you
Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and such as are born of them
According to the counts of my lord and of those that tremble at the commandment of our god
And let it be done according to the law wise for this matter belongeth unto thee
We also will be with thee be of good courage and to do it
Then it was Ezra and made the chief priest the Levites and all Israel is fair that they should to do according to this word
And they sphere then as it was up from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Johanan the son of
Eliashe and when he came to the he did eat no bread not in quarter for him on 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 on to Jerusalem
And that whatsoever would not come
Within three days according to the council of the princes and the elders all his substance should be
Forfeited and himself separate from the congregation of those that had been carried away
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gather themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days
It was the ninth month on the 20th day of the month and all the people said in the street of the house of God
Stumbling because of his this matter and for the great way and as of the priest stood up and said unto them
He 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 yourself from the people of the land and from the strange wives
Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice as though has said so must we do
But the people are many and it is a time of much rain, and we're not able to stand without neither in this
Neither is this a work of one day or two for we are many that have transgressed in the 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 that of unto the fierce wrath of our God
For this matter be turned from us
only Jonathan the son of
Ashakheel and Jahaziah the son of Tigua were employed about this matter and
Mishulam and Sabittai the Levite helped them and the children of the captivity did so and ever pleased
with certain sheaf of the fathers after the house of the fathers and all of them by the names were separated and
Set 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 and
Among the sons of the priests they were found that had taken strange wives namely of the son of Jerusalem
the son of Josiah and his brother
Mysia and Eliezer and Jadip and Gidalia
And they gave their hands that they would put away the wives and being guilty
They offered a ram of the flock for the trespass and of the sons of Emma
Hanani and Zebediah and of the sons of Hari
Mysia and Elia and Shemaiah and Jihl and Uzziah and of the sons of Peshaw
Elunai, Mysia, Ishmael, Nathaniel, Josabbat and Eliezer
Also the Levite, Josabbat and Zimeh and Kiliya the son the same is Kiritah
Kritah, Kiah, Judah and Eliezer
Of the singers also, Eliyashib and of the Poetas, Shalom and Telem and Uri
Moreover of Israel of the sons of Parash, Zamiya and Jeziah and
Machiah and Miamin and Eliezer and Machiah and Benaiah
and of the sons of Elah
Mataniya, Zihariah and Yichir and Abdi and Jizumot and Elia and of the sons of Jethum
Elunai, Eliyashib, Mataniya and Jizumot and Zabbat and Azir
Of the sons of Bivai, Jehonan, Hanania, Zabah and Atari
And of the sons of Beni, Meshulam, Maluch and Adiab
Yeshup and Sheyar and Remeth and of the sons of Patamuab, Adna and Helai
Benaiah, Maisiah, Mataniya, Bezileel and Benui and Manasseh
And of the sons of Harim, Eliezer, Yichir, Machiah, Shemaiah and Shemion
Benjamin, Maluch and Shemaiah
Of the sons of Hashum, Martinaah, Matada, Zabbat, Eliphelet, Jerimaih, Manasseh and Shemil
Of the sons of Beni, Medah, Amram and Uil
Benaiah, Bediah, Shelyu, Vaniah, Miremot and Eliyashib
Mataniya, Matenai and Iaso
And Bani and Benui, Shemi
And Shelimia, Nathan and Adia
Mahaneh, Ebai, Shashai and Shareh
Azrael, Shelimia and Shemaiah
Shalom, Amaiah and Joseph
And of the sons of Nebu, Jeel, Matitya, Zebat, Zeviah, Jadau and Jewel, Benaiah
All these had taken strange wives and some of them had wives by whom they had children
Let us pray
We thank our Father for your words, thank you for the Bible and for everyone who is here
We ask you to bless the service, we ask you to give us understanding for this chapter
And we also ask you to support the preacher in Jesus' name, Amen
Amen
Alright, we're here in Ezra chapter 10
And to fully understand this chapter we have to understand how Ezra chapter 9 ended
And in Ezra chapter 9 we see that saved people married unsaved people
And of course this is something that God said, hey this is one of the things
I'm going to give you the land, make sure you don't marry the unsaved people
And that's exactly what they did
And so in Ezra chapter 10 you're seeing a very difficult situation that they're in
They're trying to figure out how do we fix this situation
And I'll just say that this is a very debated chapter
And what you need to realize is that the Bible does not tell us if what they did in Ezra 10 was correct
Sometimes in the Bible what you'll see is the Bible mentions what people did
It doesn't mean what they did was correct
I mean Abraham had a child with Hagar, was that correct?
