Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 8:1
These [are] now the chief of their fathers, and [this is] the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
Chap. Ezr 8:1-20 . The List of those that went up with Ezra to Jerusalem
( a) 1 14. List of the Heads of Fathers’ Houses, accompanying Ezra
1. These are now the chief of their fathers ] R.V. Now these are the heads of their fathers ’ houses. Literally, ‘now these are the heads of their fathers’, a shortened form of expression, as in Ezr 2:68.
and this is the genealogy of them ] In the following list we have the names both of the houses and of their chiefs or representatives.
On the word ‘genealogy’ see Ezr 2:62. The LXX. .
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ezr 8:1-20
And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava.
The assembly at Ahava
I. The long journey commenced.
II. An important inspection made. This halt illustrates–
1. The need of seasons of rest.
2. The use of seasons of rest.
III. A grave deficiency discovered. Ministers of religion are sometimes slow in making personal sacrifices and rendering personal assistance even in a good enterprise.
IV. The supply of the deficienct sought. He sought them–
1. By means of influential men.
2. By sending them to the right place.
3. By sending them to the right man.
4. By sending them with precise instructions.
V. The supply of the deficiency obtained.
1. The supply was sufficient.
2. The supply was various.
3. The supply was remarkable for the presence of at least one man of distinguished ability.
4. The supply was obtained by the blessing of God. (William Jones.)
A man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli.
Men of understanding
I. Are the gifts of God.
1. They derive their abilities from Him.
2. They rightly develop their abilities by His blessing.
3. They attain their moral excellences by His blessing.
II. Are of great worth amongst men.
1. Understanding is essential to the beneficent employment of other gifts and powers.
2. The employment of understanding itself confers great benefits upon society.
Conclusion: It behoves us–
1. To praise God for men of understanding.
2. To prize such men.
3. To endeavour to become men of understanding. (William Jones.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER VIII
The genealogy of the chief persons who went with Ezra from
Babylon, 1-14.
He gathers them together at Ahava; and finding among them no
Levites, he sends confidential persons to the river of Ahava,
who return with many Levites and Nethinim, 15-20.
He proclaims a fast at Ahava for Divine protection on their
journey, 21-23.
He delivers to the care of the priests c., the silver, gold,
and sacred vessels, that they might carry them to Jerusalem,
and deliver them to the high priest, 24-30.
They depart from Ahava, and come to Jerusalem, 31, 32.
The vessels are weighed and the weight registered, 33, 34.
They offer burnt-offerings to God, 35
deliver the king’s commissions to his lieutenants, by whom they
are furthered in their work, 36.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
1. this is the genealogy of themthat went up with me from BabylonThe number given here amountsto 1754. But this is the register of adult males only, and as therewere women and children also (Ezr8:21), the whole caravan may be considered as comprising betweensix thousand and seven thousand.
Ezr8:15-20. HE SENDSTO IDDO FORMINISTERS FOR THE TEMPLESERVICE.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them,…. Which follows from hence to the end of Ezr 8:14,
that went up with me from Babylon; with Ezra the priest and scribe, the writer of this book:
in the reign of Artaxerxes the king; that is, Darius Hystaspis, in the seventh year of his reign, see Ezr 7:1, though many think Artaxerxes Longimanus is meant.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A list of those heads of houses who returned with Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem. Compare the parallel list, 1 Esdr. 8:28-40. – Ezr 8:1 The tithe: ”These are the heads of the houses, and (this is) their genealogy, who went up with me.” for , as frequently. , “and their genealogy,” is added, because in the list following the heads of the different houses are not merely enumerated according to their own names, but the names of the races to which they belonged are also stated.
Ezr 8:2 Priests and descendants of David. Of priests, Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, and Daniel of the sons of Ithamar. Gershom and Daniel are the names of heads of priestly houses, and “sons of Phinehas and sons of Ithamar” designations of races. Phinehas was the son of the high priest Eleazar, the son of Aaron, and Ithamar a younger son of Aaron, 1Ch 6:4 and 1Ch 6:3. This does not signify that only the two priests Gershom and Daniel went up with Ezra; for in Ezr 8:24 he chose twelve from among the chief of the priests, who went up with him, to have charge of the gifts (Bertheau). The meaning is, that Gershom and Daniel, two heads of priestly houses, went up, and that the house of Gershom belonged to the race of Phinehas, and that of Daniel to the race of Ithamar. A Daniel is named among the priests in Neh 10:7, but whether he is identical with the Daniel in question does not appear. Of the sons (descendants) of David (the king), Hattush, as head of a house. A Hattush, son of Hashabniah, occurs Neh 3:10, and a priest of this name Neh 10:5 and Neh 12:2. Hattush also holds the first place among the sons of Shemaiah enumerated 1Ch 3:22, who probably were among the descendants of David. It seems strange that the numbers neither of the priests nor of the sons of David who went up with Ezra should be given, since from v. 3 onwards, in the case of the houses of lay races, the numbers of those who returned to the home of their ancestors is regularly stated.
