THE GREAT DIVORCE

This chapter forms a unit with the previous chapter. The problem that was introduced in Ezra 9 will now be resolved in Ezra 10.

To understand the actions described in this chapter, we must first understand that the problems faced by Ezra and the nation were very real. The Mosaic Law had expressly forbidden the Israelites to intermarry with the people of the land (Deuteronomy 7:2-3).

1. An Unequal Union.

2. This issue of Idolatry.

No sermon has been preached. No legislation has been passed. No decree has been issued. Yet a great assembly gathers and goes into mourning. Why? Because a single man PRAYED.

An entire nation is brought to its knees beginning with the prayer of a single man. There is a principle here. It is that prayer works.

• Prayer moves God. If it did not, then we would not bother to pray, for there would be no expectation of an answer. But the Bible tells us that God does hear prayer and that He acts upon it. As the bumper sticker proudly proclaimed, "God takes requests."
• Prayer moves the people of God. Because God is the One who changes hearts, a prayer to Him is able to bring about change in the heart of another. It has been said that everyone becomes a Calvinist when he prays. This is because even the most ardent Arminian will pray that the Lord will change the heart of the sinner.

This principle has some important ramifications. It means that if you have a problem with another Christian, you should never neglect praying for him.

The situation was serious. As we have pointed out, the spiritual future of the entire nation is at stake. The drastic situation calls for an equally drastic solution. The question that we must ask is whether this was the correct solution. Were the Israelites right in divorcing their pagan wives? The passage does not specifically say and there are arguments for either side.

The book of Malachi was written only a few years following the decisions that were made within this chapter. It therefore can be considered to be a commentary upon the actions of which we read.

This is an indictment of the very condition that is described in this chapter. Apparently the problem did not immediately disappear following the mass divorces at the end of this chapter. Nehemiah 13:23 tells us that the same pattern of intermarriage with pagans began to be adopted by some of the Israelites in Nehemiah’s day. Nehemiah’s reaction was not to order the same mass divorces, but instead, to urge the people to stop entering any future marriages with pagan Gentiles. He also deposed the high priest who had become a relative through marriage to one of the pagan enemies of Israel (Nehemiah 13:28).

Malachi goes on to address the particular problem of divorce.

This passage could almost be taken as a direct indictment against the decision and decree of Ezra. Under the cover of their tears of repentance, fraught with weeping and with groaning, the Jews made a grave decision to divorce their Gentile wives, even though they had entered into those marriages by covenant (2:14).

It is in the midst of such actions that the Lord stands as a witness against them, proclaiming in no uncertain terms that He hates divorce and that one who proceeds with such a divorce is doing it quite apart from the leading of the Spirit.

In conclusion, we must cite two possible interpretations:

• Interpretation #1: The decision of Ezra and the people of Israel was a correct, though difficult one. Although they did the right thing, it carried its own negative consequences as later generations used this as an excuse to casually divorce their own wives.

• Interpretation #2: Though they had the best of intentions in seeking to repent and return from their sinful attitudes, Ezra and the people of Israel took a bad situation and made it worse by this instigation of across-the-board divorces. As a result, they lost the opportunity to be an influence for righteousness in this lost generation.

Notice how Ezra begins his program of reformation. He approaches first the leading priests ( ), then the Levites and finally all of Israel.

Do you want to see reformation in the church? Then pray for reformation in your leaders. As go the leaders of a church, so will go that church. The same principle is true of nations.

Do you want to see reformation in the this nation? Then pray for reformation in your leaders. As go the leaders of a nation, so will go that nation.

Liberalism crept into the church through the doors of the seminary. Seminaries began teaching that the Bible contains historical errors and the next generation of pastors were a generation who did not believe the Bible to be the Word of God.

It was November. The cooler weather had set in around the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. And it was raining as well. The people gathered in the cold rain. It was a somber mood. As Ezra got up to address them, the climate matches his words. There are two parts to his speech:

1. What They Have Done.

2. What They Are To Do.

• Make confession to God.

• Do His will

• Separate from the object of unfaithfulness.

There were some who opposed this plan. It is difficult to read their hearts. Was their opposition based upon a worldliness? Or was it that they felt that divorce in any case was wrong and to be avoided? Did they feel that the solution was worse than the problem? We do not know.

I am reminded of a particular instance when the elders of my church were making a difficult decision. There were not unanimity in their thinking and, when the vote was taken, there were two dissenting voices. They were gracious in their disagreement and agreed to go along with the decision of the majority, but they could not in good conscience vote in the affirmative. At this point, I saw a remarkable thing. The entire body decided that they ought to table the matter until they could all be in agreement. And when they came together the following month, after having contemplated and prayed on the matter, the entire group found itself following the wisdom of these two dissenting votes. I should add that this was not and is not today the normative practice, neither should it necessarily be the case. But we should realize that there are times when the minority view is the correct one.

I have already indicated that I am not entirely certain as to how we should judge the actions of this passage. But I do find it curious that there were voices of opposition and that there is nothing negative said of them. Furthermore the words of Malachi concerning divorce would seem to be in support of this minority view.

These investigations took place over a period of two months - from November to January. The fact of these overly long investigations might lend some credence to the speculation that not all of these mixed marriages ended in divorce. Each case seems to have been treated individually. Otherwise they could have been completed in a day or so. Following the examples of Rahab and Ruth, the Jews may have concluded that a Gentile wife who demonstrated faith in the Lord was now a genuine member of the covenant community with a marriage that could be appropriately sanctioned by the national leaders.

At this point, we come full circle in the story. We began with the report of this intermarriage that had taken place. These last verses now close with the solution to that problem.

There were not only wives who were affected in this situation; there were also children. This brings up a principle. It is that sin is never private. It invariable involves others. A sin between two "consenting adults" never remains solely between those adults. It inevitably overflows and spills into the lives of others.

Shakespere wrote, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." In the same way, we weave a tangled web when we sin.

Ezra 10 is one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. There are no winners here. It is a lose/lose situation. This sin hurt everyone. It hurt the husbands, it hurt the wives, and it hurt the children. Our sin today does the same thing to us. We might not always see the consequences so clearly and it might not always be so obvious but sin separates us from God. It leaves us in total despair. The stain of our sin follows us the rest of our lives and we can never be like we were before.

But there is hope. God has made a way of escape. The death of Christ paid the penalty for our sin. The blood of Jesus has washed away the stain of our sin. We can be made pure and holy. In His arms we find a new beginning.