Ezra Chapter 10: What is More Beneficial?

Verses 1-2:

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.

◇ Ezra prayed and repented with tears before the temple of God. As seen in 9:1, the people of Israel were following the abominable practices of the pagans and their religions.

Ezra identified the marriages to foreign women as the cause of these abominations. The evil customs infiltrated the Israelites because of these women, leading them to commit detestable acts. Therefore, Ezra demanded the people to send away their foreign wives (verses 10-11), and the people obeyed.

Deuteronomy 7:1-4 (and Exodus 34:11-16) commands the Israelites entering Canaan not to make any treaty with the seven nations or show them mercy. Specifically, it instructs not to give daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. The reason is the fear that foreign wives might lead them to turn away from the Lord and serve other gods (Deuteronomy 7:4; Exodus 34:16).

God’s prohibition against marrying foreigners was not about maintaining pure bloodlines but to protect His people from idolatry and evil customs. If the Israelites were steadfast in not turning away from the Lord, such a command would not have been necessary. However, they were prone to change easily, following desires and worldly gains, which is why marriage to foreign women was forbidden.

Joseph married the daughter of an Egyptian priest (Genesis 41:45), Moses married a Midianite (Exodus 2:21), Gideon married a Canaanite woman (Judges 8:31), and even the great David took Bathsheba, a Hittite woman, as his wife (2 Samuel 12:9-10). Joseph, Moses, Gideon, and David maintained their faith while living with foreign women—they were not the problem.

The issue was not the marriage to foreign women per se, but the inability to maintain the worship of the Lord. It was a measure to preserve their faith, not a rejection of foreigners.

Paul discusses various aspects of marriage in 1 Corinthians 7, including instructions for couples where one partner is a believer and the other is not (verses 12-16). He advises that if the unbelieving partner is willing to live with the believer, then they should stay together. This is because the unbelieving spouse may become holy through their believing partner. Whether to marry someone of a different faith is a personal decision, not a matter of right or wrong. What's important is what pleases God more.

Could there be a more precious missionary work than being a conduit for transforming an unbelieving spouse into a person of faith while maintaining one's own beliefs?

However, if a person of faith follows an unbelieving spouse into desires and greed, it might be better not to marry at all. This is the very concern God had for the people of Israel.

Lord, help us not to treat many Bible verses legalistically or as a standard! May Your given freedom guide us to consider and decide what is more beneficial for You! Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth!