Jephthah, Judge, Commander, Man of Faith: www.seachord.org

Jephthah, Judge, Commander, Man of Faith           January 25, 2020

Who was Jephthah.  What did He do.  B.C. 1256-1250.

Jephthah, of Manasseh’s tribe.  This tribe was renowned for its valor:  Jephthah in the East. Their inheritance was ½ tribe east of Jordan and ½ tribe west of Jordan. 9th judge of the Israelites

Judges 11:30-31 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands,  (31)  then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."

Volumes have been written on the subject of “Jephthah’s rash vow,” the question being whether, in doing to his daughter “according to his vow,” he really did offer her in sacrifice, or whether she was to remain a virgin and dedicated to God. Remember, Samuel was also. Majority thought she died.

After forty-five years of very little warfare in Israel, the children of Ammon decided to made war against Israel”.  The “elders of Gilead” requested Jephthah to their aid, and he at once undertook the conduct of the war against Ammon and delivered Israel from the oppression of the Ammonites and then judged Israel six years.  He has been described as “a wild, daring, mountaineer, a sort of warrior Elijah.”  This is when he made a tragic vow.

Let’s dig into this in depth, but to let you know, the Scriptures really does not answer it.  Let’s us use some common sense and Biblical principles to see what does the Scriptures really say.

What led up to this vow by Jephthah?  

Judges 10:7-8 So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon.  (8)  From that year they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years—all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, in Gilead.

Judges 10:15-18  And the children of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray."  (16)  So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.  (17)  Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled together and encamped in Mizpah.  (18)  And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, "Who is the man who will begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

Judges 11:1, 2  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.  (2) Gilead's wife bore sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." (Father died?)

Wife second marriage, sons from first marriage.  It was all about inheritance.

Judges 11:3-4   Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.  (4)  It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.

Tob was 80 miles to the north, near Syria.  He led a band of adventurers (“reckless persons”), brigands; a “Robin Hood” of the area.  He was known as a “man of valor” (v.1) and had no trouble gathering a following.

Judges 11:5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.  

The elders sent a people 80 miles to solicit his help

(6)  Then they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon."  

Commander: a military term; but also used a ruler.

(7)  So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?"

This indicates that Jephthah’s removal was a tribal matter, not just among the family itself

Judges 11:8-11 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."  (9)  So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them to me, shall I be your head?"  (10)  And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words." (11) Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

Notice Jephthah’s emphasis that it would be the Lord’s victory, not his (v.9).  It was before the Lord that agreement was witnessed (v.11), and before the general assembly at Mizpah.

Paul said Jephthah was a man of faith.  Man of Faith, the Faith Chapter.

Hebrews 11:32  And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:  (always end well)

Jephthah was not a hothead looking for a fight; he recognized the real cost of war.  And he knew his Scriptures.  He makes an attempt at an honorable peace by showing that there is no just cause for quarrel. This was required by law to avoid war until negotiation had failed.

Deuteronomy 20:10-19  "When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.  (11)  And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.  (12)  Now if the city will not make peace with you, but war against you, then you shall besiege it.  (13)  And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.  (14)  But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies' plunder which the LORD your God gives you.  (15)  Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.  (16)  "But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive,  (17)  but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you,  (18)  lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.  

Judges 11:27  Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the LORD, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.' "

Jephthah’s Four Arguments: the facts of history (vv.14-22); the land grant from the Lord (vv.23-24); three centuries of occupation (vv.25-26); they were fighting against God (vv.27-28)

Jephthah’s final argument: he hadn’t declared war on Ammon; it was Ammon that declared war on Israel.   

Judges 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon.

Empowered by the Spirit of God, Jephthah called for volunteers and mustered his army. Mizpeh was the capital, his base of operations

The Lord gave him victory over the Ammonites, and he captured 20 of their strongholds as he pursued the fleeing enemy army.  This would guarantee freedom and safety for Israel as they traveled in the territory of Gilead. The Ammonites didn’t threaten Israel for another 50 years.

What have we learn so far, the circumstances of birth or of family are not a handicap to the person who will live by faith.

Jephthah was installed as the captain and leader, and after an attempt at negotiation, he attacked and soundly defeated the Ammonites. However, the excitement of winning caused him to offer his famed ill-considered vow.

