Ezra 10 can be a troubling chapter for many to read and digest. It wrestles with a very challenging situation. Yahweh told His people not to intermarry with others that had been in the promised land before he delivered it to them. There were good reasons as He knew intermarrying with these pagans would compromise and blend the way His people were living so that it would no longer be focused solely on His ways and relationship with Him. It would lead to separation between the people and their God.
After the exiles returned to Jerusalem, there were quite a few who intermarried with the people there. This came to the surface before Ezra, and we see a collective recognition that this was wrong and needs to be addressed. Ultimately it is addressed by those who intermarried “putting away” their wives. This is where the conflict comes up for most of us and we will explore some scripture below. Once married, and some with children, it is hard for us today to conclude that putting away the wives is the right solution. At least for that specific situation, the scriptures present it as an acceptable or appropriate answer. We are left to reconcile and reflect on that, hopefully to ultimately draw us nearer to the LORD.
For all of this, however, remember there was specific command not to intermarry in this specific situation. There is also a general principle that intermarrying with people of different spiritual beliefs or faiths is not acceptable.
Ezra 10
Reconciliation with God
1Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. 2Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3“So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4“Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”
5Then Ezra rose and made the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath. 6Then Ezra rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, he did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. 7They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain. 10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. 11“Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, “That’s right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do. 13“But there are many people; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14“Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.” 15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.
16But the exiles did so. And Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers’ households for each of their father’s households, all of them by name. So they convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month.
List of Offenders
18Among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense. 20Of the sons of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah; 21and of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah; 22and of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.
23Of Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.
24Of the singers there was Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri.
25Of Israel, of the sons of Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah and Benaiah; 26and of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah; 27and of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza; 28and of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai; 29and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth; 30and of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh; 31and of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah; 33of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei; 34of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, 38Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42Shallum, Amariah and Joseph. 43Of the sons of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. 44All these had married foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
There are some clear themes. Put Yahweh first. Obey His commandments, and it is really important to do so. If you are in disobedience to His instructions, even in something very dear or important to you, turn back to His ways and repent. There should be nothing more precious to you than Yahweh. We have strength when we come together as a community to address sin that is pervasive in our culture. We are to be fully submitted to Yahweh. Not only should our own sin weigh heavy on us if we do not repent, but also the sin of our community or nation as well. This is harder when essentially living in exile within a nation that by and large is clearly not committed to living according to God’s ways. I would emphasize again that this issue of marriage highlighted here is not an absolute about marrying someone from another geography or nation or skin color. It has to do with intermarrying against God’s command with the specific group of pagans who inhabited the promised land and whose worship and faith were in conflict with the commands of Yahweh.
I do not try to claim that how the people responded in Ezra 10 is the absolute answer to marriages today where we find ourselves divided in our faith. There is clearly a warning not to intermarry with someone of a different faith. However, if that has already happened, or if one spouse comes to Yahweh through Yeshua after marriage, we find ourselves in a different situation. Paul speaks to this in 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17
14Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
16Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
17“Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord.
“AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
And I will welcome you.
1 Corinthians 7:10-16
10But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband 11(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
12But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. 14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. 15Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. 16For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
There is a bit of an important twist in differentiating in verses 10 and 12 what instruction is from God and what is from Paul. There is a difference, of course.
For reference, I am also including:
Deuteronomy 7:1-6
1“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to take possession of it, and He drives away many nations from before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, 2and when the LORD your God turns them over to you and you defeat them, you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant with them nor be gracious to them. 3Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them: you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4For they will turn your sons away from following Me, and they will serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5But this is what you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, smash their memorial stones, cut their Asherim to pieces, and burn their carved images in the fire. 6For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His personal possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Clearly there is a lot to digest here. Take time to consider it and reflect on it. Even if you can’t get full clarity on all of it, remember the core principles highlighted above to help avoid getting into this type of difficult situation. Seek the LORD for wisdom for any specific situation you may be experiencing. Seek wise and godly counsel as well.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, I pray You would lead Your people in holiness in regards to marriage. Unite Your people that they would draw near to one another and stand together. Let us remain distinct and apart from others around us who do not know or follow You. Please help us so that our daughters and sons are not led away from You through marriage, but rather strengthened through marriage in their pursuit of Your ways and a relationship with You. Amen.
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
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