Ezra 10
People gathered to confess sin with Ezra verse 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
People want Ezra to tell them what to do verse 2- 4
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
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
commandments of our God
and let it be done according to the law
Arise – for this matter belongs to you – we also will be with you
BE of good courage – and do it
People swore an oath to obey Ezra verse 5- 6
Then arose Ezra – and made the chief priests
and Levites – and all Israel
to swear that they should do
according to this word
And they swore
Then Ezra rose up 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
Residents commanded to come to Jerusalem verse 7- 8
And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to
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 princes and the elders
ALL his substance
should be forfeited and himself separated
from the congregation of those that
had been carried away
Ezra tells all to separate from pagan wives verse 9- 11
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 the matter
and for the great rain
And Ezra the priest stood up
and said to them
You have transgressed – and have taken strange wives
to increase the trespass of Israel
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
People ask for time to set things right verse 12- 14
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice
as you have 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
Some helped with this plan verse 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
Ezra set a two month time to settle this issue verse 16- 17
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
Priest guilty of intermarriage verse 18- 22
Among the sons of the PRIEST there were found that had taken strange wives
namely – of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak – and his brethren
Maaseiah – Eliezer – Jarib – 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 – Zebadiah
And of the sons of Harim = Maaseiah – Elijah – Shemaiah
Jehiel – Uzziah
And of the sons of Pashur = Elioenai – Maaseiah – Ishmael – Nethaneel
Jozabad – Elasah
Levites guilty of intermarriage verse 23- 24
Also of the LEVITES – Jozabad – Shimei – Kelaiah (the same is Kelita)
Pethahiah – Judah – Eliezer
Of the SINGERS also – Eliashib
and of the PORTERS – Shallum – Telem – Uri
People who were guilty of intermarriage verse 25- 44
Moreover of Israel – of the sons of Parosh = Ramiah – Jeziah – Malchiah
Miamin – Eleazar – Malchijah – Benaiah
And of the sons of Elam = Mattaniah – Zechariah – Jehiel – Abdi
Jeremoth – Eliah
And of the sons of Zattu = Elioenai – Eliashib – Mattaniah
Jeremoth – Zabad – Aziza
And of the sons also of Bebai = Jehohanan – Hananiah
Zabbai – Athlai
And of the sons of Bani = Meshullam – Malluch – Adaiah
Jashub – Sheal – Ramoth
And of the sons of Pahath-moab = Adna – Chelal – Benaiah
Maaseiah – Mattaniah – Bezaleel – Binnui – Manasseh
And of the sons of Harim = Eliezer – Ishijah – Malchiah – Shemaiah
Shimeon – Benjamin – Malluch – Shemariah
Of the sons of Hashum = Mattenai – Mattathah – Zabad – Eliphelet
Jeremai – Manasseh – Shimei
Of the sons of Bani = Maadai – Amram – Uel – Benaiah – Bedeiah
Chelluh – Vaniah – Meremoth – Eliashib – Mattaniah – Mattenai
Jaasau – Bani – Binnui – Shimei – Shelemiah – Nathan – Adaiah
Machnadebai – Shashai – Sharai – Azareel – Shelemiah Shemariah
Shallum – Amariah – Joseph
Of the sons of Nebo = Jeiel – Mattithiah – Zabad – Zebina – Jadau – Joel
Benaiah
All these had taken strange wives
and some of them had wives by whom they had children
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of the God, there assembled to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. (3034 “confessed” [yadah] means to admit to a punishable deed or sin, to profess, make an admission, to publicly admit to something usually a wrong of some kind or infractions of a legal code)
DEVOTION: Here is a leader who felt the sin of his people. Ezra was a leader who had come to Jerusalem and found that there was sin in the camp and knew he had to deal with it if the LORD was going to bless those who had returned from the captivity.
He had not committed the sin but he knew that the LORD was going to hold him accountable if he did nothing about the sin. So he prayed and made a confession with weeping and lying down on his face before the LORD when he recognized the sin and knew that he had to do something to correct the sin, so that, the LORD could bless the people.
Once he showed the people his actions the people followed his example and started weeping with him over the sin of intermarriage. It was a gathering of not just the men but also the women and children. Everyone had to know that they were going to be affected by the sin. If nothing was done they would reap the consequences of the sins of the people. They had just returned from the consequences of the previous generation and didn’t want to face the same consequences for their present generation.
Today we have to realize that we can blame the previous generation for suffering the consequences at present but that only goes so far. We have to change our ways and pray for others to change their ways if they claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.
