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Ezra 9: Ezra got reports that the Jews were marrying other races and tribes, and also that the leaders and elders were the one doing it the most. This made Ezra so disappointed that he cried out to God. He asked for forgiveness because despite all God has done for them by bringing them back from slavery and giving them favor with the king of Persia, Judah has done something evil. He claimed that they had broken the command of God not to marry any of these people because their way of life was abominable in the eyes of God. So God did not necessarily tell them to stay away from people because of their skin color or ethnicity, but rather, because of their culture and way of life. After all, Joseph married an Egyptian, Judah married a Canaanite, and Abraham even had Ishmael with an Egyptian. Jesus is actually a Canaanite Jew (son of Ham -Africans). So segregation, apartheid, or unjust laws to strategically oppress people based on race, gender, religion, or tribe in order to keep them economically, socially, and politically dependent on you is not of God and is evil. |
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Ezra 10: The people gathered as Ezra prayed to God and they wept bitterly because they had sinned against God by marrying foreign women. So they took an oath with God to put away their foreign wives and their children. The were also to assemble in Jerusalem within 3 days or forfeit their properties. At the assembly, they gathered all the men that took foreign wives and they pledged to put away their wives (some of these women had children from them). I believe that God was more interested in the way of life they may introduce to Judah than just their skin color or ethnicity. Judah did this because they already had enough sins against them that could not be reversed, but divorcing their wives may have been their way of repenting from the sin than to allow God punish them. But some of the men (a minority) did not support the idea of the assembly. Nehemiah 1: Nehemiah heard reports that the returnees from exile were in great trouble and that the walls as well as gates of Jerusalem were broken down. So he cried, prayed and fasted that God should forgive Judah of all its sins. |
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