Ezra 10:1-19
EZRA 10:1
Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed,
weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto
him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for
the people wept very sore.
Ezra had prayed and confessed the sins of the people, in
tears and he prostrated himself before the house of God.
The word had quickly spread that a great man of God was in distress as he
was weeping before the temple. Then
a very large congregation of people including women and children had come to the
site where Ezra was praying and he must have told them that Israel was once
again in sin against the LORD which caused the people in attendance to begin to
weep as if they were in mourning or making lamentation which is the meaning of
the word sore.
EZRA 10:2
And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons
of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and
have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in
Israel concerning this thing.
Then Shechaniah spoke to Ezra, first to recognize that
Israel had sinned against the LORD by taking strange or foreign wives of the
different countries which were servers of false gods.
He then reassures Ezra that the situation is not hopeless and something
can be done about it to correct that situation.
EZRA 10:3
Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put
away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my
lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be
done according to the law.
He had suggested to Ezra that they make a covenant with
God to put away or divorce all the strange wives which they took.
This would also include the removal of the children with the foreign
wives. Then they looked to Ezra for
counsel in this matter since he was the one who was a ruler in charge under the
king of Persia. Then those who
feared breaking the commandment of the LORD would give their approval to
whatever was decided by the leaders but it had to be done according to the law
of God.
EZRA 10:4
Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee:
we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
They asked Ezra to arise from his prostrated position and
to take the matter in his hands since he was a priest and a skillful scribe of
the law of God. Just as God
reassured Joshua to be of good courage when he brought the people into the
promised land, now the people are saying the same thing to Ezra that he is to be
of good courage and do what must be done.
EZRA 10:5
Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites,
and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they
sware.
Then Ezra arose and compelled the chief priests, Levites,
and all the congregation of Israel that they would completely obey the word of
God on this matter which was to put away the strange wives and the children.
They all swore they would obey.
EZRA 10:6
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went
into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came
thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the
transgression of them that had been carried away.
Then Ezra departed from the house of God and went into
the chamber of Johanan who was of the family of the High Priest Eliashib.
He never became a High Priest but he was a person of note who had a
chamber in the temple. Ezra
continued his fasting in the house of Johanan.
He did not eat or drink anything from the time that he first heard about
the transgression of the people returning from Babylon.
EZRA 10:7
And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem
unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves
together unto Jerusalem;
Then a major proclamation was made which went throughout
the outlying villages of Judah and in Jerusalem that all were to gather
themselves inside Jerusalem.
EZRA 10:8
And that whosoever would not come within three days,
according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should
be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been
carried away.
Everyone was given three days to come to Jerusalem which
was a decree by the princes and elders.
Then there was a serious consequence added to the counsel that if anyone
did not show up, then all their goods will be forfeited and the person
themselves were to be separated from the congregation of Judah which returned
from Babylon. If any substances
were forfeited or confiscated, it would all be placed in the treasury of the
temple. Basically this was a decree
of excommunication form the congregation of Judah and from involvement with the
temple concerning feasts and sacrifices.
EZRA 10:9
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered
themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth
month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the
street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the
great rain.
Then after receiving the proclamation, all the members of
the tribes of Benjamin and Judah had assembled themselves in Jerusalem.
This was the ninth month which was the month of Chisleu which corresponds
to our November/December. They had
all gathered on a street which was probably the east street which led up to the
temple.
And he brought in the priests and the
Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, (2 Chronicles 29:4)
Then those people who were guilty of marrying strange wives were
trembling because they feared that the LORD was going to exact some kind of
punishment upon them. Then there
came a great rain which was out of season.
The former rain had fallen about a month earlier and many interpreted
this rain fall as a sign of the displeasure of God over their transgression.
EZRA 10:10
And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have
transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
Then Ezra stood up and spoke to the congregation and told
them that they had transgressed the law of God by marrying strange wives who
were idolatrous persons having grown up under false religions.
This increased the trespass of Israel as Ezra now includes those sins
which were committed causing them to go into captivity for seventy years.
EZRA 10:11
Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your
fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the
land, and from the strange wives.
Now he tells them to make confession of their sins and
trespasses against the LORD and then they were to do his pleasure which means
they were now to do the will of God by obeying him in this matter.
They were now to make a complete break from any covenants or deals they
made with the people of Canaan and they were to separate themselves from the
foreign wives they married. The
purity of the lineage of Israel must be regained according to the law of God.
They must put a difference between the holy and the profane which is what
got them into trouble in the first place.
Her priests have violated my law,
and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy
and profane, neither have they shewed
difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes
from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. (Ezekiel 22:26)
EZRA 10:12
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud
voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
Then all the congregation had answered with a loud voice
that what was commanded of them to do, they agreed to do it.
In fact their answer was more strong as they stated “so must we
do.” It was not an option but a
command.
EZRA 10:13
But the people are many, and it is a time
of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a
work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.
Then reality sets in as they now realize the
transgression was committed by many more people than they thought.
Since it was raining very hard and long, the people could not stand in
the street for the time needed to begin weeding out the transgressors.
They realized that the work would not be done in just one or two days as
it was a huge project and needed to be coordinated and then the plan enacted.
EZRA 10:14
Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let
all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times,
and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce
wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
Just as the rulers of the land were bad examples to the
people in transgressing the law of God, let them come forward and be the first
ones to stand and face their transgression.
The leaders, elders, and judges were the first to appear before Ezra.
They had created an appointment system where people would come at the time
appointed for them so this matter could be settled in a coordinated manner and
in this way no one would be overlooked or fall through the cracks of the system.
This was to continue until all the unlawful marriages were dissolved so
they could avoid the wrath of God upon them again.
EZRA 10:15
Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of
Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the
Levite helped them.
To see that the matter was conducted properly, Jonathan
and Jahaziah were the two that were appointed to adjudicate the matter and to
investigate each of the marriages to see if they were against the law of God.
Jonathan and Jahaziah may have been priests and two Levites were assigned
to help them, Meshullam and Shabbethai.
Each family had to be investigated individually because the probability
existed that some of the wives may have become proselytes unto the law of God.
EZRA 10:16
And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the
priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their
fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in
the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.
The children of the captivity, those who returned from
Babylon had appeared at their appointed times and had separated themselves from
the strange wives. Then to make
sure this matter was settled properly, Ezra along with certain elders who were
chiefs in their family lines were separated, that is, in this instance they were
completely dedicated to this matter to examine the people and make their
decisions upon evidence. They
commenced this search on the first day of the tenth month which was Tebeth which
corresponds to our December/January.
EZRA 10:17
And they made an end with all the men that had taken
strange wives by the first day of the first month.
So they completed the search with all the men who had
married foreign wives by the first day of the first month which was Nisan that
corresponds to our March/April which means they worked this search for about
three months.
EZRA 10:18
And among the sons of the priests there were found that
had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of
Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
It seems all the classes of the people in Israel were
guilty of marrying strange wives.
The sons of Jeshua who was the High Priest and probably for not stopping his
sons from marrying strange wives, he is recorded in Zechariah as having filthy
garments.
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy
garments, and stood before the angel. (Zechariah 3:3)
So all the sons of Jeshua married strange wives and it seems the whole
family transgressed the law of God.
Of all people, the High Priest should have known better.
EZRA 10:19
And they gave their hands that they would put away their
wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their
trespass.