Ezra 9:1 ¶ Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
Ezra 9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
It seems that some of the Jewish leaders came to Ezra to confess that there were many among the returning remnant that had not maintained separation from the heathen nations in the matter of marriage and were taking part in some of their morally disgusting (from the Hebrew for “abominations”) practices. Even some of the priests and Levites were guilty of this. The leaders then admitted that some of the recognized leaders among them were the lead offenders.
I would imagine this action was a response to Ezra’s teaching of God’s law since he had been there over four months by this time.
Ezra 9:3 And 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.
Ezra 9:4 Then 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.
Ezra 9:5 ¶ And 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,
When Ezra heard their report, he responded by tearing his garments and pulling out his hair and beard, acts of one in distress or mourning. He sat down stunned with devastation (from Hebrew for “astonied”). Those men that recognized the seriousness of their transgression in reference to God’s law gathered around Ezra. At the time of the evening sacrifice, Ezra finally got up only to fall back on his knees and spread out his hands in prayer before the LORD “my God.”
Such a simple truth, but oh so important—to know God as your God, the one to whom you have surrendered as the authority in your life. That is what provides one with the privilege to approach God in prayer.
Thought: Is my response to sin in any way comparable to the grief and despair it caused Ezra?
Wiersbe: “One of the maladies of society today is that people are no longer shocked by sin and therefore are not willing to do something about it. Leaders can flagrantly break the law and not only get away with it but be admired by the public and be elected to office again.”
I liked the application made by Ironside: “It is far easier to stand aside and point out the low state of the rest—even to withdraw altogether from their company—than to emulate Ezra who, by his personal faithfulness, lifted the whole company to a higher plane. There will be less trouble, less perplexity, less concern, if one simply turns away and leaves the rest to go on as they will; but God is not, thereby glorified nor are failing saints recovered.”
Ezra 9:6 And 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 9:7 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.
Ezra 9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
Ezra 9:9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
Ezra’s prayer (my paraphrase): My God, I am ashamed to have to come before You and admit that we have sinned greatly. We have such a long history of continued sin and realize that is why You delivered us into the hands of heathen kings and into captivity. In Your gracious mercy, You allowed this remnant to return to the land You gave us to once again establish our roots with hope for the future and relief from bondage. Through it all You have never forsaken us. It is through Your mercy that the kings of Persia have supported us in returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. Because of You we get a second chance at having our own homeland.
Ezra 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
Ezra 9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
Ezra 9:12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
Ezra 9:13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
Ezra 9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
Ezra 9:15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
Ezra continued: Now, O our God, we humbly admit that we have yet again disobeyed Your commandments. Though Your word forbade it, we have taken wives for ourselves and our sons from among the heathen people in the land. We have taken part in some of their morally disgusting practices. We know that we deserve far greater punishment than that You have inflicted upon us and surely don’t deserve Your deliverance. We know that we should not again go against Your law and chance making You so angry that You destroy us completely. We know You are righteous! We know it is only by Your mercy that You haven’t already destroyed us. We are ashamed of our sin as we stand before You now.
It is notable that Ezra identifies with the people as he confesses the sin of the people before God. I understand that he is speaking from a mournful heart. Still, it seems he has lost sight of the fact that God would never break His covenants with Abraham or David. He would never completely destroy the people of Israel; He will always preserve a remnant through whom He will fulfill those covenants.
Genesis 17:3–8 “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
2 Samuel 7:8–13 “Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts….when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”
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 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.
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.
Ezra 10:4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
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.
Continuing the narrative from the previous chapter…
After Ezra had prayed in humility with tears, confessing the sins of the people before God, he was surrounded by a great multitude of the people of Israel who joined him in weeping over their sins. Shechaniah, one of the sons of Elam, spoke out for the people. He declared to Ezra that though they had sinned against God by taking heathen wives, they knew that there was still hope for Israel (if they acted quickly to correct the situation is implied). He suggested that they make a covenant with God to put away all their foreign wives and any children to whom they had given birth. This would bring them back in accordance with the law. He urged the people to stand with him in that commitment. Ezra affirmed that course of action and called for all—priests, Levites and all Israelites—to swear that they would do this in accordance with God’s word. And they did.