Jephthah made a bargain: If God would give the Israelites victory over the Ammonites, Jephthah would sacrifice to the Lord whatever came out of his house when he arrived home in Mizpah.  God gave him victory, and Jephthah kept his promise.  

But what was his promise and how did he keep it? 

What actually happened to Jephthah’s daughter, his only child?  The more you study Jephthah’s vow, the more puzzling it becomes.  Questions to ask.

·      How did he know who or what would come out of the door of his house?

·      What if the first thing to greet him happened to be an unclean animal that was unacceptable to God?

·      What if that person turned out to be a neighbor’s child or a visiting stranger

·      What right did Jephthah have to take either life, and thereby offer to God a sacrifice that cost him nothing?

·      He knew that God didn’t approve of, or accept, human sacrifices. 

·      The Ammonites worship put their children through the fire of Molech.

·      Where would He offer his daughter as a sacrifice? 

·      The Lord only accepted sacrifices at the Tabernacle altar.

·      Sacrifices had to be offered by the Levitical priests.

·      He would have to travel to Shiloh to fulfill his vow. 

·      It’s doubtful that a priest would offer a human sacrifice on the altar.

·      Shiloh lies in the territory of the Ephraim, who had a deadly feud.  

·      A burnt offering had to be a male, not a female. (Peace offering – both)

·      Would a Spirit-empowered man, committed to the Lord, even make such a vow?

We know it is acceptable to God to make vows, provided they obeyed the laws governing them.  Vows were completely voluntary, but the Lord expected the vow to be fulfill.

Judges 11:30-31 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands,  (31)  then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."

Two different parts, with “and” between the two parts.

When we look at many different translations, they all have the word “and” except for one, and they use the word “or”. 

Judges 11:31 YLT then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon--it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it--a burnt-offering.'  Young LT

Several authorities point out that the little word “and” (v.31), in the Hebrew is the single letter w, waw, which can either be translated “and” or “or”.  This implies that whatever met him when he returned home would be dedicated to the Lord (if a person), or sacrificed to the Lord (if an animal).

If he was met by his daughter, Jephthah would give her to the Lord to serve God at the Tabernacle.

Exodus 38:8 He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.  (Samuel 931-877 B.C.)

She would remain a virgin, which meant that she would not know the joys of motherhood or continue her father’s inheritance in Israel.  This would be reason enough for her and her friends to spend two months grieving. 

Remember, children were the retirement for old parents.    As a side, is this where the Catholics found the example for Nuns.

Judges 11:33 And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

Judges 11:34-36  When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.  (35)  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it."  (36)  So she said to him, "My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon."

Judge 11:37  Then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I."

Judges 11:38-40 So he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.  (39)  And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel  (40)  that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Nowhere in the text does it indicate that Jephthah actually killed his daughter, nor do we find anyone bewailing her death.  The emphasis is on remaining a virgin.

If Jephthah was going to kill his daughter, he would want her home with himself, not running around on the mountains with her girlfriends. Why would the girl lament her virginity if she expected to die?  Of what significance is virginity if you’re heading for the grave?  She would have been lamenting her impending death instead.

What did God say that could be done about a vow.

When Jephthah would have arrived at Shiloh, he would have learned from any priest that paying the proper amount of money could have redeemed his daughter (Lev 27:1-8). 

As a successful soldier just returning from looting the enemy, Jephthah could easily have paid the redemption price. 

What happens when a person makes a vow or an oath under the Law that Jesus gave in the Book of Leviticus, the Sacrifices.  Remember, Jesus was our Sacrifice and think about this as we go through rest of this study.

Leviticus 5:4 'Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.

Leviticus 5:5 'And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing;

Confession is commanded for the first time.  The other offerings were an open admission of guilt.  This one has to do with secret sins.

Leviticus 5:6 and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Forgiveness, is what we are to do, and this is what Jesus did for each of us.

I personally do not believe Jephthah daughter was killed.  The Scriptures, he did know the Scriptures, tells him what he could do and to how handle the vow.  She was dedicated to God, just as Samuel was, and she served out her life serving the Tabernacle. She did not bewailed her death, but her virginity. 

