The People s Confession of Sin. Those Guilty of Intermarriage. Ezra 10:1-44

Transcription

1 1 Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell The People s Confession of Sin Those Guilty of Intermarriage Ezra 10:1-44 Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Avenue, 37216, Nashville, TN., 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor

2 2 Text: Ezra 10:1-44, The People s Confession of Sin Those Guilty of Intermarriage by Ron Thomas 1. Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 2. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 3. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. 5. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. 6. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

3 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8. And that whosoever would not come within three days according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. 9. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 10. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 11. Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. 12. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. 13. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. 14. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. 15. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 16. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

4 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. 18. And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. 20. And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. 21. And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22. And of the sons of Pashur; Elionenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. 23. Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24. Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. 25. Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. 26. And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. 27. And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. 28. Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. 29. And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. 30. And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. 31. And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32. Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

5 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. 34. Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, 35. Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, 36. Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37. Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, 38. And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, 39. And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, 40. Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41. Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42. Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. 43. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. 44. All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children. Introduction: I. Continuing the thought from chapter 9, this chapter, in many ways, is quite sad. A. It is heartbreaking at two levels, really. 1. It is distressing because some of the people of Israel (those who had returned from captivity) continued in their disobedience to the Lord. a. They did not allow themselves to be taught the reason for the nation is going in to captivity in the first place. 2. Second, it is heartrending because the lives of many were affected by the decisions made.

6 6 Commentary: Ezra 10:1-4, Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. I. The People s Response. A. There is hope in Israel. (10:1-2.) 1. Clearly a problem existed in the camp. 2. Ezra s concern over this matter is illustrated in what he did. a. He prayed (chapter 9), confessed, wept, and threw himself down continually (Yamauchi) before the house of God. 3. Because of Ezra s leadership and the devotion of at least some of the Israelites, there was an assembly.

7 One man stepped forward, Shechaniah (not thought be the same as in 8:3), whose father might have been included among those that were guilty of the infraction (10:26). 5. With all the bad that is in front of us, yet, we still have hope. a. Hope is one of those qualities that sensible people latch onto. b. The hope of Israel at this point is found in the leadership of Ezra and the Lord s will as Ezra taught it. B. Ezra, it is up to you to lead us in this. (10:3-4). 1. A pretty remarkable thing here in the suggestion submitted by Shechaniah. C. The Lord s will. a. Put away the foreign wives and the children born to them. b. The importance of this is not to be found in man s opinion, even Ezra s. c. Rather, it was done in accordance to the Lord s command. 1. Deuteronomy 7:2-3, And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them: thy daughters thou shalt not

8 8 give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 2. Deuteronomy 24:1-4, When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man s wife. And if the latter husband have her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. 3. An interesting thing about these passages is the application. a. It is clear that in Deuteronomy 7, no marriage was to be contracted at all with heathens. i. Deuteronomy 7:3, 4, Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

9 9 b. What was one to do if that occurred? c. It appears that 24:1-4 was applied (that applied to marriages within the community). i. Deuteronomy 24:1-4, When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man s wife. And if the latter husband have her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Ezra 10:5-17, Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come within three days according to the counsel of the

10 10 princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. I. Ezra s Leadership and the Public Assembly. A. Ezra gets their commitment. (10:5.) 1. The people swear an oath to Ezra.

11 11 a. Those who make an oath to do as suggested committed themselves to a sacred matter. b. Breaking it was to break one s commitment to God! c. Scriptures: i. Nehemiah 13:25, And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. ii. Matthew 26:63, But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ the Son of God. 2. The phrase swear an oath does not have the same significance to us today as it did to generations past. a. We know the meaning of it and understand the possible gravity of it; yet, as spouses are available, so are oaths. b. We will just swear another one at a different time. Few will remember what I said earlier, so it does not really matter. B. A call for public assembly. (10:6-9.)

12 Ezra goes from the house of God to the son of the High Priest (cf. Nehemiah 3:1, 20) and fasts and mourns. a. Nehemiah 13:1, 20, On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. 2. The they of verse 7 is uncertain. a. It could include Ezra and the leaders of Israel, or the leaders of Israel without Ezra. 3. Though Ezra had been invested with great authority (7:25-26), he used it sparingly and influenced the people by his example (Yamauchi, p. 670). a. Ezra 7:25, 26, And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. 4. An assembly gathered in three days.

13 13 a. All the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. b. This is suggestive of those who lived in the respective territories and not necessarily only those who were descendents of those tribes. c. The people gathered in the square during the rainy season (10:13) in the month of Kislev (EBC; the ninth month). d. Not only was the matter of great concern, causing much anxiety, but the weather was indicative of the spirit of the people. C. Ezra exhorted the people to make separation (10:10-14.) 1. The indictment. a. They have taken pagan wives. 2. The remedy. a. Make confession and separate yourselves from your pagan wives. 3. They agreed and gave counsel. a. The response of the people. i. Too many people are guilty; it will take time. ii. Additionally, the weather is not conducive to the required action right now.

