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9:1–10:44 Ezra confronted the problem of intermarriage with idolatrous foreigners. The Jewish leaders had allowed this practice, though the early settlers had committed to keep separate from pagan influences (4:1-5). Ezra interceded on behalf of the nation and helped those convicted of their sins to make things right.
9:11-12 Your servants the prophets warned us: God had clearly revealed what he expected from his people (see Deut 7:3-4; Mal 2:10-12) and had promised great blessings if they followed his covenant stipulations (see Lev 26:1-13; Deut 28:1-14; Jer 32:36–33:18; Ezek 37:15-28; Hos 14:1-8).
9:1-2 The events that follow took place approximately four months after Ezra’s arrival (cp. 7:9; 10:9). • Intermarriage with pagan foreigners was dangerous because Israelites could end up worshiping other gods and accepting the detestable practices of other religions (cp. Ezra 4:1-5; Deut 7:1-4). • the holy race has become polluted: Literally the holy seed h...
9:1-2 The events that follow took place approximately four months after Ezra’s arrival (cp. 7:9; 10:9). • Intermarriage with pagan foreigners was dangerous because Israelites could end up worshiping other gods and accepting the detestable practices of other religions (cp. Ezra 4:1-5; Deut 7:1-4). • the holy race has become polluted: Literally the holy seed has intermingled itself. Because Israel was a holy covenant nation (Exod 19:6), it was not to be involved with pagan practices (Lev 19:2-4; 20:6-8, 22-26). Therefore, the people were to avoid marriages with those who could influence Israelites to embrace such practices. When the religious and political leaders and officials intermarried with foreigners, they were in danger of leading others astray and destroying the unique identity of Israel as a holy people.
9:14 Won’t your anger be enough to destroy us? The sin of intermarriage with non-believers was so serious that they had no hope of survival if they did not repent.
Ezra
Ezra Ezra was a priest and scribe of the high-priestly line of Zadok (Ezra 7:1-5, 11-12; cp. Neh 8:2, 9). He was a leader in Judah following the Jews’ return from exile. As a scribe, Ezra was not just a copyist but a disciplined student of God’s laws (Ezra 7:6) who was qualified to teach, preach, and interpret the Scriptures. As an important official who assisted the king with Jewish affairs in the Persian Empire, Ezra visited Jerusalem around 458 BC, bringing articles for the Temple and the mission of establishing God’s laws and the laws of Persia. One of his first reforms was to confront the sin of intermarriage with pagan neighbors (9:1–10:44). Later, after the city walls were rebuilt in 445 BC (Neh 6:15), Ezra led the community to obey God’s law more fully (Neh 8:13-15). Ezra honored God through his handling of finances. The Persian king trusted Ezra’s judgment and allowed him to ask for more money when needed (Ezra 7:15-20). Ezra gave others the responsibility for financial affairs whenever he could and required strict financial integrity (8:24-30). He identified certain financial resources as holy and belonging to God. Ezra humbled himself before God when the peop...
genesis 37:34
exodus 19:6
leviticus 19:2-4
leviticus 20:6-8
leviticus 20:22-26
leviticus 26:1-13
numbers 12:1
deuteronomy 7:1-4
Intermarriage and Divorce
Intermarriage and Divorce God had warned his people not to intermarry with unbelieving foreigners (Deut 7:1-6). The sin was not that they married people from another country or race but that they married people committed to other gods. Moses had married a Cushite woman (Num 12:1), and other foreigners had joined Israel through marriage, notably Rahab the Canaanite (see Matt 1:5) and Ruth the Moabite (Ruth 4:1-22). These women embraced faith in the Lord, and they were blessed. On the other hand, Solomon had taken many foreign wives, and their devotion to other gods led him into idolatry, just as the Lord had warned (1 Kgs 11:1-5). The marriage covenant is sacred, but it was even more important for Israel to remain faithful to the Lord’s covenant with them as a people. Mixed marriages would produce children who were not fully committed to Israel’s faith, having been influenced by their foreign parent’s idolatrous beliefs. This compromise would lead Israel back to where they were before the Exile—to wholesale unfaithfulness to God and a wholehearted embrace of false religions (see Judg 3:3-7; 14:1-9; 1 Kgs 11:1-8; 2 Kgs 17:7-17). In Ezra 9 and 10, the Jews who had returned fr...