The Grief of Unfaithfulness to the Word

Transcript

GRS 147
04/21/2002
The Grief of Unfaithfulness to the Word
Ezra 9-10
Gil Rugh

We are going to go to the book of Ezra in your Bibles and finish our study of this book by looking at the last two chapters, Ezra chapters 9 and 10. I anticipate that we will proceed on and do a study of the Book of Nehemiah next. If you read ahead, I am not saying when we will get Nehemiah done, but that is what is my plan for the future. Ezra chapter 9. Chapter 7 and 8 recorded the return from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem under Ezra. There were about five thousand exiles, men, women, and children that returned with Ezra from the region of Babylon back to Jerusalem.

The Persians are ruling and so it is under the authority of a Persian king that this return takes place. There was an emphasis in those two chapters on the fact that the return of these exiles, a remnant of Israel, was due to the sovereign control of God. You have that repeated expression in the chapter “the good hand of our God was upon us” and related words like that. Gods hand was upon them. God moved on the king of Persia to bring about this return. He arranged the details. He provided the material resources. He protected them along the way. All a part of the faithfulness of God to His people Israel. Ezra himself is a priest and a scribe, as well as a man with political authority given to him by the king of Persia.

Back in chapter 7 verse 10 we are told Ezra had said his heart to study the law of God, to practice, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel. We note this as an indication of the godly character of Ezra. Ezra did not begin the office of scribe as is sometimes thought because in the days of Jeremiah the scribes are already in existence. Some of those were guilty of corrupting the word of God, but Ezra was a faithful scribe and we note that the order is important. He studied, practiced and taught. This is going to have an impact on the nation Israel and is something of a background for what will take place in chapters 9 and 10 because we need turn the light of the word of God on. It is then you see things there were not revealed before. One of the things that will be seen in Israel is sinful behavior that had to be corrected.

Some eight years had passed since the first return under Zerubbabel in chapter 2 so, the book of Ezra covers a period of about 80 years. Now between chapters 6 and 7 remember there was a 57-year gap well about which nothing is recorded in Ezra? But from the return under Zerubbabel in chapter 2 to these events and to the return under Ezra we have a period of about 80 years. During this time, evidently the Jews had become lax in their study of the law, their practice of the law and then their teaching of the law. Their conduct had deteriorated; they were no longer living in conformity to the word of God. Chapters 9 and 10 are really concerned with Israel’s unfaithfulness and the unfaithfulness took place in the context of marrying non-Israelite women. What should be done because a corrupting of Israel was taking place? As Jews who have returned from exile, from the punishment God had brought upon them in removing them from the Land now they would return. But in a relatively short period of time, 80 years as I said, since the first return, they have wandered from the word of God and have done what he specifically forbids. That is they have become joined in marriage with pagan non-Israelites. This precipitates a serious crisis in Israel and brings about an unusual remedy. Time wise here this takes place about four and half months after Ezra has come back.

Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in chapter 7 verse 9 on the first day of the fifth month. It was on the 17th day of the 9th month, as we will see in chapter 10 verses 8 and 9, these measures take place. So about four and a half months after his arrival, then I would take, that one of the things that has happened. Since we have been told that Ezra devoted his life in an intense way to the study of the law, the practice of the law and the teaching of the law, over these four months it becomes evident that things are not as they ought to be among God’s people. And so, we have the crisis.

Look at chapter 9. The first four verses talk about the matter of the sin of mixed marriages. “Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness”. It encompasses different groups of people. Verse 1 talked about the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites. So, you have the lady, the priests, the Levites who served in temple ministry. Then we are told in verse 2, the end of the verse, that the princes and rulers have been especially guilty of this sin. In the law, God had specifically forbidden Israel to intermarry with the people of Canaan.

Backup to the book of Exodus 34, verse 10 “then God said, behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles, which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you. Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going lest it become a snare in your midst”. The danger is when you enter into binding arrangements with the pagans that you become corrupted by their practices and in particular, by their worship.

Down in verse 15 “lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invite you to eat of his sacrifice and you take some of his daughters for your sons and his daughters play the harlot with their Gods and cause your sons to play the harlot with their gods”. So, the warning of no covenant relationships with the pagan peoples of the land and specifically he points out no marriages were to take place.

