by Kent Heaton<\/p>\n
The book of Ezra is a remarkable book of \u201cthose whose spirits God had moved<\/em>\u201d (Ezra 1:5). The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins for seven decades and the house of the Lord was burned. Zerubbabel led the faithful back to Jerusalem and the Temple was rebuilt. The faith of the people was focused upon the protection of Jehovah before they rebuilt the city walls under the leadership of Nehemiah. In the process of this spiritual renewal, the leaders came to Ezra and declared, \u201cThe people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands \u2026 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons<\/em>\u201d (Ezra 9:1-2).<\/p>\n Ezra was ashamed and humiliated because of this sin. The people also were ashamed and weeping came to Ezra declaring they had trespassed against God by taking pagan wives from the peoples of the land. In a extraordinary act of faith in Jehovah God and the will of \u201cthose whose spirits God had moved<\/em>\u201d with the power of His word \u2013 the people declared they would make a \u201ccovenant with our God to put away all the women, and such as have been born of them, according to the counsel of the Lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God. And let it be done according to the Law<\/em>\u201d (Ezra 10:3). The tenth chapter of Ezra shows they fulfilled their promise by putting away their pagan wives and even those who had children.<\/p>\n One cannot but be touched with the deep fervency of their love for the will of God. They had struggled to return to a city in ruins to rebuild the house of the Lord. Through adversity and opposition to rebuilding the Temple, those of a willing mind completed the work. It was a hard and arduous task to rebuild stone by stone the glory of the Temple. These were extraordinary people of faith. They not only possessed the fortitude to fight for the house of the Lord they also had within their hearts the conviction to mold their lives to God\u2019s will \u2013 no matter the cost.<\/p>\n How high a price to put away a wife that you have no right to be married to? What cost does one pay to serve the kingdom of God in the marital relationship? Where are the willing hearts devoted to the Lord even it means living as a \u201ceunuch for the kingdom of heaven\u2019s sake<\/em>\u201d (Matthew 19:12)? Was God asking something too hard for the people of Ezra\u2019s day? Would the brethren cry out, \u201cUnfair, unfair\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0Could Ezra change his teaching on the law of God concerning pagan wives?<\/p>\n Thomas Carlyle wrote: \u201cConviction, were it never so excellent, is worthless till it converts itself into conduct\u201d (Sartor Resartus, 1836). Truth is the word of God. Standing upon the foundation of truth with conviction will only be of worth when we turn that belief into action. Those of Ezra\u2019s day were passionate about the cause of the Lord and not their own desires. They were willing to take up a cross for the Lord. May we find their spirit today in the people of God to be fully devoted to the will of God \u2013 no matter the cost. \u201cIf anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple<\/em>\u201d (Luke 14:26).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kent Heaton The book of Ezra is a remarkable book of \u201cthose whose spirits God had moved\u201d (Ezra 1:5). The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins for seven decades and the house of the Lord was burned. Zerubbabel led the faithful back to Jerusalem and the Temple was rebuilt. The faith of the people…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1090,167,803,64],"class_list":["post-15694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-conviction","tag-divorce","tag-ezra","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23972,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-the-lists-in-ezra-2-and-nehemiah-7-different\/","url_meta":{"origin":15694,"position":0},"title":"Why are the lists in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When I read Ezra and Nehemiah, I had some problems with the counting numbers recorded in both books. I believe the list of names in Ezra chapter 2 and Nehemiah chapter 7 are the same thing. But the number of singers and porters are different in these two books.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18195,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/both-ezra-264-and-nehemiah-766-agree-that-the-totals-for-the-whole-assembly-were-42360-yet-ezra-adds-up-to-29818-and-nehemiah-to-31089\/","url_meta":{"origin":15694,"position":1},"title":"Both Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the totals for the whole assembly were 42,360, yet Ezra adds up to 29,818 and Nehemiah to 31,089","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Both Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the totals for the whole assembly was 42,360, yet Ezra adds up to 29,818 and Nehemiah to 31,089? Answer: Ezra gives a detailed listing of families of Judah, Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites. (Ezra 1:5). That listing is from Ezra\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62073,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ezras-still-need-shecaniahs\/","url_meta":{"origin":15694,"position":2},"title":"Ezras Still Need Shecaniahs","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jason Hardin In God's Image \"Ezra.\" If you're familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible, you remember the name. \"Shecaniah\"? Probably not. But here's something we all need to understand: the \"Ezras\" of the world desperately need the \"Shecaniahs.\" In Ezra 10, after rebuilding the temple, restoring the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5823,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-proof-is-there-that-jews-returned-with-nehemiah\/","url_meta":{"origin":15694,"position":3},"title":"What proof is there that Jews returned with Nehemiah?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I saw your web page Q&A regarding how many waves of people were taken to Babylon. You also list three return groups. Is there any scriptural support for any Jews returning with Nehemiah? Answer: The list of those who returned with Zerubbabel is found in Ezra 2:2-67. The total\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5819,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-always-heard-about-the-three-waves-of-the-babylonian-captivity-but-where-is-this-found\/","url_meta":{"origin":15694,"position":4},"title":"I’ve always heard about the three waves of the Babylonian captivity, but where is this found?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've always heard about the three waves of the Babylonian captivity, but where is this found? Answer: Three Captivities Jehoiakim, also called Eliakim, was put into power by Pharaoh Neco who had killed his brother. Babylon attacked Judah and Jehoiakim surrendered to Babylon for three years, but he rebelled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55431,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/names-names-names-ezra-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":15694,"position":5},"title":"Names Names Names (Ezra 2)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jarrod M. Jacobs Interspersed in the Bible are lists of names. Sometimes, these are genealogies of certain families (Genesis 5, 10, etc.). Often, these genealogies focus on Judah's descendants leading to Christ (Ruth 4; Matthew 1; Luke 3). At other times, these names teach us about faith (Hebrews 11;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}