⁷ They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain.

Ezra 10:7-9 (NASB)

Dreary Day

It was a dreary day. There was a cold winter rain. The proclamation had gone out to all to assemble and deal with this matter of intermarriage and impurity. This was about 5 months after Ezra and his group had arrived in Jerusalem. As we mentioned yesterday, this was a difficult time for them since this would result in the break up of their families and much heartache and pain.

Severe consequences

The consequences of not abiding by the proclamation were more severe than the setting aside of the wifes and children. Every one of the Jews responded as required – within 3 days. Good thing it wasn’t harvest time! 

Note: Ezra mentions Judah and Benjamin as the only tribes (other than Levi and the priests) that showed up. Wesley commentary suggests that this is, “because the greatest part of them were of these tribes, though others were mixed with them: and because they all now dwelt in that land, which formerly was appropriated to those tribes.”

For us

God (often through others) calls us to actions we are hesitant to do. Maybe it’s humbling ourselves and confessing sin. I know a husband who had to do that recently with his wife. He confidentially shared that he had not been respecting his wife as he should. Not only did it affect their relationship, it also affected those who knew them. The pain of knowing the effect on his wife and others was more than humbling himself and confessing then praying for change. Sometimes, to take the action needed, to get us to change, it takes consequences more severe than the action we need to take.