Ezra tore his clothes and wept because he was deeply grieved over the sin of the people, particularly their intermarriage with pagan nations, which violated God’s clear commands. His reaction reflected sorrow for the people’s unfaithfulness and fear of God’s judgment.
When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, he discovered that the returned exiles, including priests and Levites, had taken foreign wives from the nations God had warned against:
“They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands.”
(Ezra 9:2)
This was not merely a cultural issue but a spiritual compromise that had historically led Israel into idolatry. Ezra’s response was immediate and dramatic:
“So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.”
(Ezra 9:3)
He then prayed, confessing the sins of the people:
“O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You… for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.”
(Ezra 9:6)
Ezra acknowledged that God had shown mercy in allowing a remnant to return and rebuild, yet the people repaid that mercy with rebellion. He was overwhelmed by the magnitude of their offense.
The people were convicted by Ezra’s mourning:
“We have trespassed against our God… yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.”
(Ezra 10:2)
They repented, and steps were taken to separate from unlawful marriages.
Ezra’s grief was a holy response to sin. His leadership helped bring the people back into alignment with God’s covenant, showing that true repentance begins with godly sorrow and leads to corrective action.