No, but the Bible's recording what Abraham actually did
And all throughout the Bible you'll see that God will record people that are good people
That make mistakes, that do foolish things
And it doesn't necessarily explicitly say when they do the action this was wrong
But you can tell whether or not it's right or wrong
Now, I'm going to give you my opinion on point number 3
Of what I think they should have done
Whether what they did was correct or not
But point number 1 is just realize there is a predicament for God's people
A predicament for God's people
Basically a rock and a hard place
There is no good answer
Right, you could say well this is the answer but there is no good answer
Okay
It says here in verse number 1
Now when Ezra had prayed and when he had confessed weeping and casting himself down before the house of God
There assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children
For the people wept very sore
And so realize here that the godliest people that love God the most are gathered together weeping about this
And all of them are trying to figure out what do we do
I mean if it was as easy as 2 plus 3 equals 5
Plenty of people would say hey this is what the Bible says just do this
It's not that easy because Ezra who probably loves God more than any of us
And all the people that are very zealous are gathered there and they're like you know what are we going to do
Right we don't know what to do
They beg God for mercy they say they're sorry but they don't know what to do
Verse number 2
And Shechemiah the son of Jehiel one of the sons of Elam answered and said unto Ezra
We have trespassed against our God and have taken strange wives of the people of the land
Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing
Now see the problem with marrying unsaved people is they're afraid they're going to get kicked out of the land
For good reason
Because God explicitly said you go back to the land do not marry the unsaved people and allow these false idols that come in
So immediately they're thinking well we broke what God said we're going to be kicked out of the land
And so now it's like well what do we do
Right I mean that's a tough situation because they just stay married to those people
You're going to have the idols in the land you're going to be kicked out of the land in like 20 years
Right and the other option that we see that what they do is the hope is we'll just divorce them and get rid of them
Neither one of those is a good option
Right I mean it's a tough situation
So Shechemiah says and look my opinion is that Shechemiah is actually a good person
I don't think he's a bad person
I think he's someone who loves God they obviously trust him
All of them are like what do we do in this situation and Shechemiah's decision is this
He says there's hope in Israel concerning this thing
Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and such as are born of them according to the counsel of my Lord
And of those that tremble at the commandment of our God and let it be done according to the law
Arise for this matter belongeth unto thee we also will be with thee be of good courage and do it
So what Shechemiah says is have those men divorce those women and just forsake their wives and kids
That's what he says
Okay go to Malachi 2
Malachi 2
Sometimes in life you can put yourselves in situations where there's no good solution
Where literally both sides you know what you're going to sin or do wrong or do something
I mean neither way is there a good answer
I mean sometimes that's just the way it is in life
And it's not by accident it's because they made the decision to marry unsafe people
So now we got a predicament where there is no good answer
I mean get kicked out of the land or divorce these women
I mean neither one's a good answer
Right let's just see very quickly what does the Bible say about divorce
Malachi 2 verse 16
For the Lord the God of Israel saith that he hateth putting away
Now putting away is basically a makalumong way to say divorce or you know put away your spouse get rid of them
The Bible says God hates putting away
God hates divorce
I mean that's just pretty clear in the Old Testament God hates divorce
Right no question about it
I mean does God want them to divorce these women well God hates divorce
I mean that's obviously not a good answer
When God hates getting divorced
Now turn your Bible to Matthew 1
Matthew 1
Matthew chapter 1
Now let me just take a couple minutes to explain this because
You know it's a bit tricky here in the Philippines because
Around the world there are two countries in the world where you're not allowed to get a divorce
One of them is Vatican City which I still refuse to call a country
I mean Vatican City is made up of priests that work for the church
They're not getting married anyway so like it doesn't even count right
And then you got the Philippines
This is the only country in the world where you're not allowed to get a divorce
Now in America you have an annulment and you have a divorce
Although what annulment is here is actually pretty similar
To what a divorce is in the US
In America the only one who gets annulments are celebrities who got married in Vegas when they were drunk
And then all of a sudden the next day they say wait a minute I didn't even know what I was doing
That's what an annulment pretty much is in the US
You wouldn't get an annulment after a couple years of marriage
You'd get a divorce in the US
So an annulment here is very similar to what a divorce would be in the US
But notice what it says in Matthew 1 verse 18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph
Before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost
Now people are very confused about this verse
Because they're like were Mary and Joseph engaged
You know why is it they had not physically come together
Well they weren't engaged because it says espoused
Look at the word spouse in espoused
It's a way to say that they were married
Right you know you wouldn't say espoused in our modern day English
But that's saying that they were married
Mary and Joseph were married
But it says before they came together
Now here's the thing
The reason why it states before they came together
Is you would assume if they're married they would have come together
And that's why it's specifically stating they had not come together even though that they were married
You say well why would that be
Marriage around the world is done very differently in different cultures
And it's not as easy as just looking at a certain thing
You have to realize different cultures do things differently
I mean think about in the Bible
Where Jacob all of a sudden you know
Wakes up with the wrong woman
And all of a sudden he's married to Leah
Now that would not happen in the US or here
Because you do the paperwork to get married to Rachel
If you wake up the next day and it's a different woman
Well you accidentally committed adultery
You didn't get married to that person
But apparently in that culture it's done a little bit differently
Right? I mean that's the only way to look at it
Right?