Ezr 8:3-12 Twelve lay houses are named both in the present text and in 1 Esdr. 8:30-40. In ten cases the names of the races, which are uniformly introduced with , are identical in both texts, viz., Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Adin, Elam, Shephatiah, Joab, Bebai, Azgad, Adonikam, and Bigvai. On the other hand, it appears surprising, 1 st, that in the first house mentioned, before the name , besides “of the sons of Parosh,” we have also (Ezr 8:3), while before all the other names we find only “of the sons of” one individual; 2 ndly, that in Ezr 8:5, after , instead of a name of the head of a house, only Ben Jahaziel follows; 3 rdly, that in Ezr 8:10 also, after , we have merely Ben Josiphiah, the names themselves being apparently omitted in these two last cases. This conjecture is corroborated by a comparison with the lxx and 1 Esdr. 8, which shows, moreover, that it is not the personal name of the head of the house, but the name of the race, which has been lost. For , Ezr 8:5, we find in the lxx , and in 1 Esdr. 8:32, ; and for , Ezr 8:10, in the lxx , and in 1 Esdr. 8:36, . In and ( ) we recognise and of Ezr 2:8 and Ezr 2:10. Hence the text of Ezr 8:5 needs emendation, and should run , and that of Ezr 8:10, . It is more difficult to decide concerning of Ezr 8:3, though undoubtedly we have here too a corruption of the text. For, first, there is no other instance in the whole list of the sons of two men being cited before the proper name of the house; and then, too, the absence of the copulative before is opposed to the notion that the house of Zechariah was formed by a union of the sons of Shecaniah and Parosh, since in this case the and could not be omitted. It is true that we have in the lxx ; but in this case the is certainly derived from the translator, who was thus seeking to make sense of the words. In 1 Esdr. 8 we read ; and corresponding with , the words (or ) are taken into the preceding verse. This treatment of the words Bertheau considers correct, because Hattush in 1Ch 3:22 is reckoned among the descendants of Shecaniah. This conjecture is, however, a very doubtful one. For, first, in 1Ch 3:22 Hattush is said to be of the sons of Shemaiah, and Shemaiah of the sons of Shecaniah; then we should as little expect any further statement in the case of Hattush as in the cases of Daniel and Gershom; and further, if he had been thus more precisely designated by naming his father, we should undoubtedly read , not , and thus the Masoretic text would at any rate be incorrect; and finally, 1 Esdras, where it differs from the lxx, is, generally speaking, no critical authority upon which to base safe conclusions. Under these circumstances, we must give up the hope of restoring the original text, and explaining the words . , “and with Zechariah, his genealogy of 150 males,” i.e., with him his race, consisting of 150 males, registered in the genealogy of the race. In the case of the names which follow, the number only is given after the briefer expression .
A review, then, of the twelve races, according to the restoration of the original text in Ezr 8:5 and Ezr 8:10, presents us with names already occurring in the list of the races who came from Babylon with Zerubbabel, Ezr 2:3-15, with the exception of the sons of Joab, Ezr 8:9, who are wanting in Ezra 2, where, on the other hand, several other races are enumerated. Bertheau seeks to identify the sons of Joab, Ezr 8:9, with the sons of Joab who in Ezr 2:6 are reckoned with the sons of Pahath-Moab, and to explain their special enumeration in the present list, by the conjecture that the one house subsequently separated into the two houses of Pahath-Moab and Joab, This is, indeed, possible; but it is quite a probable that only one portion or branch of the sons (descendants) of Joab was combined with the race of the sons of Pahath-Moab, and that the rest of the bne Joab formed a separate house, no family of which returned with Zerubbabel. The occurrence of the other races in both lists is to be explained by the circumstance that portions of them returned with Zerubbabel, and that the rest did not follow till Ezra’s departure.
Ezr 8:13 The addition , last (comp. 2Sa 19:12), is thus explained by J. H. Mich.: respectu eorum qui primum cum Zorobabele sub Cyro in patriam redierunt c. ii. 13. Bertheau, however, considers this explanation untenable, because stands in the present series only with the sons of Adonikam, while it is nevertheless certain, that many families belonging also to other races than this had returned with Zerubbabel, in comparison with whom all who returned with Ezra might be called last. This reason, however, is not conclusive; for in Ezr 8:13 the further statement also differs, both in form and matter, from those in the former verses. Here, instead of the name of the head of the house, we read the words “last, and these their names;” whereupon three names are given, and not till then , “and with them sixty males.” Here, then, it is not the head of the house who is named, but in his place three heads of families, amounting together to sixty males. Now, as these three families did not form a house, these sixty sons of Adonikam who returned with Ezra are, with regard to the six hundred and sixty-six sons of Adonikam who returned with Zerubbabel, designated the last, or last arrived, and thus comprised with them as one house.
Ezr 8:14 Of the sons of Bigvai also two heads are named, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. In 1 Esdr. 8:40, the names Uthai and Zabbud are corrupted into . The total number of individuals belonging to these twelve races, who returned with Ezra, amounts, according to the Hebrew text, to 1496 males and fifteen heads; according to 1 Esdras, to 1690 males, and the thirteen heads of the twelve races, without reckoning the priests and sons of David, whose numbers are not stated.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Journey of Ezra and Others. | B. C. 457. |
1 These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. 2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. 3 Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. 5 Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. 6 Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. 7 And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. 8 And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males. 9 Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. 10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and threescore males. 11 And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males. 12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males. 13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. 14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. 15 And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. 16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. 17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; 19 And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; 20 Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
Ezra, having received his commission from the king, beats up for volunteers, as it were, sets up an ensign to assemble the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah, Isa. xi. 12. “Whoever of the sons of Sion, that swell with the daughters of Babylon, is disposed to go to Jerusalem, now that the temple there is finished and the temple-service set a-going, now is their time.” Now one would think that under such a leader, with such encouragements, all the Jews should at length have shaken themselves from their dust, and loosed the bands of their neck, according to that call, Isa 52:1; Isa 52:2, c. I wonder how any of them could read that chapter and yet stay behind. But multitudes did. They loved their ease better than their religion, thought themselves well off where they were, and either believed not that Jerusalem would better their condition or durst not go thither through any difficulties. But here we are told,
I. That some offered themselves willingly to go with Ezra. The heads of the several families are here named, for their honour, and the numbers of the males that each brought in, amounting in all to 1496. Two priests are named (<i>v. 2) and one of the sons of David; but, it should seem, they came without their families, probably intending to see how they liked Jerusalem and then either to send for their families or return to them as they saw cause. Several of their families, or clans, here named, we had before, ch. ii. Some went up from them at that time, more went up now, as God inclined their hearts; some were called into the vineyard at the third hour, others not till the eleventh, yet even those were not rejected. But here we read of the last sons of Adonikam (v. 13), which some understand to their dispraise, that they were the last that enlisted themselves under Ezra; I rather understand it to their honour, that now all the sons of that family returned and none staid behind.
