Neville Goddard on Ezra 9:3-6 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ezra 9 in context

Scripture Focus

3And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

4Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

5And 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,

6And 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 9:3-6

Biblical Context

Ezra hears of the transgression, tears his clothes, and sits in astonishment. He then confesses and seeks mercy before God.

Neville's Inner Vision

Ezra’s scene is a drama of consciousness. When you hear the disturbing whisper of error in your inner temple, you ‘rent’ the garment of stale self-image and let the hair of pride fall away. The assembly that gathers represents the moments in you that tremble at the words of the God of Israel—the inner law that judges and exposes, the very standard by which you measure your worth. You sit astonied until the evening sacrifice, not because God is distant, but because the state of your mind is moved from clinging to identity to surrender. At the evening sacrifice you rise from heaviness and fall on your knees, extending hands to the Lord your God—an act of turning toward the I AM, not begging for favor but aligning with the truth that your being is God in expression. Then comes the confession: 'O my God, I am ashamed... for our iniquities are increased over our head.' In Neville psychology, this is the moment you acknowledge a state that has become outrageous only because you believed it. You replace that old image with the truth of your indwelling mercy.