We need to cry over sin even today. Our attitude toward sin shows in our actions toward those sins. If we have no reaction to sin then the LORD has to deal with us. If our reaction is one of weeping and praying for forgiveness then the LORD can work with us as HE worked with Israel.
CHALLENGE: Do we have sin in our nation and in our churches that need to be addressed with weeping, fasting and prayer?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiiel, one of the sons of Elem, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken streange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. (4480 “trespassed” [minniy] means to be untrue, to violate one’s legal obligations, to do wrong by failing in a relationship or with regard to a standard, whether intentionally or unintentionally)
DEVOTION: There are not too many people who don’t know what is pleasing to God and what is not pleasing to HIM. This has been true since Adam and Eve. They knew what God expected of them but they still ate of the fruit. Each one blamed the other but the LORD knew that they were both guilty.
It has been true throughout history. The children of Israel knew what the LORD expected regarding who they should marry and who they should not marry. It was a given that the enemy would tempt them with other people that were not of the children of Israel.
They should have resisted but it was easier to marry someone they really thought was beautiful rather than listen to the LORD and limit their choses to those who were believers.
This temptation is still happening today. It seems that those who are not believers are just so good to look at and be with that it doesn’t seem fair that we who are believers should only pick those who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
You know that they could accept Jesus after they have been married to a believer for a little while, so what does it hurt.
The problem is usually and it happening in this case as well the person who is not a follower of God leads those who claim to be believers away from the LORD rather than the other way around.
This happened throughout the Old Testament. Many followers of God thought they could handle having an unsaved spouse. It didn’t work and it never will.
Christians need to marry those who genuinely another believer. Even with this there is problems if one is following the LORD closer than the other. It takes much prayer for believers to stay true to each other and with the help of the LORD have a strong marriage that is an example to others.
CHALLENGE: Don’t ever believe that you will convert someone after you marry them. It is a lie of the devil.
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: 4 Arise, for this matter belongs to you, we also will be with you: be of good courage, and do it. (2388 “be of good courage” [chazaq] means to be or become strong or powerful beyond the average or expected, grow firm, to hold fast, prevail, be resolute, or grow rigid)
DEVOTION: The leaders of the nation came to Ezra as he was weeping and praying for the people and told him to get up and do something about the sin problem. They realized that he wanted something done and they wanted it done as well.
Here we find that they told Ezra it was his responsibility to handle the matter in a manner that was pleasing to the LORD. They didn’t want him to just continue to weep and pray. They wanted actions that would correct the problem.
They wanted him to have the courage to do something that would be pleasing to the LORD. They wanted him to make a covenant with the people to have them put away or divorce their strange or foreign wives and the children from the marriage, so that, the inheritance of the people was not shared with foreign individuals or descendants. The land belonged only to those who were true and pure Israelites. No mixed marriage wives or children should own a piece of land in the Promised Land. It was only for those who were genuine Jews to inherit the land.
So Ezra did get up and do something. He told all those who had married someone from another nation to make a covenant between them and God to divorce their foreign wives and send them away with their children to keep the nation pure.
We have to deal with a similar sin problem today. We have to make sure that we are helping our young people understand the importance of only marrying those who are genuine believers. The whole book of Ezra is dealing with this sin problem that caused the LORD to be displeased with HIS people.
This sin problem is still happening today. There are many warnings against marrying those who don’t love the LORD for believers. It is true that many Christians today don’t care about the warnings. It shows in their attitude toward all of the standards of the LORD in the lives of believers today. This needs to change if we are going to have a revival in our land. All revivals start in the lives of genuine believers who realize that their lifestyle is not pleasing to the LORD and they want to change it.
CHALLENGE: When change to the standards of the LORD becomes the goal of a majority of believers there can be revival and great blessings.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 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. (914 “separated” [badal] means divide, withdraw, exclude, singled out, be expelled, banned or distinguish between)
DEVOTION: There are consequences to sin. The people returning to the Promised Land had intermarried with the heathen nations that were in the land during the captivity.
Ezra comes as the leader of the group from Persia and finds that there was intermarriage between the people and wanted to deal with it according to the law of God.
So the leaders sent out a message with a warning included as to what would happen to those who didn’t show up for the gathering in Jerusalem. They would forfeit their substance or possessions and be expelled from the congregation.
It was a warning that none of the men wanted to happen to them and so they came to the gathering at Jerusalem. This was a time of training and instructions that Ezra came to Jerusalem to do. He wanted everyone to know what the LORD expected of them and what would happen if they didn’t do what they were instructed.