II. That the Levites who went in this company were in a manner pressed into the service. Ezra appointed a general rendezvous of all his company at a certain place upon new-year’s day, the first day of the first month. ch. vii. 9. Then and there he took a view of them, and mustered them, and (which was strange) found there none of the sons of Levi, v. 15. Some priests there were, but no others that were Levites. Where was the spirit of that sacred tribe? Ezra, a priest, like Moses proclaims, Who is on the Lord’s side? They, unlike to Levi, shrink, and desire to abide among the sheep-folds to hear the bleatings of the flock. Synagogues we suppose they had in Babylon, in which they prayed, and preached, and kept sabbaths (and, when they could not have better, they had reason to be thankful for them); but now that the temple at Jerusalem was opened, to the service of which they were ordained, they ought to have preferred the gates of Zion before all those synagogues. It is upon record here, to their reproach; but tell it not in Gath. Ezra, when he observed that he had no Levites in his retinue, was much at a loss. He had money enough for the service of the temple, but wanted men. The king and princes had more than done their part, but the sons of Levi had not half done theirs. Eleven men, chief men, and men of understanding, he chooses out of his company, to be employed for the filling up of this lamentable vacancy; and here we are informed, 1. Of their being sent. Ezra sent them to a proper place, where there as a college of Levites, the place Casiphia, probably a street or square in Babylon allowed for that purpose–Silver Street one may call it, for ceseph signifies silver. He sent them to a proper person, to Iddo, the chief president of the college, not to urge him to come himself (we will suppose him to be old and unfit for such a remove), but to send some of the juniors, ministers for the house of our God, v. 17. The furnishing of God’s house with good ministers is a good work, which will redound to the comfort and credit of all that have a hand in it. 2. Of their success. They did not return without their errand, but, though the warning was short, they brought about forty Levites to attend Ezra, Sherebiah, noted as a very intelligent man, and eighteen with him (v. 18). Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah, and twenty with them, v. 19. By this it appears that they were not averse to go, but were slothful and inattentive, and only wanted to be called upon and excited to go. What a pity it is that good men should omit a good work, merely for want of being spoken to! What a pity that they should need it, but, if they do, what a pity that they should be left without it! Of the Nethinim, the servitors of the sacred college, the species infima–the lowest order of the temple ministers, more appeared forward to go than of the Levites themselves. Of them 220, upon this hasty summons, enlisted themselves, and had the honour to be expressed by name in Ezra’s muster-roll, v. 20. “Thus,” says Ezra, “were we furnished with Levites, by the good hand of our God upon us.” If, where ministers have been wanting, the vacancies are well supplied, let God have the glory, and his good hand be acknowledged as qualifying them for the service, inclining them to it, and then opening a door of opportunity for them.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Ezra – Chapter 8
Leaders of the Company, Verses 1-14
The list of chief of fathers who accompanied Ezra to Jerusalem is given next, but contains few meaningful names for the student. The sons of Phinehas were those of priestly lineage, the sons of Ithamar may have been Levite families, and the sons of David are supposedly descendants of the king. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar, through whom the high priesthood descended. Ithamar was the younger son of Aaron. He fathered a line of priests along with his older brother, Eleazar, so the reference may be also to the second line of the priests as established in the days of David.
Shechaniah is not further known, and is not to be identified with another of that name in Ezr 10:2, nor with the one in verse 5. Though these were prominent men in Israel of the times, the chief reason for preserving their genealogy seems to have been that the families might be able to show their pedigree back to captivity times and before. Such things were very important to an Israelite.
Each of the chief men named was over a number of others, the total of which made up the party returning to Jerusalem. The largest group was composed of three hundred, the smallest only twenty-eight. The twelve groups totaled fourteen hundred and ninety-six persons.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.] This chapter contains(i.) A list of the heads of houses, with the number of adult males accompanying each of them, who went with Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezr. 8:1-14). (ii.) An account of the encampment for three days at the river Ahava, and the doings there; viz., obtaining ministers for the Temple service (Ezr. 8:15-20); proclaiming and observing a religious fast (Ezr. 8:21-23); arranging for the safe keeping during the journey of the offerings and the precious vessels for the Temple (Ezr. 8:24-30). (iii.) A brief record of their departure from Ahava and arrival at Jerusalem (Ezr. 8:31-32); and (iv.) Of the careful delivery of the treasures in the Temple (Ezr. 8:33-34), the offering of sacrifices to God (Ezr. 8:35), and delivering their commissions unto the kings lieutenants (Ezr. 8:36).
Ezr. 8:1. The chief of their fathers] or, the heads of their families. Keil: The heads of the houses.
