Ezra 9:1-15
1 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. 2 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." 3 So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6 And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 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 which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. 12 Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.' 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, 14 should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? 15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!"
The remnant of God’s people committed such sin after having seen so much mercy and grace; intermarriage with idolatrous people not of the LORD was the sin, the very ones He warned them not to marry in the beginning, before they entered the promised land! Their holy seed being mixed with unbelievers who were opposed to God caused Ezra to sit and contemplate the horrid situation in complete astonishment. He could not fathom how they could not only disobey the LORD, but also how they could willingly seek to be so unequally yoked to stray oxen who would keep them from the straight path which God’s word set them on. In his shame and humiliation for his people, Ezra cried to God in despair. He could not believe that after this remnant left from the severe judgment the nation had faced already for their idolatry and sinful disregard for the word of the LORD that they could go back to wallow in the same errors as pigs in the filth of the world (2 Peter 2:22). Even after all their past transgressions, God kept a remnant as a peg in His holy place by a small measure of grace, as a small nail driven in the temple as part of what held it together. Why? He did this to enlighten their eyes and give them a measure of revival in their bondage and out of it as a reminder of His mercy and unending love. Even in captivity to sin in a figurative sense of their captivity, they received grace and were kept aside for His glory and praise. So how could they receive such forgiveness and grace, only to return to casting Him under their feet by marrying unbelievers? Don’t some in Christ do this even today, thinking that God will change the other instead of waiting to see if there is a change before being yoked to them? How can we judge Judah and Israel, if we do the same abominable things, and count His deliverance in Christ from the captivity to sin as trivial, choosing to willingly disobey His word (Genesis 2:24, 2 Corinthians 6:14). Yet God is still merciful, and keeps a remnant of His people in His righteousness, even when we realize that we all have some measure of guilt and cannot stand before Him apart from confession and forsaking sin (1 John 1:9). Even this remnant according to grace in Christ (Romans 11:5) is accountable in our continued sin, yet we are also restorable by that same grace and mercy. May we come before that throne of grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16), but also following Him before going against His clear word to not take the wrong path such as intermarriage with unbelievers, which has such lasting consequences! May we learn from this example not to repeat the same errors, but instead to repent when we do err, that we may go on to sin intentionally no more.
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