So we need to realize that there are instructions in the Word of God with consequences if we are not willing to obey the instructions. We might not lose our possessions but we can be excommunicated from the church if we don’t give up our sin.
The sin of the people was intermarriage with pagan women and having children in the marriage. They had to separate from these children and their pagan wives if they were going to keep their possessions or inheritance and be excommunicated from their fellow believers for lack of confession.
Our relationship with the LORD for fellowship is based on our keeping our confession of sin regular before the LORD in our times of prayer. HE wants us to come to HIM and confess to keep our fellowship with HIM and receive blessings from HIM. HE wants us to sin less even though we will never be sinless as Christ is the only one who ever lived that was sinless.
CHALLENGE: God had a standard HE wants kept in the church and we need to realize what it is and keep it.
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: 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. (7522 “pleasure” [ratsown] means delight, favor, goodwill, desire, pleasing, acceptance, or will)
DEVOTION: What is the will of God that brings delight? It is that HIS people obey HIS commandments. Ezra was confronted with the fact that some of the children of Israel had intermarried with the people of the land. This corrupted the seed of the LORD. This was against the commandments of the LORD that HE had given to Moses.
What did Ezra do? He prayed. He wept. He fasted. Then he confronted the people concerning this sin.
He sent word for all of Israel to gather at Jerusalem. Those who didn’t gather would lose their land. They also would be separated from the children of Israel. They would be shunned.
At the gathering he wanted all those who had intermarried to confess their sin and separate from their foreign wives. There were so many that had intermarried that they wanted time to separate from their foreign wives. Ezra gave them three months. He also appointed leaders to make sure that it would happen.
Some of the people objected to this covenant. It might be that they were guilty of the sin and didn’t want to give up their wife and children. Ezra thought the holy seed was more important than their marriages.
The LORD’S wrath was upon Israel. They didn’t want to go into captivity again. They wanted to renew their covenant with the LORD. They were going to renew their promise to the LORD. The people were promising to put away their foreign wives and only marry spouses from children of Israel.
This intermarriage took place from the top down to the common man. Some of the priests had intermarried. Some of the Levites had intermarried. The longest list in the chapter were among the common people. The people had followed the example of the leaders.
In the church today, we need leaders who will set the example. These leaders set the example of confessing their sin and changing their walk with the LORD.
There needs to be training in the area of Christians marrying those who are not followers of the LORD. This is not happening and because of lack of training or caring among the leadership of the church, many Christians are dating and marrying those outside the faith. Confusion reigns in these homes. There is a division over what rules to follow. Either there is a following of the rules of the LORD or the following of the rules of the world.
We need to examine ourselves in the light of the Word of God and continually change to be the “light” and “salt” we are supposed to be in our world. If the LORD sent a prophet today – WHAT WOULD HE FIND IN THE CHURCH?
Note: If you are involved in an intermarriage – pray each day for the salvation of your spouse. Act like a loving spouse. Encourage their salvation by all of your actions. Don’t jam a Bible down their throat. Don’t act like you are better than them. Be humble. Be loving. Remember you are not to leave but show by example the love of the LORD. If there is abuse – consult with church leaders.