Look at Deuteronomy Chapter 7 verse 1, “when the Lord your God shall bring you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and shall clear away many nations for you.” Verse 2 “and when the Lord your God shall deliver them before you, you shall defeat them, you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. Remember that verse. Ezra is going to express concern over this very issue. That this sin in Israel may result in God bringing about their destruction. Verse 6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God.” Remember that expression you are a holy people to the Lord your God. “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

Now come back to Ezra chapter 9 look at verse 2. “For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves,” now note this, “and for their sons,” so that the holy race, literally, the holy seed has intermingled with the peoples of the lands”. Remember God said in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 6, you are to be a holy nation. Now that holy seed, the people that God selected out to belong him, are to be separate and distinct from all other peoples. The holy seed is intermingled with the peoples of the lands. We have a corrupting of the nation that God has chosen for himself. Important in this to remember is that Israel has a relationship with God that is both physical and spiritual as they may need to remember. There have been many things done in the misuse of the Scripture that have been an embarrassment to those of us who believe the Bible. Some try to build an issue for the separation of the races on certain passages. As you understand the matter of the physical separation of a nation applies only to Israel because Israel is the only holy nation. They are the only holy seed. There are the only people chosen as a physical people for God.

We need to be careful about trying to take a principle out of a passage like this and apply it more broadly than Scripture does. This, what God says about Israel, in this context has nothing to do with anyone else. Because there is no other nation that God has chosen for Himself. God has chosen no other people to have a physical relationship with him if He will as well as a spiritual that [would] mean no other nation that would belong to Him in a special way. People from other nations, but no other people, and that includes the United States of America. God has blessed us but we are not God’s chosen people. Israel still is the only nation God has chosen for himself.

All right, look at verse 3 Ezra’s response to this sin is overwhelming grief, mourning, anger. He tears his garments – that is a sign of mourning. Then he plucks some of the hair from his beard and his head which is a sign of intense anger or grief. In reality, Ezra is beside himself. Did you get that sense through this? He is all but overwhelmed. How could Israel be so unfaithful? He is embarrassed even to have to come before God and acknowledge the sin and guilt of people. A people who have been brought back by God’s grace from the punishment of exile. They quickly forget and they are back to their old ways. Verse 4 “then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me and I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.” It was not only Ezra who was appalled and mortified and filled with grief. Every godly person who has a reverence for the word of God is impacted by sin in the same way. It produces grief. This sin among God’s people that is particularly serious matter here. Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel joins with Ezra in grieving over this sin of the nation.

Verse 5 to 15, one of those great Old Testament prayers, where Ezra goes before the Lord and confesses the sin of the nation. We see that Ezra identifies himself with God’s people. Rather than to go before God in prayer setting himself apart, he shares their guilt because he sees them as a people called by God for Himself, sin among this people infects every one. In verses 5 to 7 he confesses the sin, “at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, I fell upon my knees, I stretched out my hands to the Lord my God and I said O my God, I am ashamed, I am embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, our guilt has grown even to the heavens”.

You see how he senses that he is part of this guilt, not that he has committed the sin. He is part of the people of God that are now guilty before God and he says what I can say? I am embarrassed to come before you as part of this people and have to tell you what we have done. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of an iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hands of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day. All the punishment, all the defeats, the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity, all testifies to the fact we are a people that sin incessantly and you have had to constantly discipline and punish us.

An interesting thing is he refers to their conquest and defeats. One commentator made an interesting note. The 2500 years from the Babylonian captivity in 605 BC to the establishing of the nation Israel in 1948 there was only a period of 100 years when Israel was not under the domination of foreign power, and that 100 years was during the time of the Maccabeus. Let me read you what he says after the conquest Judah by the Babylonians in 605 BC. “The Jews fell successfully under the Persians, Alexander the great, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Turks and the British. Only for about a century, from the Maccabean revolt in 165 BC until Pompey’s intervention in 63 BC, did the Jews enjoy autonomy – that is until the establishment of the independent state of Israel in 1948. Remarkably the history of Israel has been a history of God’s discipline, God’s punishment, and the worst is yet to come as we have seen.

