Ezra Chapters 9-10 Commentary by Mark Dunagan

Ezra Chapters 9-10

Chapter 9

9:1 “Ezra’s return had a profound effect on the people of Israel. The man who was devoted to the accurate teaching of the Law became the focal point of a major reform, this occurred less than five months after his arrival cf. 7:9 with 10:9). ‘The leaders came to me’, suggests that these were men who had previously returned to the land under Zerubbabel and had established themselves as leaders and had looked into the problem. Ezra’s return may have pricked their consciences as they reflected on the Law of God. They realized that something had to be done about the situation if the nation was to enjoy fellowship with the Lord. Outward sacrifice was fine, but only if it was accompanied by an inward conformity to the Word of God (Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. pp. 668-669). We need to be impressed how the righteous life of one man can prick the hearts of other people. In addition, Ezra must have been preaching (7:10) the truth. “It had thrown new light not only on a tolerated evil but on the high calling of this community as a holy race (Exodus 19:6; Malachi 2:15)” (Kidner p. 68). Verse 1 makes it clear that many Jews had married foreign women and had adopted some pagan practices in the process. 9:1-2 The Israelites had intermarried with their Gentile neighbors, and the supposed leaders among the Jews had often been the leaders in this spiritual compromise. One of God’s prohibitions was that His people were not to marry pagans (Exodus 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-4). The Old Testament did not completely forbid intermarriage with foreigners, as seen in the book of Ruth. But when it would involve a compromise of faith or practice, intermarriage with the pagan peoples of Canaan (or any other pagan people) was forbidden. “This was not because of racial difference, for the peoples of the surrounding areas were of the same Semitic race. The reason was strictly religious. If God’s people married

outside Israel they would be tempted (as was Solomon in1 Kings 11:3-5) to get caught up in pagan idolatrous worship” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 669). Here is the real test of one’s faithfulness to God. If these Jews would break this aspect of God’s Law which governed the most intimate of human relationships then they would probably also break the Law in other less intimate human relationships. 9:3 Ezra’s response here is typical of the response of godly people in the Old Testament (Numbers 14:6; Joshua 7:6; Esther 4:1; Job 1:20). Ezra knew that it was for just this sort of sin that his nation had gone into captivity (7). Do we mourn over the sins and compromises of God’s professed people? Do we take the sins of others this seriously? (1 Corinthians 5:1ff) Do we ever express moral outrage? 9:4 Honest hearts tremble when they realize that the congregation is in sin. The time of the evening sacrifice was about 3:00 p.m. The word “appalled”, means to be “reduced to shuddering”. “Rare is the soul who is so shocked at disobedience that he is appalled” (Gaebelein p. 664). Note that people trembled at Ezra’s preaching of the Word. “It denotes an attitude of openness to what God says and a readiness to obey” (Breneman p. 150). “Those who tremble at the Word of God will tremble at human sin. Today’s spirit of acceptance and broad-mindedness has much to learn from Ezra’s immoderate godliness” (p. 151). 9:5 Ezra now turns to God in prayer, believing that God hears and answers of the prayers of righteous men (James 5:16ff).

Ezra’s Prayer of Confession 9:6 Ezra hadn’t sinned, but he identifies himself with the people (“our guilt”). Shame and embarrassment should be the proper response to sin among God’s people. Ever since God had delivered the nation from Egyptian bondage, Israel had been like an unfaithful wife. “Longing for the flesh pots of Egypt (Exodus 16:3), committing whoredoms with the daughters of Moab (Numbers 25:1-2), and clamouring to be like the nations about them (1 Samuel 8:19-20). Now only barely having severed her umbilical cord from Babylon, she is up to her old sinful ways again. No wonder it brought a blush to Ezra’s face to once again approach God for mercy!” (Winters p. 53). When we get involved in sin, we are always in over our heads. Note, Ezra couldn’t view this as a little thing. He believed

