Ezra 9-10: (I encourage you to read these chapters in your own Bible first.) Reading #875 The separation This week we will take a break from Nehemiah and look at a couple of chapters from Ezra s writings for they will help us to understand something of what was promised last week by the wall builders in their covenant with God. One of the oaths they made was an undertaking against having women from the local nations as their wives. It was obviously very important to them, so why did they make that promise? When Ezra the man of God had arrived in Jerusalem some fourteen years before that and had accounted for all the money and other valuables he had been entrusted with, he spent his time in urging his fellow Jews to raise the standard of their law-keeping. One of the major concerns of the leaders was that of the widespread inter-marriages which had taken place between the Pagans of the land and the Jews, even though God had warned them not to do this. So important is the principle behind this action, that it is carried over into the New Testament in the following text. 2 Corinthians 6: 14 Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what concord has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. [See Leviticus 26:12; Ezekiel 37:26; Zechariah 8:8]. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be you separate, said the LORD, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 and will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, said the LORD Almighty. [See Isaiah 52:11]. We need to build a wall in our minds and bodies! So Ezra wrote: Ezra 9: 1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, [but have been] doing according to their abominations [in religious rites], even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the 1
Amorites. 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons [and daughters]: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonished. Why was he astonished? He knew that the LORD had declared: Isaiah 8: 9 Associate yourselves [join together for strength], O you [Pagan] people, and you shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all you of far countries: gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces... [let s move on a bit] 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. 11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say you not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy [don t join with them]; neither fear you their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify [trust in] the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. There are those who believe that it is not wrong for Christians to belong to secret societies, political parties or labour unions. Let all such consider the scriptures just quoted. If we are Christians at all, we must be Christians everywhere, and must consider and heed the counsel given to guide us according to the standard of God's Word. Therefore we should be sure that the LORD's injunction, Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), refers not only to the marriage of Christians with the ungodly, but to all alliances in which the parties are brought into intimate association, and in which there is need of united harmony in spirit and action. The LORD gave special direction to Israel to keep themselves distinct from idolaters. They were not to intermarry with the heathen nor form any confederacy with them: Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither you go, lest it be for a snare in the midst of you: but you shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves [in your land]: for you shall worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:12-14. 2
Why is He jealous? Because there is no salvation in any other name [character] (See Acts 4:12), He needs to be the sole Saviour and describes this as jealousy. Over the years the word has lost its original pure meaning until now we treat it as a dirty word. And that s why Ezra mourned. We may hear the remark: You are too exclusive if we carry this through. And as a people we should answer that we would make any sacrifice to save souls, or lead them to the truth. But to unite with them, to love the things that they love, and have friendship with the world, we dare not, for we should then be at enmity with God. (Consider Proverbs 22:4; James 4:4). So Ezra did something about the problem: Ezra 9: 4 Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. [He wondered how could God s people be so disobedient!] 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees [in the courtyard], and spread out my hands to the LORD my God, 6 and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to You, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass to this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little space grace has been showed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place [a firm and separate position in His kingdom], that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For we were bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. 12 Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their 3
daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. 13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this; 14 should we again break Your commandments, and join in affinity [religious friendship] with the people of these abominations? Would not You be angry with us till You had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? 15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before You in our trespasses: for we cannot stand [clean] before You because of this. Ezra mourned because he realised that such a sin would stop God from being able to deliver them literally into His kingdom on earth, and as we know, that s what happened they were succeeded by the New Testament branch of the church a few hundred years later, for although what they did was a reformation, it was only a temporary one. We have here read the warnings which God gave to ancient Israel. It was not His good pleasure that they should wander so long in the wilderness; it was not His good pleasure that they should stagnate under earthly kings; nor in the exile in Babylon; in each case He would have brought them immediately to the new world had they submitted and loved to be led by Him; but because they so often grieved Him in the desert and in the kingdom, He sware in His wrath that they should not [really could not] enter into His rest (see Hebrews 4:3), save the two who wholly followed Him. The Son of God required His people to trust in Him alone. He did not wish them to receive help in any way from those who did not serve Him. 1 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore [in repentance]. [Those who had not physically inter-married were just as guilty in other areas of contact.] 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to 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 [for our God is merciful]. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with 4
our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them [that is, their children], 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 belongs to you: we also will be with you: be of good courage, and do it. So the matter was put in the hands of the loving man of God to deal with, for it was a matter of loving relationships. This was something that Abraham had had to do (with assurances from God!) and they were following him. Genesis 17: 18 And Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live before You! 19 And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed; and you shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation [I will give him what he wants]. 21 But My covenant will I establish with Isaac [for he will take what I offer], which Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year. Then, some time later: Genesis 21: 12 And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad [he was about 15 years old], and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice; for in Isaac shall your seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed [and they turned out to be Arabs]. [God was saying, I will do the best I can for him ]. 14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water [he was trusting in God to supply the rest], and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba [in the south]. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast [placed] the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice [to the Son of God], and wept. 5