He moves from confessing the sin of the nation to acknowledging God’s loving kindness. God has had to discipline Israel but He has dealt graciously with them. Look at verse 8, “but now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem”. But now for a brief movement the grace has been shown to us. I mentioned it has been a period of about 80 years since the return under Zerubbabel in Chapter 2. Now the return under Ezra. God has demonstrated His grace and moved on the Persian kings to bring His people back to the land and back to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple to worship God. That has all been the hand of God.

But what has Israel done? Verse 10 to 14, he confesses the sin of which they are presently guilty. “Now our God,” verse 10, “what shall we say after this? Our sin, God’s grace, God’s loving kindness, what do I say before Him? We have been a people guilty of rebellion but God showed His grace and His loving kindness, and what have we done? We have sinned against His grace. We have sinned against His loving kindness. “Oh, now our God” verse 10 “what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end and with their impurity.

So now do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever. After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us an escaped remnant '. You did not punish us as severely as our sin deserve and you have now brought in a remnant back to enable the remnant to escape if you will.

Shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction until there is no remnant nor any who escape? Remember what we read in the law. God’s threat to punish them and destroy them. Ezra is fearful. What can we do? God punished. Then He relented and showed us grace and lovingkindness and delivered us and what was our response? To run immediately to sin, reject His word, and rebel against Him. Would not this stir Your anger to the point of annihilating even the remnant? There you see Ezra has no excuse for the sin. He acknowledges God’s rightness, God’s grace and it would be right if God just wiped them out. That is what they deserve. He summarizes it in verse 15 “O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in our guilt, no one can stand before You because of this.” We have been punished less than we deserve and we have sinned against grace. You are a God of righteousness, a God of anger.

You know several attributes of God mentioned in this portion of the prayer. Back in verse 8 he mentioned God’s grace. “But for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord.” Verse 9 he talked about God’s kindness. God has not forsaken us but has extended lovingkindness to us. Verse 14 he talks about God’s anger. Would you not be angry with us to the point of destruction? Verse 15 he talks about God’s righteousness. These attributes of God – His grace, His loving kindness, His anger, His righteousness – all part of the Ezra addressing the solemn God on the solemn occasion.

You know Ezra does not tell God what He ought to do. Let us say God you are to give us one more chance. You will get the sense when you are in verse 15, Ezra doesn’t know what to say. Here we are Lord, for you do with as you would see fit and we deserve the worst. It looks like I am embarrassed to ask for anything else because when you show us grace and when you show us lovingkindness what did we do? We take advantage of it.

We look at Israel and say how terrible they are? You know we are the same way so often, aren’t we? If we sin, we rebel. God is gracious, God is kind and forgiving. Now you often take that as a little leeway. Maybe the sin is not so bad. Maybe it is not such a big issue, nothing serious happened. I didn’t wake up in the morning with a serious disease. I didn’t suffer any consequences. It is like, oh well, then what? I will take advantage of grace and feel free to sin against grace.

Chapter 10 brings the drastic solution to the problem, the remedy if you will. You can never undo sin. There are things that have to be corrected. Chapter 10 is an unusual chapter in the Bible because here the solution to the problem of these intermarriage is divorce. Not only divorcing your wife, these foreign wives, but also separating yourself from the children of these marriages. The fact that there had been children born in these marriages indicate this has gone on for some time. Evidentially many of these may go back as a line over that 80 years. Children have been born so that. As we quickly move away from faithfulness to God, now you know what? There is pain in what has to be done in making the corrections.

Those wives and children have to go. That is what is required. There is no vision from heaven. There is no direct communication that we are told about. Rather, a godly individual steps forward and speaks to Ezra about what needs to be done. He is a man about whom we know nothing else in the Scripture. His is a name that is a common name. One commentator noted six men with this name in Ezra and Nehemiah. We can identify him with any of these men but he is the man that God raises up for this occasion. Chapter 10, verse 1 “Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God.” You know this is a matter that has affected Ezra tremendously, this sin among God’s people. I can never stand aloof or apart from that. They realize that what he does impact me, Ezra is impacted by it.

