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7.55 Ezra-Nehemiah -- Summary of Ezra-Nehemiah Racial Teachings

          a.  God works through non-Jewish kings and empires to direct the destiny of Israel.
          b.  Compromise and lack of boundaries derail the upbuilding of God's nation.
          c.  A commendable and necessary zeal for religious purity may dovetail with racist rejection of all foreigners.
          d.  It is easy to confuse moral zeal and racial homogeneity: this leads to supremacy and self-righteousness.
          e.  Even those who are duly certified as racially and religiously acceptable quickly fall into moral sin (eg., the priests and Levites who married foreign women).
          f.  An exclusive focus on internal upbuilding of the righteous community may lead to a complete neglect of God's plan for the larger world.  
          g. The type of Judaism exemplified by Ezra-Nehemiah rejects any forms of Gentile participation and inclusion.

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