CHALLENGE: Remember to train your children and grandchildren to only date those who love the LORD. Give them Biblical reasons for these actions. Don’t condemn but train. Pray each day for your children to only marry those who love the LORD.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Ezra fasted concerning sin in Israel verse 6
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Ezra prayed with:
Confession
Weeping
Casting himself down
before the house of God verse 1
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Ezra verse 1- 17
Proclamation throughout Judah
and Jerusalem: great
gathering
Whoever didn’t come would forfeited
his substance
Men of Judah and Benjamin gathered
in three days
Great rain
Sermon starts in verse 10
Transgressed
Confession
Separate from people of the
land
Separate from strange wives
Made an end
House of God verse 1, 6, 9
Chief priests verse 5
Levites verse 5
Jonathan – son of Asahel –priest verse 15
Jahaziah- son of Tikvah – priest verse 15
Meshullam – Levite verse 15
Shabbethai – Levite verse 15
List of priests that took strange wives verse 18, 20-22
Offered ram of the flock verse 19
Priests that took strange wives
Levites that took strange wives verse 23
Singers that took strange wives verse 24
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandment verse 3
Law verse 3
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1- 3, 6, 9, 11, 14
House of God verse 1, 6, 9
Covenant with our God verse 3
Commandment of our God verse 3
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 11
LORD God of your fathers verse 11
Fierce wrath of our God verse 14
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Trespassed verse 2, 10, 19
Taken strange wives verse 2, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 44
Transgression verse 6, 10, 13
Not separating from people of land verse 11
Guilty verse 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Pray verse 1
Confess verse 1, 11
Wept verse 1
Hope verse 2
Covenant verse 3
Put away strange wives verse 3
Tremble verse 3, 9
Good courage verse 4
Promise verse 5
Fasting verse 6
Mourn verse 6
Confession verse 11
Do LORD’S pleasure verse 11
Separate verse 11, 16
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Israel verses 1- 9
Great congregation
Wept very sore
Swear that they should do
according to THIS word
Shechaniah – son of Jehiel verse 2
We have trespassed
Make a covenant: put away
Wives
Princes verse 8
Elders verse 8, 14
Congregation verse 12
They would separate
Let rulers which have taken
Strange wives separate
List of those in Israel that took strange
wives – some had children verse 25- 44
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
17 The committee began its work ten days after the assembly had met in the rain. According to the Nisan calendar, they completed their work three months later on 27 March 457. The investigating elders and judges did their work carefully and thoroughly. They discovered that about a hundred couples were involved. (Yamauchi, E. (1988). Ezra-Nehemiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 672). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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They began the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter (v. 16), which was but ten days after this method was proposed (v. 9), and they finished in three months, v. 17. They sat closely and minded their business, otherwise they could not have despatched so many causes as they had before them in so little time; for we may suppose that all who were impeached were fairly asked what cause they could show why they should not be parted, and, if we may judge by other cases, provided the wife were proselyted to the Jewish religion she was not to be put away, the trial of which would require great care. 4. Who the persons were that were found guilty of this crime. Their names are here recorded to their perpetual reproach; many of the priests, nay, of the family of Jeshua, the high priest, were found guilty (v. 18), though the law had particularly provided, for the preserving of their honour in their marriages, that being holy themselves they should not marry such as were profane, Lev. 21:7. Those that should have taught others the law broke it themselves and by their example emboldened others to do likewise. But, having lost their innocency in this matter, they did well to recant and give an example of repentance; for they promised under their hand to put away their strange wives (some think that they made oath to do so with their hands lifted up), and they took the appointed way of obtaining pardon, bringing the ram which was appointed by the law for a trespass offering (Lev. 6:6), so owning their guilt and the desert of it, and humbly suing for forgiveness. About 113 in all are here named who had married strange wives, and some of them, it is said (v. 44), had children by them, which implies that not many of them had, God not crowning those marriages with the blessing of increase. Whether the children were turned off with the mothers, as Shechaniah proposed, does not appear; it should seem not: however it is probable that the wives which were put away were well provided for, according to their rank. One would think this grievance was now thoroughly redressed, yet we meet with it again (Neh. 13:23 and Mal. 2:11), for such corruptions are easily and insensibly brought in, but not without great difficulty purged out again. The best reformers can but do their endeavour, but, when the Redeemer himself shall come to Sion, he shall effectually turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 626). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
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On December 19, 458, the men of the two main tribes, Judah and Benjamin, plus exiles from the other tribes, gathered in the street before the temple to start the solemn investigation. (This meeting may have been convened at the Water Gate where Ezra later expounded the Law to the people, Neh. 8:1ff.)
It was December, the middle of the rainy season (October to mid-April), and the crowd trembled, not only because of the weather, but also because they were sure the heavy rain was a prelude to the judgment of God. Ezra made it clear that the mixed marriages would have to be dissolved, and he called upon the faithful Jews to separate themselves from those who had disobeyed God’s law.
Once again, Ezra was given counsel by others, and he accepted it. (Blessed is the leader who has open ears to the ideas of others!) It was suggested that Ezra empower the committee of priests and Levites to work with the leaders of the tribes, as well as the elders and judges of the towns (who knew their people), and let them determine who was guilty. It was impractical to try to interrogate so many people in one place, especially when the weather was so inclement; and the work couldn’t be done in a day. Except for four men who dissented (Ezra 10:15), the crowd agreed with this idea and promised to obey.
Ten days later (v. 16), on December 29, Ezra and the leaders sat down together and began to investigate the matter; three months later, on March 27, 457, their work was finished. It must have been a difficult job to do, but they persisted with the help of the Lord. They discovered over 100 offenders, including 27 priests, Levites, temple singers, and gatekeepers, people you would have expected to be models of obedience.