And in general you know the way you can look at this
To help you understand although it's different in different countries
Is there's the legal aspect of marriage
The paperwork and all of that stuff
And then actually coming together as husband and wife
And so basically what it's saying is
They had done all of the legal paperwork
That they were officially married
Okay
But they had not yet come together
Now in the United States
When you are officially married
It's exactly when you say I do
If you stop before you say I do
Then you're not married
And that's the end of the wedding
You never got married to them
But literally when the preacher has you say I do
That is when you legally get married
And after the wedding he turns in the paperwork
That makes it official because you made those vows before God
And generally in America right after that
Husband and wife come together
However it's not like that in every culture
And throughout all time periods
In many cultures what would take place
Is you do the paperwork
You legally say you do
But then the husband's like okay
Over these next 12 months
I'm going to work 100 hours a week
80 hours a week
And just hate my life to save up money
To prepare our family
And so that's probably what Joseph's doing
They've already decided
And you know here's the thing
In our modern day travel is a lot easier
Than back during these days
And so basically they said hey we want to get married
Let's do the paperwork while we're together
Because realize this if you read this story
I mean Mary has not even gotten the news to Joseph
That she is with Child of the Holy Ghost
Joseph thinks she committed adultery
Because it's not that easy to pass on news back then
So they're around each other
Let's do all the legal paperwork now
And over these next 8 months
I'm going to save up money
We know we want to be together
So it's unique because we just live in a different day
Different cultures
Different societies
But they are married
And yet she is with Child
And they have not come together yet
So of course Joseph's thinking
She committed adultery
Right I mean because she's with Child
I've never been with her before
Obviously she was with some guy
Verse 19
Then Joseph her husband being a just man
And not willing to make her a public example
Was minded to put her away privately
Putting her away is getting a divorce
Privately means privately
Quietly
Not trying to embarrass this woman
Basically saying you know what
I don't want to marry her now
Because she's got a child with another guy
That's what he's thinking
But I don't want to embarrass her
You know what
Just put her away
And just move on with my life
Right
Now here's the thing
What Joseph does is actually allowed
Because there is one group of people
Actually allowed
Because there is one grounds for divorce in the Bible
And that is when
You know you got married
But you have not come together
And then you find out that there's uncleanness
With the person that you're married to
You say brother Stuckey
How often would that happen
It seems like a very unique situation
It is a very unique situation
Now I mean here in this culture
It makes more sense
Because they do the paperwork
And then they actually you know
Come together as husband and wife
Down the road
So there's a time period that goes by
This is a very unique situation
But the thing is
When you get married
And you come together as husband and wife
There is this bond that is permanent between you
As a result of that
And at that point
Regardless of what takes place
Whether it be adultery or whatever
There's no grounds for getting a divorce
Biblically
You're meant to stay married
You're not meant to put them away
According to the Bible
Okay
So God hates putting away
Now go to 1 Corinthians 7
Let me explain this a little bit more in depth
1 Corinthians 7
And I'm taking a little bit of time
Because I'll be honest
A lot of people
When they preach on Ezra 10
They say
Well they did the right thing
Now it never says
They did the right thing
In Ezra chapter 10
Right it doesn't tell us
Whether they did the right thing
It doesn't say they did the wrong thing
It just says what they did
Right
I mean that's what we have recorded
And you know in the Bible
When we read stuff
We got to think about
Okay
This is I mean
Laban had idols
Is that the right thing
Rachel stole the idols
Is that the right thing
I mean they did something
Doesn't mean what they did
Was correct though
Right
You got to look at the context
You know of what the Bible says
1 Corinthians 7 verse 10
And unto the married I command
Yet not I but the Lord
And unto the married I command
Yet not I but the Lord
Let not the wife depart
From her husband
Now of course the Bible says
Before you get married
Marry somebody who is saved
That goes without saying
We talked about that last week
But let's say you're married
Regardless of how you got married
Right
Regardless of whether you have
A Jacob Leah situation
You're married now
Okay
So this applies
And unto the married I command
Yet not I but the Lord
Let not the wife depart
From her husband
And it goes without saying
Let not the husband
Depart from his wife
Basically don't leave your spouse
Stay married
Right
That's what the Bible says
Verse 11
But
And if she depart
Let her remain unmarried
Or be reconciled to her husband
And let not the husband
Put away his wife
And
The Bible just said in verse 10
Don't depart
But if you do depart
Make sure you stay unmarried
Okay
You say well why would it mention
