Ezra 10:1-11
10:1 a Ezra’s genuine mourning in response to his people’s sin moved many of them to join him.10:2 b Shecaniah was the first person brave enough to publicly admit that he had been unfaithful to God. Admission of guilt gives the hope of forgiveness for sin.
10:3 c A covenant is a binding agreement, in this case specifically to divorce ... pagan wives that the people of Israel had inappropriately married. By taking this action, they would renew their commitment to the Sinai covenant.
• Women were generally given custody of their children when a marriage failed (cp. Hagar and Ishmael, Gen 21:14 d).
10:4 e it is your duty: As an expert in the law (see 7:10 f), Ezra was responsible for leading the people to a God-honoring solution to the problem of intermarriage. Because the law of Moses did not contain explicit directions for divorcing pagan wives, Ezra needed to develop a plan consistent with the requirements of Scripture and fair to the participants.
10:5 g The solemn oath involved both a promise to take action and a self-imposed curse for failure to do what was promised (see Ruth 1:16-17 h; 1 Sam 14:24-28 i).
10:8 j if the leaders and elders so decided: It was reasonable for Ezra to add this exception clause because it might simply be impossible for some people to come to Jerusalem to participate in settling this matter.
10:9 k on December 19 ... it was raining: The cold and wet weather made an outdoor meeting uncomfortable.
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