Ezr. 8:2-14] This list is parallel with that of chap. Ezr. 2:3-19. Many of the family names (or, as Keil calls them, designations of races, e.g. Pharosh, Pahath-moab, &c.) are common to both; while some are found in each which are absent from the other. The presence of the same family names in both lists is to be explained by the circumstance that portions of such families or races returned with Zerubbabel, and that the rest did not follow till Ezras departure. The number of families in Ezras list is smaller than in that of Zerubbabel, and the members of each family less numerous. The total number of adult males, including Levites and Nethinim (Ezr. 8:18-20), who returned with Ezra was 1775, according to this list.
Ezr. 8:2-3] The first member of Ezr. 8:3 should probably be joined to Ezr. 8:2 : Of the sons of David; Hattush, of the sons of Shecaniah] It is almost certain that this is the Hattush of 1Ch. 3:22, the son of Shemaiah and grandson of Shecaniah.
Ezr. 8:5] The Hebrew text seems to be imperfect here by reason of the falling out of a name. Keil suggests that the reading, as in the LXX., should be, Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel. (Comp. chap. Ezr. 2:8.)
Ezr. 8:10] A similar defect seems to exist in the text of this verse. The deficiency is thus supplied in the LXX., And of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah. (Comp. chap. Ezr. 2:10.) This emendation is also accepted by Keil.
Ezr. 8:13. And of the last sons of Adonikam] &c. Here, instead of the name of the head of the house, we read the words, last, and these their names; whereupon three names are given, and not till then, and with them sixty males. Here, then, it is not the head of the house who is named, but in his place three heads of families, amounting together to sixty males. Now, as these three families did not form a house, these sixty sons of Adonikam who returned with Ezra are, with regard to the six hundred and sixty-six sons of Adonikam who returned with Zerubbabel (chap. Ezr. 2:13), designated the last, or last arrived, and thus comprised with them as one house.Keil.
Ezr. 8:15. The river that runneth to Ahava] In Ezr. 8:21; Ezr. 8:31 : the river of Ahava. The name both of a place and of a river. The latest researches, according to Mr. Grove (Bibl. Dict.), are in favour of its being the modern Hit, on the Euphrates, due east of Damascus, and north-west of Babylon, from which it was about eighty miles distant. The place is famous for its bitumen springs. The river of Ahava is a small stream which here flows into the Euphrates. And there abode we in tents three days] From this statement, and that of Ezr. 8:31, We departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, we learn that they arrived at Ahava on the ninth day of the first month; the journey from Babylon having been commenced on the first day of that month (chap. Ezr. 7:9).
Ezr. 8:17. Casiphia] a place of uncertain site on the road between Babylon and Jerusalem.Bibl. Dict. The place Casiphia is entirely unknown, but cannot have been far from the river Ahava.Keil. It seems that both Levites and Nethinim, the upper and lower orders of Temple ministers, had settled in Casiphia; and that Iddo was the chief man of the place, and possessed considerable influence amongst these orders.
Ezr. 8:18. By the good hand of our God upon u] (Comp. chap. Ezr. 7:6; Ezr. 7:9; Ezr. 7:28.) A man of understanding] Heb.: Ish sechel. Keil regards this as a proper name. But it seems to us better to take it as in the A. V.; or as Fuerst renders it, A man of knowledge. The man of understanding was named Sherebiah The copulative (and) was probably inserted by a careless copyist, or, if it be retained, it should be translated even. A man of understanding, even Sherebiah. He is again mentioned in Ezr. 8:24; Neh. 8:7; Neh. 9:4-5; Neh. 10:12; Neh. 12:24.
Ezr. 8:19. Hashabiah] is again mentioned in Ezr. 8:24; Neh. 10:11; Neh. 12:24.
Ezr. 8:20. The Nethinims] (See on chap. Ezr. 2:43.) All of them were expressed by name] i.e. Iddo sent a list of them to Ezra.
Ezr. 8:21. A right way] Fuerst: An even or plain way; i.e. a prosperous journey (Comp. Jer. 31:9 : A straight way, wherein they shall not stumble.)
Ezr. 8:24. Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah] &c. It seems from the rendering of the A. V. that Sherebiah and Hashabiah were priests; but they have been already described as Levites (Ezr. 8:18-19). The Heb. is ; but in the A.V., as in the Vulgate, is not translated. Keil suggests that for , we should read , and translate, and Sherebiah; for this reason that if we retain , and translate for Sherebiah, we place the priests in a servile relation to the Levites, contrary to their true position. We prefer to retain the , and to translate, Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests to Sherebiah, &c. This would not involve the subordination of the priests to the Levites; but would mean that Ezra appointed twelve chiefs of the priests to act with twelve chief Levites, of whom Sherebiah and Hashabiah were two, in keeping the offerings fur the Temple during the journey.
Ezr. 8:26. Six hundred and fifty talents of silver] According to Dr. Arbuthnots tables this would be equivalent to 222,421, 17s. 6d. of our money; and according to Mr. R. S. Pooles estimate (Bibl. Dict.), to about 260,000. Of gold an hundred talents] or 547,500 of our money, according to Dr. Arbuthnot, and a little over 1,000,000, according to Mr. Poole.
Ezr. 8:27. Two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold] Margin: Heb., yellow, or shining brass, desirable as gold. They may have been, says Canon Farrar, of orichalcum, like the Persian or Indian vases found among the treasures of Darius (Aristot. de Mirab. Auscult.).Bibl. Dict. Keil speaks of them thus: Two brazen vessels of fine golden brilliancy, precious as gold.
Ezr. 8:29. The chambers of the house of the Lord] (Comp. 1Ki. 6:5; Neh. 13:5.)
Ezr. 8:31. The river of Ahava] (See notes on Ezr. 8:15.) He delivered us from] &c. (Comp. Ezr. 8:22.)
