Bible Study for Today

How does Ezra’s handling of the intermarriage situation fit into the overall pattern of biblical teaching?

Ezra 9 and 10 record a critical time in the reestablishment of the Jewish people in their homeland. In the years before Ezra arrived from Persia, many of the returned Jewish men intermarried with pagan women from the area. This practice reflects no circumstances like we find in the marriages of Rahab or Ruth, Gentiles who became believers in God. The pagan background of these women was not taken into account by their husbands. Ezra received this news as part of the report when he reached Jerusalem.

For Ezra, this was almost the worst possible news. Intermarriage with pagans had historically been a key in the repeated downfalls of the nation. These marriages were an act of disobedience. Ezra was overwhelmed with shame and distress over the situation (Ezra 9:3, 4). His grief was open and convicting.

Eventually, the people themselves confessed their error and decided that those who had married pagan women would have to “put away” (divorce) these wives.

God had not changed His mind about divorce. Malachi, who lived in this time period, declared that God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16).

Several important notes can be made about this passage in Ezra. It does not establish a norm about divorce. It is also easy to overlook the fact that while the solution of divorce was a group decision, each of these marriages was examined individually. Presumably, cases in which the women had become believers were treated differently than cases in which the women involved saw questions of faith as violation of the marriage agreement.

In the humility of the guilty and the care in confronting these issues, a great deal of God’s mercy comes through. A strict interpretation of the law could have led to the stoning death of all involved. The eagerness to set things right opened the doorway for a solution, even though in some of the cases it involved the grief and sadness of divorce.

Reading for Today:

Ezra 9:1–10:44Psalm 88:6-10Proverbs 21:23-24Acts 24:1-27

Notes:

Ezra 9:1 When these things were done. This refers to the implementation of the different trusts and duties committed to him.priests…Levites. As was the case before the Assyrian and Babylonian deportations, the spiritual leadership defaulted along with the people (Is. 24:2; Jer. 5:30, 31; 6:13–15; Hos. 3:9; Mal. 2:1–9; 2 Tim. 4:2–4). abominations. The reason for this exclusiveness was to keep the people pure. In the first settlement, Israel was warned not to make covenants with the nations, which would result in intermarriages and inevitably the worship of foreign gods (Ex. 34:10–17; Deut. 7:1–5). To a great extent, the continual violation of this precipitated the 70-year exile from which they had just returned. Ezra found out it had happened again and called for immediate repentance. Nehemiah (Neh. 13:23–27) and Malachi (Mal. 2:14–16) later encountered the same sin. It is unthinkable that the Jews would so quickly go down the same disastrous path of idolatry. Neither wrath from God in the exile to Babylon nor grace from God in the return was enough to keep them from defecting again.

Ezra 9:5–15 Ezra’s priestly prayer of intercession and confession is like Daniel’s (Dan. 9:1–20) and Nehemiah’s (Neh. 1:4–11), in that he used plural pronouns that identified himself with the people’s sin, even though he did not participate in it. The use of “we,” “our,” and “us” demonstrates Ezra’s understanding that the sin of the few is sufficient to contaminate the many.

Ezra 10:1 praying…confessing, weeping, and bowing down. Ezra’s contrite spirit before the people was evident and they joined him. These extreme expressions of contrition demonstrated the seriousness of the sin and the genuineness of their repentance.

Acts 24:3 Felix. Governor of Judea from A.D. 52 to 59. Felix was a former slave whose brother (a favorite of Emperor Claudius) had obtained for him the position as governor. He was not highly regarded by the influential Romans of his day and accomplished little during his term as governor. He defeated the Egyptian and his followers (21:38), but his brutality angered the Jews and led to his ouster as governor by Emperor Nero two years after Paul’s hearing (v. 27).

Acts 24:24 Drusilla. The youngest daughter of Agrippa I (12:1) and Felix’s third wife. Felix, struck by her beauty, had lured her away from her husband. At the time of Paul’s hearing, she was not yet 20 years old.

Acts 24:25 righteousness, self-control, and the judgment. God demands “righteousness” of all men, because of His holy nature (Matt. 5:48; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16).For men and women to conform to that absolute standard requires “self-control.” The result of failing to exhibit self-control and to conform oneself to God’s righteous standard is (apart from salvation) “judgment.” Felix was afraid. Living with a woman he had lured away from her husband, Felix obviously lacked “righteousness” and “self-control.” The realization that he faced “judgment” alarmed him, and he hastily dismissed Paul. when I have a convenient time. The moment of conviction passed, and Felix foolishly passed up his opportunity to repent (2 Cor. 6:2).