Verse 11
Well it's not really justifying
Departing
But it's stating
If you make the decision
Make sure you stay unmarried
But let me just kind of give you
An example
Of where
A verse 11 could take place
Right
You know there's this guy that
Recently declared himself
To be Jesus Christ on YouTube
Tyler Doka
Who knows who I'm talking about
Tyler Doka
This is a guy that
Five years ago or so
We made a video at Verity Baptist Church
Where they recorded it
Where I was explaining
That the earth is shaped
Like a sphere
Okay
And we had already made that video
We were planning to edit it
Try to make it better
But then that guy
Who claimed to be a new IFB pastor
Even though he did not have multiple children
All of a sudden he puts out this video
And says every other pastor is wrong
They don't believe the Bible
The earth is flat
They don't follow
They don't follow the truth of the Bible
And so
It was like he was
Attacking
All of the pastors
And then I remember
We were talking about it that night
Because pastor Mendez was like
Yeah you know
No big deal or whatever
But he called out you
Because they mentioned
In the background
The backdrop at Verity Baptist
And pastor Mendez was like
Put out that video tonight
Right
So the video was already made
We didn't make it specifically for him
But then he got like very angry
You know
About that video that we made
Now let me just explain to you
Give you your math lesson for the day
Why
Because here's the thing
A sphere is by definition
A three dimensional circle
Okay
And I'll try to make this simple
But if you got a circle
And look I get it
We believe the earth is spherical
Okay
But not everybody believes that
Not everyone has this knowledge
Okay
You got a circle
And the definition of a circle
Is you take the middle point of a circle
And every point along the outside
Circumference or perimeter
Is an equal distance
From the center
So everything on the outside of a circle
Is an equal distance
From the center
Well what's the definition of a sphere
A three dimensional object
Where you take the center point
And everything along the outside
Is an equal distance
From the center
By definition
It's a three dimensional circle
In fact
When you teach a young child
You know
Because you start teaching kids two dimensions
And then you got to switch them over to three dimensions
And what do you say
A cube is a three dimensional square
A sphere
Is a three dimensional circle
And actually
By definition
That is exactly what it is
Right
You say well why are you mentioning this
Well
This guy you know
He ended up going to a lot of heresy
He taught that a safe person can go to hell
For a thousand years
Clearly didn't believe in eternal security
And all this stuff
And then a couple months ago
He realized he's Jesus Christ
But only the Jesus of the book of John
And not the Jesus of the books
Of Matthew, Mark and Luke
Right
It doesn't make any sense
Right
But here's the thing
I was curious about this guy
Because
You know
I asked one of my friends
You know
He was married
He had at least one child
I don't know if he has multiple children
I was like
What does his wife think
Does she think he's Jesus
And he said
Well in a comment
He made a statement that
Actually my wife thinks I'm the devil
And she left me
Now you say
Brother Stuckey
Do you advocate
Leaving your spouse
Not in most situations
But if all of a sudden
Your husband's like
I'm Jesus
It's probably scary and dangerous
To be sleeping beside them
I'd be like
Depart
Right
There are some extreme situations
Where it's like
You know what
I would just
Leave that house
Right
Just get out of there
It's just dangerous
But here's the thing
Stay unmarried
I mean
I would not look down
On a woman who is scared
For her life
From a husband that's
You know
Whatever
You find out your husband's
A serial killer
Well just stay married
Until the bitter end
Right
That's not the advice
I would give
But what I would say
Is leave
And stay unmarried
Because
That is biblically
What the Bible states
That if you depart
Stay unmarried
Right
Because what the Bible says is
Stay with an unsaved person
Because
You might save your spouse
If they declare themselves
To be Jesus Christ
You're not going to get them saved
Right
It's like
Just leave
I mean
Here's what you have to understand
The Bible cannot write
Every single possible situation
That would ever come up
Throughout the history of the world
This book would be like
Right
It's like
You got to use some common sense
In verse 11
You can interpret and say
Okay well there's a situation
Just leave
Right
But stay unmarried
Right
That's what the Bible teaches
Stay unmarried
Verse 12
But to the rest speak I
Not the Lord
If any brother
Hath a wife
That believeth not
And she be pleased
To dwell with him
Let him not put her away
And the one which hath
A husband that believeth not
And if he be pleased
To dwell with her
Let her not leave him
For the unbelieving husband
Is sanctified by the wife
And the unbelieving wife
Is sanctified by the husband
Else were your children unclean
But now are they holy
Verse 14
What it's stating is
As the saved parent
You are the hope
To raise that child
To love God
I mean
If
If a child does not have
A parent that loves God
In their life
It's very unlikely
They're going to end up
Loving God
And so the thing is
As a saved person
If you're in this situation
Or if you're ever in this situation
It's not a good situation
To be in
But stay married
Because you're the hope
To raise your kids
Right?
