Question 1

Why was Ezra weeping and casting himself down before the house of God?

Accepted Answer

Ezra was deeply troubled because many of the returned Israelites, including leaders, had married women from the surrounding nations, which God had forbidden. He had already prayed and confessed this sin to God, admitting how serious it was. His weeping and lying face down in front of the house of God showed how heavy this guilt lay on his heart. He was not acting for show but was honestly broken over the people’s unfaithfulness and the danger of God’s anger. His open sorrow helped the people see how serious their sin really was.

Question 2

Who is Shechaniah in this passage and why is his response important?

Accepted Answer

Shechaniah is introduced as the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam. He seems to be one of the men who had come back from Babylon with Ezra, and his own family was involved in the sin of marrying foreign wives. Even though he himself is not listed among the offenders, he includes himself with the guilty and says, “We have trespassed against our God.” His response is important because he does not only confess the sin, he also points to hope and proposes a clear step of obedience. He urges Ezra to lead, and he promises that others will stand with him.

Question 3

What does it mean that Israel made a covenant to put away strange wives?

Accepted Answer

Making a covenant here means that the people bound themselves before God by a solemn promise and oath. They agreed together that, because these marriages to foreign women were against God’s law, they would send those wives away, along with the children born from those unions. This was not a light or casual decision but a serious act of repentance meant to undo, as far as possible, what had been done wrong. They wanted what they did to be clearly based on God’s command, not on their own ideas, so it would be “according to the law.”

Question 4

Why did Shechaniah say, “Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing”?

Accepted Answer

Shechaniah knew the sin was real and serious, but he also saw signs of God’s mercy. The people were gathered, they were weeping, and Ezra was openly confessing on their behalf. This showed that hearts were being touched and that a spirit of repentance had begun. Because the sin was being faced instead of hidden, he could say there was hope. Hope here means there was a real chance for change and forgiveness, if they followed through in obedience. The trouble they felt over their sin was not meant to crush them forever, but to lead them back to God.

Question 5

Why did Ezra make the chief priests, Levites, and all Israel swear an oath?

Accepted Answer

Ezra knew that strong feelings in a moment could fade quickly. The people were moved to tears, and Shechaniah had urged a clear plan of repentance. To keep this from slipping away, Ezra had the leaders and the people take an oath that they would actually do what had been proposed. Swearing in this way made them answerable before God for following through. It turned good intentions into a binding promise. This helped guard against delay or excuses later, and it showed that they took God’s law and their own words seriously.

Question 6

What does this passage teach about true repentance from sin?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows that true repentance is more than feeling sad. Ezra’s grief and the people’s weeping were real, but the story does not stop there. Shechaniah admits the sin without trying to soften it. Then he calls for a concrete step that matches the confession: putting away the foreign wives that had been taken against God’s command. They also bind themselves with a covenant and an oath. So repentance here includes seeing the sin clearly, grieving over it, turning back to God with hope in his mercy, and then taking hard but obedient actions that fit that change of heart.

Question 7

Why is this passage difficult when it talks about putting away wives and children?

Accepted Answer

Many people find this passage hard because it involves families being broken apart. The men had married women from the surrounding nations against God’s clear command, and children had been born. The solution they agree on seems severe. This wording has been read in different ways, but in the passage itself the focus is on how serious the disobedience was and how far they were willing to go to turn from it. It shows how deeply God cared that his people not be led away into false worship. It also reminds us that sin can have painful consequences that are not easily undone.

Question 8

How does Ezra’s example as a leader speak to spiritual leadership today?

Accepted Answer

Ezra does not stand at a distance from the people’s sin. He is personally broken over it, prays honestly, and lets his sorrow be seen. This moves others, and when someone else brings wise counsel, he listens and acts. He does not only weep; he also leads the people in a hard but needed reformation, and he does it in line with God’s law, not his own ideas. His example shows a leader who fears God, feels the weight of sin, is open to help from others, and then has the courage to guide people into costly obedience rather than easy words.

Question 9

What was happening among the people when Shechaniah told Ezra to arise and be of good courage?

Accepted Answer

Ezra was still on the ground, crushed and weeping over the people’s unfaithfulness. A very great crowd had gathered around him, and they were also weeping. The sin had been exposed, and the people were shaken. At that point, Shechaniah steps forward and tells Ezra to arise because this matter belongs to him. He reminds Ezra of his calling as a priest and a teacher of the law, and he promises that others will stand with him. In other words, it was time to move from grief to action, trusting that God had given Ezra both the place and the help needed to lead.

Ezra 10:1

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

Shecaniah’s Encouragement

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Ezra 10:1

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

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Shecaniah’s Encouragement

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