Ezr. 8:32. Abode there three days] for rest after the fatigues and trials of their long journey. (Comp. Neh. 2:11.)
Ezr. 8:33. Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest] He is mentioned again in Neh. 3:4; Neh. 3:21; Neh. 10:5; Neh. 12:3. Eleazar the son of Phinehas] is probably the person who is named in Neh. 12:42. Meremoth and Eleazar were priests. Jozabad the son of Jeshua] is mentioned in chap. Ezr. 10:23; Neh. 8:7. Noadiah the son of Binnui] is not named in the subsequent history. Jozabad and Noadiah were distinguished Levites.
Ezr. 8:34. By number and by weight] &c. The vessels were both weighed and counted; the gold and silver were probably only weighed. And all the weight was written at that time] i.e. an authentic list was made at the delivery which then took place.Keil.
Ezr. 8:35. The children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity] i.e. those who had returned with Ezra. Offered burnt offerings] &c. (Comp. chap. Ezr. 6:17; and see notes on that verse.)
Ezr. 8:36. The kings lieutenants] Keil: The satraps of the king. He says they were the military chiefs of the province. Rawlinson says they were the highest class of the Persian provincial governors. The governors] were, according to Keil, the heads of the civil government. Rawlinson: It denotes a lower grade of official. They furthered the people] &c., or, they supported the people, &c.
THE ASSEMBLY AT AHAVA
(Ezr. 8:1-20)
I. The long journey commenced. These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, &c. Upon the first day of the first month (chap. Ezr. 7:9) they set out from Babylon, and continued their journey for several days without any lengthened encampment. They entered upon their journey, we conceive, with mingled feelings of hope and fear. They were encouraged by hopes of reaching their famous fatherland, and of there enjoying the precious privileges of their religion; but the pleasure of these anticipations was moderated by the thought of the difficulties and dangers of the long journey that lay before them. Moreover, it is almost certain that, in leaving Babylon, most of them were sacrificing temporal advantages, and breaking up treasured associations, and severing themselves from dear friends, and these things could not have been done without much mental suffering; but at the summons of duty and the invitations of sacred privileges, they deliberately encountered these trials, and went up from Babylon. Their departure may be looked at as an illustration of the exodus of the soul from the captivity of a life of sin and its setting out on its upward pilgrimage.
II. An important inspection made. And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days; and I viewed the people and the priests. On the ninth day of the first month they encamped at Ahava, they remained there in tents three days (Ezr. 8:15), and then, on the twelfth day of the first month, they departed from the river of Ahava to go unto Jerusalem (Ezr. 8:31). This halt illustrates
1. The need of seasons of rest. The company with Ezra needed rest after the excitement and trials of their departure, and the toils of the first stage of their long journey. The Almighty recognised and provided for mans need of rest when He ordained the night to succeed the day, and in the institution of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ recognised it, and said unto His disciples, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile. In our life-pilgrimage there are times when we need to rest from our labours for awhile, and, if possible, to lay aside our cares. (a).
2. The use of seasons of rest. Ezra employed the three days which were spent at Ahava in such a manner that great advantages to his company resulted from them. He reviewed the assembled people, &c. Rest time should not be waste time. As individuals we should use our seasons of rest in reviewing the way in which the Lord hath led us, in considering our present condition and circumstances, and in preparing ourselves for future work. And if a church has comparative rest for a brief season, such rest should be employed in equipping its members for more vigorous service.
III. A grave deficiency discovered. I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. There were no Levites in the company, except such as were priests, and they had their own proper duties. All the priests were of the sons of Levi, but all the sons of Levi were not priests, but those only who were of the family of Aaron. Of the Levites proper, members of the other families of the tribe of Levi, who ministered in subordination to the priests, Ezra could not find any in his company. None of them was present. This was to their discredit. They should have been most eager to embrace the opportunity of going to Jerusalem, and there entering upon the duties of their sacred calling. They who are in possession of sacred privileges and engaged in the performance of sacred duties, are not always characterised by personal zeal and devotedness in the cause of God. Ministers of religion are sometimes slow in making personal sacrifices and rendering personal assistance even in a good enterprise. (b). They should be leaders, &c.
IV. The supply of the deficiency sought. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, &c. (Ezr. 8:16-17). Ezra was unwilling to proceed until he had secured a band of Levites to go with them. The means which he employed to obtain them are worthy of notice. He sought them
1. By means of influential men. He called for eleven leading men of his company; nine of them are characterised as chief men, and the other two as men of understanding or wisdom (Ezr. 8:16), and sent them to seek for ministers for the house of God. Such men were likely to succeed where men of an inferior type would have failed. Important affairs should be entrusted only to competent men.
2. By sending them to the right place. He sent them unto the place Casiphia. It has been conjectured that there was at Casiphia a college for the education of priests, Levites, and Nethinim, over which Iddo presided; where they had the free exercise of their religion, and had so comfortable a support that they were not inclined to remove. It is very probable they had their synagogues or other places where they met for religious worship; for we find the people resorting to Ezekiel in their captivity, and him preaching to them the Word of God, in many places of his book (Eze. 33:31), &c. And Ezra in all likelihood was an instructor among them.Bishop Patrick. But, apart from conjectures, it is clear that a considerable number of Levites and Nethinim dwelt at Casiphia, and that Ezra was cognisant of the fact; therefore to that place he despatched his messengers.
3. By sending them to the right man. Ezra sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief, &c. Iddo was probably a Levite; for the Nethinim being a lower order of Temple servants, it is not at all probable that one of their number would be chief over Levites. Iddo was the chief at the place Casiphia, was evidently disposed to further the movement under Ezra, and, from his sending a list of the names of those who went from Casiphia (Ezr. 8:20), seems to have been a man of methodical and business-like habits.
