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Royalty and Ruin
On the tenth day of the seventh month the priests performed
the services of the Day of Atonement. From the fifteenth to the
twentysecond of the month the people and their rulers kept the Feast
of Tabernacles. “In all their cities and in Jerusalem ... the people
... made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or
in their court-yards or the courts of the house of God. ... And there
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was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day until
the last day, [Ezra] read from the Book of the Law of God.”
As they had listened from day to day to the words of the law, the
people had been convicted of their nation’s sins in past generations.
It was because they had departed from God that He had withdrawn
His protecting care and the children of Abraham had been scattered
in foreign lands. Now they determined to pledge themselves to walk
in His commandments. Before entering into this solemn service,
they separated themselves from the heathen among them.
Their leaders encouraged them to believe that, according to His
promise, God heard their prayers. They must not only repent, they
must believe that God pardoned them. They must show their faith
by praising Him for His goodness. “Stand up,” said these teachers,
“and bless the Lord your God.”
Then from the great assembly, standing with hands outstretched
toward heaven, arose the song:
“Blessed be Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
You alone are the Lord; ...
The host of heaven worships You.”
When the song ended, the leaders related the history of Israel,
showing how great had been God’s goodness and how great their
ingratitude. They had suffered punishment for their sins. Now
they acknowledged God’s justice and pledged to obey His law. They
wrote out a memorial of the obligation they had taken on themselves,
and the priests, Levites, and princes signed it as a reminder of their
duty and a barrier against temptation. The people took a solemn
oath “to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord,
and His ordinances and His statutes.” The oath included a promise
not to intermarry with the people of the land.