Leading is easy when life is smooth. When the wind’s at your back. When you’re leading by four touchdowns. When you’ve got the Big Mo. Just about anybody can lead when it’s easy. But what about when times are tough? What about when you can’t catch a break? What about when nobody can seem to do anything right? That’s when real leaders step up. When the fecal matter hits the whirling device, you find out who the real leaders are. Check out Ezra 10:1-5 for a classic example. The wheels have come flying off the next phase of the resettlement of Jerusalem. The people of God have blatantly thumbed their noses at the the law of God and started hooking up with local pagan hotties (Ez 9:1-2, 10, 12-14).
At this point, good leaders are hard to find. But two men stand up and stand out. The first is our man Ezra. He’s the high priest whom God used to lead the caravan of almost 8,000 Israelites back from Babylon to the Promised Land (Ez 8). The second is a dude named Shecaniah. He’s just an average Joe who joined the big return to Jerusalem (Ez 8:4). An average Joe who comes up big in crunch time. It’s Shecaniah who speaks up even in the face of his father’s own sin. It’s Shecaniah who points the people to the goodness of God even in the middle of the dumpster fire. It’s Shecaniah who pokes Ezra in the chest to tells him to do his job.
Real leaders rise up when the chips are down.
We pick up the action with Ezra praying for the people. Like a great leader, the Big E understands that he’s accountable for the people God has placed in his care. “Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God” (v1). While he never hopped in the sack with one of the local ladies, Ezra confessed on behalf of those who did. He’s absolutely heartbroken over what has happened. Remember, he’s a priest. As a priest, he represents God to His people and the people to their God. It’s a picture of the role Jesus plays as our ultimate High Priest (Heb 4:14-16). As the God Man, there’s no one better for the position. And as His followers, Jesus has given us each the position of priest. We’re a “royal priesthood” (1Pet 2:9). We don’t need anyone in a collar or robe to approach the God on our behalf.
Ezra doesn’t loose his cool and chew out the people. That sure would’ve been the easy thing to do. But he doesn’t. Instead he prays. And when the Hebrews hear his prayer and see his tears, something incredible happens. “A very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly” (v1). Their repentance doesn’t come about because Ezra turns on the verbal flamethrower. It’s his prayer. His gut-wrenching prayer on their behalf. As the old saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” If the returning exiles had any doubts about Ezra’s concern for them before, they don’t anymore.
That’s when some guy named Shecaniah clears his throat and steps out of the crowd. We need to understand the pressure that he was under. He’s “the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam” (v1). We find out a little later that his own father was one of the men guilty of following his libido instead of the LORD (Ez 10:26). I can’t even imagine the stress he faced given what he was about to say. You see, real leaders rise up when the chips are down.
Shecaniah speaks directly to Ezra on behalf of the people. “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land” (v2). He understands that this rebellion against God’s command is actually a lack of trust in His goodness and provision. The ESV translators use the phrase “broken faith,” which just happens to be the same word translated as “faithlessness” (Heb. ma’al) back in Ezra 9:2, 4. Just like Adam and Eve believed God was holding out on them when they fell for the lie of the satanic snake, these Israelite dudes began looking for love in all the wrong places.
In his speech to Ezra, the courageous Shecaniah talks about how the Jewish guys “have married foreign women” (v2) and how they must “put away all these wives and their children” (v3). These are not the usual Hebrew words for marriage and divorce. He uses the term yashab, which actually means “we have given a home.” This would be a clear indication that they didn’t really marry these ladies but shacked up with them. These weren’t legit marriages but illicit relationships. And instead of filing for divorce, Shecaniah calls them to “put away” their girlfriends and their kids. This is the word yatsa’, which simply means to bring out or throw out. He encourages the men to kick these local ladies to the curb. Just as the proper term for “married” isn’t used in verse 2, the usual Hebrew word for “divorce” isn’t used here. These weren’t proper marriages. They were to get rid of their girlfriends. Get them out of their house. The kids need to leave too. Again, this is NOT the same as divorce between a believing and unbelieving spouse that the Apostle Paul discusses in his letter to the church at Corinth (1Cor 7:12-14). What’s the modern day application? If you’re married and messing around with someone other than your spouse, end it NOW. Are we clear?
Sandwiched in between this talk of hooking up and breaking up, Shecaniah points to the only source of healing for this ridiculous soap opera of a situation. “But even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this” (v2). This is bad. REALLY bad. A boatload of the best and brightest have completely shaken their fists at God’s authority. In many ways, this could be and should be the end of this incredible resettlement of the Promised Land. But Shecaniah sees hope. Hope in God. Hope in His grace. Hope in His mercy. As bad as it looks, He sees hope because he sees God. Do you have “but even now” hope? Shecaniah sure does. Real leaders don’t have faith in themselves. They have faith in God. Real leaders rise up when the chips are down.
Shecaniah ends his speech with a direct challenge and encouragement to Ezra. “Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it” (v4). God may have lifted up Shecaniah to speak some very tough but necessary words at a very difficult time, but it was up to Ezra to step up and lead. Ezra has prayed. God used his prayer to move the hearts of the people. Shecaniah calls the high priest to get up off his knees and lead. “Arise, for it is your task” (v4). In other words, Ezra needs to do what God has positioned him to do. He’s the one to lead at this critical moment. “Be strong and do it” (v4). The Message puts it this way, “Now get up, Ezra. Take charge—we’re behind you. Don’t back down” (v4 The Message). Shecaniah lets Ezra know that they’ve got his back. Just like Esther, Yahweh has placed the Big E to lead His people “for such a time as this” (Est 4:14). In other words, real leaders rise up when the chips are down.
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