that the guilt from these unscriptural marriages reached to the heavens. “Ezra felt both an inner shame before God and an outward humiliation before men for the sins of his people” (Gaebelein p. 665). 9:7 “The language of bombast and self-glorification which is characteristic, for example, of the Assyrian records, contrasts remarkably with the acknowledgment of national failure which runs through the writing of the Hebrew historians” (Gaebelein pp. 665-666). 9:8-10 Ezra feels that God’s people have abused God’s mercy and patience. Ezra had a high sense of the glory they had betrayed, and he could not be reconciled to what they had become. He was acutely conscious of God’s undeserved mercy, for the very fact that any remnant had survived was proof of it. God’s people, after such tremendous and amazing grace and mercy, had turned immediately to the very things God had forbidden. Truly, what could Ezra say? God had not forsaken His people, even in their captivity. He had caused a trio of Persian kings— Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes to show favor toward the Jews. The newly rebuilt temple was standing proof that God had extended His lovingkindness and favor to them. How do we view our sins? In view of the tremendous price paid for our salvation (John 3:16), and the fact that God gave us many chances to repent (2 Peter 3:9), how can we justify any transgression of His law? Are we ashamed when we yield to temptation? Is confession too easy and casual? Are we embarrassed to ask God for additional mercy? Is our view of grace too casual, that is, do we justify a habitual sin by saying, “Oh well, even Christians sin, and it’s God’s job to forgive us”? 9:11-12 Several reasons are given here as to why this was such a big deal. First of all, the command which these people had violated was very clear, it was very well known, and it was very old. No one could plead ignorance. The commandment had even been explained (9:11). No one could plead that this command was unreasonable, arbitrary, or unfair. The words “unclean”, “abominations”, and “impurity” describe the practices or lifestyle of heathen peoples. The commandment was specific (9:12). 9:13 Their punishment in captivity had been mercifully light compared to their sins. See Psalm 103:10. 9:14 Ezra really believed that God had every right and reason to wash His hands of this community, as He had once threatened to do with an earlier generation (Exodus 32:10).

9:15 He also had learned the lesson of Joshua 7, that is, sin in the camp prevents the entire nation from having a right relationship with God. The same lesson is found in 1 Corinthians 5:1ff and Revelation chapters 2-3. When a congregation tolerates sin, the entire congregation is indicted. That is one reason why we need to impress upon people who are in apostatizing congregations that they need to deal with the error or leave. We cannot simply say, “Well, the congregation is in sin, but that is the sole responsibility of the elders”.

Chapter 10 10:1 Someone must take the lead. Nothing is accomplished when people try to sweep things under the rug. Ezra’s confession and prayer pricked the hearts of many Israelites. The expression, “throwing himself down”, implies that Ezra kept on throwing himself down. Note that women and children are mentioned. Entire families were involved. 10:2 Finally Shecaniah (shek uh NIGH uh) could stand this no longer. He publicly admitted the fact that sin had been committed through the marriages to foreign wives. Yet in spite of this, he knew there was still hope. 10:3-5 The only answer to sin is repentance, and repentance demands that the sin must be stopped. The only way to stop such a sin is to end these unscriptural marriages. Those who trembled at the Word of God (Isaiah 66:2), those who really took the Bible seriously, would act. 1. Keeping the will of God is more important than anything else, even more important than personal comfort. 2. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16), hence the putting away of such wives wasn’t the same as divorce, because such relationships had been illegal in the first place. When a marriage is contracted that violates Biblical teaching, God doesn’t recognize such as a marriage; that is why some marriages are called “adultery” (Matthew 5:32; 19:9; Romans 7:2-3). Hence, this section is not a choice between which evil is the lesser of two evils (that is, a sinful marriage or sinful divorce). 3. Some have tried to argue that this example has nothing to do with a couple who has violated Matthew 19:9. Actually, it has everything to do with such a passage. This example demonstrates what God expects when His will is violated in the area of marriage, that is, when a marriage is formed that violates His teaching on marriage. How is such

