Ezra 8
1 These are the family heads and those registered with them who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom;
of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel;
of the descendants of David, Hattush 3 of the descendants of Shekaniah;
of the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men;
4 of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;
5 of the descendants of Zattu, Shekaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;
6 of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;
7 of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;
8 of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;
9 of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;
10 of the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;
11 of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;
12 of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;
13 of the descendants of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;
14 of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zakkur, and with them 70 men.
Ezra recounts the people who came along with him on his trip to Jerusalem. There is close to 1500 men counted in this, but as we will see, there are also women and children who came along as well. It tallies between 6 and 7,000 people who came with Ezra on this long 900-mile journey.
The Return to Jerusalem
15 I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. 16 So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning, 17 and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God. 18 Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all; 19 and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. 20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants—a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.
We first see that Ezra isn’t only the spiritual leader of the group but also the physical leader. We see the tense shift here, to first person, and suddenly we are seeing a leader in action, a man spurred on by God with courage and purpose. We also see that Ezra realizes that there are no Levites with them. This is the priestly order of the Israelites, a system put in place by God and began through Aaron. What is Ezra’s response to this? Go back to Babylon and get some Levites! They retrieve 20 men who can dispense the word of God properly, along with 220 temple servants.
21 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. 22 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.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
Ezra declares a fast. A fast is a way to deprive oneself of the elementary needs of the body in order to spiritually grow closer to God. This is also a trust exercise for the former-Babylonians, who now must strip themselves of sustenance and trust God. There are no soldiers to protect them. Ezra says he was ashamed to ask, and perhaps part of it was because the king had so willingly given him so much he didn’t want to ask for more. If that is the reason, you’ll notice Artaxerxes willingly gave soldiers to Nehemiah later on (Nehemiah 2:9).
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God. 26 I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents,100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28 I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.” 30 Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
Once the priestly class was known, Ezra gives them the task of guarding the treasures they are carrying through the wilderness to Jerusalem. These priests have a daunting job. First, they must carry the heavy articles, which are multiple tons. But there are also other concerns, which is why Ezra entrusted them to the priests. First, there could be people among the caravan who may want to steal the treasures. A true fortune is alongside these poor people who have left the comforts of Babylon. Second, the priests should be more trustworthy than the average person. If their true devotion is for God, then the riches they carry are not of concern. But even for a priest, the allure of the world can also tempt (Judges 19:1-4).
31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. 32 So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days.
33 On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.
As noted, Ezra entrusted the wealth with men of God, and all of the treasures reached Jerusalem. There were no marauders or trouble on their journey, even through a crowd of 6-7,000 people would have gotten the attention of any people.
35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering,twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.
Notice the progress. First, upon arriving, they rested. It was a long and arduous trip. They had to attend to their physical needs. Once rested, they measured the treasure they brought and made sure it all arrived. Third, they used some of their allotted funds to sacrifice to God. Once their physical and spiritual needs were met, they delivered Artaxerxes’ orders to the governors of the region to ensure all knew that Artaxerxes backed their missions and their help would be required.
1 These are the family heads and those registered with them who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom;
of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel;
of the descendants of David, Hattush 3 of the descendants of Shekaniah;
of the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men;
4 of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;
5 of the descendants of Zattu, Shekaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;
6 of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;
7 of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;
8 of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;
9 of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;
10 of the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;
11 of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;
12 of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;
13 of the descendants of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;
14 of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zakkur, and with them 70 men.
Ezra recounts the people who came along with him on his trip to Jerusalem. There is close to 1500 men counted in this, but as we will see, there are also women and children who came along as well. It tallies between 6 and 7,000 people who came with Ezra on this long 900-mile journey.
The Return to Jerusalem
15 I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. 16 So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning, 17 and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God. 18 Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all; 19 and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. 20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants—a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.
We first see that Ezra isn’t only the spiritual leader of the group but also the physical leader. We see the tense shift here, to first person, and suddenly we are seeing a leader in action, a man spurred on by God with courage and purpose. We also see that Ezra realizes that there are no Levites with them. This is the priestly order of the Israelites, a system put in place by God and began through Aaron. What is Ezra’s response to this? Go back to Babylon and get some Levites! They retrieve 20 men who can dispense the word of God properly, along with 220 temple servants.
21 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. 22 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.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
Ezra declares a fast. A fast is a way to deprive oneself of the elementary needs of the body in order to spiritually grow closer to God. This is also a trust exercise for the former-Babylonians, who now must strip themselves of sustenance and trust God. There are no soldiers to protect them. Ezra says he was ashamed to ask, and perhaps part of it was because the king had so willingly given him so much he didn’t want to ask for more. If that is the reason, you’ll notice Artaxerxes willingly gave soldiers to Nehemiah later on (Nehemiah 2:9).
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God. 26 I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents,100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28 I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.” 30 Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
Once the priestly class was known, Ezra gives them the task of guarding the treasures they are carrying through the wilderness to Jerusalem. These priests have a daunting job. First, they must carry the heavy articles, which are multiple tons. But there are also other concerns, which is why Ezra entrusted them to the priests. First, there could be people among the caravan who may want to steal the treasures. A true fortune is alongside these poor people who have left the comforts of Babylon. Second, the priests should be more trustworthy than the average person. If their true devotion is for God, then the riches they carry are not of concern. But even for a priest, the allure of the world can also tempt (Judges 19:1-4).
31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. 32 So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days.
33 On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.
As noted, Ezra entrusted the wealth with men of God, and all of the treasures reached Jerusalem. There were no marauders or trouble on their journey, even through a crowd of 6-7,000 people would have gotten the attention of any people.
35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering,twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.
Notice the progress. First, upon arriving, they rested. It was a long and arduous trip. They had to attend to their physical needs. Once rested, they measured the treasure they brought and made sure it all arrived. Third, they used some of their allotted funds to sacrifice to God. Once their physical and spiritual needs were met, they delivered Artaxerxes’ orders to the governors of the region to ensure all knew that Artaxerxes backed their missions and their help would be required.