4. By sending them with precise instructions. Ezra told them what they should say unto Iddo, &c. Margin: Heb., I put words in their mouth. Thus this mission was admirably selected and sent forth, and it deserved success. (c).
V. The supply of the deficiency obtained. And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, &c. (Ezr. 8:18-20). Notice
1. The supply was sufficient. About forty Levites and two hundred and twenty Nethinim went from Casiphia and joined the returning exiles under Ezra.
2. The supply was various. There were Levites, and Nethinim for the service of the Levites. Different grades of ministry are necessary for the various spheres of service in the Church of God.
3. The supply was remarkable for the presence of at least one man of distinguished ability. They brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, even Sherebiah. This man afterwards rendered important service in the history of the people, as we see from Ezr. 8:24; Neh. 8:7; Neh. 9:4-5; Neh. 10:12; Neh. 12:24.
4. The supply was obtained by the blessing of God. By the good hand of our God upon us they brought us, &c. Thus Ezra traces the success of this mission to the gracious assistance of God.
Except the Lord conduct the plan,
The best concerted schemes are vain,
And never can succeed;
We spend our wretched strength for nought!
But if our works in Thee be wrought
They shall be blest indeed.
C. Wesley.
If, says M. Henry, where ministers have been wanting, the vacancies are well supplied, let God have the glory, and His good hand be acknowledged as qualifying them for the service, inclining them to it, and then opening a door of opportunity for them.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) It will be confessed by all men, even by the veriest slaves to their ever-driving ambition, that physical rest is sometimes needed. The aching limb asks for it; the hand that is so weary that it cannot any longer hold pen, or tool, or weapon of war, says, in its trembling weakness, Let me rest awhile; and the fevered brain, over-driven, excited almost to madness, says, in its sleeplessness and throbbing and heat, Let me rest awhile. Well, then, here is so much gained. We shall be able to make our way from this low point to a much higher phase of rest, and find our way upward, from the cry of the feeble and exhausted flesh, to the greater, more solemn, and urgent wants of our over-excited spiritual nature; we shall understand, in some degree, that our highest, divinest faculties must occasionally pause, rest, and recover themselves, if they would fully, with completeness and perfectness, discharge all the duties and obligations which Almighty God has imposed upon them. Rest is as necessary as labour. He is not a philosopher, but a madman, who lights the candle of his life at both ends.Joseph Parker, D.D.
(b) There is an old proverb, The temple mouse fears not the temple idol. It is a painful experience, present to the hearts of most of us, how different is the awe of the first service in which we ministered, and of the fiftieth or hundredth. At first, the putting on of the surplice was a dedicationthe entering of the vestry was a solemnitythe opening Sentences, the Exhortation, the Confession, read by our lips, seemed as though they consecrated those lips themselves to a new use and a new religion. So was it with each function of the holy office. The first reading of the Commandmentsthe first Sermonthe first Communion in which we followed with the Cupthe first baptism, the first weddingthe first visit to a sick-room, the first commendatory prayer beside the dying, the first saying of the words, Dust to dust, by the open graveeach was an event, each was an epoch, of the life withinit had an effect, a spiritual effect, upon the conscious immortal man. It may be that we relied upon thisthought it needless to impress the feeling, to turn emotion into principle, by prayer and watchingfelt confident that the repetition of the occasion would revive the effecttrusted to this, and left it there. A year afterwards we could stand unmoved by the grave, talk and laugh in the vestry, fall half asleep as we read the Prayers. Even with the best efforts made and persisted in, we could never reawaken the solemnity of the beginning. Duty becomes habit, habit becomes familiarity, and familiarity, if it breeds not contempt, at least forbids that kind of awe which is more nature than grace.
And some of us make the fatal mistake of expecting our Profession to make or to keep us spiritual. Living always in holy things, what can we be but holy? We learn a new lesson as years advanceand although we can give thanks still for the blessing of having the inward and the outward life of one piece and of one colour, occupied in the same thoughts and the same studies, mutually helpful and sympathetic with each otheryet we feel more and more that there is no security, in this harmony, for holy living; that there is no royal road, but that which is open for all wayfarers, to the saints life and the saints rest; nay, that there is even an added risk, for the priest of Gods temple, lest he find that common to him which is holy for all besides, just because he must daily touch and daily handle, daily prepare and daily dispense, that bread of life which souls only can digest, and which his soul may, by the very having, have not. There is nothing for it but to say to ourselves, and act upon it, Like people, like priest. Just what they want, I wantjust what I bid them do, I will do. I will prepare for my work, I will do my work, not as though it could sanctify, not as though it were (of itself) either hither or thither as to my souls state, but as needing, like any commonest trade or handicraft, a soul at peace with God beforehand, a soul in full communion with God beforehand, a soul preoccupied by the Holy Spirit sought and cherished, a soul setting God always before it, by Him first quickened, then to Him afterwards ministering.C. J. Vaughan, D.D.