A very large assembly, men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. So, word spreads about the seriousness of the sin of Israel. You know it’s interesting. The sin can go on and go on and go on. Then when the light of the word of God is turned on the sin is seen and its ugliness comes so clear. We’re in an overwhelming situation. The attitude is high. Would we have tolerated? Would we done it? By God’s grace there is moving among the remnant in Israel, at this time, a conviction of sin. So, the people naturally moved toward Jerusalem, toward the temple. They gathered with Ezra, wept, and Shecaniah steps up, in verse 2. He recommends a solution. Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land.” You note there is no resistance, no arguing this isn’t so bad, you are making more of this than you should. Only that we have sinned and we have been unfaithful to our God. Yet there is hope for Israel in spite of this, but what is the hope? Now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord. Of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; let it be done according to the law.

And this solution is seen as bringing the conduct and behavior of the people into conformity with what the law required. Separation from these people. That is a drastic solution and we are going to tear apart families. Evidently families that have been together for years because there are children involved. Now there is going to be a tearing apart of these families and separation between husband and wife, between fathers, sons, and daughters. They have to go. The foreign wives and the children of these relationships must be removed. When Shecaniah says we will make a covenant he means we will bind ourselves before God to do this to rectify this situation. There was provision for divorce given in the law, Deuteronomy 24. It involved situations were there may be uncleanness found in a woman.

We don’t go into all of that here. What is brought out in verse 3 is that the separation from these wives and these children will bring us into conformity with what the law requires. That’s the solution. That’s what will be implemented. Radical, painful, and unpleasant as sin always is before it is done. It starts out as pleasant, desirable, enjoyable seemingly with minimal consequences, and ends up wretchedly. That’s where we are.

Verse 4 “arise for this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.” He encourages Ezra to act swiftly. He assures him that he, and the people, will support him. Shecaniah becomes a man of courage. He steps forward with a radical solution and assures Ezra of the support of the people. It will take Ezra’s action. He is the leader. He is the one invested with responsibility by God and by the Persian king for the people here.

So verses 5 to 8 are labeled promise, prayer, and proclamation. Look at verse 5 the promise or the oath. “Then Ezra rose and made the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this proposal; so they took the oath.”

What Ezra does first up is get the key people to bind themselves with an oath. They took an oath here before God meant that they could be assured of punishment for not following through. This is crucial. Why do this? Because he is preparing the way so that as we get into this process you don’t have people all of a sudden deciding it is too unpleasant, it’s too painful, too many the people don’t like it, or anything like that.

They are bound by oath. They can’t go back. We have to see this thing through to the end. So, it is well thought out. Ezra is careful to proceed in such a way that will assure the proper result. First is to get these key people to bind themselves with an oath. Then Ezra goes to prayer again. Verse 6, “Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan.” These were often used for storage bins but they also became places where certain individuals had, if you will, an apartment. That would not be quite the expression but that’s the idea. He retires to one owned by an individual. There he has a time of “mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles”, fasting as he demonstrates his grief before the Lord.

Then you have verse 7. The proclamation given in verses 7 and 8, “They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem.” So the call goes out to the exiles. Now those who have returned over these last 80 year assembled at Jerusalem. This is not an invitation that can be neglected. You have three days. Look at verse 8 “whoever would not come within three days, according to the council of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.” If you don’t come you forfeit everything you own and you are cut off from any involvement. Then what are you going to do? You will have nothing and you belonged to no one. That is a serious penalty. You have three days to get here. Now some have done the work here and figured probably the exiles are spread out no more than fifty miles from Jerusalem so three days is plenty of time for them to come to Jerusalem for this meeting. Ezra has authority as a priest, as a scribe, and as the representative of the king of Persia.

Interestingly enough, look back in chapter 7 to when King Artaxerxes, the Persian king, gave Ezra authority to act when he returned. Look at verse 26 “and whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment”. So, you see Ezra had absolute authority from the king and that included if they would not obey the law of the king in verse 26. “Whoever would not observe the law of your God” then Ezra would have the right to execute them or to take possession of their possessions or to put them in prison. So, he is not acting out of line here. He is not only spiritual leader in the nation but he is the one who has been entrusted with the political authority in the nation as well so, this is not an idle threat. He has the power of Persia behind him for any who would rebel. But the spirit of the Lord is working and people do respond.

