Ezra 10

Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it. v.4

Read chapter 10
This last chapter of Ezra seems like an odd one to end on as it continues to talk about foreign wives and children.  But let us remember this is not a letter but a record of history.  The rebuilding of the temple was finished and Ezra the scribe was praying and mediating the words of the law to the people again after 70 years of captivity living without it. This was just a first step in a new beginning for them.  Often sometimes the first step in a new direction or way of life is the hardest and I'd say these men having to get rid of their foreign wives and children born by them would have been insanely hard, yet they knew it was right.  Now this is a hard thing for us Americans to understand today of the idea of getting rid of a spouse because they are not of God's people and that's because first off God doesn't give us this command through a law today, yet there is warning of hardship by not marrying someone that isn't a believer that could have been avoided.  We see Paul say the very opposite of what's here in Ezra, "But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.  And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him" (1 Corinthians 7:12-13).  This is not a contradiction in scripture but a change in dispensation.  Still today many cultures and religions all over the world hold this teaching, though not from God, they recognize the value in this: Islam, Catholic, Indian, to name a few.  
What I noticed in this chapter was that this man Shechaniah who is speaking, is a child of a man who committed this sin.  He also doesn't just say "figure it out yourself" to these men, but comforts them to say "we also are with you."  Our command today is to stay committed with our spouse even if they are not a believer.  As hard as it may be there are brothers and sisters in Christ who are with you to encourage you.  Do you have anyone you know?  How can you find them? If you are not married, do you seek this as a priority in a spouse to be a follower of Christ?