When spiritual leaders begin to sin, it doesn’t take long for other people to follow. While we don’t want to minimize the enormity of the sin, it should be noted that the number of offenders was very low when compared to the size of the population. Eighty years before, nearly 50,000 Jews had returned with Zerubbabel and Joshua, and during the ensuing years, the people surely multiplied. The total number of offenders was probably less than 1 percent of the residents. However, it’s better to deal with these matters when the numbers are low, because the longer you wait, the more the sin will spread. Even one offender is one too many (Ecc. 9:18).
The guilty priests promised to put away their heathen wives, and they offered sacrifices to seek God’s forgiveness (Ezra 10:18–19). We assume that the other offenders listed followed their example. God in His grace accepted their repentance and confession and granted them forgiveness.
The Book of Ezra opens in chapter 2 with a list of the names of the Jewish heroes who willingly returned to the land to serve the Lord. The book ends with a list of the sinners who disobeyed God but publicly made it right with the Lord and the people. But “making it right” didn’t automatically heal every wound or remove every pain, because the women involved had to leave the community and go back to the heathen homes from which they had come, taking with them whatever children had been born to the union. It’s easy to pull the nails out of the board, but it’s impossible to pull out the holes that they leave behind.
Over thirteen years later, the problem of mixed marriages appeared again while Nehemiah was governor of Jerusalem (Neh. 13:23–31). It’s possible for leaders to enforce the law and reform a nation’s conduct, but only God can change the human heart and produce the kind of character that wants to do what’s right. That’s the difference between “reformation” and “revival.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Be heroic (pp. 57–59). Colorado Springs, CO: ChariotVictor Pub.)
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10:16, 17 tenth month … first month. It took 3 months to rectify the situation in all cases, after which the people were prepared to celebrate Passover with a clear conscience. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ezr 10:16). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 17. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives, &c.] Finished their inquiry and examination of them: by the first day of the first month; the month Nisan, answering to part of March and April; so that they were three months about this work.
Ver. 18. And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives, &c.] So that it need not be wondered at that this evil should spread among the people, when those who understood the law, and should have instructed the people in it, set such an example: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak; who was the high-priest; and perhaps for this fault of his, in not restraining his sons from such unlawful marriages, is he represented in filthy garments, Zech. 3:3. and his brethren, Maasiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah; these were the brethren of Jeshua.
Ver. 19. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives, &c.] They proposed to do it, and actually did it: and being guilty; of which they were fully convinced: they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass; to make atonement for it, and thereby set an example to others to do the like. Aben Ezra observes, that we don’t find that the trespass-offering was a mulct to such who married strange wives, and conjectures, that it was the advice of the chief men to do it. From hence, to the end of ver. 43, is a list of the men that had married strange wives, and put them away; those in ver. 20, 21, 22, were priests; in ver. 23, 24, Levites, and those of them who were singers or porters; the rest were Israelites: and it is a very common distinction, in rabbinical writers, to distinguish the Jews into priests, Levites, and Israelites; of these we know no more than their names; some of the heads of the families may be observed in ch. 2. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 127). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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15–17. The Holy Ghost hath thought proper to be particular in stating the precise time this great reform took to make it effectual and complete. Mark, Reader! how attentive the Lord is to all the circumstances of his people. He telleth the wanderings of his people; he putteth their tears into his bottle; they are noticed in his book. Psalm 56:8. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, p. 627). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Jesus did not die for our righteousness, but He died for our sins. He did not come to save us because we were worth the saving, but because we were utterly worthless, ruined, and undone (C.H. Spurgeon)
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Mary James (NY) shares: She said, “Don’t call the doctor, I want to fall asleep peacefully, with your hand in mine.” He told her about the past, how they met, their first kiss. they didn’t cry, they smiled. They didn’t regret anything, they were grateful. Then she repeated softly, ‘I love you forever!’ He returned her words, gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes and fell asleep peacefully with her hand in his.
Love is what matters because man comes into this world with nothing other than love and leaves with nothing other than love. Profession, career, bank account, our goods are just tools, nothing more. Everything stays here. Love, as if there was nothing more important in your life.
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THE WONDERS OF HIS GRACE
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
It is to those who were in the depths that the sense of the presence of God has been most real and the realization of His sustaining power most definite.