a situation to be rectified? What does repentance require? The Jewish men who had married foreign women had violated Deut. 7:1-4 in forming such marriages. Now, after the fact, what does repentance require, or, in other words, when will God forgive such a sin? It is clear in this context that grace will only be extended when the relationship is ceased, for such a cessation demonstrates that a person truly has repented of such a sinful act. In like manner, what does God require when a person violates Matthew 5:32 or 19:9? What if I marry a woman who doesn’t have a scriptural divorce? What if I leave my wife (without any sexual unfaithfulness on her part) and marry another woman? 5. Note that God required these relationships to cease— even when such relationships had produced children! Also notice what godly men who trembled at the Word of God did not say in this instance! They did not argue that grace would just cover everything. They did not argue that a loving God would not require them to leave such women. They did not argue that they loved these women too much to leave them (that is, they didn’t argue that they loved these women more than they loved God). They did not argue that this was a personal choice which had nothing to do with the community at large. That is, they did not argue that they could fellowship such men—and at the same time be right with God. They did not argue that requiring such a separation was a sin or a forbidding to marry. They did not argue that the sin in marrying such women was a one time act and thus repentance only required a determination not to divorce this foreign wife and marry another. They did not argue that requiring a termination of these relationships was “salvation by works”. I am impressed that when people are really convicted by the Word of God, they are no longer concerned about their own comfort, pleasure, or supposed “rights”. This sin would impact the entire nation, and these men couldn’t let that happen. Are we as concerned about the welfare of the local congregation and the purity of the church for which Jesus died? (Acts 20:28) 10:4 Shecaniah urged the emotionally distraught Ezra to take the lead, however, he promised that those present would back him up. Do we back up the Biblical teaching which sound evangelists and elders proclaim? Do we support our brethren when they must stand for Biblical truth and such a stand is unpopular with the religious or secular culture around us? It takes courage to do what is right. 10:5-6 Here is the heart of someone who really loves God and His people. Ezra could not just view this violation of Scripture from an unemotional and academic point of view. This was real life; these people had sinned against God. “He was sincerely mourning for the returned exiles who had

so soon forgotten why they were punished; now they again were unfaithful to God” (Breneman p. 158). Taking an oath was not a light matter; it bound the oath-taker to do what he had promised. If he did not, he would be punished. “Jehohanan” (jee hoe HAY nuhn) is the same man later named Johanan (Nehemiah 12:23). He was the grandson of Eliashab (e LIE uh shib) (Nehemiah 12:10-11), who was the high priest (13:28). 10:7-9 As the territory of Judah had been greatly reduced, the most distant inhabitants would not be more than fifty miles from Jerusalem. All could travel to Jerusalem within three days. Artaxerxes had given Ezra almost unlimited power to teach and enforce the law of God (7:6). And he here finds it necessary to invoke that authority, threatening to confiscate the property of any who refused to respond by the set date. 10:9 The ninth month would have been our December. “Verse 9 captures for us the shivering misery of the scene” (Kidner p. 71). As the people were gathering, a rainstorm was in progress. “The rain” (plural of intensity), indicates heavy torrential rains. The ninth month is in the middle of the rainy season, which begins with light showers in October and lasts to mid-April. December and January are cold months in Jerusalem, with temperatures averaging in the fifties and the forties. Sometimes in Jerusalem it gets so cold that it snows. 10:10-12 Remember, such foreign wives were not merely foreign, but they were pagan in their beliefs and practices. The Word of God had so convicted the hearts of the listeners that when they heard Ezra’s demand to separate from such women, they spontaneously and with one voice responded, “That’s right!” 10:13-14 Since this sin involved so many people, it was suggested that each man who had married a foreign woman should make an appointment with the elders and judges of his hometown so that the matter could be settled locally. By doing so they would know whether the women involved were worshipers of the Lord or were still involved in pagan worship. 10:15 Four leaders opposed the plan, though it is not clear why. At least one of them, “Meshullam”, had himself married a foreign wife (29). When history is written—where do we want our names recorded? With those who courageously did the right thing or those who opposed the will of God? “There may have been friends or relatives whom some of these four men wished to shelter” (Kidner p. 71).

10:16-44 In just 11 days the examining began. It took three months for all the marriages to be examined, from December-January of 457 to MarchApril of the next year. Obviously the problem was widespread and could not be settled in a day. Ezra wrote nothing concerning what happened to these pagan women or their children, presumably they returned to their families or countries. This account also includes those who had been guilty in this matter. Involved in this serious sin were 17 priests (18-22), 10 Levites, a temple singer, three gatekeepers at the temple (23-24), and 84 others from around the nation. The guilty priests, after getting rid of these wives, also offered a sacrifice for their sin in accord with Leviticus 5:14-15. Yes, this would have been an emotional issue, for families and children were involved. Yet if we really love God we will get more emotional about making sure that God’s Word is followed instead of compromising His will because we are emotional about someone’s personal comfort. The lesson is clear, God comes before all human relationships (Luke 14:26ff). The law of God must be kept, and any transgression of this law is a serious matter. One person’s sin can affect the whole congregation (Acts 5; Joshua 7; 1 Corinthians 5:1ff). Also, do not forget that even pagan wives and children are helped spiritually when God’s people do what is right. Some (like Ruth) may have come to God as a result of witnessing what the heads of families were willing to sacrifice for Him.