You know you have to realize
Hey you know what
For whatever reason
I'm in this situation
You know
Many different ways
That could happen
But realize
You know what
I am the hope
To raise my kids
To love God
And that is what my mission
In life is
Today
Verse 15
But if the unbelieving
Depart
Let him depart
A brother or sister
Is not under bondage
In such cases
That death called us
To peace
Now
Verse 15
What it's saying is
Let's say you're saved
And you love God
And your spouse
Leaves you
Okay
Now best case scenario
Is reconcile the relationship
Even if they're unsaved
Because you're already married
But
People don't have to feel
Miserable the rest of their life
Because they were married
And their unbelieving spouse
Is not with them
It's like
You know what
We don't want to make people
Their entire life
It's like
The past is the past
It's not a good situation
But it's like
You don't have to
Kill yourself about it
What happened
Is what happened
You can still
Love God today
You're not under bondage
To just feel miserable
All the time
Because of what took place
But
What the Bible teaches is
Stay
Unmarried
Or be reconciled
To your spouse
If possible
Now go to Ezra chapter 10
Ezra 10
You say Brother Stuckey
And let me give you an example of this
And maybe you'll understand this
Maybe you'll think I'm watered down
You know
Whatever
Okay
But
I would never tell somebody
To get a divorce
Because it's unbiblical
And I would never marry someone
Who is divorced
Because that would be wrong
For me to do
However
I would say that
You know what
If you're in your 20s
You're a young person
I know of a couple situations
Of
Guys who got married
That loved God
And then after they got married
They started to have problems
In their relationship
And their wives
Like
I never believed on Jesus
I don't believe
I'm still Catholic
That's a horrible situation
To be in
It's an awful situation
I know multiple situations
Where it's happened
Let me be completely honest
You know
Sometimes guys will go fishing
For girls at churches
Where they don't really
Want to love God themselves
But they want to have a wife
That's actually a good girl
So they'll go to church
Even though they don't love God
And they could pretend
To be safe
This happens
Right
That's a horrible situation
And so
Here's the thing
I would not suggest to someone
To get divorced
Because it's wrong
I would say though
That if you're not able
To contain yourself
It's better to get divorced
And remarried
Or here it'd be
Get an annulment
And get remarried
Rather than living
In perpetual adultery
You say
What are you saying
Divorce is a sin
And getting remarried
If you are divorced
Is a sin
Or an annulment
But
Once you get remarried
The sin is over
Now can you be
Punished for it
From God
Sure
Because it's wrong
Here's the thing though
That's better than just
Living in open adultery
And so
You know what
I'm not justifying
Divorce or remarriage
I'm just stating
The obvious
Right
Now how does this apply
To the book of Ezra
What I'm saying is
They're in a lose-lose situation
I don't think any of the people
There are saying
You know what
Divorce is a godly thing to do
Nobody's saying that
What they're saying is
You know what
If we get divorced
And just get rid of
You know the heathen wives
And the children
What's going to take place
Is we're going to last longer
In the land than we would've
Now is it the right thing to do
Well no
But there is no right thing
To do in this situation
Now I'm not saying whether
I agree with it or not
I'm just helping you
Get the mindset
Where it's a rock
And a hard place
And what they're thinking is
This is wrong
But this would be worse
And what they're saying is
The ends justifies the means
What they're saying is
We're going to last longer
In the promised land
If we divorce those women
And what they're saying is
Is it right to do that
No
But the ends is going to justify
How we got to that point
Okay
So point number one
Let me give you one other example
I've written down
Think of the story of Jephthah
Right, if you're familiar with Jephthah
Jephthah makes a foolish vow
He gets super zealous
And he says
You know what
The next thing that comes in this door
I'm going to offer it to God
As a sacrifice
He's thinking
You know
I mean maybe there was a lot of mice
In that culture
Some sort of animal
Is going to come in
Then his daughter comes in
Now he's not specific in the vow
Where he says
Hey the next animal that comes in
He says the next thing
That comes in
Then his daughter comes in
And so here's the thing
Breaking a vow is always a sin
Right
Biblically speaking
I'm not going to show you that
For sake of time
Breaking a vow is always a sin
Right
Burning someone to death
That's alive
Is also a sin
Now in my opinion
Quite honestly
I don't understand Jephthah
Because as a parent
It's a very easy decision
Break the dumb vow you made
And just beg God to punish you
For your stupidity
To me it's actually a very easy decision
But both are wrong
I mean is there a good answer
Because burning your daughter to death
Is that a good solution
I got to keep my vow
No
Right
Breaking a vow is never a good thing either
This is like you know
Getting the divorce
In our symbolic example
Getting the divorce is wrong
Breaking a vow is wrong
But what they're saying is
Well the alternative
You know basically
Would be worse
Okay
Ezra 10 verse 5
Point number 1
We see a predicament from God's people
A lose lose situation
There is no good answer
You could say
Well I think they should have done this
I think they should have done this
You know we could agree to disagree
Because neither one is actually good
Point number 2
We see the proclamation from Ezra
What do they proclaim
This is what we're going to do
Ezra 10 verse 5
Then arose Ezra
And made the chief priests
The Levites and all Israel
To swear that they should do
According to this word
And they swear
Then Ezra rose up
From before the house of God
And went into the chamber
Of Johann and the son of Elisha
And when he had 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
On to all the children of the captivity
They should gather themselves together
On to 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 have been carried away
They make a decision that
You know what
You came here
To rebuild Jerusalem
And you know what
If anybody does not come
Within three days
They are being kicked out
They're gone
Right
Now remember this verse
Later on when I tell you
What I think the right solution
Or the best idea
Would have been in the situation
But they're basically saying
You're going to be kicked out
If you don't come here
Because we're going to tell you
Thus saith the Lord
This is our decision
And you're going to follow it
No matter what
Verse 9
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin
Gathered themselves together
On to Jerusalem
Within three days
It was the ninth month
