We have here an account of the proceedings upon the resolutions lately
taken up concerning the strange wives; no time was lost; they struck
when the iron was hot, and soon set the wheels of reformation a-going.
1. Ezra went to the council-chamber where, it is probable, the priests
used to meet upon public business; and till he came thither (so bishop
Patrick thinks it should be read), till he saw something done, and more
likely to be done, for the redress of this grievance, he did neither
eat nor drink, but continued mourning. Sorrow for sin should be abiding
sorrow; be sure to let it continue till the sin be put away. 2. He sent
orders to all the children of the captivity to attend him at Jerusalem
within three days (v. 7, 8); and, being authorized by the king to
enforce his orders with penalties annexed (ch. vii. 26), he threatened
that whosoever refused to obey the summons should forfeit his estate
and be outlawed. The doom of him that would not attend on this
religious occasion should be that his substance should, in his stead,
be for ever after appropriated to the service of their religion, and he
himself, for his contempt, should for ever after be excluded from the
honours and privileges of their religion; he should be excommunicated.
3. Within the time limited the generality of the people met at
Jerusalem and made their appearance in the street of the house of God,
v. 9. Those that had no zeal for the work they were called to, nay,
perhaps had a dislike to it, being themselves delinquents, yet paid
such a deference to Ezra's authority, and were so awed by the penalty,
that they durst not stay away. 4. God gave them a token of his
displeasure in the great rain that happened at that time (v. 9 and
again v. 13), which perhaps kept some away, and was very grievous to
those that met in the open street. When they wept the heavens wept too,
signifying that, though God was angry with them for their sin, yet he
was well pleased with their repentance, and (as it is said, Judg. x.
16) his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel; it was also an
indication of the good fruits of their repentance, for the rain makes
the earth fruitful. 5. Ezra gave the charge at this great assize. He
told them upon what account he called them together now, that it was
because he found that since their return out of captivity they had
increased the trespass of Israel by marrying strange wives, had added
to their former sins this new transgression, which would certainly be a
means of again introducing idolatry, the very sin they had smarted for
and which he hoped they had been cured of in their captivity; and he
called them together that they might confess their sin to God, and,
having done that, might declare themselves ready and willing to do his
pleasure, as it should be made known to them (which all those will do
that truly repent of what they have done to incur his displeasure), and
particularly that they might separate themselves from all idolaters,
especially idolatrous wives, v. 10, 11. On these heads, we may suppose,
he enlarged, and probably made such another confession of the sin now
as he made ch. ix., to which he required them to say Amen. 6. The
people submitted not only to Ezra's jurisdiction in general, but to his
inquisition and determination in this matter: "As thou hast said, so
must we do, v. 12. We have sinned in mingling with the heathen, and
have thereby been in danger, not only of being corrupted by them, for
we are frail, but of being lost among them, for we are few; we are
therefore convinced that there is an absolute necessity of our
separating from them again." There is hope concerning people when they
are convinced, not only that it is good to part with their sins, but
that it is indispensably necessary: we must do it, or we are undone. 7.
It was agreed that this affair should be carried on, not in a popular
assembly, nor that they should think to go through with it all on a
sudden, but that a court of delegates should be appointed to receive
complaints and to hear and determine upon them. It could not be done at
this time, for it was not put into a method, nor could the people stand
out because of the rain. The delinquents were many, and it would
require time to discover and examine them. Nice cases would arise,
which could not be adjudged without debate and deliberation, v. 13.
"And therefore let the crowd be dismissed, and the rulers stand to
receive informations; let them proceed city by city, and let the
offenders be convicted before them in the presence of the judges and
elders of their own city; and let them be entrusted to see the orders
executed. Thus take time and we shall have done the sooner; whereas, if
we do it in a hurry, we shall do it by halves, v. 14. If, in this
method, a thorough reformation be made, the fierce wrath of God will be
turned from us, which, we are sensible, is ready to break forth against
us for this transgression." Ezra was willing that his zeal should be
guided by the people's prudence, and put the matter into this method;
he was not ashamed to own that the advice came from them, any more than
he was to comply with it.