as Proverbs 28:13 plainly indicates.
Summary
- Summons. A three-day deadline brought every man of Judah and Benjamin to Jerusalem. Discipline long neglected was at work again.
- Trembling. Two things shook them at once — the sin now being dealt with, and the winter downpour. The outward misery deepened the grief inside.
- Softening. They came without resisting. One writer credits Ezra's own prayer and self-judgment; God works in answer to that.
- Patience. The rain made same-day cleansing impossible. God used the delay to teach that evil is harder to repair than to commit, and He took account of their hearts.
- Separation. Confession alone deceives. It must be joined to forsaking. Ezra named the root first — company with the peoples of the land, not just the marriages it produced.