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; the sons of Harim; the sons of Hashum; the sons of Bani” and “Shelemiah and Nathan, and Adaiah” and in chapter ten and verse forty of Ezra, Ezra added “Machnadebai, Shashai and Sharai”, where we read,
Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai
The verse reads, “Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai”. Ezra began with the word, “Machnadebai” or “he brought my low willing ones”,“Shashai” which means “noble”, “Sharai” or “releaser”. Ezra shared how the men of Israel whose names mean, “he brought my low willing ones, noble and releaser” were added to the list of men who intermarried with foreign women and subsequently put them away at his command.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra about three more men of Israel who were married to pagan foreign wives and put them away when God directed Ezra to tell them to do so. God calls all people to be cleansed from their sinful ways, and He provided His Son Jesus to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us a desire to obey Him any time He calls upon us to obey. (See 1 John 1:9)
Next time Ezra includes, “Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah”, 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".
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