Why did Ezra refuse to eat or drink in this passage?

Ezra refused to eat or drink because he was deeply grieved over the people’s sin. Many of those who had returned from exile had married women from the surrounding nations who followed other gods. After all that God had done to bring them back, this showed that their hearts were drifting again. Ezra’s fasting was a sign of real sorrow before God. He was not just sad in words, his whole body shared in that mourning until the sin was faced and dealt with among the people.

What was the proclamation for everyone to come to Jerusalem about?

The leaders sent a public announcement through Judah and Jerusalem telling all the returned exiles to gather in Jerusalem within three days. This meeting was called to deal with the sin of marrying foreign wives. Anyone who refused to come within the set time would lose his property and be separated from the community. This shows how serious the matter was. It was not just a private issue but something that affected the whole nation’s walk with God.

Why were the people trembling in the street of the house of God?

The people were trembling for two reasons. First, they were afraid because of the matter being discussed. They knew they had broken God’s command by taking foreign wives and feared His anger. Second, it was the ninth month, a cold and wet time, and there was a great rain falling as they stood outside. The hard weather and their troubled consciences came together, so they sat in the open area by the temple, shivering both from the storm and from a deep sense of guilt before God.

What does it mean that they had taken strange wives?

“Strange wives” means women from the surrounding peoples who did not worship the God of Israel. The problem here was not about ethnicity but about idolatry and turning away from God’s law. These marriages brought in foreign worship and helped pile one sin on top of another for Israel. By marrying women who followed other gods, the men were risking the same kind of unfaithfulness that had led to exile before, so this had to be faced very seriously.

Why did Ezra tell the people to confess and separate from these wives?

Ezra told them to confess because they had clearly broken God’s command, and sin needs to be openly admitted, not covered up. He also told them to “do his pleasure,” meaning to obey what God wanted in this situation. That included separating from the people of the land and from the foreign wives who drew them toward false worship. This hard step showed that faithfulness to God had to come first, even above family ties, so that the whole community would not drift into idolatry again.

Why did the people say this could not be finished in one or two days?

The people agreed that they had to obey, but they pointed out some real challenges. There were many offenders, the weather was cold and rainy, and they were standing outside. Sorting out who had married foreign wives and what each case involved would take time. They suggested that rulers, elders, and judges handle the cases city by city at set times. This way the process would be thorough and fair, not rushed, while still showing that they took God’s wrath and their sin very seriously.

Who were Jonathan, Jahaziah, Meshullam, and Shabbethai in this story?

These men were involved in overseeing how this matter was handled. Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahaziah son of Tikvah were put in charge of this work. They were responsible for making sure the process moved forward as planned. Meshullam and Shabbethai, who was a Levite, helped them. Together they helped organize and check the cases brought from different cities. Their role shows that dealing with sin in the community was structured and shared among responsible leaders, not left to one man alone.

How long did it take to examine all the cases of strange wives?

Ezra and selected heads of families set themselves apart from other duties and began examining the cases on the first day of the tenth month. They finished by the first day of the first month. So the work took about three months. This shows it was not a quick, careless action. They listened, checked, and recorded what had been done. The time span reminds us that real repentance and putting things right can be slow and careful work, especially when many people are involved.

What does this passage teach about dealing with sin as a community?

This passage shows that sin in a community cannot be ignored or treated as a private matter when it affects the whole group’s faithfulness. The leaders mourn, call everyone together, lay out clear consequences, and then work through a fair process with appointed judges and elders. The people admit their guilt and agree to hard changes. It teaches that God’s people should face sin honestly, confess it, accept needed discipline, and work together, with wise leadership, to turn back to God’s ways.

Ezra.10.6

Ezra 10:6

KJV

¶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into 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.

The People’s Confession of Sin

¶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into 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.

And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;

And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

¶ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth 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.

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

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.

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

But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, 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.

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 with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

¶ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

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 the first month.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.