Crime Scene

They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month. (Ezra 10:17)

Have you ever passed by a place with the crime scene tape encircling the scene of the crime? I always wonder what might have taken place there, thinking about the change in the lives of the victims as well as the perpetrators. In the passage before us, we get a biblical drive-by observation of the aftermath of a spiritual crime scene. Much damage was done to God's people by generations of intermarriage. The restoration depended upon a heart-breaking remedy. Ezra grieved over what must be done. The men who had foreign wives must put them away or be excluded from the nation. As the investigation continued, the intermarriage seemed to be pervasive and common to all groups. The priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the congregation of Israel were all affected. Families were affected. But the action was taken nonetheless. There was too much at stake not to act. To compromise and allow this behavior to remain, or to “grandfather” them in and only decree that it would no longer be tolerated, was not an option. The transgressors were not allowed to ignore this remedy. To put away their foreign wives would endeavor to undo what had been done wrong...at least as much as possible. This is the way of sin. Even when we undo what should not have been done in the first place, people are still hurt and the damage is great and longlasting. The families that had been produced from these ungodly unions were devastated in the remedy. The high cost of sin is compounded and magnified in the lives of others that we never anticipated. Sin is a condition that keeps on giving out what no one bargained for. Sin takes in life and gives out death, destruction, and disorder. Here is another example of a godly man doing what God requires…and grieving over the devastation. God is at war with sin and His remedy is to restore His people and deliver them from its influence. Ezra points us to our Great High Priest…who never compromises with sin…and picks up the pieces of His people's lives to restore them in right relationship with God.