7.31.25 ~ Hard Decision
Good morning!
Over the past week we have sketched out some concepts of idolatry, especially with the technology we have today. In my time with the Lord last night, before I went to bed, I was reading the book of Ezra.
In chapter 10 we find the tribe of Judah, who were exiled in Babylon, are now released from their self imposed captivity (Neh. 1:8), and they are given a very bizarre command to separate from their foreign wives (Ezr. 10:10). Huh?
I thought God hated divorce (Mal. 2:16). Why would this suggestion be made with this bond of unequally yoked intimacy (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)? Yet, the Torah gives grounds for divorce/kereethooth (Deut. 24:1-4). And to top it all off, God Himself is divorced (Jer. 3:8). What's going on here in this command to let their pagan wives go?
He lets them know, in no uncertain terms, you have been unfaithful in your choice of a wife (Ezr. 10:10), “Now therefore, make confession to the Lord your God and do His will; and separate/bawdal yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives. (Ezr. 10:11).
In other words, you need to separate from those wives and their children. Get rid of them. They are a threat to the community.
Hold on! Didn't God command the people to marry wives while they were exiled in Babylon?
Take wives, and give birth to sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. (Jer. 29:6)
Do you see any problems with Ezra's command vs God's command to marry? Contradiction? Confusion? Head scratching? Promoting divorce? Why would Ezra say this?
While in exile, the tribe of Judah was supposed to be living a Torah-based lifestyle and only take wives that converted over to their faith. The peoples of the lands with whom the "returnees" had intermarried were pagan idolaters. They, the men of Judah, were unfaithful in their choice and transgressed the Lord's commands not to marry foreign wives (Deut. 7:3,4; Neh. 13;23-27), which displayed unfaithfulness to their covenant relationship with Him. Hence, the solution to their unfaithfulness required turning from their sin by separating from their idolatrous wives and renewing their commitment to be a people separated to the Lord.
Idolatry represented in the practices of those outside the community is such a serious matter that radical steps needed to be taken to ensure a second Babylonian experience would not happen. Certainly Ezra was aware that these men loved the wives they took. Certainly they loved the children they bore. But Ezra knew it was no longer possible to walk the fine line between holiness and potential idolatry. It was time to make the choice and make sure that the choice would keep the community, the whole community, far away from offense to God.
Today, it's so easy to develop intimate ties to people and things that are part of a former idolatrous way of life. We might even legitimately love those who no longer share our way of life. Breaking those ties is true heartache. There are no easy solutions. But looming on the horizon is the threat of defaming His name and our covenant relationship.
BTW, did you notice that they weren't commanded to divorce their wives, only separate from them? What would separation do? Enquiring minds want to know :-)
Things to think about on this 12th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil.
Shalom!
Over the past week we have sketched out some concepts of idolatry, especially with the technology we have today. In my time with the Lord last night, before I went to bed, I was reading the book of Ezra.
In chapter 10 we find the tribe of Judah, who were exiled in Babylon, are now released from their self imposed captivity (Neh. 1:8), and they are given a very bizarre command to separate from their foreign wives (Ezr. 10:10). Huh?
I thought God hated divorce (Mal. 2:16). Why would this suggestion be made with this bond of unequally yoked intimacy (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)? Yet, the Torah gives grounds for divorce/kereethooth (Deut. 24:1-4). And to top it all off, God Himself is divorced (Jer. 3:8). What's going on here in this command to let their pagan wives go?
He lets them know, in no uncertain terms, you have been unfaithful in your choice of a wife (Ezr. 10:10), “Now therefore, make confession to the Lord your God and do His will; and separate/bawdal yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives. (Ezr. 10:11).
In other words, you need to separate from those wives and their children. Get rid of them. They are a threat to the community.
Hold on! Didn't God command the people to marry wives while they were exiled in Babylon?
Take wives, and give birth to sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. (Jer. 29:6)
Do you see any problems with Ezra's command vs God's command to marry? Contradiction? Confusion? Head scratching? Promoting divorce? Why would Ezra say this?
While in exile, the tribe of Judah was supposed to be living a Torah-based lifestyle and only take wives that converted over to their faith. The peoples of the lands with whom the "returnees" had intermarried were pagan idolaters. They, the men of Judah, were unfaithful in their choice and transgressed the Lord's commands not to marry foreign wives (Deut. 7:3,4; Neh. 13;23-27), which displayed unfaithfulness to their covenant relationship with Him. Hence, the solution to their unfaithfulness required turning from their sin by separating from their idolatrous wives and renewing their commitment to be a people separated to the Lord.
Idolatry represented in the practices of those outside the community is such a serious matter that radical steps needed to be taken to ensure a second Babylonian experience would not happen. Certainly Ezra was aware that these men loved the wives they took. Certainly they loved the children they bore. But Ezra knew it was no longer possible to walk the fine line between holiness and potential idolatry. It was time to make the choice and make sure that the choice would keep the community, the whole community, far away from offense to God.
Today, it's so easy to develop intimate ties to people and things that are part of a former idolatrous way of life. We might even legitimately love those who no longer share our way of life. Breaking those ties is true heartache. There are no easy solutions. But looming on the horizon is the threat of defaming His name and our covenant relationship.
BTW, did you notice that they weren't commanded to divorce their wives, only separate from them? What would separation do? Enquiring minds want to know :-)
Things to think about on this 12th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil.
Shalom!
Comments
Post a Comment