Brainstorming on Ezra 9, Intermarriage - Marriage, Part 1
Thoughts on Ezra 9, Intermarriage - Part one of Marriage series
Here's some "brainstorming" I wrote about a year ago when working through a sermon series on the book of Ruth. It is currently a subject of interest in many spheres of social media among Christians. Here is Ezra 9 with some of my thoughts. Ezra 10 will come in a later post. The text is in regular print, while my thoughts are in Small Caps.
Ezra Prays About Intermarriage (By “Intermarriage,” Marrying without concern for Faith, Race, or Ethnicity.)
9 After these things had been done, the officials
approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and
the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the
lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the
Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to
be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race[a] has mixed itself
with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the
officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I
heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head
and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all
who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the
faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I
sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at
the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my
cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to
the Lord my God,
Not the typical Canaanite list of the Torah
includes other nations not commanded by God to destroy, such as the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Egyptians.
v. 2 – “has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands”… also called “faithlessness,” (a clue that this is about spiritual matters rather than physical or mere nationality).
The chiefs are the guiltiest party for the idolatry coming into Israel.
Notice the severe weight of the mourning by Ezra, pulling hair from his head (signifying great sin to the level of major crime). Mourning continued to the evening sacrifice—Ezra acting like Jeremiah often did in front of the people.
Deuteronomy 7 covers intermarriage with foreigners, pushing the truth that they must thoroughly defeat the named Canaanite peoples (including the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites) to avoid becoming “one” with them (intermarriage). While the Israelites were not commanded to conquer every one of the nations listed in v. 1 , if they would have accomplished everything God had commanded them to do, it would have gone a long way for this group not to intermarry.
Also, interesting that they are intermarrying with nations and peoples around Israel, rather than intermarrying with people groups closer to where they were exiled. This may have been solely a problem with the families who remained in the Promised Land rather than those exiled.
6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush
to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than
our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From
the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for
our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of
the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to
utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment
favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant
and to give us a secure hold[b] within his holy place,
that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our
slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken
us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the
kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to
repair its ruins, and to give us protection[c] in Judea and
Jerusalem.
It is MY OPINION that this is a public prayer given at the evening sacrifice in the temple commons.
The sin of intermarriage is considered every bit as severe as the sin in 1 Corinthians 5 (a man taking his father’s wife/his step-mother).
Even with the
great sin and other great sins committed by Israel through the generations, God’s
unmerited favor has been lavished on them, through the building of a second
temple and rebuilding of Jerusalem, giving them an opportunity to reestablish their
religious practices under the protection of the Persian government.
10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say
after this? For we have forsaken your commandments 11 which you
commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are
entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the
peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to
end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give
your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and
never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good
of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
More research needed to see if v. 11-12 is a quote from another OT passage, but certainly allusions to Deuteronomy 2.
If my guess of
this sin being committed solely by Jews who have lived in Israel rather than
exiled Jews is correct, then these verses are quite ironic. This time, the
impure and abominable peoples of the land would be Jews.
13 And after all that has come upon us for
our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God,
have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such
a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your
commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these
abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so
that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord,
the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has
escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for
none can stand before you because of this.”
When basking at God’s
grace and holiness, it is easy for anyone to see their inadequacies and
uncleanness. And when the sin is as severe as this one, it becomes considerably
more apparent.
“Remnant” is a concept brought up constantly in the OT (Often from these remnants is drawn the family line towards Jesus Christ). These remnants are sometimes described as faithful and blameless people (such as the hidden prophets during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel), but sometimes this remnant carries great sin such as this. As John Newton made clear and concise: “I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior!”
Also, in Ezra’s prayer, the entire remnant
stands guilty of this sin, even though a minority portion committed this
particular sin.
Footnotes
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