Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah - Ezra 10:32

In the book of Ezra, Ezra began to name the male offspring of the children of Israel who put away their strange wives by listing, “the sons of Immer; Harim and Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah; Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer; Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; and of the sons of Elam; and of the sons of Zattu; of the sons also of Bebai; the sons of Bani; the sons of Pahathmoab and “the sons of Harim”, and in chapter ten and verse thirty-two of Ezra, Ezra added “Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah”, where we read,

Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah

The verse reads, “Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah” Ezra began with the word, “Benjamin” or “son of the right hand”, “Malluch” whose name means “counselor” “and Shemariah” which means “and kept by Jehovah”. Ezra shared the names of more of the men of Israel who married foreign wives and put them away including those whose name mean, “son of the right hand, counselor and kept by Jehovah”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how Ezra named one by one the men of Israel who forsook God's way of marriage and were wedded to foreign women. However, each of them, including “Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah”, separated from their wives when told to do so by Ezra. God wants us to be obedient to His ways, and when we have violated them, (and we all have – See Romans 3:23) there are consequences that lead to death. (See Romans 6:23) For this reason God sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we put our faith and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us by His Holy Spirit to obey Him and His commands.

Next time Ezra adds, “the sons of Hashum”, 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".