The Power of the Gospel Revealed in the Weakness of the Law (Ezra 9-10)

[Sung Psalm: 144]

Okay, let's just start with the obvious: Wow! They are sending away their wives and children!

Now, the "romantic ideal" of marriage didn't really exist back then – but it's obvious from other OT texts that love did exist back then! And these men are now sending away their wives and children.

The basic idea – which you see in Ezra's prayer and in the peoples' decision – is rooted in the OT concept of how the unclean contaminates the clean. In this case, the foreign wives, with their foreign gods, are "contaminating" the holy people.

Of course, if you know your OT history, you might be wondering – what about Ruth?! Ruth was a Moabite. The Moabites were expressly excluded from the Assembly of the LORD in Dt 24! Ruth was King David's great-grandmother. How come she was allowed to marry into Judah?

The reason is simple: Ruth forsook her gods and her people and joined herself to Israel's God. As she said to Naomi: "Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." There's no problem with a Moabite who denies herself, takes up her cross, and follows the LORD!

The problem that Ezra identifies is intermarrying with people who practice abominations. Namely, who worship foreign gods.

As we'll see, if the question was simply "did you marry a foreigner?" then then solution could have been implemented in a day. "She's a foreigner – get rid of her!! We're done!!"

The reason why Ezra has to establish a commission is in order to distinguish between foreigners who are like Ruth – and who have joined themselves to Israel – and foreigners who practice abominations, and thus are teaching their children to worship other gods as well!