Ezra - Foreign Wives and Children put away

A story in the book of Ezra really struck me. Actually it is concerning marriages that were not supposed to occur. It does not have to do with divorce. However, we may be able to learn something from it since "all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

For they have taken of their daughters (as wives) for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
Ezra 9:1-2

Here the people had violated a law of God, not to be intermarried with thea the surrounding nations. And it is interesting how serious Ezra takes this:

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.
Ezra 9:3

And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Ezra 9:6

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and
let it be done according to the law.

Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

Ezra 10:1-4

What I perceived from this is that this is an example of a case where they had taken wives for themselves, against the will of the Lord. They saw that it was a sin. They confessed their sin "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land..." (Ezra 9:2). And they made a resolution: "...to put away all those wives... according to the law...". Also, they did it according to the law (I assume according to Deuteronomy 24:1-4, the only place where divorce is permitted).

Nehemiah's Reforms

Nehemiah also makes similar reforms as Ezra. In Nehemiah 13:22, it is written:

Conclusion

It is not my intention to tell people what they need to do. We will all stand before the LORD one day to give account of our life (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:12). However, I do want to point out all the places in the Scripture where divorces occurred. I hope that it will assist the reader in finding the will of God for their own life.

Related Articles

• Divorce in the Bible
• The Divorce Exception
• If the unbelieving depart, let him depart
• Remarriage: what does the Scripture say?
• What if I'm already remarried?
• Reconciliation
• The early church's view on divorce and remarriage