And 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
So everybody's trembling
And I think it means everybody
Where basically those that love God
Are trembling because they're worried
About the judgment of God
Those that have done the sin
Are trembling because they're worried
About the judgment of God
They're trembling because they're worried
About the judgment upon themselves
Right
And the mindset
Those that married the unsaved people
They care about their land
It's like hey we've made sacrifices
We don't want to lose our land
Right
Those that love God
Their mindset is
We're able to serve God in Jerusalem
If we get kicked out
We're not going to be able to serve God
Right
That's the different mindset
That the two are going through
This side that loves God
They're like you know what
It's not about having money
Or having a special land
It's just we're able to freely serve God
In Jerusalem
We don't want to lose that
I mean imagine
If you came from a Muslim country
And then you migrate
You immigrate
To a country where you're able to serve God
And then you might have to go back to a country
Where you cannot serve God
You're not going to want to do that
It's like hey I'm able to go soul winning
And read my Bible
And love God
And do something in this world
I couldn't do that in North Korea
Right
So you understand the different mindset
These two sides have
The side that loves God
They're like
We want to be able to serve God freely
That's the mindset they're going into
The side that married these heathen women
That believe in another God
They say well you know what
We got this land
We don't want to lose it
Right
That's the mindset
Verse 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
Now therefore make confession
On the Lord God of your fathers
And do His pleasure
And separate yourselves from the people of the land
And from the strange wives
What he says is
Divorce
Put them away
Or just depart
Separate
Maybe you don't legally do the paperwork
But just move on from them
Get rid of them
That's the decision that they make
That's what they proclaim
Is it the right decision
Well I'll talk about my opinion in five minutes
But this is what they do
Right
Then all the congregation in answer
And said with a loud voice
As thou hast said
So must we do
Now realize this
The side that married these heathen women
The reason why they're doing this
Is because they don't want to lose their land
You say why don't you save that brother Stucky
If they really loved their wives and their kids
They would have just left with their wife and kid
It's like alright if I'm being kicked out of the promised land
Okay
I'm not going to leave my wife and my kids
It's really weird to get the mindset
That you're willing to leave your wife and your kids
I mean what a horrible thing
To even think about
But all of them do
You say why
Because a person is willing to marry an unsafe person
It shows that they're not doing things based on a love of God anyway
And I'll tell you what
If you want your spouse to love you
Find somebody who loves God first
And if they love God
They're going to love you
They're going to love their children
They're going to be a good husband
A good wife
And so these people though
They just freely say okay
As thou hast said
So must we do
Right
I mean if that's what we have to do to stay in the land
That's what we're going to do
Verse 13
But the people are many
And it is a time of much rain
And we are not able to stand without
And neither is this a work of one day or two
For we are many that have transgressed in this thing
So a lot of people have done this
They're like
You know we're going to have to create a full time job
Just to make sure all these people leave
You know these heathen women
Right a lot of people have done this
And
Let me say this that
Brother Matthias gave us a good example
Of what you do when you're reading scriptures
With a lot of names
You quickly read it
And you don't stop to try to pronounce it correctly
Just move on
And everyone assumes you pronounced it correctly
Right
Because I'm the same way
I'm not going to read all of these names
At the end of the sermon
I let him read all of them
So I can just preach the sermon
And I'll be done
Before all those names
You say why Brother Stuckey
I don't know how to pronounce them
Right
I mean it's hard
I mean people assume
Alexander Scorby
By default is correct on all of his pronunciations
I'm sure he's not
But it's like
I don't know how to pronounce all these names
But
What you saw was a big list though
Right
During the Bible reading
A lot of you fell asleep
You're like
It's a lot of names
Right
I mean a lot of names
A lot of people did this
Okay
Verse 14
Let now our rulers of all the congregations stand
And let all of 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 Ahazel
And Jehazi the son of Tikvah
Were employed about this matter
And Meshulam and Shabbathai the Levite
Helped them
Point number one
We see a predicament
From God's people
Point two
We see a proclamation from Ezra
Lastly we see parentless children
Parentless children
Drop down to verse 44
Ezra 10 verse 44
All these had taken strange wives
And some of them
Had wives by whom they had children
Some of the list
Are people that not only got married
But they actually had children with these women
And that takes it to a whole other level
When you actually have children with these people
Right?
Now you say Brother Stuckey
Did they do the right thing?
Because here's the thing
Once again the Bible does not tell us they did the right thing
The Bible does not tell us they did the wrong thing
What you have is a lot of godly people
That were sitting there trying to figure it out
What's the best solution?
Because they know divorce is wrong
But they also know they're going to be kicked out of the land
Where they're able to serve God
As a result of what's going to take place
They make the decision to go with divorce
Right?
Now here's my thing
I am not emotionally invested in the land of Israel at all
I don't care that they got kicked out of Israel
Especially thousands of years later
I really don't care
So for me in a different perspective
Not having the same emotions involved
I'm just like why do you care about Israel so much?
It's like who cares?
So for me it's like I wouldn't go with that solution
Because here's what I do believe
I do believe they lasted longer in Jerusalem
As a result of this decision than they would have
I do believe they lasted longer
And if that's the basis of how you're making it
Did they make the right decision or wrong decision in a difficult situation?
You might say they made the right decision
Because they probably lasted longer
But once again I'm not emotionally invested in the land of Israel
I don't care that they lasted longer
I mean if the New Testament church days had started earlier
That would have been fine to me
Right?
