In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-one of Ezra, Ezra shared about, “all such as had separated themselves” where we read,
And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,
The verse reads, “And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, ...” Ezra began with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and was the name for the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “which were come again” which means “who returned and came back to Jerusalem” “out of captivity” or “from being exiled in Babylon”. Ezra mentioned every one of the offspring and progeny belonging to “Israel” who returned to Jerusalem after being exiled in Babylon.
The verse goes on to say, “... and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land,” Ezra continued with the words, “and all such as had separated themselves unto them” which means “and each, every, the whole and every person whether male or female who divided, severed and set apart their own selves” “from the filthiness” or “apart from the uncleanness, religious impurity and foul mass” “of the heathen” which means “pertaining to the non-Hebrew, foreign and Gentile nations” “of the land” or “belonging to the country, territory, district and region”.Ezra included every one of the people who set apart their own selves from the religious impurity belonging to the foreigners within the region and non-Hebrew Gentile nations.
Finally the verse says, “... to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat, ...” Ezra concluded this verse with the words, “to seek the LORD God” which means “to search for, inquire of and make inquisition of Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True Supreme Deity” “of Israel” or “belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name for the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “did eat” which means “consumed, devoured and ate of the passover meal”. Ezra ended this verse by sharing how everyone who “separated themselves” from the religious practices and impurities of the foreign and heathen nations consumed the “passover meal” presented by the “priests and Levites”.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how everyone who purified themselves from the filth of the world were invited to eat the passover meal with the children of Israel. God's invitation is to the entire world to humble themselves, repent of their sins and “come and dine” with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of everyone. God loves us, and His salvation is available to everyone. When we believe and trust in Jesus as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we will be able to live in Heaven with Him forever and ever. This was the purpose of the “passover meal” which was a picture of His Son Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the world.
Next time Ezra shares how the children of Israel, “kept the feast of unleavened bread”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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