17 And God heard the voice of the lad [who also prayed for help]; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, What ails you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 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. While the people were being called together, Ezra fasted and prayed for guidance on what to do in this delicate situation. Today we are being asked to give up intimate association with other groups whether they are professing Christians or not, and the ideas that are born from them. In both cases, it is only a prelude to the final separation at the second death. 7 And they made proclamation [a loud cry] throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to 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 to 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. As we have noted before, the ninth month was in winter and the latter rain was falling to bring the harvests to fruition. In like manner, we can expect 6
the latter rain to fall in our lives when we are being subjected to hard times by the opposition, for we will need a stronger presence of the Holy Spirit as we near the end. (That is, before He completely ceases to talk to anyone.) 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, You have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives [and their children]. 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As you have 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 [out in the open], 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 [were opposed to it]: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped [supported] them. The Message version: Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this. So the exiles went ahead with the plan. Common sense prevailed as well as the direction of the LORD and they agreed to come as families at appointed times to face the panel of judges. (Do you remember Zechariah 12:11-14?) 16 And the [former] children of the captivity did so [for they had carried Babylon with them in spirit]. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers [as judges and persuaders], and all of them by their names were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange [non-jewish] wives by the first day of the first month [just before the Passover, which signified a new beginning]. [ For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the LORD make upon the earth. Romans 9:28]. 7
It was so large a problem that it took three months of intensive confession and forsaking to deal with the trouble, their Jacob s trouble. 18 And [even] among the sons of the priests there were [some] 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 [I believe it should have been a bull because of the enormity of the sin. See Leviticus 4:1-12]. 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; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. Read carelessly, these words have a chill of severity to them which was not present at the judgment. As each family came before their merciful God they were given the opportunity to confess their sin and repent of it (by becoming converted in the case of the Pagans) and then cleansed by the appropriate ritual, although they didn t really know them. Although not mentioned in the text, there were certainly Jewish women who had married Pagan men, and they were treated in the same way, for there is no respect of persons with our God. (Yes, those females who had repented and confessed were cleansed by a sanctuary ritual!! Consider the principle in Leviticus 12:1-8). Only those who would not convert were separated from the congregation and that was their own choice, for they were refusing a new heart. 23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is [also known as] Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24 Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. 25 Moreover of Israel [the ordinary Jews]: 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. 8
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. 33 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 [non-jewish] wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children. In total, 17 priests, 10 Levites, 86 people which equals 113 families, refused to be converted and were therefore separated from the community. How frequently ancient Israel rebelled, and how often they were visited with judgments (that is, they lacked the protection of God), and thousands died needlessly, because they would not heed the commands of God who had chosen them as His representatives! This sin was just one of many, but it was a defining one. We, as the Israel of God in these last days, are also in constant danger of mingling with the world and losing all signs of being the chosen people of God. (Read Titus 2:13-15.) In these readings we are being brought face to face with our last days, when God is trying to purify to Himself a peculiar people. Shall we force Him away from us as did ancient Israel? Shall we bring His wrath upon us by departing from Him and mingling with the world, and following the abominations of the nations around us? The LORD wants to set apart for Himself all who are godly. This consecration to Him and separation from the world is plainly and positively enjoined in both the Old and the New Testament. There is a wall of separation which the LORD Himself has established between the things of the world and the things He has chosen out of the world and sanctified to 9
Himself. The calling and character of God's people are to be distinctive, their prospects are different, and these peculiarities distinguish them from all other people. One of them, of course, is the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. All of God's people upon the earth are one body, from the beginning to the end of time. They have one Head that directs and governs the body. The same injunctions that rested upon ancient Israel, rest upon God's people now, to be separate from the world, for the great Head of the church has not changed. The experience of Christians in these days is much like the travels of ancient Israel. Please read 1 Corinthians 10, especially from the 6 th to the 15 th verse: 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust [strongly desire] after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play [be entertained in religious things]... [let s move on a bit] 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur you, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them for ensamples [examples for us]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. 14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men [and women]; judge you what I say. All this had to be repeated in Nehemiah s day! Remember Nehemiah 10:40? For they were still inter-marrying and otherwise joining with the Pagans about twenty years after Ezra s attempt, which shows that they did not really believe that the end of the rejecters was to perish in the Lake of Fire by their own choice. Bye for now, RonP In this reading the old-fashioned words of the KJV have been modernised, and in some instances, the manmade punctuation has been altered for greater understanding. Some of the comments are adapted from books in my library. No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own. Some of these readings are available as PDF files at http://ancient-sda.com/readings_pdf/books_index_pdf.html 10