The widow of a German Moravian bishop told me that the universal testimony of all the Christians in Germany who had suffered untold hardships on account of their faith was, in her experience, that they would have missed none of these things, that indeed they thanked God for them. By these things they had been awakened to a realization of the poverty of their Christian lives and experiences; by these things also they had had their eyes opened to “the wonders of His grace.”
That is but their modern way of expressing what the psalmist puts thus: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalm 119:71).
It is also but the re-echo of Paul’s reaction to the verdict, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness,” which led him to say, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). If we but love God and submit ourselves to Him, that most certainly will be our experience; for again I would remind you that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
A Thought to Ponder
By these things they had been awakened to a realization of the poverty of their Christian lives. (From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 125-126, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Good Confession
“I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.” (1 Timothy 6:13)
Young Timothy also had “professed a good profession [same word as ‘confession’] before many witnesses” (v. 12), evidently of similar substance and quality to that in the witness of Christ before Pilate. When the Jews urged Pilate to condemn Jesus to death, their charge was that “he made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). Pilate gave Jesus opportunity to deny this charge and save His life, “but Jesus gave him no answer” (v. 9). Both by His silence, when a denial of the charge could have saved Him, and by His open testimony before Pilate that He was, in fact, a King from heaven itself—indeed “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15)—it becomes clear that our own “good confession” must be a confession of our faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God, our Savior and Lord, especially when that confession is made openly before hostile witnesses.
Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Paul said, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9); and John said, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).
Despite the great blessings awaiting all who make a courageous and good confession of saving faith in Christ, most people will refuse until it is too late. There is a time coming, however, when “every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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“Very Good”
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)
On several occasions during the creation week, God had declared aspects of His creation as “good” (vv. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). But once His crown of creation was in place, the very image of Himself (vv. 26-27), He pronounced it all “very good” and ceased His creative activity (2:1-3).
Just what does it mean to be “very good” in God’s eyes? This term is used elsewhere in the Old Testament by men and regarding men, but here God Himself, the sinless, ever-living One, declares creation to be just what He wanted—able to accomplish and fulfill each of His plans and desires for it. Whatever else may be said about this creation, at the very least it must have been without death, being a phenomenon anathema to Him.
Death is identified as “the last enemy that shall be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:26). “Death reigned from Adam to Moses” (Romans 5:14), and “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). Indeed, “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). The source of this condition is known as the curse pronounced on all of creation due to man’s rebellion against God (Genesis 3) as had been promised (2:17). Even today “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and since all sin, all must die. Truly, sin has ruined God’s original sinless, deathless, “very good” creation.
But the story does not end there. The very Creator who pronounced the awful curse of death as the penalty for sin has Himself died to pay that penalty and one day will repeal the curse (Revelation 22:3) and abolish death (21:4). The creation will be returned to its original created intent, and all will once again be “very good.” (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Priceless Lives in Christ
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WHAT WE SEE ABOUT OUR LORD HIMSELF
For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. John 17:8
Notice what we see here about the Lord Himself. Here He is praying for His followers: not only for those immediately of His own time, but for all those who are going to believe in Him throughout the centuries, and therefore for us. Let us look at Him as He thus prays; let us look at certain things that stand out very clearly about His person.
Notice His claims. He says, for instance, “They . . . have known surely that I came out from thee.” Here is One who appears to be just a man. He is to be taken by cruel people in apparent helplessness and weakness and is to be crucified on a cross. Yet He speaks of Himself as One who has come from God. Here is another great assertion of His unique deity: He is proclaiming that He is the eternal Son of God come from heaven to earth to dwell among men. He repeats it by saying, “Thou didst send me. “He is not One who has just been born like everybody else” He has been sent by God into this world.
Then in verse 10 He does not hesitate to say, “I am glorified in them” a tremendous assertion that He is not only man, He is the Son of God, verily God Himself, and that as He is the glory of the Father, so the disciples are to be His glory. He has glorified the Father, and He is glorified in them by what they are going to be and what they are going to do. You notice our calling, you notice that we, as Christians, have the privilege of being men and women in Him: that through us the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is glorified
A Thought to Ponder: He is praying for all those who are going to believe in Him throughout the centuries, and therefore for us. (From Safe in the World, pp. 15-16, Dr. Marytn Lloyd-Jones)
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Ellen shares (NY): There isn’t a mask big enough to protect us from everything going on in the world today. We need to suit up with the WHOLE ARMOER OF GOD.
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My wife shared: “Jesus did not die for our righteousness but He died for our sins. He did not come to save us because we were worth the saving, but because we were utterly worthless, ruined, and undone. (C.H. Spurgeon)
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