ezra 9 and 10

Read Ezra 9 and 10 at Bible Gateway.

Hebrew paragraph divisions

Ezr 9:1-2 {s} Princes, rulers, priests, Levites have not separated themselves from the idolaters
Ezr 9:3-9 {s} Ezra ashamed and appalled, confesses to YHVH that He has shown them grace
Ezr 9:10-14 {p} Ezra confesses to YHVH Israel’s sin despite YHVH’s grace
Ezr 9:15 {p} Ezra confesses to YHVH that they cannot stand because of their guilt
Ezr 10:1 {s} Israel gathered in repentance with Ezra
Ezr 10:2-4 {p} Let us put the foreign wives away, and renew covenant with our God
Ezr 10:5-6 {s} Ezra made them swear, and fasted in mourning for Israel’s faithlessness
Ezr 10:7-8 {s} Proclamation: All the remnant was to assemble at Jerusalem or be cast out
Ezra 10:9 {p} All the people assembled trembling before the house of God
Ezr 10:10-14 {p} Ezra asked for confession, then separation from foreign wives/ congregation affirmed
Ezr 10:15-17 {p} Ezra + heads of fathers’ houses inquired of the men until the 1st of the 1st month
Ezr 10:18-22 {sx3} The priests who repented and put away their foreign wives
Ezr 10:23 {s} The Levites who repented and put away their foreign wives
Ezr 10:24 {s} The singers who repented and put away their foreign wives
Ezr 10:25-42 {sx10} Of the sons of Israel who repented and put away their foreign wives
Ezr 10:43-44 {p} Of the sons of Nebo (Israel) who repented/ all these had taken foreign wives

When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations 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 their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.” Ezr 9:1-2

The remnant of Israel who had been returned to the land, were its holy seed. The people would be planted in the land, and take root, and bear fruit, that is, children who served the LORD their God, walking in His ways. They did not get this idea out of thin air; Isaiah prophesied that the heart of Israel would remain heavy, without repentance, until the land was laid waste and without inhabitant; then a tenth, a remnant, will return to it, who will be its holy seed (Isa 6:9-13). The holy seed will have understanding, whose hearts were not heavy, who walked in repentance and in the ways of the LORD God.

The 90% who were content with idolatry and paganism, would remain in Babylon and environs, the ancient mother of idolatry and paganism. The 10% whose hearts yearned for Jerusalem and the LORD their God, would sacrifice all to return to the land when the opportunity arose. The ten percent were the holy seed. This is interesting, because the tithe is always holy to the LORD (Lev 27:30).

The remnant’s concern with the marriages was for the purity of the seed, or children, for in Torah, it is forbidden to mix seed in a field, so that the next generation will not be the same as the parent generation (Deu 22:9). Is the LORD concerned for seed only? Yes, He is concerned for seed, but also, He is teaching a lesson about passing the faith of the parents to the next generation. This is a seamless process when the purity of the seed is protected; i.e., the parents are both equal (2 Cor 6:14), and the father himself obeys the word of the LORD God (Deu 30:1-6), and teaches God’s word to his children (Deu 6:6-7).

When the parents are of the same spiritual genealogy, then the children are guaranteed to be of the same genealogy as the parents. The natural world illustrates this truth of the spiritual world, which is the substance that casts the shadow of the natural world: if both parents pass the same gene to their child, then that gene is guaranteed to be expressed in their child.

But when the parents are of different spiritual genealogies, then the children can be one, or the other, or a mixture of light and darkness. So while children can be rescued, or purified, of their mixed spiritual genealogy, it is a hard row to hoe. Removing impurity requires trial by fire, and that is always painful. The LORD gives His commandments for us to obey in order to bless us. It is far easier to protect the purity of the seed in the first place, than to try to purify the seed by fire, melting heat, sorrow, and consequences later.

So then why does Paul teach that if one parent is holy, they have purified their children (1 Cor 7:12-14)? The question has to do with the condition of husband and wife when they were yoked, or married. Listen, if you are a believer, do not become unequally yoked with an unbeliever. If you are an unbeliever, become yoked with an unbeliever, but if you are a believer, become yoked with a believer. Remain equal! Paul is teaching the church at Corinth, who were presumably all Greeks and pagan unbelievers when they were married. They were not unequally yoked when they were first married!

But then the gospel of grace came into their lives, and a husband here, a wife there heard the word of grace and responded to it. They were washed, cleansed, and transformed from unclean to clean. They were translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son. Now, in a previously established family, there is an unequal mixing. One parent has become light, the other has remained as they were, darkness.

In that instance, Paul teaches, that the (believing) wife is not to leave her (unbelieving) husband, nor is the (believing) husband to divorce his (unbelieving) wife. As the Spirit has elected the wife or husband for salvation, that saved spouse is to continue in faith, that the Spirit has also elected their spouses and children for salvation. Why can we have that confidence? Because it is the Spirit Himself who teaches that a house divided against itself cannot stand. He has sown the Seed of Messiah into that household, so that it would grow and bear fruit; that is, more lives transformed and translated in Messiah. The believing wife or husband is to live in such a way, bearing the fruit of the Spirit (which contains the Seed within it, who is Messiah Yeshua the Promised Seed), that the Spirit can use their witness to draw them to Himself.

Ezra was dealing with marriages which were mixed from the beginning; so that the holy seed willingly chose to be yoked to the unholy. That Israel repented of this sin also, reveals that this remnant was in fact the holy seed, for repentance when convicted of sin characterizes the holy seed.