(c) Ministers will not be found ready made, and ministers cannot be made to order. There is no royal road to the supply of the ministry. There is no climate in which ministers are indigenous. There is no patent by which ministers can be manufactured. Ministry is a gift, ministry is a growth, ministry is an inspiration. It is not every educated manstill less is it every uneducated manwho is even capable of it. The minister is the ultimate product of a long operation of Providence and of grace, working individually, working secretly, and giving no account of itself. When our Lord looked upon the vast shepherdless multitudes, He had but one suggestion to make for the ministerial supply: Pray ye the Lord of the harvestand He was there Himselfthat He will send forthand the word is a very strong onelabourers into His harvest. This is the one hope now. In comparison with this, any other suggestion must be timid and tentative. Yet something perhaps might be done by a keen and practised eye directed towards our schools and homes. Young intelligence, young diligence, young devotion, sought out by the loving watchfulness of master or minister, might be fashioned, here and there, even from a humble stock, by a wise influence and sometimes a generous bounty, into an eventual aptitude for the ministry. To foster this promise, but in one or two cases, into performance, is a noble ambition for any one who cares for his Churchs future.Ibid.
THE COMPANIONS OF EZRA ON HIS JOURNEY to JERUSALEM
(Ezr. 8:1-20)
The following observations are suggested by these verses:
1. Whilst love of the world and fear of the cross induce most men to neglect the salvation of the Gospel, they who obey the gracious call stand recorded in the Book of Life, and will be honoured by God Himself (Ezr. 8:1-14).
2.
When some of a family embrace the Gospel, they who linger behind may probably follow; till sometimes, in answer to fervent prayers, the very last are brought in (Ezr. 8:13).
3.
Alas! that professed ministers, who ought to take the lead in every good work, are generally so backward to labour, or venture, or suffer in the cause of God, and need to be stirred up by the example and exhortations even of their lay brethren! (Ezr. 8:15, last part).
4.
But such as address them on these occasions should be chief men, or men of understanding; lest they should be irritated, instead of being persuaded (Ezr. 8:16-17). They must not, however, be left to their negligence: and their superior brethren, having given them a good example, may send or speak to them, with more authority and effect than others can; and often those who were before inattentive will profit by meek and faithful admonitions.
5. When ministers for the work of the house of our God are raised up, who are men of piety and understanding, we should acknowledge the good hand of our God upon us, and give Him the praise; as we ought at all times to lift up our prayers to Him for this blessing to His Church (Ezr. 8:18-20).Arranged from Scotts Comm.
MEN OF UNDERSTANDING
(Ezr. 8:18)
By the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding Sherebiah.
Sherebiah was not merely a man of knowledge and intelligence, but of wisdom and prudence. Sechel, here rendered understanding, signifies moral excellences as well as mental abilities, as may be seen from its use elsewhere. The word rendered them of understanding in Dan. 11:35, and they that be wise in Dan. 12:3, comes from the same verb as sechel, viz., sachal. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding (sechel) have all they that do, &c. (Psa. 111:10). There is no solid wisdom but in real piety. (a).
The text teaches that
I. Men of understanding are the gifts of God. Ezra traces the presence of Sherebiah amongst them to the good hand of their God upon them. Wise men are Gods gifts, inasmuch as
1. They derive their abilities from Him. He bestowed upon them the faculties and capacities of their mental and moral nature.
2. They rightly develop their abilities by His blessing. He inspires them to every worthy purpose, and aids them in its prosecution.
3. They attain their moral excellences by His blessing. They are His workmanship, &c. (Eph. 2:10). By the grace of God they are what they are (1Co. 15:10).
II. Men of understanding are of great worth amongst men. Ezra perceived the value of Sherebiah to his company, acknowledged the goodness of God in his arrival amongst them, recorded his quality and his coming, and found him very useful subsequently. Men of understanding are of great worth in society because
1. Understanding is essential to the beneficent employment of other gifts and powers. For example
(1.) Zeal without understanding is a very perilous thing. Zeal without knowledge is like expedition to a man in the dark.
(2.) Strength without understanding often acts injuriously. Wisdom is better than strength. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
It is excellent
To have a giants strength; but it is tyrannous
To use it like a giant.Shakespeare.
(3.) Great gifts of any kind without moral excellences are productive of great evils. Without grace, great powers are great engines of mischief and ruin, a curse and not a blessing to society. Good understanding is needful to ensure the usefulness of great abilities.
2. The employment of understanding itself confers great benefits upon society.
(1.) In restraining from unwise and sinful projects. We have an example in Act. 5:34-40.
(2.) In originating and inciting to wise and good projects.
(3.) In devising appropriate methods for the attainment of such projects.
(4.) And for direction in life and work generally. Wisdom is profitable to direct. See how useful Sherebiah was to the Jews (Ezr. 8:24; Neh. 8:7; Neh. 9:4-5; Neh. 10:12; Neh. 12:24). (b).
CONCLUSION: It behoves us
1. To praise God for men of understanding.
2. To prize such men. Too often they have been neglected, and frequently cruelly persecuted while living, and honoured after death. Let us value them highly while they are yet with us. (c).
3. To endeavour to become men of understanding. Wisdom is the principal thing: get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. In understanding be men. (d).
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) The greatest man is he who chooses right with the most invincible resolution; who resists the sorest temptation within and without; who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully; who is calmest in storms, and most fearless under menaces and frowns; whose reliance on truth, on virtue, and on God is most unfaltering.Seneca.
Remember that he is indeed the wisest and the happiest man who, by constant attention of thought, discovers the greatest opportunity of doing good, and, with ardent and animated resolution, breaks through every opposition that he may improve these opportunities.P. Doddridge, D.D.
(b) We cannot look, however imperfectly, upon a great man without gaining something by him, He is the living light-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near; the light which enlightens, which has enlightened, the darkness of the world; and this, not as a kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary, shining by the gift of Heaven; a flowing light-fountain, as I say, of native original insight, of manhood and heroic nobleness, in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them.Thomas Carlyle.
