We see a major sin being perpatrated by Israel and it grieves Ezra horribly. It is something they were explicitly commanded not to do but did anyway. It is surprising that they did it and how quickly it happened. What is even more surprising is the reaction of the people and the decision they make to rectify the sin and repent of it. As we see in the end people are hurt but that is what sin does. I may seem okay for a while but in the end it always demands its due. The exact statement from the Bible says:
"The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness." Ezra 9:1-2
The leadership has again failed the people by being the bad example. History repeats itself (again). God tells them to keep themselves separate from the “__ites” and the people do exactly what we have come to expect them to do. The opposite of what God has forbidden them from doing. This story gets old after a while, and it becomes like a broken record. There is definitely a pattern here similar to Solomon where the people take on spouses that end up having an apostatizing affect on them. Ezra laments and is grieved as illustrated by rending his garments and pulling out his hair. He then prays to God in a mortified state.
Ezra’s primary reaction is that he is mortified, ashamed for his people. He understands what they have done and what the ultimate end is for people that have done what they have done. He understands Israel’s past transgressions in this area hence his statement, “O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you…from the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity…etc etc, and he finishes with “as it is today”. Ezra understand and sees the parallels between the current state and the past failures and falls of Israel.
He then returns to worshipping God and praising His tolerance, His grace and allowing a brief respite from nearly constant justly deserved punishments in the form of slavery because of their sinful disobedient stupidity (just like ours today :). He acknowledges that God has punished them “less than our sins have deserved”. He is a righteous and merciful God even to this day for our sins today are as bad if not markedly worse in 2010 A.D.
While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites…men, women and children gathered around him and wept bitterly too. Ezra and others made a covenant with God to “send away all these women and their children” or dissolve the marriages. They took action and fixed the problem rather than letting it propagate. They are assembled together and Ezra gave his proclamation. The people agree, "You are right! We must do as you say.” They then go on to determine who has intermarried by family and by name and they all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.
We may view this as quite harsh to the foreign wives but God cares about those he has chosen. Their spiritual well-being is of paramount importance to the Lord. It is clear these women and offspring were going to stick to their false gods anyway thereby damning themselves and anyone else they could drag down with them. God had other plans and plucks these foolish people out of the flames that were starting to bite at their ankles. Even Christ has had said in Matthew 18:9, “And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” This is of course metaphorical but the point is the same. Lose here and now temporarily in this life or lose permanently and eternally after you die in Hell.
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