Ezra 10: 9 Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. 11 Now make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives."
12 The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: "You are right! We must do as you say. 13 But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. 14 Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us." 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this.
16 So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, 17 and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.
I do not condone divorce... just because you took it upon yourself to marry who you chose and it was not in the will of God and now you don't like them anymore is no reason for divorce... you are to remain in the marriage and possibly the reflection of Christ in you can change the spouse...
besides that though... this scripture was troubling/enlightening for me... some of the Israelites that were instructed to leave their foreign wives were priests... if this is of true interest to you, I suggest you read all of the scripture of Ezra from 8-11... sometimes we marry someone who is not in the will of God for us and they are a hindrance to our purpose in the kingdom of God... I don't believe that God approves of divorce, but I do believe that God's primary concern is the kingdom of God... if your spouse is holding you back from the will of God from your life, is it right to remain in the marriage? that is a personal question to be answered to you by God... is it right for you to commit adultery? NEVER... but what if there is someone God has planned for your ministry but you have chosen someone on your own and now you cannot walk forward in God's will for you...
as you know, if you have been reading for awhile, I was married to a man that God did not choose for me... he was saved... in actuality, he is now an ordained minister... but he was not for me and I would never have been able to go forward in the will of God for my life if I stayed with him... he was a hindrance to my purpose in the kingdom of God... just because someone is saved, it does not make you equally yoked... often we look for what we desire in a spouse instead of waiting for what God has planned for us... and God definitely takes his time in doing his will in your life... it is certainly not that you decide to do as He asks and right away everything falls into place... God is all about preparing you for the role that He created you for...
we walk into life wrong.. we walk into life looking for what we want, what we desire, what makes us happy... that is not the way of God... God already has your life planned for you... allow Him to direct your paths... from childhood, teach your children that God has a plan for them and their purpose is in Him and they need to be asking Him what it is that He would have them do, not what they want... God will give you the desire for what He has called you to do...
my daughter is 18... when she was 16 she had a dream and she woke up knowing what God's plan is for her future... since she was 16... she has been walking toward that goal... now don't get me wrong, sometimes the flesh wins out and she does not always conduct herself as God would have her to do... but she is walking forward in the big vision for her life... we should all pray this into the lives of our children.. that God will lead them and direct them.. the He will open their eyes to see the path that He has planned for them... that He will protect them and put a hedge around them so they cannot be deterred from His will for their lives...
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