Strange Wives and Their Children

I've entitled this message, Strange Wives and Their Children. Look back to chapter nine. Now this is 60 years after the initial return to Jerusalem, after being 70 years in Babylon They returned 60 years before this, and this is 60 years after their initial return, verse chapter nine.

Now when these things were done, the princes came to me saying, the people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to the 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 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 have been chief in this trespass." 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 astonished. devastated over this.

Really, according to that passage of scripture, they were no different. They were no different. Look in the last of this chapter, verse 13. And after all this has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, seeing that thou, our God, has punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and has given us such deliverance as this, should we again break thy commandments and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? Wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous, for we remain yet escaped as it is this day. Behold, we're before thee in our trespasses, for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Now when Ezra had prayed, And when he 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 this was very genuine. They were devastated over what they'd done too. They were weeping over this.

And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We've trespassed against our God and have taken strange wives of the people of the land. Yet now there's 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. Then arose Ezra and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they should do according to this word. And they swear. And Ezra rose up from before the house of God, went into the chamber of Johannahan, the son of Elishaib.

And when he came thither, he did eat no bread nor drink water, for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem and to all the children of the captivity that they should gather themselves together into Jerusalem. and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substances should be forfeited and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Now this was a very severe sentence against those who didn't come up for this great time. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together into Jerusalem.

Within three days, it was the ninth month, on the 20th day of the month, and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain." This is interesting. As pointed out, it was raining. It was a great rain. And they were cold. And this was not comfortable. There was nothing comfortable about this.

And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, you've transgressed and have taken strange wives to increase the trespasses of Israel. Now therefore make confession of the Lord God of your fathers and do his pleasure and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the strange wives.

Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, as thou has said, so must we do. Notice they didn't say so will we do. So must we do. There's a difference. But the people are many. It's a time of much rain, much discomfort. and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two, for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.

And now let our rulers and all the congregation stand, let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come in appointed times, and with them the elders of every city and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of God for this matter be turned from us.

Only Jonathan, the son of Esahel, And Jehaziah, the son of Tigva, were employed about this matter. And Meshulam and Shabbatai, the Levite, helped them. And the children of Israel of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest was certain chief of the fathers after the house of their fathers, and all that by their names were separated. and sat down in the first day of the 10th month to examine the matter, and they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of this month, and the rest of the chapter is spent naming the men that had done this."

Now, I want you to think about this. These people had been in Jerusalem for 60 years of their history. They had been in Babylon, and now they come back to Jerusalem. And they spent their lives there. And there were men and women in Jerusalem that were not Jews. That's where we get the Samaritans from. And they fell in love with these people. They married these people. They had children by these people. And now they're called upon to divorce these women and send their children out. Now that sounds harsh, doesn't it? That sounds unfeeling. Can you imagine how difficult this would have been? You know, some have even suggested that Ezra was wrong in making this request.

They'd been in the land of Babylon for many years and married women and had children. And those who returned to Jerusalem, there were many non-Jews living there. They fell in love, got married, had kids, and now kick your wife out of the house? Separate yourself from your children. Now understand this, this is not about interracial marriages because there's no such thing, there's only one race. This is not talking about it was wrong for them to marry somebody of a different ethnicity.

Turn to 1 Kings chapter 11. The wisest man to ever live, Solomon. 1 Kings chapter 11, this is what this is about. And we looked in Deuteronomy chapter seven last week about why the Lord told them not to marry the peoples of the lands. Now, King Solomon, 1 Kings chapter 11. King Solomon loved many strange women.

Together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, zillions and Hittites of the nations concerning which the Lord had said unto the children of Israel, you shall not go into them, neither shall they come into you. For surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Now Solomon claimed to these in love, a direct act of disobedience of God's command. And he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart, for it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods.

