Ezra 10: Divorces for God!

Ezra 10:19 "They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering."

Israel's widespread intermarriage with the pagan lands was serious. So serious that Ezra, who wasn't even technically a prophet or a priest was weeping and confessing. Confessing for the sins of Israel? Could he do that?

Anyway, Shecaniah, who I believe is a priest comes and agrees with Ezra that they need to correct the situation. And similar to removing the mildew from a garment, divorce...or the sending away...is the consensus. At this point, there's not really a law saying, "Do not get a divorce, for this is detestable, and marriage is forever." Yeah. I'm 415 or so chapters in, and the Bible doesn't say that anywhere. However, divorce carries consequences. Leviticus 21 in a way equates a divorced woman with that of a prostitute.

So they have to call an assembly to discuss this mandatory mass divorce, and everyone had to attend, under penalty of confiscation of property and expulsion from the nation of Israel. When the people get there, they're all ticked off because it's the rainy season, and no one wants to be hanging around outside in some Jerusalem rain. So basically, the normal people make the people in charge take care of the whole thing, and then the regular people can go back to their homes out of the stinkin' rain already. Crybabies. Those that married foreigners now had to show up and divorce their wives, and send the no good pagan offspring away.

But it goes to show that God would go to extreme lengths (in our eyes) to preserve his people's purity and keep them out of trouble. I would guess the children were cared for by someone, or some institution, or something like that.