Happily Ever After?

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Now, I’m not sure if this is a true story, or just a “preacher tale,” but here goes. Ren McCormick, a fun-loving teen from Chicago, came to Bomont to live with his uncle and aunt during his senior year of high school.

Unbeknownst to Ren, some years earlier the town suffered through a terrible tragedy that saw four teenagers killed in an automobile accident. The car was driven by a then-senior who happened to be the oldest-born and only son of Rev. and Mrs. Shaw. It was indeed tragic, a terrible accident that few can comprehend.

In an unprecedented move, the town as a whole, led by the righteous efforts of Rev. Shaw, purposed and vowed to never let such a tragedy strike their small town again. So, regulations and changes went in to place. Chief among them? No dancing. After all, you shouldn’t dance because if you don’t dance, you won’t be tempted to go to places where people dance. And, if you don’t go to places where people dance, you won’t go to places that serve alcohol, because certainly the two go hand in hand. And, if you don’t go to a place where they don’t serve alcohol, guess what you’ll never do: drink alcohol. And if you don’t drink alcohol, guess what, you’ll never ever have to worry about getting drunk, which the Scripture commands, be not drunk with wine. So, you definitely won’t get drunk if you never drink, and you won’t be tempted to drink if you never go to places where they serve alcohol, and you won’t be tempted to go to places that serve alcohol if you never dance, so let’s outlaw dancing altogether…save folks a lot of heartache. Maybe I added that part, and it’s not actually in the story.

The entire situation came to a head when Ren, an avid dancer himself, brought the matter before the entire city council, only wanting to have a senior dance for himself and his classmates. He even went so far as to remind the council, and Rev. Shaw, a prominent member of the council, that dancing was even commendable in the Scripture, noting that David himself, the man after God’s own heart, danced before the Lord.

What was the outcome? The council still vetoed the request to have a dance. But, what’s the bigger lesson? It seems that there is a warning against making brash and hasty decisions. Should the town ordinance have remained in place? Or, should cooler heads have prevailed? That’s not for me to say, but I think the situation we see in Scripture may be a similar situation. Yes, birthed out of a much more drastic act of rebellion, but the response seems to be hasty. But, at the end of the day, you make the call. Let’s study together Ezra chapter 10.

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The People Make Confession

Apparently, Ezra’s weeping and confession has drawn the attention of the people, and a very great assembly has joined him, their expression of guilt seen by the fact that they wept bitterly. Remember, this is part of why Ezra used the drastic symbolism that he did — to elicit a response and shock the people.

Shecaniah also identifies with the sins of the people, noting that we have broken faith. The idea of breaking faith relates to breaking a covenant (something that has plagued God’s people as a covenant group since their entrance into the Promised Land).

The identity of the people of God is at stake with this sin. Remember that God’s people are always called to holiness (see Ezra 9:2, Lev.11:44; 1 Pet. 1:16). Holiness proves itself through an obedient relationship and commitment to God alone.

Through the course so far, the actions of the people seem very commendable, do they not? Confession is a necessary part of a healthy relationship with God. The people have accepted their sin, and they have confessed their brokenness before God. So far, so good. But then, notice what happens when the text moves forward.

The Leaders Give a Suggestion

While there is no specific mention of whose plan this actually is, the logical idea is that it was thought by Shecaniah, possibly (or probably) on his own. Actually, I’m not sure you can arrive at any other implication from a simple and plain reading of the text.

Further, the counsel is sought according to my lord. The word here is adonai and in the strictest sense, communicates a ruler or leader. Here, it is used in reference to Ezra.

The idea of putting away these wives and their children is to send them away. It’s not the typical word for divorce, though it is used elsewhere in Scripture in that manner.

The train of thought seems to be:

This thing we’ve done is wrong because it breaks God’s command.

We are broken because, ignoring the command or plain ignorance to the command, we have sinned against God.

Get rid of the thing that made us do this sin.

So, the people make a covenant to do just that.

