V.1 Ezra is astonished and very upset to find that many, even the priests and princes, had married foreign wives.
V.2 A warning. The “holy seed” refers to Israelites. They were mixing with and marrying Gentiles. It was forbidden by God. And for those of us who really belong to the Lord Jesus today, it is a serious and wrong thing to yoke together or to make friends with those who do not know the Lord Jesus as Savior (2 Cor. 6:14; James 4:4).
V.3 Ezra’s great grief when he received news of the disobedience of God’s people.
V.4 Ezra’s own grief and humiliation, touched the heart of those who trembled at the words of the God of Israel. We too need to tremble at God’s Word. Really there were two groups there, the guilty ones and the non-guilty ones. Notice which group trembled at the Word of God. Will their trembling do any good? Wait to see.
V.6-8 First Ezra takes his place among the guilty ones, for he says “I am ashamed ... our iniquities ... our trespass.” Next, he justified God for all that had happened to them in the past “for our iniquities have we been delivered into the hands of the kings” and then he speaks of the grace that the Lord had shown to them. Let us today confess how we have failed, and let us never blame God for our difficulties. He is gracious and He is faithful.