14 14 iii. Let there be an appointed time for this to be accomplished. b. Those who refused. (10:15.) i. Why these men refused is not stated. ii. Perhaps they thought the action was much too harsh and their regard for their respective wives was greater than their regard for the Lord. c. The KJV gives a different sense altogether. i. Rather than opposed this (NKJV), the KJV has were employed about this matter: ii. John Gill interprets the KJV as meaning these men assisted in the action (though he did recognize an alternative understanding). iii. The Hebrew word means stand or stood on, against (Williamson, p. 156). iv. While it appears that the KJV can be understood the way it is rendered, the context makes it improbable (as suggested by Williamson). v. There would be little reason to state the agreement the assembly had with the suggestion, only to have an additional agreement with four particular men.

15 15 d. All those guilty complied. (10:16-17.) i. The inquiry and counsel for the proposed action took three months. ii. Yamauchi dates this, 27 March 457 B.C. iii. About a hundred couples were involved (Yamauchi, p. 672). Ezra 10:18-44, And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. And of the sons of Pashur; Elionenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohana, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and

16 16 Shimei. Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children. I. The Names of Those who had Pagan Wives. (10:18-44.) A. Sons of priests were guilty. 1. One name of significance is Jeshua (the sons of Jeshua) the High Priest (2:2; Haggai 1:1). a. Ezra 2:2, Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehu, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: b. Haggai 1:1, In the second dyear of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2. Recognizing their guilt, they offered a trespass offering (Leviticus 5:15-16). a. Leviticus 5:15, 16, And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord: and the bullock shall be

17 17 killed before the Lord. And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: b. The trespass offering was an offering for unintentional sins. c. Though the offenders may not have fully realized the gravity of their offense they had no excuse; the Scripture plainly set forth God s standard on marriage (Yamauchi, p. 674). B. Also guilty were the Levites (in part), the singers, and others of Israel. 1. See Coffman, who cites the work of Williamson in the Wycliffe Bible Commentary: a. Whitcomb s count of all these violators found, Seventeen priests, ten Levites, and eighty-six others; and each of these put away his foreign wife and offered a ram as a guilt-offering. Some of the versions support this count of 113 in all. b. Drastic as this solution of the problem assuredly was, A comparison of Nehemiah 10:30 (12 years later) and of Nehemiah 13:23 (30 years later) shows that the evil was not permanently eliminated. i. Nehemiah 10:30, And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:

18 18 ii. Nehemiah 13:23, In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; c. Long association with heathen neighbors made such a separation difficult. C. Children were involved. 1. This observation was probably intended to show that only a few of them had children; but it shows also how rigorously the law was put into execution (Clarke, E-Sword).

19 19 Bibliography Archer, Gleason, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties Bible, skeptics: Coffman, James B., Commentary on Ezra ( Dictionary of the Old Testament Pentateuch, IVP E-Sword (Albert Barnes, John Gill, JFB, NET footnotes, Adam Clarke) N-ISBE, (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised), four volumes Rawlinson, G., Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Job, The Pulpit Commentary (volume 7) Williamson, H.G.M., Ezra and Nehemiah, Word Biblical Commentary (volume 16) Yamauchi, Edward M., Kings Job, The Expositor s Bible Commentary (volume 4)

20 20 Questions Ezra 10:1-44 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. Describe the opening scene of chapter 10. When have you ever seen repentance of this magnitude? 2. What confession did Shecaniah make? What connection exists between confession and forgiveness? 3. What led Shecaniah to believe there was still hope for Israel? Is there still hope for our society? What makes you think that? 4. What suggestion to resolve the problem did Shecaniah make?

21 Who was this Shecaniah anyway? Research this question. 6. What words of encouragement were spoken by Shecaniah? 7. What guideline did Shecaniah stipulate? (See verse 3b.) 8. The and and all swore to do what had been suggested. 9. Did all who had married heathens part with their spouses?

22 Why did Ezra continue to fast? 11. A grand assembly was proclaimed throughout Judah and Jerusalem. Was attendance mandatory? How do you know? 12. What caused those assembled to be distressed? 13. What did Ezra tell those assembled? 14. What course of action did the assembly accept? List the points of the resolution. Why was this course of action taken?

23 Who voted against this resolution? 16. If you had been among those who had married heathen women and you dearly loved your wife and children, what would you have done? Really! 17. From start to finish (see verses 16, 17), how long did it take to adjudicate these cases? 18. How many from among the descendants of the priests had married foreign women?

24 How many from among the Levites, singers, gatekeepers and from among the other Israelites had married foreign women. 20. How many cases were adjudicated in all? Would you have thought the number would have been more or less? Why? Extra credit question: Why was this such a big deal anyway?