What I am emotionally invested in
Is children without parents though
Parentless children
I mean statistics are pretty clear
On the difference between having two parents in the home
Versus having one parent in the home
And I don't have a list of statistics here in front of me
But I mean you could see plenty of them that you can find online
I mean parents that have one child in the home
Are more likely to smoke
And drink
And get into trouble
I mean it's just a fact
Now are there exceptions? Absolutely
There are people that are exceptions
And they love God
And serve God
And they are exceptions to the rule
However most situations
If you only have one parent in the home
It majorly affects those children
Look
A mom provides things for a child
That are necessary
Necessary
As a guy I can't replace those things
I mean you might be able to cook a meal
Change a diaper
Put the kids to sleep or whatever
But those are just things that you're doing
It still doesn't replace who that mom is
The emotion
The character
The personality
I mean men and women are very different from one another
Very different
And the mom provides things that are necessary
Necessary
Mom provides a comfort that a guy probably is not going to provide
I mean you know your child falls down and gets hurt
You know as a father it's like get up and quit crying
Soften up
Right?
Guys and girls look at things differently
We just do
A mom provides things that are necessary
The love of a mom is necessary
I mean when a child needs something
A child is really sick
A child is hurt
They run to mom
They don't run to dad
They run to dad they know they're probably just going to be tossed into the bed
And get a pillow in their face
Because fathers like to play with them right?
A mom provides things for a child that a father can't replace
Make no mistake about it
A father provides things for a child that a mom can't replace
And I'm not talking about being the financial provider
That's not what I'm talking about
Is that part of the role of a father according to First Timothy?
Yes it is
That is not the only role of a father
Right?
I mean in the passage in Ephesians 6
It mentions children
It specifically mentions fathers
It says bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
Now of course it's true for mothers
But it's kind of a reminder to us as dads
Hey don't just work work work
No time with the kids
You must provide nurture and you must provide admonition
Nurture would be spending time with your kids
Caring about your kids
And admonition is the punishment
You're correcting your children
Sometimes that might be a spanking
Sometimes it's just explain to them
Hey you don't interrupt two parents talking
You don't interrupt adults
When you ask something from someone older than them
You show respect
You say please
You say thank you
You say I'm sorry
These are things you must tell kids
They don't know these things naturally
But see what I'm saying is
Moms provide something for those kids that is necessary
And cannot be replaced
Dads provide things for those kids that cannot be replaced
Now of course
You know what we talked about earlier on
If you're in a situation of a one parent home
Or just one person saved in the home
It's like do your best to be the guiding light
And you know what
Your child can be the exception
It is possible to be the exception
But I'm just saying it is
Much better to have both a mom
And dad in the home
I remember years ago when I was working a job
Over a decade ago
And there was a bunch of coworkers talking about someone who
You know was in a one parent home
And I remember just
I just said in passing like
Oh that's sad you know
It's not a great situation to be in
Very
I mean I didn't say anything controversial
Someone got really offended
How dare you say
You need both parents in the home
And I'm just thinking you got to be kidding me
Right it's like
And you know here's the thing
If you don't want to go off what the Bible says
Because you don't believe the Bible
Whatever
Just look at any statistic
You see it's a fact
Right
Kids need mom
And they need dad
They need both of them
And so when I look at this story
I say you know what
I don't agree with this decision
Because here's the thing
We're able to serve God in the local New Testament church
Of course they wouldn't necessarily have realized
What was going to take place
500 years later
They're emotionally invested
In Jerusalem
And here's the thing
I mean God is able of these stones
To raise up children onto Abraham
He can use
I mean people all around the world
Right
It doesn't have to be just Jerusalem
They don't have that same perspective
And so I get it
It's hard to look at their situation
I'm just trying to help you understand their mindset
It's not that they don't understand divorce
What they're saying is
Divorce is a better option
Option one
Option two
I'm going to give you option three
That I think is the best solution
Because here's the thing
I didn't immediately come up with this
But you know what
I'm not in a rush thing
Where I have to figure out
What are we going to do immediately
Like they are
You know I thought about it
Writing this sermon
And to be honest
I think I found a solution
That actually works pretty good
What I would say is
Kick everybody out of the land
That married an unsaved person
That seems to fix everything
Right
I mean it seems
Because here's the thing
Those that married the unsaved people
It seems like they get away with it
Realistically they're probably just going to remarry
Which would be wrong
I would say
Just kick out the people that are the problem
We're trying to start
I mean because you know
You look at this congregation
And then look at a local New Testament church
Of course
We're long suffering with people
But look if people cause major problems
And they are a liability to our church
And they're destroying our church
Eventually it reaches the point where it says
You know what
The whole is more important than just you
It's like
Just be gone
Just go
Just leave
Look
I never like kicking people out of church
It's not a fun thing to do
But sometimes it's necessary
We've made that decision at this church
And I think everybody would say
Yeah you know it's the right decision
We have great unity now
I mean you know
Fixed a lot of problems that we had
Sometimes it's necessary
And what I would say to them
From an outsider's perspective
Thousands of years later
Why don't you just kick out the people
That married the unsaved people
Because it's not like they're going to serve God anyway
Right
And here's the reality
What might have happened
If they kicked those people out
Some of them would probably be like
What am I doing
I've destroyed my life
And gotten right with God
Gotten their spouse saved
And begged to come back
And they probably would have been let back
And of course
That's one of the points of church discipline
When people get kicked out
It is for the benefit of that person
If they're a saved person
Because maybe we'll finally wake them up
To realize
Hey I've got to take this seriously
I'm destroying my life
So what I think they should have done
Is not divorce those women
And leave parentless children
What I would say is just
Kick those people out of the land
That have done this
And I think they would have still lasted in
I think they would have lasted longer
Because they would have had people
That actually loved God in Jerusalem
Rather than a bunch of people
And you know what it makes sense
Because whenever a new IFB church starts
Or any church
A bunch of people join the church
Not everybody stays at the church though
Every single church
That's new IFB
Or like minded
They've started with a group of people
And some of those people got kicked out
Every single one pretty much
I don't want to spend the time
To tell you all the stories in the U.S.
