The Children of Captivity Obey - Ezra 10:16

In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them”, and in chapter ten and verse sixteen of Ezra, Ezra said, “the children of the captivity did so”, where we read,

And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

The verse reads, “And the children of the captivity did so.” Ezra began with the words, “and the children” or “and the offspring and progeny” “of the captivity” or “belonging to the people of Israel who were exiled and imprisoned” “did so”which means “produced and performed the act of separating from their pagan wives”. Ezra shared how the offspring of the people of Israel who were exiled performed the desire of Jehovah God through Ezra to separate from their pagan foreign wives.

The verse continues, “and Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, ...” Ezra added the words, “and Ezra the priest” which means “and Ezra whose name means help and was the priest and scribe who led the reforms of the returned exiles in Jerusalem”, “with certain chief of the fathers” or “alongside and accompanying particular men who belonged to the top, summit, upper part and head male ancestors and progenitors”, “after the house” which means “following the dwelling place, habitation and abode” “of their fathers” or “belonging to their, the people of Israel's, male progenitors”, “and all of them” which means “and each, every, the whole and everyone of them, the priests and fathers” “by their names” or “through the means of their, the priests and the father's fame, reputation and glory”, “were separated” which means “existed as divided, distinct and set apart”. Ezra shared how he alongside particular head spiritual spokesmen and leaders with their forefathers, each and every one of them through the means of their fame, reputation and glory were distinct and set apart their pagan foreign wives.

Finally the verse says, “... and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.” Ezra concluded this verse with the words, “and sat down” or “and were fixed, established and seated” “in the first day” which means “within the primary and preeminent sunrise to sunset” “of the tenth month” or “belonging to the tenth lunar moon Tevet which corresponds to December 29th” “to examine the matter” which means “to investigate and search out the situation and circumstance”. Ezra ended this verse by sharing how he and the “chief of their fathers” were seated upon the first sunrise to sunset within the tenth lunar moon known as Tevet to investigate the circumstances. 

When we consider Ezra's words in this verse, we learn the timing of the great day of repentance for the people of Israel. On the “first day of the tenth month” which corresponds to December 29^th, the people and rulers of Israel began the process with Ezra and the leaders within the temple to be separated from their foreign pagan wives. God was moving among the people of Israel, and He does the same with us today. We are to be separated from the sin of the world through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life give us the power through His Holy Spirit to be “separated” from our sinful ways as we live in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

Next time Ezra says, “they made an end with all the men that had taken strange 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".