Cleaning up the mess sin leaves behind takes surgery, not a band-aid. It is messy and often has no easy answers. Finally, it is dangerous because sin is infectious. Among those who had taken foreign wives were priests, Levites, and temple singers as well as ordinary citizens. They were all guilty of this sin, but those listed in Ezra 10 are mostly upper class citizens. Leaders and influential individuals had gotten caught up in the sin.
Out of several thousand returnees there appear to be less than 150 men involved in this sin. That is less than one half of one percent of the people. So, why is this such a big deal? The very existence of Judaism was dependent on keeping their marriages pure. In Greek culture the children would stay with the father and take the father’s religion, but in Eastern and Israelite culture the children stayed with the mother and took the mother’s religion. To marry a foreign wife who worshipped a foreign god was to guarantee that your children and their children would abandon the God of Israel. This was a big deal.
Remember Ai and the impact of Achan’s sin in Joshua 7. Under Joshua’s leadership Jericho had fallen without a battle. Ai was a small town. In light of the quick and successful capture of Jericho, Ai looked like a cake-walk. Instead, thirty-six men died and the people were ready to give up and quit. The sin of one man out of two million caused their army to fail. His sin? He had taken one cloak, two-hundred shekels of silver and one fifty-shekel bar of gold. Why was that a problem? Because God had instructed his people to destroy it all. It had been dedicated to a false god. God did not want his people to be distracted by or attracted to the false religion of the people in the land. Second, he did not want his people to forget their dependence on Him. He knew that in independence is arrogance, selfishness, and failure. Notice that Achan made no confession until he got caught. He was not broken over his sin, he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. One man who took a few things that he was not supposed to take caused the loss of a battle and the death of thirty-six men. Sin always has consequences.
Furthermore sin is infectious. What if he had gotten away with it? He would have been likely to take more from the next city. He might have invited a close friend to join him. Soon the command of God would have meant nothing. Sin is infectious. When dealing with the mess sin leaves behind we must be careful not to get caught up in it ourselves. Thus, Galatians warns, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Gal 6:1). Jude warns,
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and
praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on
those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show
mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh (Jude 1:20-23).
Dealing with the mess sin leaves behind takes surgery, not a band-aid. It is messy and often has no easy answers. Finally, it is dangerous. Sin is infectious. It must be dealt with decisively but with great care.
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