10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
Ezra 10:10-11 (NASB)
Quick review
The 2nd wave of exiles has, by God’s protection and providence, returned to Jerusalem from Persia. They made a sacrifice of celebration. Ezra established himself in his role. Not too long after he arrived, he became aware that there was widespread sin of unfaithfulness to the Lord.
In particular, the Jews who were living in the land prior to their arrival (like from the first wave or returnees with Zerubbabel) had taken wives from the locals. God considers this a grievous sin because it dilutes the purity of their faith. Ezra humbled himself and confessed on behalf of the nation. God moved and the people responded.
Confession with Repentance
Ezra is grateful to see the positive response. He gives two commands, but in reality they are one: confess and repent with action. “Though the moving of the Holy Spirit was evident, it was important to carry the work through to completion and to not be satisfied with a partial work.” (Enduringword.com)
It is important to understand that confession and repentance go hand-in-hand. You might say that confession without repentance, a change in action and thinking, is hollow. As much as we need to be quick to confess, we also need to follow up with the action of repentance. We need to actively change our thinking and actions, by God’s power.
But let us give thanks and remember that our sins are already forgiven. We don’t need to ask again, but we can surely give thanks.
Separate ourselves
This event highlights the importance of evaluating our lives and responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Where we have sinned, we confess and repent. Specifically, we need to be alert for the sin of “intermarrying with the world” – entanglement with it’s ways – the lust of the flesh and pride of life. As the writer of Hebrews encourages us, “…let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1)
