Ezra 10
What I Noticed Today (Ezra 10)
Today we close out the book of Ezra. Ezra dealt with foreign wives and the men who married them.
In verses 1-4, Ezra is distraught over the sin of the people.
Note: The word “confessing” (or some translations “made confession”) comes from a Hebrew word that means to praise, but the root word means to confess. God is praised when His people confess their sins!
- As Ezra was praying, many of the people gathered around him weeping.
- Shecaniah, a priest, suggested that all the men who had married foreign wives send them away in order to preserve the purity of the Israelites.
- The people agreed, entering into a covenant with God to put away the foreign wives.
In verses 5-8, a proclamation was made for all the men to gather in Jerusalem in three days.
Note: Since the area occupied by the exiles was fairly small, it was an easy three-day journey to Jerusalem.
In verses 9-15, the people assembled in Jerusalem on the twelfth day of the third month (457 B.C.).
- Ezra addressed the people calling out their sin in marrying foreign women.
- The people agreed to send away the foreign wives but asked that elders and judges oversee each case.
- The people couldn’t look to the priests and Levites as impartial judges because many of them had also married foreign wives.
- The exiles did as proposed over a period of three months; they convened on the first day of the tenth month, and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.
Verses 18-44 is a listing of all the men who agreed to put away their foreign wives.
Note: It is a “top-down” list starting with the high priest’s family.
Note: A total of 113 men are listed. Given the estimated population of 30,000 returned exiles, this is a fairly small percentage of the population. Scholars suggest that the small number may not include everyone, that only those found guilty are listed, or that only those found guilty and who followed through with sending away their wives are listed.
Note: The book of Ezra ends somewhat abruptly with no conclusions or summary.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- It is disheartening to see that the high priest who certainly knew marrying foreign women was a direct violation of God’s law did it anyway. Other priests followed in his sinful example. Ultimately, many of the men among the returned exiles also turned away from God by marrying foreign women.
- Had Ezra not intervened with strong corrective action that was agreed to by the people it is likely the nation would have quickly fallen even further away from God.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
All the notes for the book of Ezra have been compiled into a single pdf document. You can download it by clicking here.
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Tomorrow: Nehemiah 1-3
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