Marriage relationships are under attack, but marriage relationships have always been under attack. Why not try and destroy the basic building block of society which nourishes, protects, and prepares the next generation …
Chilly rain drizzled on their backs and soaked through layers of clothing. Their limbs trembled as they sat on the paving stones in the square. Children clustered around their mother’s feet, some quiet - some crying. Why all the whispers, the uneasiness, as their fathers stepped forward to receive the priest’s decision?
According to Ezra chapter ten, after the decision was made, it took three months to dissolve all the marriages of God’s chosen, Israel, to their foreign wives. Three months of undoing families and rendering fatherless a multitude of children who did not make the choice to disobey.
Their father’s knew better. They were commanded by God not to intermarry, yet they chose to do so. And because of their decision, many innocent women and children suffered the loss of a home and a family.
The roots of any sin run deep and cause unnecessary suffering. People we love suffer and those who have not made the choice to sin suffer. May we, even in our day, remember the Lord’s commandments and show our love to Him and the next generation by obeying them.
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 ESV