Covenant Communities
Unit 1: Leaders in the
Covenant Community
(Lessons 1–4)
Ezra: Priest for the People
September 20
Lesson 3
DEVOTIONAL READING: Psalm 32:1–5
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Ezra 9
PRINTED TEXT: Ezra 9:5–11, 15
Ezra 9:5–11, 15
5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,
6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
8 And now for a little space grace hath been showed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
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15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day; behold, we are before thee in our trespasses; for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
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GOLDEN TEXT: [Ezra] said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee,my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.—Ezra 9:6.
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Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each student will be able to:
1. Summarize Ezra’s reactions when he heard of the sins of his people.
2. Identify the most important element in Ezra’s prayer and tell why that element is so important.
3. Adjust the wording in Ezra’s prayer to make it applicable to today.
How to Say It
ACHAN. Ay-kan.
ASSYRIA. Uh-sear-ee-uh.
BABYLONIAN. Bab-ih-low-nee-un.
CYRUS. Sigh-russ.
DARIUS. Duh-rye-us.
EZRA. Ez-ruh.
MIDIANITES. Mid-ee-un-ites.
NEHEMIAH. Nee-huh-my-uh(strong accent on my).
PENTECOST. Pent-ih-kost.
PERSIA. Per-zhuh.
PILATE. Pie-lut.
Nickelson, Ronald L., and Jonathan Underwood, eds. The KJV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2009–2010. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2009. Print.
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