“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.”
From the days of our ancestors until now we have been in great guilt, and because of our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to utter shame. The prayer connects the present intermarriage crisis to the broader pattern of covenant violation that led to the exile, suggesting that the intermarriage represents a recurrence of the idolatry and unfaithfulness that caused the destruction of the first temple. The recitation of the exile as divine punishment establishes that the community\'s present situation results from its failure to maintain covenant fidelity. This verse demonstrates the post-exilic theological conviction that history teaches lessons about covenant obedience and disobedience.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000
No notes on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!