But I know of churches where
80% of the original people
80% of the original people are gone
Now at our church
It's not that high
I mean I think over half the people
That were here at the beginning
Are still here
That were regular members
At the beginning
But obviously there are people
That are no longer here
For various reasons
And it is what it is
Whatever
But I think they would have done a much better
Just kicking those people out of the land
And they probably would have lasted longer
And at the same time
You're not sinning
By making them get divorced
And you know what
Those children have a hope
You would hate to see these parentless children
That are there as a result
Of what you did
Verse 16
And the children in 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 on 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
And among the sons of the priests
They were found that had taken strange wives
Namely the sons of Joshua
The son of Josedek
And his brethren
Messiah and Eleazar
And Jerub and Gedaliah
And they gave their hands
That they would put away their wives
And being guilty
They offered a ram of the flock
For their trespass
Now look
Perhaps what they're thinking is
You know what
We're going to lose some valuable people
If we kick them out
And look
That goes through the minds
When you're kicking people out of church
You're thinking about all the areas
That they volunteer
And you're thinking
Is it worth it
Those are the things
That go through your mind
I think that's probably
Going through their mind
And I would think that somebody thought
Of this solution
Maybe they just turned it down
Because they said
That's not the best thing
I mean
Look
I don't know
Maybe they made the best decision
In the situation they were at
That's not the decision I would make
But I understand why they did it
It's not
2 plus 3 equals 5
The takeaway though for us
Is that
You know what
When you're looking at stories in the Bible
Just because somebody does something
Doesn't mean it's right or it's wrong
And if God does not tell you in that story
If what they did was right or wrong
I mean
Because you think of
You know
The wives of Jacob
And then all of a sudden
They're having their husband
Marry their
You know
Maidens
Like their helpers
Right
And then all of a sudden
They're just like
God hath blessed me
You know
It's just like
No he didn't
Their perspective is
Hey we're doing what's right
God's blessed me
As a result of just having my husband
Marry another woman
It's like
No
That's just what you did
And you're making that
Your own decision on that
You have to read the Bible
And think about
Is this the right thing
Look at the context
Does God explicitly give the answer
Of course
God hates divorce
We know that
But here's the thing
I'm trying to help you understand the mindset
Because there is the other side
There's a reason why they weren't sure what to do
Because they realized
Wait a minute
Neither side's good
Because we're going to be kicked out of the land of Jerusalem
That's why they're in this predicament
They don't know what to do
Let's close in a word of prayer
Dear Heavenly Father
Thank you for allowing us to be here today
And getting to study the book of Ezra
And help us just to take away a lot of lessons
Help us the next time we read the book of Ezra
To understand things more clearly
And just glean more things from your word God
We just pray this in Jesus' name
Amen
Let's sing the song
Does Jesus scare?
On the first
Ready
Everybody
Sing
Does Jesus
Turn
When the Lord
Is made
To the
Earth
And sun
As the
Bird
Is pressed
And
The
Earth
Is pressed
And
The
Waker
Is pressed
And
The
Waker
Is pressed
So
I know
The
Tears
They
Star
Is
dispos
they
Conversation
M
Who
I
Am
Here
And
Is
Oh, yes, he bears, I know he bears,
he bears, I know he bears,
his heart is touched with my ear.
When the days are really a long night,
maybe I'll always be here.
On the third, we're going to sing in the favela,
and on the last verse, the instrument will join us.
On the third, let's sing everybody.
Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed
to receive some temptation strong?
When for my deep grief I find no relief,
though my tears flow all the night long.
Oh, yes, he cares, I know he cares,
his heart is touched with my grief.
When the days are really a long night's dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
On the last, does Jesus care when I say goodbye?
When the tears turn to me,
and my sad heart aches and a hearty grief,
is he gone too, because he's seen all around?
Oh, yes, he cares, I know he cares,
his heart is touched with my grief.
When the days are really a long night's dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
Amen. Can you pray for us?
Amen.