I know this was an important step of separation and commitment to God, but I have to admit that part of me empathizes with the abandoned wives and children. However, it seems that these women had shown no interest in converting and accepting the God of Israel as their own. It is also obvious that they had encouraged their husbands in sinning against God by accepting their culture instead of choosing to embrace the culture of their husbands.
According to New Testament teaching, the believing spouse is encouraged to stay with the unbelieving spouse in hopes of winning them to Christ.
1 Corinthians 7:10–16 “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?”
The NIV Commentary adds this insight: “’All these women and their children’ reflects the fact that in ancient societies, as often in ours, mothers were given custody of their children when marriages were dissolved.”
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.
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;
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.
Ezra then rose up and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib and fasted as he mourned for the sin of the people. A proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all that had returned from captivity to gather together in Jerusalem in three days. Anyone that chose not to come would forfeit all he owned and be excommunicated.
Gill notes that Johanan was the great-grandson of Joshua, the high priest.
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.
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.
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.
All the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered as commanded. Note is made that it was the 20th day of the 9th month (December/January) that the people sat in the street before the temple. They trembled in fear of the seriousness of their situation and because of the great amount of rain that was pouring down. Commentators note that it was the middle of the rainy season.
Ezra stood up before them and once again identified their sin. He then urged them all to confess their sin to the LORD God of Israel and promise to obey Him and separate themselves from the heathen people of the land and their foreign wives.
Ezra 10:12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
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.
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.
The whole group answered as one that they would do as Ezra had said. The people asked for time to fulfill their promise in light of the rain and all that would be involved in sending the women and children away since so many were involved. They asked that the leaders of the people schedule a time to meet with each one that had taken foreign wives. I would assume this to be to legally affirm a divorce (and I hope provide for the rejected wives and children who were being sent back to their own people). They wanted to make sure that they had done all to avert God’s wrath against them.
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.
Most of the translations imply that these four men stood in opposition to the proposal—Jonathan the son of Asahel, Jahaziah the son of Tikvah, Meshullam and Shabbethai, both Levites.
When I looked at the Hebrew, it seemed like they could have been the ones confirming the proposal—e.g., seconding the motion.
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.
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.
The first part of verse 16 seems to be saying that the people agreed with the four men in affirming Ezra’s proposal. Ezra the priest and some of the recognized family leaders gathered by groups apart on the next day to begin implementing the proposal. They completed the process by the 1st day of the 1st month.
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.
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.
It seems that four of the priests were identified as guilty of taking foreign wives. They promised to divorce their wives and offered a ram as a guilt offering for a sin committed in ignorance.
Leviticus 5:17–19 “And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.”
This seems to support my conclusion that the confession of the people resulted from Ezra’s teaching of the law.
The rest of the chapter is comprised of a list of those guilty of taking foreign wives, noting that some also had children.
Ezra 10:20 And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.
Ezra 10:21 And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.
Ezra 10:22 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
Ezra 10:23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
Ezra 10:24 Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.
Ezra 10:25 Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.
Ezra 10:26 And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.
Ezra 10:27 And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.
Ezra 10:28 Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
Ezra 10:29 And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.
Ezra 10:30 And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.
Ezra 10:31 And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
Ezra 10:32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
Ezra 10:33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
Ezra 10:34 Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,
Ezra 10:35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,
Ezra 10:36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
Ezra 10:37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,
Ezra 10:38 And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,
Ezra 10:39 And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,
Ezra 10:40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
Ezra 10:41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,
Ezra 10:42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
Ezra 10:43 Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.
Ezra 10:44 All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
Guzik offers this closing note: “Ezra here disappears from the Biblical record for about thirteen years, when he appears again in the book of Nehemiah. His passion then was the same as it was at the end of the Book of Ezra: to transform the people of God by bringing them the Word of God.”