Giving Their Hands - Ezra 10:19

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 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”, and in chapter ten and verse nineteen of Ezra, Ezra said, “they gave their hands that they would put away their wives”, where we read,

And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; 

and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

The verse reads, “And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives;” Ezra began with the words, “and they gave their hands” or “and they, the men of Israel who married pagan wives, set, bestowed and struck their physical hands” “that they would put away” or “that they, the men of Israel who married pagan wives, would depart and be separated from” “their wives” which means “their, the men of Israel's, female spouses”. Ezra shared how the men of Israel who intermarried with pagan foreign women struck hands or made an agreement that they would be separated from their pagan female spouses. 

The verse goes on to say, “and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.” Ezra continued with the words, “and being guilty” which means “and existing as “faulty and ones obliged to offer a guilt offering”, “they offered a ram” or “they, the men of Israel who intermarried with the pagan women, gave and presented a ram animal” “of the flock” which means “belonging to the group or multitude of animals” “for their trespass” or “on behalf of their, the men who trespassed by marrying pagan women”s, wrong-doing, guiltiness and sin”. Ezra shared how the men of Israel who married pagan wives, were at fault and blameworthy presented a “ram” from the group of animals on behalf of their wrong-doing and sin. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how the men of Israel who married pagan women agreed by the striking of their physical hands to separate from their wives, and they presented a “ram” as a sacrifice to God for their wrong-doing. God wants us to agree with Him and repent of our sins, and when we surrender our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us realize Jesus Christ was “offered” as a sacrifice on our behalf, and He will save and cleanse us from guilt for all eternity.

Next time Ezra shares about, “the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah”, 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".