This chapter illustrates the fact that we should respond to sinful conditions by praying to God and by doing everything in our power and in God's will to change the situation.
The writer did not list Shecaniah among those who had married foreign wives (cf. 10:18-44). He appears to have been another faithful Jew like Ezra. The present situation distressed him. He too identified himself with the unfaithful.
Shecaniah proposed divorce, not separation. The Hebrew word translated "put away"(v. 3) is the same as the one translated "leaves"in Deuteronomy 24:2 where divorce is in view. "According to the law"(v. 3) probably refers to the law specifying the procedure for divorce in Deuteronomy 24 (i.e., with a certificate of divorce). In the ancient Near East mothers received custody of their children when there was a divorce (cf. Gen. 21:14). However in Greece they went with their fathers.136
"Foreign women were married contrary to the law of God. The marriages were illegal from the outset. The sending away of the women is to guard the exiles against the continuation of an illegal act. With their foreign wives they lived in sin. It is thus clear from v. 4 that there is a strong legal background against which Shecaniah has formulated his proposal. The dividing line between the permissible and impermissible is strongly emphasized. Even the children born from the illegal marriages must be sent away. This proposal is harsh in the light of modern Christian conceptions. Why should innocent children be punished? We must remember that the religious influence of the mothers on their children was regarded as the stumbling block. To keep the religion of the Lord pure was the one and only aim of Ezra and the returned exiles. As a small minority group, the repatriates lived in the HolyLand among a large population of influential people who were followers of various polytheistic religions. Against such larger numbers they had to defend themselves and their religious identity. Thus the drastic measures are understandable."137
Even today some Jewish leaders view intermarriage with non-Jews as the major threat to the continuation of Judaism.
"Therefore, the greatest danger to Jewish survival outside Israel today is not anti-Semitism but assimilation, epitomized by the threat of intermarriage . . . [and it] is a direct threat to Judaism, for without Jews Judaism cannot exist."138
". . . the situation described in Ezra 9 and 10 was a classic example of one in which the lesser of two evils had to be chosen."139
This general assembly took place in late November or early December of 458 B.C. The people who were guilty agreed to divorce their foreign wives and to do this in various local towns that were convenient to their homes in the weeks and months that lay ahead. The Feast of Dedication fell on the twenty-fifth of this month. Perhaps they made their commitment to God then.
"Since such marriages led to the introduction of foreign cults, Ezra's drastic solution is along the same lines as Joshua's Shechem assembly with its commitment to putting aside foreign gods (Jos 24:23)."141
God sent rain (v. 10; fertility) when His people got right with Him. He had promised to do this in Deuteronomy 11:10-17.
Israel's leaders permitted divorce on this occasion because of the unlawful marriages of the Israelites. They had married contrary to the Law of Moses. Even though God hates divorce (Mal. 2:10-16) He permitted it (Deut. 24) to achieve the larger goals of maintaining Israel's distinctiveness so she could fulfill His purposes for her in the world (Exod. 19). His purposes for the church are not the same as His purposes for Israel. Furthermore the church is not subject to the Mosaic Law. Therefore it is inappropriate to appeal to the Jews' action on this occasion as a precedent that Christians who are married to unbelievers should follow (cf. 1 Cor. 7:12-13).
Christians who believe that God does not permit divorce for any reason find this passage very disturbing. Obviously Ezra was following the Law very carefully, and he permitted divorce. I believe that the biblical revelation is that God hates divorce and does not want people to practice it. However, He does permit them to practice it in certain situations. Similarly God does not want anyone to perish but wants everyone to experience salvation (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Nevertheless He permits people to perish.
The people were able to complete the divorce proceedings in three months (vv. 9, 17). A total of 113 Israelites had married and now divorced their foreign wives, only a fraction of the total number of Jews then living in Judah. Of these, 16 were priests and 10 were Levites, about 25 percent of the total. Perhaps Jewish women had not married Gentile men. A more likely possibility is that since women could not divorce their husbands in Israel the Jewish women who had married Gentiles did not get divorces.
Was this plan one that God approved? The text does not give any statement from a prophet or other representative who spoke for God either way. However for the reasons explained above and since the writer devoted two chapters in this inspired book to the record of this incident, I think it was God's will.
". . . although the law in general was known to the exiles, the finer distinctions and the interpretation of certain stipulations could have escaped them. Ezra was sent to teach them these distinctions and to interpret the law for them (7:10). It is this lesson they had to learn in order to realize that their marriages to foreign women were wrong."142
This reformation resulted in the continued racial and, more significantly, spiritual purity of Abraham's descendants for another generation. However, Nehemiah faced a recurrence of the problem of mixed marriages only a few years later (Neh. 10:30; 13:23).
"The Book of Ezra-Nehemiah presents Ezra as a strong personality. He did not emphasize the law as an end in itself; rather, he was convinced that the covenant community needed to return to God by taking seriously his revelation and applying it to every aspect of life."143
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