September 21, 2026
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Ezra and James? Here’s today’s reading:
Ezra 10 (NIV)
The People’s Confession of Sin
1 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. 2 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra,…..Continue Reading
It is nice when you have a conviction and passion for what God wants and others agree and respond to it, even telling you that they will follow your lead. Ezra lays it out for the sin of marrying foreign women to be dealt with directly and immediately. And the people express their sorrow over it and a willingness to do what is necessary. It is interesting that the logistical issue of dealing with all these marriages would take time and then provision being made to investigate the situations and make sure just and righteous decisions are made. And what accountability and conviction comes from having your name listed as an offender. May we have the same level of those even if we are not called out for it!
Ezra 10
Now thats a confession. Not only lip service but a change in heart and direction. Repentance
This passage made me think about our own country, founded as a “city on a hill,” and how far we are drifting from God. I used to pray for our country and realized I stopped. I suppose it’s time to begin again!
The ending of an intimate relationship in order to be obedient is very, very hard. It would be easy to justify these marriages in the name of faithfulness to vows, humanitarian actions, love…BUT God has His reasons for condemning these relationships in the first place, primarily the worship of Pagan gods.
I think of the justification of welcoming aliens in our own country, although God tells us to be kind and loving and welcoming to the alien and stranger among us, He does not tell us to accommodate their gods or culture, but rather instructs that they must adhere to Israelite laws, etc.
I was also thinking about the justification of homosexual or heterosexual outside- of -marriage relationships. These are hard to dissolve, but they are a compromise in our walk with God. I was in a relationship with an unbeliever when I first got saved. I didn’t understand the need to end it. I thought it would be a bad testimony! I asked God to help me end it. Maybe that was chickening out! But God did end it for me, my boyfriend suggested we “see other people” our freshman year and that was all I needed to hear to confirm God’s instructions and we broke up.
Ezra 10
Ezra 9 & 10
Ezra 10 what a mess. I don’t really know what else to say about this chapter. but at least the men agreed to do what needed to be done if they wanted to make things right with GOD.
God wants us to be equally yoked in marriage. We are a weak people and more often than not we see the faithful person dragged down to the unfaithful. We might think our example will bring change in the other person’s heart and sometimes that works but more often than not it does not. These people were ready to end these relationships knowing they were not God’s will for them.