Verses 9 to 15 talk about the meeting that take place in Jerusalem. Ezra gives instruction and you might know it is a miserable time. It is a miserable time everywhere as people are gathered and confronted with reality of their sin. On top of that the weather is miserable. Verse 9 “all the men of Jude and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month on the 20th of the month.” We can figure how long Ezra has been here until this happens. From the time, he arrived until this time is about four and a half months. All the people sat in the open square before the house of God trembling because of this matter in the heavy rain. The open square, the square on the east side of the temple. It was sufficient to accommodate thousands of people, so they are gathered here and it is an open area. The ninth month, we are told in verse 9, it is the ninth month and that would be the equivalent to our November, December. It is cold and rainy. In fact, you get into this period our November, December, January, and you can even have snow over there. The word for rain here indicates heavy torrential rain, they don’t just have sprinkles. It is coming down in buckets and it is cold.

The people are in the rain and you add that they are emotionally broken over the realty of their sin and the serious spiritual condition of the nation. So, they are trembling. Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them I see as a preacher thinking now. I think sometimes I have to preach and it is difficult, I haven’t had anything like this. Ezra the priest stood up and said to them thanks for coming, the weather is miserable. I am sorry to bring you out on a day like this. What does he start out with? You have been unfaithful. Let’s get right to the point. You have been unfaithful. You have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do as well. What would that mean? And separate yourself from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives. The rebuke is strong; the remedy is severe but verse 12. “Then the all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “That’s right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do.”

Remarkable situation here, isn’t it when you consider the circumstances? Yet by the grace of God there is agreement. What you said is exactly right and what we have to do is our duty, our responsibility. There is a problem. There is a lot of people. When there are lots of people involved in this, we can’t handle it in a short time and the weather is miserable. So, they say really what we need is to have the leaders handle it. It can be done in an organized way, in each of our areas the leaders can work through this and so on. So, verse 13 there are many people. It is the rainy season; we are not able to stand in the open and the task can’t be done in 1 or 2 days. Note this at the end of verse 13 “for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.” There is no minimizing of their sin, there are no backing up.

You know one of the things that become clear when a person is really dealing properly with their sin before God is all their excuses are gone. We have transgressed greatly. Because it involves more than just one or two of us it can’t be handled in a day or two. So, they are not looking to escape the consequences. What they are saying is true. It just can’t be handled the way it needs to be handled here in a day or two. Let our leaders represent the whole assembly so that all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at a point in time together with the elders and judges of each city until the fierce anger of our God because this matter is turned away from us. So, you see there is handling in an orderly way. Those who have married foreign women will appear before the leaders and judges in our cities and we will work through it as you said.

There is minimal opposition in verse 15 and no real detail given to that. There are a few people who don’t think this is the best thing to do, but verse 16 “the exiles did so. And Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers' households for each of their father's households, all of them by name. So, they convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first of the first month.” So, what happened is this committee who is going to be in charge of this meets 10 days after this meeting in the rain, and three months later they have completed the task.

Working through verses 18 to 44 give you the list of guilty people. About 110 families are impacted here according to the names given. 17 priests, 10 Levites and 86 men of the congregation are all set out here. They are guilty. “They,” verse 19, “pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense.

Now according to Leviticus Chapter 5, verses 14 to 19, a ram was the offering, the guilt offering for sin committed unintentionally. And that may indicate here that it was because the law had not been taught faithfully. The people had sinned but they had not been aware of the seriousness of their sin because the Scripture had not been presented. That is not to provide an excuse. We see clearly they are guilty before God. But there is provision here and the ram would indicate their offering was a guilt offering for sin that was committed unwittingly. When the light of the word of God was brought to bear they realized their sin, it had to be dealt it. It is not a matter, well if you didn’t know, if you didn’t understand clearly what the law said, then you don’t have to divorce your wife. You don’t have to put away these children. No, the consequences are the same for everyone. But there is provision made for their forgiveness. Verse 44 ends the book “all these had married foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.”

Well I would say, “oh that is done.” Israel surely learned a lesson. Twelve years later in Nehemiah chapter 10 the same sin will have to be dealt with and that will be the end of it. About thirty years later in Nehemiah 13 the same sin, a sad commentary. You think this would have made such an impact but 10 years later under Nehemiah we are going to have to deal with the exact problem.

