It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.
The temple is finished and dedicated, and the returned exiles keep the Passover. But the verse names a second group at the table: people who had joined them after breaking with the uncleanness around them. Two questions follow: who were these newcomers, and why were they welcome?
One Passover, two companies
The chapter names two groups who ate: those who came back from exile, and those who came over to them. One writer sees the first group as a blessing to the second:
The Christian's FriendNow comes the feast, and two classes keep it. First, the children of Israel, who had come again out of captivity. Second, all those who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the land. Notice, these returned ones, the first class, have been a blessing to the second class. Together they eat and keep the feast of unleavened bread with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful.
Grace, not pedigree, at the door
One writer names what opened the door, and the ground the whole company stood on:
The Bible TreasuryGrace welcomed all who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land to seek Jehovah the God of Israel. The strangers are no less welcome than the remnant. It is of all importance to stand on the ground of God's people. That means not pretending to be Israel, when in truth they were a feeble few. It means standing there not in the pride that forgets sin and ruin, but in the faith that holds to the ground which grace gives and keeps, refusing every substitute for it.
Who had joined them
Commentators differ on the identity of this second group. One reads them as Jews, not converts from the nations:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThose who had separated themselves from the filthiness of the heathen were not proselytes — that is, Gentiles who turned to Israel. They were Jews who had married heathen women (10:11). They were true to the written Word.
Another traces them to the people who were never deported at all:
F. B. HoleJeremiah 52:16 tells us that when the great captivity took place, "certain of the poor of the land" were left behind, so that they might be farmers and work the soil. Some of these, or their descendants, cleansed themselves from the evils they had become involved in. They joined in this time of revival and blessing, and so could take part in the feast of unleavened bread.
Separation with a direction
The move here has two halves: away from defilement, and toward the God of Israel.
H. L. RossierSome of the people had stayed in the land through the captivity. Among them, "all who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah the God of Israel" (v. 21) took part in this solemn feast. They did not form part of the testimony in the strict sense, yet they came to associate themselves with true practical holiness. And so they had part in the memorial and the feast.
Why cleanness mattered here
The meal itself explains the requirement:
Michael HardtAll of the priests and the Levites purified themselves (v. 20). Those who had separated themselves "from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel" ate of the Passover. Nothing that dishonours God was to have a place in this feast. It reminded them of that night when God spared those who sheltered under the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12).
The seven days that followed carried the same meaning forward:
H. L. RossierThis feast of unleavened bread is a picture of complete, perpetual sanctification, kept for seven days. Seven is the number of fullness. It stands for the whole course of our life — a life devoted to the One who delivered us by His death, and to the One we belong to.
Redemption remembered, in the land
Where they kept the feast mattered too:
J. N. DarbyThey kept the passover — a proof that the redemption of the people could be remembered in the land. Happy privilege of the restored remnant!
The same ground today
Writers carry the pattern over to the Lord's table today:
H. L. RossierAll Christians who are separated from the world, and from the lifeless profession of Christianity around us, have the right to the Lord's table. Their brothers receive them there with joy.
And the small company must not shrink into itself:
F. B. HoleSome believers may bear a remnant character, in keeping with what we are seeing in the book of Ezra. If so, they must always keep in view the whole Church of God. They must not become wrapped up in themselves, as though others did not count before God.
Summary
- Cleansed — the second group broke with the uncleanness of the nations around them before they ate.
- Joined — separation had a destination. They turned to the returned people and to the God of Israel, and joined themselves to real practical holiness.
- Welcomed — grace opened the feast, not ancestry. The strangers were no less welcome than the remnant.
- Fed — the Passover proved they could still remember redemption in the land. The seven days of unleavened bread picture a whole life given to the One who delivered them.
- Joyful — commentators differ on who these newcomers were, but not on the result: the Lord made them joyful. And a small company like this must keep the whole Church of God in view.