Ezra Chapter 8, 9, and 10, www.seachord.org

Ezra Chapter 8, 9, and 10                           January 4, 2020


The Second Return

In the seventh year of Artaxerxes, 458 B.C., just 58 years after the completion of the temple, Ezra led a group of some 1,500 men and their families back to Jerusalem.

The walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt, and the people had begun to intermarry with the pagans of the land.  This last act was a serious breach of Old Testament Law, which insisted that God’s people maintain a separate identity.  This was a very practical law: history demonstrates over and over again that when the Israelites intermarried with pagans, punishment comes.

Ezra 8:1 These are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

This list consists of the major men (family heads) who returned as well as the numbers of those who accompanied them. Most of the people listed were related to the families who had returned previously under Zerubbabel (538 B.C.) 80 years earlier

Ezra 8:2-14 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; (3) of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; (4) of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; (5) of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; (6)  of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males;  (7) of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; (8) of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; (9) of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; (10) of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males;

(11) of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; (12) of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males;

(13) of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these--Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah--and with them sixty males;  (14) also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

Ezra Sends for Levites

Ezra 8:15-16 Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there. (16) Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding.

Ezra discovered that there were no sons of Levi among the returnees who accompanied him back to Jerusalem.  {check map}

Levites were to function as teachers of the Law (cf. Lev 10:11; Deut 33:10). Therefore they were to have an extremely important role in the reestablished community.

Ezra 8:17 And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia--that they should bring us servants for the house of our God.

Therefore Ezra sent nine leaders and two men of learning to secure some Levites and temple servants from the man Iddo. Ezra told the messengers what to say, which seems to indicate that this

Ezra 8:18 Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men;

Ezra 8:19-20 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; (20) also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name.

The men were able to secure 38 Levites from two families—18 from Sherebiah’s family and 20 from Jeshaiah’s relatives—as well as 220 temple servants. Only then was Ezra ready to start on the important journey. Without the Levite teachers of the Law and people to serve at the temple all would be lost and the trip futile.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.

On the road to Jerusalem, the large Jewish caravan would have been an easy target for robbers. Knowing that the returnees needed the Lord’s help, Ezra proclaimed a fast as a symbol of their submission to God.

First, spiritual preparation was made for the journey. Ezra was concerned with matters pertaining to God’s people. So Ezra proclaimed a fast in preparation for the journey. He wanted the assembled group thereby to humble themselves before God

Ezra 8:22  For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him."

Ezra 8:23  So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Ezra did not want to ask for military protection (soldiers and horsemen) because he had already publicly announced that God would take care of the people as they returned. In contrast, Nehemiah readily accepted a military escort on his way back to the land

Priests to Guard Offerings, entrusted valuables to twelve people

Ezra 8:24-27 And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests--Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them-- (25) and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. (26) I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, (27) twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.

Next, physical preparation was made for the journey. Ezra divided the silver, gold, and articles among 24 of the key men in the group. These items were gifts for the temple, given by Persian officials and by nonreturning Israelites

Ezra 8:28-30 And I said to them, "You are holy to the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. (29) Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers' houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD." (30) So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

Ezra 8:31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.

Ezra 8:32 So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

Ezra 8:33 Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui,

Ezra 8:34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.

The total journey was about 900 miles and must have been difficult for a group without a military escort. Had to maintain and carry it all, by cart?

Ezra 8:35 The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

Ezra 8:36 And they delivered the king's orders to the king's satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God.   {satraps are king’s officers}

The Reform in the Land, Ezra prays about intermarriage

When Ezra arrived in Judah he found that the people of Israel had not kept themselves separate from the peoples of the land, but had begun to intermarry with them. Not only was intermarriage commonplace, but the spiritual and political leaders in Judah were the worst offenders!

The mixed marriages had prevented that complete separation of the people of God from the idolatrous rites, or “abominations,” which the Law required, and which was necessary for purity of religion

Ezra 9:1 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

Ezra 9:2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass."

Ezra’s return had a profound effect on the people of Israel.  

The Jew were marrying the pagan peoples of the land, a practice that the Law of Moses, God expressly prohibited (Exo 34:16; Deu 7:3).

Ezra 9:3 So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. {He was upset, demonstrated tremendous grief Neh 13:25}

Ezra 9:4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.

Ezra 9:5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. {kneeling – humble respect, hands – sign of openness}

The evening sacrifice was around 3 P.M.