Ezra Makes The Concession

An assembly is called, and this is not uncommon in Scripture. Similar calls to gather were witnessed at the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Such a special gathering underscores the seriousness of the event. So much so that Ezra issues a rather serious consequence for failing to attend. Ezra was the chief magistrate of Jerusalem under Artaxerxes’ rule. He operated with legal authority, and could punish those who did not comply with his rules and regulations. (In essence, Ezra said that he would exercise exile on anyone not complying with this decree. Does Ezra have the right to place a person in exile?)

Vs.10 — Though past sins have been forgiven, this new transgression puts the remnant in danger of once again experiencing the wrath of God.

Vs.11 — Ezra commands the people to make confession. Elsewhere, this phrase is translated as give thanks or praise. How can there be such an overlap of meanings? “Rightful confession is itself a kind of worship of God.” Remember how we mentioned earlier that confession is healthy in the life of a believer. Make confession literally implies to “praise the Lord.” When God’s people confess their sins, they agree with God about their rebellion and acknowledge He is just and His ways are true. Confession is the beginning place for true repentance.

And finally, the concession. Ezra implements the plan of the people.

Ezra 10:11 “Now then make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.””

The situation seems noble…maybe even right. We read in vs.14 that God does have a fierce wrath, something the exiles knew full well. Certainly, the disobedience of God’s people warranted judgment from God. He would be completely just in dealing so with the Jews.

And, after returning home due to the inclement weather, they returned around three months later with a list of everyone who had intermarried. I understand the drive for righteousness, but it almost looks like the “Fault-Finding Judgmentalist” in Max Lucado’s In the Grip of Grace.

Is There Godly Discretion?

I’ll be honest here…this passage leaves me with an uneasy feeling. While it’s not the majority opinion, there is a group of scholars that questions WHY this passage is commendable. Short order, it goes like this:

Did YHWH ever tell Ezra that mass divorce was the answer to the situation they were facing. Sure, to marry and mingle religions was prohibited, rightfully so. YHWH, our God, will not share His glory with another, nor should He…it comes with the territory of being God! But, when Malachi prophesies, and this depends on who you read, some go as early as the days of Ezra/Nehemiah, and some place him between 50-100 years after, and he’s the prophet that will tell us God hates divorce. Contextually, the situation is different, but God’s attitude toward it remains.

When Scripture interprets Scripture and the fullness of God’s revelation is known, Paul is pretty clear about what to do with unbelieving spouses who desire to remain united…you stay together because it is an opportunity to show the gospel.

I’m not going to tell you exactly what to believe here, but given the grand scope of things, the book of Ezra seems to end on a bit of a sad note, and there is uncertainty hanging in the air. But, I think that’s on purpose. So, what’s the take away? I’ve got a couple of suggestions:

Experience

How often do we pray and labor over something before God, and we surrender an issue, and we boldly declare, “God, I need your wisdom. Speak to me.” And then, the first person that comes along with a bit of reasonable-sounding advice, we’re off to follow them? If we are going to be a praying people, and we should be a praying people, we should also be a waiting people.

A note on repentance: often we think of repentance as, “I’ve done this. I’m sorry, now I’ll never do this anymore.” As followers of Jesus, that’s not what true repentance looks like. That’s turning back to the law to do something for us that it can’t do: save and sanctify us. Instead, repentance for the Christian is turning back to Jesus.

The reason the book ends on such a note of uncertainty, and we’ve hinted and drawn this out before, but just to state it again: this wasn’t the point. This isn’t the end. Salvation history moves forward, and even the way the narrative of Ezra plays out pushes the reader forward. It creates a longing to finish the story. And so we are, but not just in Nehemiah, which we’ll get to next week. No, we are literally in the middle of finishing the story. For while the people came out of exile, the priestly line and the royal lineage with it, and they rebuilt a temple, this was not the fulfillment of all the hopes and expectations, not even of Jeremiah. (Jer.31:31-33 ““Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”) The reason we can surely say, “This isn’t it!” is because the people are still operating by old covenant rules and they still need a master in the law to teach them. Ezra ends the way it does to push us forward to Jesus, and we’re reminded that all of Scripture points to Him!