Ezra 8-10: Less than Our Sins Deserved

The Jews who resettled in Israel during the reign of Cyrus had been there for several generations when Ezra, with the permission of the reigning king, Artaxerxes, left Babylon for Jerusalem.  Ezra, the priest, was seen as a leader because he had devoted himself to the study and observance and teaching of the law. All of the exiles in Babylon that wanted to return to Jerusalem assembled with Ezra at the canal that flows toward Ahava to prepare for the dangerous journey through territory that was occupied by enemies and bandits.

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him."  So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. - Ezra 8:21-23 NIV

Ezra knew, and communicated to the people, that God's anger is against all who forsake him.  So when they arrived in Jerusalem and Ezra saw that the people who had returned from captivity earlier had intermarried with the neighboring people, it was only natural that Ezra would be appalled.  He tore his tunic and cloak and pulled out the hair from his head and beard.  At the evening sacrifice, Ezra fell on his knees and prayed:
"O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens......"What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. Shall we again break your commands and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor?  O LORD, God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence." - Ezra 9:6-15 NIV

In order to purge the sin from Israel,  the men who had intermarried had to come before the leaders of the family divisions and separate themselves from the foreign wives.  A hard thing to do, but no more difficult than setting off on a journey through dangerous territory without soldiers and horsemen for protection.  Ezra knew that humility and repentance before God was crucial for the Jew's survival.  The fact that God had preserved a remnant showed his faithfulness; that the Israelites would put away their foreign wives showed their humility and contrite hearts.