And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Zidians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemoth, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burn incense and sacrifice unto their gods. The Lord was angry with Solomon. because his heart was turned away from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore, the Lord said unto Solomon, forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant, my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding thy days I'll not do it, for David thy father's sake, but I'll rend it out of the hand of thy son." Now, here we have the severity of why it was wrong for them to marry these other women. Now, obviously, a believer should not marry an unbeliever.

In 1 Corinthians 7, it says, only in the Lord. Only in the Lord. Now, the Lord may overrule it and bring good out of it, but it's still a breaking of his commandment. But this is not what we're talking about right now. We're talking about being turned away from the Lord. And here we have this severe command, divorce your wife, get rid of your children. Now, what is that all about? You know, we have another story about this. Is anybody thinking about it?

Remember when God said to Abraham, cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. Turn with me there to Genesis chapter 21. Genesis 21, because this is, you know, I've looked at this and it is very severe. Yet it is what God commanded them to do. Genesis 21.

And the Lord visited Sarah as he'd said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him.

And Sarah said, God has made me to laugh so that all they that hear will laugh with me. And she said, who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given child suck? For I have borne him a son in his old age. And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw that the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. making fun of this, being disrespectful.

Wherefore, she said unto Abraham, Cast out the bondwoman and her son. For the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his son he loved Ishmael. And God said unto Abraham, let it not be grievous in thy side because of the lad and because of thy bondwoman. In all that hath Sarah said unto thee, hearken unto her voice, for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Now, if you go on reading in this passage of scripture, you're gonna find out how God was very kind to Ishmael. He made a great nation of him, and he was very kind to Hagar. She made that prayer, thou Lord seest me. He was very kind, and I have no doubt that God would be very kind to these people that were called upon to divorce and their children. I just have no doubt that God would be kind to these people, just like he was to Ishmael. Hagar and Ishmael. But here's the point. Ishmael, what does he represent?

Well, you'll remember God promised Abraham a son. 11 years pass, no son. So his wife Sarah comes up with this idea. Obviously God's promise is not gonna come about unless we do our part. You see what is happening, we're not doing our part. So, no son. Now here's what we're gonna do, we're gonna do our part, and you're gonna go into Hager, and you're gonna have a child. So we'll have a child by her. And this is our doing our part.

And what does Paul call this story in Galatians chapter four? He calls it salvation by law. He calls it Mount Sinai. Now salvation is based upon me doing something before God can do something for me. That is salvation by works. That is Mount Sinai. That's what Paul calls it in Galatians chapter four. I love where the Lord said, All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. If you think there's something that you have done that God will save you because you did this, God will give you his favor because you did that, all that is is salvation by works and nothing more. So that's why God said, cast out the bondwoman and her son and her fruit, because it's nothing more than salvation by works.

Let me show you another scripture. Turn to Hebrews chapter six. And God is giving through the writer to the Hebrews, the ABCs of the gospel that they had not been grounded in. And look what he says in Hebrews chapter six, verse one, therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on under perfection, not laying again the foundation of what's the first thing he says.

Repentance from dead works. Now this is the same thing. What are dead works? Anything done before God gave you life. If you think there's anything that you do that causes him to do something for you, that is dead works, that's salvation by works. Look back and look over to Hebrews chapter nine.

Verse 11, but Christ, being come in high, a priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place.

What? Having obtained eternal redemption for us. Did you do anything to get that? No. He did it without your help. Now let's go on reading. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctified through the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works? purge your conscience from dead works, from trying satisfaction in anything you have done. Get rid of that completely. Now this is what getting rid of these strange wives and their children represent. Hagar and Ishmael, cast out the bondwoman and her son. Cast out all dead works. Cast out any hope of salvation by what you do.

Back to Ezra 10. Now when Ezra prayed and we confessed weeping and castings himself down before the house of God. I think he felt very much like Paul when Paul said, I marvel that you so soon removed from him that called you to the grace of Christ to another gospel. I think that's exactly how he's feeling because he's, like I said, this is not about so much about Jews getting together with people of other nations, although it certainly is, it is, but what does it represent? Mixing works and grace. That's what this is about, mixing works and grace. Now, when Ezra had prayed and when he'd confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of the Israel a very great congregation of men, of women, and of children. For the people wept very sore.