Let me now walk through you some principles I have set down. I want to be careful here that we handle these things properly. I don’t want anybody running out of here giving anybody advice to divorce their unbelieving spouse or using it as an excuse to get rid of rebellious children or anything like that.

Number 1, I think we want to begin by remembering the example of Ezra in chapter 7, verse 10. To study, to practice and to teach the word of God and that has to be done, in that order. People who have tried to teach what they have not studied and practiced in the word are as bad in the church as it was in Israel. So, we want to be thoroughly saturated with the word of God then bring our life into conformity or behavior into conformity with the word and then to teach others the truth that we are living out.

Number 2 it’s God intention that His people remain separate from the entanglements with the world. That’s true for Israel in the Old Testament. That’s true for the church in the New Testament. Turn over to second Corinthians. The church is not Israel but the church is to be comprised of the people who belong to God. Israel was to be the nation that belongs to God, the people of God are to be separated from the world to God, this is the basic idea in sanctification, to be separate, separated from sin to God, we are sanctified. Look in second Corinthians 6 verse 14 Paul addressing the church at Corinth “do not be bound together with unbelievers.”

This passage is often referenced in connection with marriage. But marriage is not the particular subject here, although marriage would be included in what is said here. What is said here wouldn’t be limited to marriage, relationships. “For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said” then he quotes from the Old Testament “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you, be a Father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Root for the word holiness is sanctification. We live in holiness when we are separate from sin, walk as God would have us walk. We are not to be bound together. That idea that we are always looking for how much like the world we can become before we cross the line. How much like the world can we become? How close to the world we can we get before we have crossed the line? Why do we always want to know how close to the line? Isn’t that a sign of immaturity with our children? We use the example all the time because it is obvious, right? When they are young and immature you tell them they can’t go out in the street. And they are walking right down there along the curb. Why? You say didn’t I tell you not go to the street? I am not in the street. They are right, but you would like a little more maturity. You hope by the time they are 20 they won’t be doing that and yes, somehow we think it is our right as God’s people. Oh, I didn’t cross the line. Can you prove to me this is sin? Oh, then it is all right for me to walk right on that edge. Come out be separate says the Lord. We are not to be bound together. It is so clear. It is never God’s intention for His people to marry unbelievers.

Number 3 Israel is unique in that God shows them as a physical people to belong to him. These are the only people whose physical identity is an essential part of their spiritual relationship with God. Now don’t bring more theology into that statement than is intended. In the background, we have been talking about, Israel was chosen as a physical nation so they have a unique relationship with God in that they belong to him both physically as a people as well as spiritually. Being a physical Jew did not guarantee a spiritual relationship with God. They had to be circumcised in their heart. There are a number of verses but we don’t have to look at those.

Number 4 since Israel’s relationship with God was both physical and spiritual. Marriage with non-Israelites had serious ramification. This does not mean it was wrong in all cases but rather that racial identity is not an issue in spiritual matters for nations other than Israel. There is an added dimension here. God is concerned that Israel not be corrupted spiritually by their intermarriage. They also realize Israel has a racial identity. Quite frankly God has no particular interest in whether I maintain my racial identity or not, but He is maintaining the racial identity of Israel. So, there are factors there. The point I want to be careful that we don’t fall into the pattern that some did back in an earlier time in our country. Some were trying to defend racial segregation by using old testament passages which have nothing to do with anyone but Israel. Israel does have a racial identity. There are racial issues when it comes to Israel. Racial in the sense of their physical identity as a people.

Number 5, in the church there is to be no issue over racial identity. Galatians chapter 3 verse 28, Ephesians chapter 2 verses 11 to 22, the distinction between Jew and Greek. In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek. That is not an issue.

Number 6 believers should always avoid any relationship that would compromise their walk with the Lord. We just read in Second Corinthians 6, that would mean the issue of marrying unbelievers. And I would say why then would I dabble in dating an unbeliever? Why would I dabble in developing the kind of relationship with an unbeliever that might have the potential of leading to marriage? Israel got into nothing but trouble when they tried to dabble where God forbid them to go. And I say God’s people today get into nothing but trouble when they dabble in an exception so they will get saved, they will come to know the lord before. You need to be very careful of our conduct in these areas.
Lastly believers are not to divorce unbelieving partners who are willing to live with believers. You cannot apply the pattern of the Ezra 9 and 10 to situations today.

