This morning, the speaking brother shared on Ezra 10:1-17.
Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. 3 “Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 “Arise, for this matter is your responsibility, We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.”
5 Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath. 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.
7 And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem, 8 and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity.
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 “Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”
12 Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do. 13 “But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter. 14 “Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.
16 Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.
Ezra 10:1-17 NKJV
Ezra was praying, confessing, weeping and bowing before the house of God. He mourned over the guilt of those from the captivity. Contrast this with King Solomon, who married multiple women, and eventually worshipped the same gods of his pagan wives. Some of these gods even demanded human sacrifices!
But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites– 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David.
1 Kings 11:1-6 NKJV
After Solomon’s death, the nation of Israel was split into two and the one also named Israel adopted pagan things like the worship in high places and Asherah poles, despite the second temple being still in Jerusalem.
Ezra fasted without bread and water and eventually, the leaders confessed. We can see how the Holy Spirit works here. A proclamation was made that any man with pagan wives must report to Jerusalem within three days lest their property be confiscated. See that there was no condemnation from the priest, for his goal is to recover people back to God.
Application
As a leader in the church, one must set an example. We support those in sin and lead them back to God, and there must be true repentance. Say if you gambled, you must remove yourself from anything related to gambling.
On Marriage
We learn that marriage is ordained by God.
And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Matthew 19:4-6 NKJV
God protected Israel’s heritage by forbidding marriage to pagans. The speaking brother shared of a time when he helped out at sister Liew’s house which had a power outage. Everything went back to normal. At that time, sister Liew lived at Pek Kio. Once, when he was sitting at the back of a bus, she ran to him and gave him a gospel tract. She then asked to pray for him which he agreed to. A few months later, the speaking brother met his future wife.
Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Proverbs 19:14 NKJV
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.
Proverbs 12:4 NKJV
And for those who are married…
Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 NKJV
Jesus told the Pharisees because of the hardness of their hearts Moses permitted divorce. It can be a problem in families. A Christian brother posted something his daughter said on Instagram. In response to the school’s question of ‘who is your hero?’ She answered it’s her dad, but to the question of ‘who is your hero scared of?’ The answer is her mother. Has she seen her mother scold her father?
Summary
The leaders of God’s house must be an example to the people. True repentance and confession will change our attitude and behavior before God and His people. Remember what Jesus said to a woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more.” And that God ordained marriage.
I ate Brazilian Black Bean Beef stew at the Soup Spoon and went to National Library. I had snacks at Nico cafe near Zall Bookstore and went home.
Now I get to stay at home…work resumes tomorrow. Catch you soon!
My Musings 