And verse two, Shekiniah, he's the spokesman, and his name means dweller with Jehovah. Isn't that what every believer is? A dweller with Jehovah. He is the spokesman at this time. The son of Jehiel, that means God lives. One of the sons of Elam, that means eternity. Somebody lives before God because God lives and gives them life and they are children of eternity.

Well, here's their confession. 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. God's law has to be honored in this. This was forbidden in the law. They had broken the law. God's law always has to be honored. Amen, I'm so thankful. In the gospel, his law is always honored. I'm saved in a way that honors the law and the justice of God.

And it says, Arise, for this matter belongeth unto thee. We're looking to you to take care of this. Ezra's a type of Christ. We also will be with thee, be of good courage and do it. Then arose Ezra and made the chief priests, the Levites and all Israel to swear that they should do according to this word.

And they swear. Now, when I believe the gospel, when I believe the gospel, by the grace of God, I reject all ways of salvation by works. Any promise I make, I realize that if I make it, there's holes in it. But when I look to Christ only, I reject, I renounce all ways of salvation by works. And that is what they are doing.

Verse six, then Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went in to the chamber of Johanan, the son of Eliashib, And when he came thither, he did eat no bread nor drink water, for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. Jehonathan means Jehovah has graced. Elihad means God has restored. Now, the only way this is gonna take place is if God graces me and he restores me. This is a work of him alone. And I'm asking him, Lord, grace me. Lord, restore me. Restore my paths. Give me grace to do this.

He mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away, and they made a proclamation throughout all Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity that they should gather themselves together into Jerusalem, and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, and all his substance should be forfeited himself, separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away."

Now, that's some severe consequences, isn't it? If you don't show up for this, You lose everything and you're separated from the children of Israel. That's how important this thing is, this thing of repentance from dead works, this thing of cast out the bondwoman and her son. Verse nine, then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together into Jerusalem within three days.

It was the ninth month on the 20th day of the month and all the people sat in the street of the house of God trembling because of this matter and because of the great rain. Now this is interesting. It was a troubling thing to do and it was an uncomfortable thing to do. And I think that great rain lets us know how uncomfortable this was and this is. Why does God the Holy Spirit give us this detail of this great rain?

Verse 10, and Ezra the priest stood up and said unto them, you've transgressed. and have taken strange wives to increase the trespass of Israel. He's not mincing words. Now therefore, make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the strange wives.

Now make confession. Isn't it a blessing when the Lord enables me and you to confess our sins before him? It's so, well, it's all only the blood of Christ cleanses us, but there's something so blessed in being enabled by the grace of God to confess my sins before God and to take place with God, take sides with God against myself. And that's what they're doing at this time. They're confessing.

Now therefore make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do his pleasure. That's what believing the gospel is. You're doing his pleasure. And separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the strange wives. Now, separation. Not try to reform them. Not try to help them. Get away from them. Separate yourselves from them.

Don't have any identification with the religion of this world. And you know, by the grace of God, I have no trouble with that. I don't want to be identified with the religion of this world in any way. This is the gospel. Nothing else is the gospel. And the call to God's people is to come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord.

And touch not the unclean thing. What is the unclean thing? Human righteousness. works. Don't touch it. You know, people say, well, that'll lead people to seeing, no, it won't lead God's people that way. They look to Christ only and rejoice in having his righteousness as their only righteousness before God.

Then all the congregations, verse 12, answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. Now, don't miss that. He didn't say, so will we do. Anything that starts with an I will is gonna go wrong. You can just write that down. If I'm doing it in the strength that I'll do this, I'll do that. I love, whoever read Joshua 24 this morning, I think it was Matt, I love what Joshua said.