Look at first Corinthians Chapter 7 and he is talking about marriage here. The advantage of leading a celibate unmarried life he talks about the first part of the chapter verse 10 “but to the married I give instructions not I but the Lord that the wife should not leave her husband but if she does leave let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband and the husband should not send his wife away but to the rests I say, not the Lord,” That does not mean this inspired scripture means this is an issue that the Lord did not address. He addressed the areas of marriage and divorce when He was on earth, but Christ did not address the area Paul is now going into.

If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him let him not send her away and a woman who has an unbelieving husband and he consents to live with her, let her not sent her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, oh wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? You might think well, look. In marriage, the two become one but one is a child of God indwelled by the Spirit and the other is a child of the devil serving the god of this world. Is it good for them to be joined together in a relationship of oneness? What fellowship has Christ and the devil? It seems as long as you believe you can make a case that is defiling to remain in a marriage with an unbeliever.

You might be able make that case logically but you can’t make it biblically because God says it does not work that way. We have to be careful that our logic does not overrule Scripture. Why don’t we try to use our logic to get what we might want to do, to have done rather than submit the Scripture? If you had an unbelieving spouse and that unbelieving spouse is willing to remain in the marriage with you as a believer and what Paul is considering here are the cases where one of the marriage partners has become a believer. In some of those cases the unbelieving spouse may not be willing to remain in that marriage any longer and if they leave then let them leave.

You are not obligated to try to keep them from leaving in that sense to prevent them from leaving. We do not send away unbelieving partners’ and are not to do so. Rather than the believing partner being defiled by the unbelieving partner, the unbelieving partner is sanctified by the believing partner. That does not mean they are saved but they are in a special unique relationship with the God because of their relationship to a child of God and that has to do with the children. God views the children in this relationship. In light of the presence of the believer in the marriage so they are considered in a special relationship before God. So, important section regarding our marriage and family relationships here. He touches on areas that what went on in Israel. You say well maybe I entered into this marriage wrongly or improperly. Where the Scripture picks us up with is we’re in this marriage. You say well I should not really married this person in the first place. I am sure everybody here at one time or another has gone through that thought. Sometimes you seem to have more reason for it. You may have been in rebellion against the Lord when you entered in that marriage. But that is where you are today. If you are married to an unbelieving spouse and that spouse is willing to live with you, then you thank God for His grace in that area. Trust and pray that by your testimony in that relationship, in your godly life that you unbelieving spouse may come to know the Lord and be saved and be thankful.

What about my children? I often hear this. I am concerned about the influence of this unbelieving spouse on the children. Well God says He is taking care of that as well. He doesn’t view these children as unclean but now they’re holy. So, they enjoy a special relationship with the Lord just like if you were both husband and wife. Believers, that don’t guarantee the children will be saved. That’s another sermon. What does happen? The devil always works to compromise God’s people. We had to learn the lessons from the Old Testament. They were written for our admonition. And there is the constant pressure from the world, our flesh, and the devil, to compromise our faithfulness to the Lord.

Remember Paul wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 2, verse 11, I am concerned lest you be led astray from purity of devotion to Christ. God’s people are to manifest purity, of devotion to Him. That is why the word of God is foundational to our lives, so my life is to be saturated with it. I live in the full light of the word of God. So, then any variation, any deviation, is quickly evident to my heart and mind if I am walking with Him. I trust I have a tender spirit that quickly makes the correction before I proceed down the road that can only bring pain and heartache and sorrow. Praise God for his faithfulness and that He never gives up and is not done with Israel yet. He is still the God of grace and loving kindness. But He is a God of severe discipline and so it is with us. But He is a God of mercy and grace and we praise Him for that.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for your grace and dealing with Israel the same grace with which you deal with us. Thank you for your patience and your long suffering but Lord may we not sin against your grace. May your grace, loving kindness mercy and patience be just an added encouragement to us to walk faithfully before you. Thank you Lord that you belong to you for time in eternity. We praise you in Christ’s name, amen.