Psalm 16:2, “Lord, Be Glorified” (Bob Kilpatrick—1978)

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Ezra 10. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind on the matter of the strange wives. Verse 10-12 tells us:

Ezra 10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.

Ezra 10:11 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.

Ezra 10:12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

Ezra chastised the people of Judah, who returned to the Land, because they had taken nokree’— “strange wives.” This meant they had married outside the faith; they married women of the Gentiles, which was forbidden. However, it was more than that they were foreigners—Moses married Zipporah, Salmon married Rachab, the Gentile harlot (James 2:25; Matthew 1:5), from whom came Boaz (Boaz), who married Ruth, from whom came Obed, who begat Jesse, from whom came David (Matthew 1:5-6). The problem was not one like Moses, Salmon, or Boaz, but like Solomon, who loved many “strange women” (Kings 11:1).

They were commanded to “put away all the wives” and to do it “according to the law” (Ezra 10:3). They were to separate themselves from the unbelieving wives. This rule is adjusted in the New Testament: if the unbelieving spouse is content to remain with the believing spouse, the believer is instructed to remain in the marriage. But if the unbelieving depart, “let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases” (1 Corinthians 7:12-16).

The people acknowledged their sin: “For we are many that have transgressed in this thing” (Ezra 10:13b). They agreed to obey the command of God through Ezra, to “put away their wives” (Ezra 10:19).

God hates “putting away” (Malachi 2:16). But in this case, they had done a thing God hates, and the only way to correct it was to do something hateful to God.

Along the still waters, I thought about how often we put God in a position similar to what the Jews did who married contrary to the Law. We flirt with the world, accommodate it, and become entangled in it. This is a form of adultery (James 4:4). He must chastise us (Hebrews 12:5-12), but He takes no pleasure in it (Lamentations 3:33). Furthermore, I know of cases where disentangling from sin causes deep offenses among unbelievers, putting a bitterness in their hearts toward God that hardens them against the Gospel.

In the valley, my heart kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, I thought of Him who sometimes does what He hates for the benefit of those He loves. Christ, God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16), Who knew no sin, was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He looked into the cup in which stirred the draught that would cause the hideous transformation and revulsed, cried, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). He did what He hated to save what He loved.

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. We walked together into the harvest, goodness and mercy following close.

Praying for revival!  🙏

“See you in church!” Please pray for our services at the Lighthouse and for the services at Calvary Baptist Church in American Canyon.