Ezra 9:6 And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. {pray of confession - sin}

Ezra 9:7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. {Ezra acknowledge people sinful actions}

Ezra 9:8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.  {refers to peg in the wall on which utensil is hung}

Ezra 9:9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

Ezra 9:10  And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,

Ezra 9:11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.

Ezra 9:12 Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.'

They had directly disobeyed the clear Word of God. Foreign marriages contaminated Israel, both physically and spiritually.

Deuteronomy 7:2-3  and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. (3) Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 

Why did the Lord say this and what was the results

Deuteronomy 7:4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. (5) But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.

(6) "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.

You can read what Israel did and how God handle it.

Numbers 25:1-9 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. (2) They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. (3) So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. 

(4) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel." (5) So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor." (6) And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 

(7) Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; (8) and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. (9) And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

Numbers 25:10-18 NKJV Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (11) "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. (12) Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; 

(13) and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.' " (14) Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father's house among the Simeonites. (15) And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father's house in Midian. 

(16) Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (17) "Harass the Midianites, and attack them; (18) for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor."

There are Exceptions, they became a worshiper of the Lord, as Rahab, who was married by Salmon, and as Ruth the Moabitess,

Ezra 9:13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this,

Ezra 9:14 should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?

This is the reason why Ezra made and directed a very legalistic system of worship and put it in place: Do {what we can do} and Don’t {what we cannot do}, We read about this during Jesus time and even to today.  Go from one extreme to the other extreme.

Ezra 9:15  O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!"

Ezra’s prayer included no specific request; he simply threw himself on God’s mercy. Ezra ended his prayer not by asking for forgiveness, but by declaring that God was righteous.  Only this small group of Jews were left.

The People Confess Their Sin, Describes how Ezra deal with this sin

Ezra 10:1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

Ezra 10:2  And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.

Ezra 10:3 Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Do we tremble at the commandment, covenant with God means binding oneself by an oath to God to do something.

Ezra 10:4 Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it."

Ezra was reminded that it was his responsibility to teach Israel the Law of God.  Many people acknowledged that something had to be done about the situation.  Apparently this sin had gone on and had been tolerated for some time.

We know an Israelite could marry a woman from outside the nation if she had become Jewish in faith. Perhaps that is why each marriage was investigated thoroughly (vv. 16-19)—to see if any women had become Jewish proselytes.  Example, Ruth.

Ezra 10:5 Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath.

Ezra 10:6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.

Ezra 10:7 And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem,

Ezra 10:8  and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity. {all money/property went into the Temple Treasury}

Ezra 10:9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain.  {Nov – Dec time}

Ezra 10:10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel.

Ezra 10:11 Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives."  

Why the Jews keep to themselves is because of this oath. Jesus time, now

This was the rainy season.  However, because of the oath (v. 5) and because of the threat of punishment the meeting went on as scheduled.  The people were distressed out of fear of God’s wrath and over concern about their families being separated.  

Ezra 10:12 Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, "Yes! As you have said, so we must do.  {unanimous agreement to do}

Ezra 10:13 But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter.

Ezra 10:14 Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter."

Ezra 10:15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.

Two opposed Ezra’s plan, Why?? The people responded that they agreed, but that the matter would take some time because of the large number of people involved and because of the rain. In fact, it took three months;

Ezra 10:16  Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers' households, were set apart by the fathers' households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

Ezra 10:17 By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

It took three months for all the marriages to be examined, from the first day of the 10th month (December-January 457) to the first day of the 1st month of the next year

The following list are those Guilty of taken pagan wives, included 113 men, 17 Priests, 10 Levites, and 86 others

Ezra 10:18  And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

Ezra 10:19 And they gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their trespass offering.

Ezra 10:20-43 Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; (21) of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah; (22) of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. (23) Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. (24) Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. (25) And others of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; (26) of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah; (27) of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; (28) of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; (29) of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Ramoth; (30) of the sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; (31) of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, (32) Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; (33) of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; (34) of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, (35) Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluh, (36) Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, (37) Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasai, (38) Bani, Binnui, Shimei, (39) Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, (40) Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, (41) Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, (42) Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; (43) of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

Ezra 10:44 All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Tomb of Ezra, on the east bank of the Tigris River,

Then ISIS destroyed the tomb

In your spare time, read the book of Nehemiah, more detail given.

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