Ezra 9 & 10
Chapter 9 records that when Ezra returned to Jerusalem he found that the the men who were already there had been enticed and married women of the local peoples they had not eradicated from the land; the ones who did horrible things in the worship of their gods.
Here we read his prayer concerning this.
Ezra's heart was broken for his people. He knew that these kinds of sins were what caused the Nation to be conquered and enslaved, but God had graciously brought back a mere remnant of what was that great Nation. Now these few people who God had such grace upon were doing the same things!
Would God just give up on them, to leave no remnant or survivor? (v. 14).
Chapter 10 tells us that as Ezra was praying, a crowd gathered around him, and his sorrow for this sin was contageous, and impressed the people who surrounded him, and they decided to do something about it.
10: 2-4 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.
Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.
So Ezra put them all under oath to do this, and they took the oath (v. 5).
They all had to divorce their wives and send them away with their children, and they were left with their families gone.
The list of all those who did this is recorded here, and I find it interesting that Meshullam gave up his wife (v. 29) even after he initially opposed this policy (v. 15).
It must have been painful to dissolve these families. How much better it would have been if they had not allowed themselves to be enticed by these women in the first place.
I have put a guard on my heart (Proverbs 4:23) to not fall for any man who would not be God's choice for me.
How much better for me, too, to consider my Lord Jesus my Bridegroom, and wait for His coming. If He has another husband for me in the meantime, I trust that He would make that clear to me, and it would be a very large blessing if He were to do that. But I will not fall for any "pretty face" to entice me into something that will not honor my Lord.
O my Father, thank You for giving this story to us so we can learn how painful and sorrowful we make our own lives when we don't live according to Your ways.
Please strengthen all Your children here, teach them Your ways and enable them to follow in Your footsteps; that we would use our lives and our attitudes and our possessions to introduce You to those who don't know You yet, that the way we deal with them and treat them will convince them of Your Truth.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father, that are ripe and ready for harvest. Protect all those who go into all the World, give them Your words to speak to all the peoples of the World, especially those who have never heard of You yet.
Continue to draw to Yourself those You have chosen out of every tribe, every language, every people group here on this Earth, that Your House will be full. That the full number may be gathered into the safety of the Fold, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess Your majesty.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