If it's even an evil thing to you, to serve the Lord. Go ahead and pick your poison. Go with the God of the Amorites and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites. But as for me, in my house, we'll serve the Lord. And that's what he's saying, as for me. I mean, if you want to go that direction, go that direction. But as for me, And my house, by his grace, will serve the Lord.

And that's what the congregation is saying. Then all the congregation said with a loud voice, as thou has said, so must we do. We know there's no salvation if we're looking to our works. So must we do. And there's a must in every aspect of the gospel, isn't there?

You know, for me to be saved, I must be elected. I must have Christ die for my sins. I must have his righteousness given to me as a free gift. I must be birthed of God. I must be born again. I must be enabled to persevere all the way to the end, right up to my last step in my dying breath. I must look to Christ only. There's a must in the gospel. And they understood that. So, as thou said, so must we do. And when they said, so must we do, they knew it was only by the grace of God they would do it.

But the people are many. And it's a time of much rain, much discomfort. And we're not able to stand without. Neither is this work of one day or two, for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. And that lets me know this is a work of a lifetime. It's a work of a lifetime.

Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times. And you think there were thousands of people and they had appointed times that they'd come. And when the elders of every city and the judges thereof until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. Now notice the fierce wrath of God for this matter.

This is a serious matter to, serious is not even the right word, to look to other gods like Solomon did. This is what this is about. It's about the worship of a false god. Get rid of the wives and the children. And let me repeat, I have no doubt that God was merciful to these women and these children that were turned out, but they turned them out and they had to do it just like Cast out the bondwoman, Hagar, and her son. And remember when God appeared to Abraham in Genesis 22, he said with regard to Isaac, take now thy son, thy only son, whom thou lovest. Ishmael is not even acknowledged to be a son. Salvation by works cannot be acknowledged as any part of my salvation.

What a joy it is to simply rest in Christ. Let's go on reading. Here's the fellows that are going to be in charge of this. Jonathan. Jonathan's name means Jehovah has given. I need the Lord to give me the grace to do this. Jonathan. The son of Asahel. Asahel means God has made.

How we need God. to make Him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. How we need for Him to be of God made into us. Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. This thing of casting out these strange wives and their children takes the sovereign supernatural grace of God to enable us to do it. And we're asking Him to give us the grace to do this.

And Jehoi-za, that means Jehovah Views. Jehovah Views. Now, here's what I need. I need something that God sees as perfect. Not what you see as perfect or what I see as perfect, but what God sees as perfect. This is just as necessary what God sees. Colossians 1, 22, every believer is said to be holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Now, I might not be in your sight, but I am in his sight, and that's what counts, and that's what we need, what God sees.

Go on reading. Jehoziah, the son of Tikva, hope. My only hope is that God does all of these things. Hope. We're employed about this matter, and Meshulam, that means friend. Christ is the friend of sinners. Now, I'm taking these names, they all have an important meaning, and they show how I can cast out the bondwoman and her son. By Christ, the friend of sinners, Shabbath I, Shabbath of rest. The only way I can do this is resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let us labor to enter into that rest.

And I only rest only in Christ when I cast out the peoples of the land and their children. Verse 16, and the children of the captivity did so, And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of this first month." And the rest of the chapter is meant, is giving the names of those who were guilty of doing this. Now, here's a summary of all this.

Real simple, real easy. When we look to Christ alone, we divorce salvation by works and all of our children. And when we fail to look to Christ alone, we're keeping all these things. May the Lord give us the grace to do as the children of Israel, to cast out the bond woman and her son, to look to Christ only, to rest in Christ only, to rejoice in Christ only. Truly, He is all.

Let's pray. Lord, we're so weak, sinful. Lord, we would have a tendency in that old man to always going back to the law, to works. We ask that you would enable us by your grace to cast out the bondwoman and her son and all the method message of false religion, enable us to be faithful in doing this. Lord, we're depending on you to do this for us and in us. And we ask that you would perform this mighty work of grace in us. Enable each one of us to look to Christ alone and to rejoice and be glad in him. Bless this message for Christ's sake. In his name we pray.

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