Dei Break
Ezra 9:1 - 10:44
Ezra was "appalled" (NASB) over the intermarriage of Jew with pagan, buy not because of his racism or xenophobia, but a concern that the foreign wives were actively involved in their pagan practices and drawing their families away from God (vs.14). This was what God wanted separated from His people. Also, the pronouncement may not have been a blanket declaration, since the decision was made to consider each case of intermarriage separately. It may be that the judges in some cases determined that the family involved was devoted to the Lord and that the wife had accepted God as her Lord. Paul expressed the same concern over conflicting religious practices within marriage in 2 Corinthians 6:14. The Bible isn't specific as to whether all of the foreign wives were divorced regardless of their belief, but we do know that Jesus accepted anyone who believed in Him, including the woman of Samaria who had been guilty of improper worship.
One way that intermarriage became acceptable was that the people's leaders were practicing it. When a nation's leaders not only condone immoral practices, but pursue them, sin is much harder to recognize. It is much harder to draw the people and the nation to repentance and change. Continually in the history of Israel and Judah the king's actions had a major impact on the practices of the people. Today, we live in an age when the morality of business and political leaders is said to be irrelevant to their public lives, and has no effect on the nation's people, but is that true?
Ezra was tough, even making the crowd stand in a pouring rain to hear God's word (10:9), but his "tough love" was what the people needed. Ezra's desire for their survival as a unique people of God meant that he had to do the unpopular thing. It's hard to imagine the difficulty for the families involved, but the Bible doesn't detail everything that happened. One can hope that God's compassion moved the leaders to provide support and care for each separated family.
Next time: Nehemiah—Cupbearer to the King
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