Ezra 10
10:1
A Crowd Joins Ezra
In chapter 9, we saw Ezra learned that many men, including their leaders, had married foreign, pagan, women in contradiction of God’s command not to do so. Ezra dramatically grieved this sin, tearing his clothes and sitting in silent mourning. He prayed, acknowledging to God the sin and ingratitude of Israel.
All day long, Ezra laid on the ground in front of the Temple, weeping and confessing the sin of Israel. Again, note that Ezra had not sinned. But, he grieved over the sins of others, especially in light of God’s goodness to them in allowing them to return to Israel from Persia.
As Ezra grieved, people began to come to him and join him. They wept bitterly. Soon it was a “very great assembly” of men, women, and children. As they saw their leader mourn over sin in the congregation, they too became convicted of sin and join his mourning and grieving.
10:2-4
One Sees Hope
As the people grieved, one man stood up and urged Ezra to action. His name was Shecaniah. His grandfather, Elam, was one of the original exiles to return to Israel. (2:7) He acknowledged the sin of Israel in intermarriage. But, he also believed there was hope for Israel. Ezra, on the other hand, seemed to believe all might be lost, that they were likely to suffer severe judgment from God.
Maybe Shecaniah remembered the words God spoke to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple:
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Shecaniah also proposed a solution. The people should make a covenant with God to put away the foreign wives in accordance with the law and under the counsel of Ezra. In other words, now that we have confessed, let us move forward in obedience. That is repentance, turning from sin to God.
Shecaniah also encouraged Ezra. He told him to get up because this was his task to do. Ezra was a priest and the spiritual leader of Israel at this point. But he was not alone, the very great assembly of people were with him, so he should be strong and get it done.
This was good counsel on the part of Shecaniah. The people had to do more than feel sorry for the nation’s sin. The sin had to be removed. Repentance means turning away from sin and to God.
10:5-8
Ezra Steps Up
Ezra food Shecaniah’s advice. He got up from his grieving and gathered the leading priests and levites and other Jews and had them take an oath to rid Israel of the foreign wives.
Ezra then went back to mourning. He spent the night with a friend, but fasted. However, the priests and levites continued the work, keeping their oath They issued a proclamation throughout Judea that all of the returned exiles must assemble in Jerusalem in three days. If they did not, they would have their property confiscated and be banned from the congregation. In effect, they would be excommunicated.
This may seem heavy handed in today’s culture. But it actually fits the requirements of the covenant well. God had told Israel that turning away from the covenant, disobeying God’s law, would ultimately lead to God thrusting the Jews out of the land, just as he thrust Adam and Eve from the Garden. Therefore, those who refused to come into obedience in this matter would be thrust from the land to protect the holiness of the nation and its land. It was similar to the requirement during the Exodus to take any unclean thing or person outside the camp.
10:9-17
The Great Assembly
All of the men did assemble in front of the Temple within three days. The trembled because of their recognition of the seriousness of the national sin.
They also trembled because the stood out in the rain and cold. This is one of the verses that make me love the truthfulness of the Bible. The writer could have said only that they trembled because of their conviction of sin. But, instead, he was honest to say the trembling was increased by the physician discomfort.
Ezra stood before the people to speak. He accused them of breaking faith with God in marrying foreign women, causing guilt to come upon the nation. He called them to confession to God of their sin. And, finally, he called them to repentance by submitting to God’s will and separating themselves from the people of the land by removing their foreign wives.
The men of the assembly agreed with Ezra. But they pointed out that they could not stand there in the rain for as long as this would take. So, they suggested that their officials take charge and have all of the men in their cities who had foreign wives to appear and take care of this until God’s wrath be turned away from them (14)
Again the Bible is honest. The writer stated that a few men opposed this. (15) Some were not willing to repent and obey God.
And so this was done. It took three months to get to all of the men who had married foreign women.
10:18-44
Naming Names
There is no cover up here, or even glossing over the issue. The writer named the men who had sinned in this matter, including the priests and levites.
In verses 18-22, the writer names the priests who married foreign women, starting with the family of the high priest. In verses 23-24, the sinning Levites are named. The rest of the list are laymen who sinned.
This is a sort of revival. It involved turning away from sin to obedience to God’s law. It meant obedience to the covenant. They hoped that their repentance would mean God would continue his covenantal relationship with them, blessing them and protecting them.
Take Aways
A Godly man, especially a leader, who recognizes sin, grieves, confesses, and repents on behalf of the congregation can lead the congregation to repentance and revival.
The process of repentance is recognition of sin, grief over the sin as an affront to God, confession of sin, and repentance, or turning away from sin.
Confession and repentance are necessary for conversion, but also for living the Christian life in sanctification. (1 John 1:8-9) Martin Luther said in his first thesis, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”
Even a leader sometimes needs encouragement and advice. Sometimes the burden is heavy.
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