Strange Wives of the Sons of the Priests - Ezra 10:18

In the book of Ezra, Ezra said he and certain chief of the fathers, “made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month”, and in chapter ten and verse eighteen of Ezra, Ezra said, “among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives”, where we read,

And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

The verse reads, “And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives:” Ezra began with the words, “and among the sons of the priests” or “and in the midst of the male offspring and progeny belonging to the spiritual leaders and spokesmen” “were found” or “were discerned and discovered” “that had taken strange wives”which means “who received and married pagan foreign female spouses”. Ezra shared how he and the chief of the fathers discovered the male offspring of the priest who married pagan women. 

The verse continues, “... namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.” Ezra added the word, “namely” which means “whose specific names were”, “of the sons of Jeshua” or “pertaining to the male offspring and progeny belonging to Jeshua whose name means he is saved” “the son of Jozadak” which means “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Jozadak whose name means Jehovah is righteous”, “and his brethren” or “and his, Jozadak's, relatives, kindred and kingship”; “Maaseiah” which means “work of Jehovah” “and Eliezer” whose name means “God is help”, “and Jarib” whose name means “he contends”, “and Gedaliah” whose name means “Jehovah is great”. Ezra shared how the male offspring of “Jeshua, his kindred, Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah” were within the group of men who married pagan wives.

When we think through Ezra's words in this verse, we learn about some of the names of the male offspring of Israel who intermarried with the foreign women. “Jeshua, his kindred, Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah” all violated the ways of God by marrying pagan women, and they were in need of cleansing and separation. God will allow His Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, and when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, we will be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and brought into alignment with Jehovah God's ways for all eternity. 

Next time Ezra says, “they gave their hands that they would put away their wives”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".