Matthaniah, Mattenai and Jaasau - Ezra 10:37

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” and “the sons of Bani”, and in chapter ten and verse thirty seven of Ezra, Ezra mentioned “Matthaniah, Mattenai and Jaasau”,where we read,

Matthaniah, Mattenai and Jaasau

The verse reads, “Matthaniah, Mattenai and Jaasau” Ezra began with the word, “Matthaniah” or “gift of Jehovah”,“Mattenai” whose name also means “gift of Jehovah” “and Jaasau” or “they will do”. Ezra shared how two men whose names mean “gift of Jehovah” and one named “they will do” were among the men of Israel who married pagan foreign wives and subsequently put them away. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra about three more men of Israel, “Matthaniah, Mattenai and Jaasau”, who were in the midst of the people of Israel and intermarried with foreign women. These men obeyed Ezra's directive from God to separate from these women, and they became aligned with God's ways rather than their own. God wants this to be our way as well. When God reveals sin in us and convicts us by His Holy Spirit to repent, He reminds us that He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die 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 and put within us a desire to obey Him and His ways for all eternity. 

Next time Ezra added, “and Bani, and Binnui, Shemei”, 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".