(c) Let us not forget that if honour be for the dead, gratitude can only be for the living. He who has once stood beside the grave, to look back upon the companionship which has been for ever closed, feeling how impotent, there, are the wild love and the keen sorrow, to give one instants pleasure to the pulseless heart, or atone in the lowest measure to the departed spirit for the hour of unkindness, will scarcely for the future incur that debt to the heart, which can only be discharged to the dust. But the lesson which men receive as individuals, they do not learn as nations. Again and again they have seen their noblest descend into the grave, and have thought it enough to garland the tombstone when they had not crowned the brow, and to pay the honour to the ashes which they had denied to the spirit. Let it not displease them that they are bidden, amidst the tumult and the dazzle of their busy life, to listen for the few voices, and watch for the few lamps, which God has toned and lighted to charm and to guide them, that they may not learn their sweetness by their silence, nor their light by their decay.John Ruskin, M.A.
(d) If you look at what keeps the world astir, you will at once conclude that most men around you are under the actuating influence of a very different maxim from that presented in Pro. 4:7 : Wisdom is the principal thing: get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. You might, without being at all chargeable with a libel, read, Money is the principal thing; therefore get money; and with all thy getting, get a fortune. This, alas! is the worlds one thing needful. All else is postponed to this. The worlds advice to the young is, Get money first. Secure a competency, a word of which the limit is never defined; and when that has been done, you will have leisure to think about what good folks call better things. Mind you the main chance. This world is the one with which we have first to do, as we are placed first in it. This world, then, first, and then the next. Ah! what a delusion!Ralph Wardlaw, D.D.
Labour to be men of knowledge and sound understanding. A sound judgment is a most precious mercy, and conduces much to soundness of heart and life. A weak judgment is easily corrupted; and if it be once corrupt, the will and conversation will quickly follow. Your understandings are the inlet or entrance to the whole soul; and, if you be weak there, your souls are like a garrison that hath open or illguarded gates; and if the enemy be once let in there, the whole city will be quickly his own. Ignorance is virtually every error; therefore, let the Bible be much in your hands and hearts.R. Baxter.
EZRAS CONFIDENCE IN GOD
(Ezr. 8:21-23)
I. Confidence in God avowed. We had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God, &c. (Ezr. 8:22). Here is a declaration of faith
1. In His providence. Ezra believed that God was interested in human affairs; that His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings; and that His hand was working amongst men, directing and controlling, rewarding and punishing them. (a).
2. In His providence as efficiently promoting the interests of His people. The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him. He regards His people with approval, guides their footsteps, guards them and their interests, and makes all things work together for good to them.
3. In His providence as opposed to those who forsake Him. His power and His wrath are against all them that forsake Him. The power which works for righteousness must be hostile to the workers of iniquity. The government of a holy God must set itself against impiety and wickedness.
II. Confidence in God tested. A long journey, which would involve many difficulties and dangers, was before Ezra and his great company; and he was the responsible leader in that journey. Can he trust in God and in His providence now? His confidence was tested
1. By their need of guidance. The journey they were entering upon was a long one; they required some one to lead them in a right way. They had no visible symbol of the presence of God with them and guiding them, as their fathers had in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Can Ezra and his companions trust the invisible hand of their God in this matter?
2. By their need of protection. The journey that lay before them was a perilous one.
(1.) There was danger from the enemy in the way. The country through which they had to travel was infested with Arabian freebooters. And it seems probable, from Ezr. 8:22; Ezr. 8:31, that a plan had been arranged by some of them for attacking and plundering this company.
(2.) This danger was increased by the treasures which they carried with them. There was their own substance, and the gold and silver and precious vessels for the Temple service; the gold and silver alone, according to one computation, being worth upwards of three quarters of a million of our money, and according to another, upwards of a million and a quarter. What a temptation this would be to the enemy in the way.
(3.) Their danger was also increased by the character and composition of their company. Amongst them were many women and little ones, who in case of an attack would not be able to assist in repelling it, but would themselves require defence. Thus, if they were assaulted, they would be able to offer only a feeble resistance. Can Ezra trust their defence to the hand of their God upon them for good? Can he go forward towards the enemy in the way, relying upon that power which is against the wicked? Or, will he seek for help elsewhere?
III. Confidence in God maintained. Ezra considered their position and prospects, their difficulties and dangers, and their consequent needs, and he decided to trust in God for all, and to give practical proof of their confidence:
1. In not seeking guidance and defence from the king. I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way. The terms of the kings commission to Ezra leave no room for doubt that if he had requested of him a military escort, the request would have been readily granted; but he determined not to do so. He and his companions might have adopted the words of David, The Lord will hear from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God (Psa. 20:6-7).
2. In seeking guidance and defence from God. Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, &c. (Ezr. 8:21). See how they sought unto God for what they needed
(1.) Humbly. They fasted and afflicted themselves before their God, in deep self-abasement and penitence on account of sin, and with a view to its forgiveness.
(2.) Believingly. They not only fasted before God, but they prayed unto Him for a prosperous journey. Their confidence in Him did not lead them to neglect prayer to Him. True faith in God and in His gracious providence is not a substitute for prayer to Him, but an incentive thereto. (b).
(3.) Earnestly; as is indicated by their fasting and prayer, to which for a time they seem to have entirely given themselves. So we fasted and besought our God for this.
Thus Ezras confidence in God, being tested, did not fail, but was nobly maintained and manifested. (c).
IV. Confidence in God vindicated. And He was intreated of us. Their faith was vindicated
1. In their inward assurance. They had a firm conviction that their prayers were heard and accepted, and that God would secure to them a prosperous journey.
2. In the outward result. They were led by a right way; they were delivered from the enemy that lay in wait for them; they had a prosperous journey, and arrived safely in Jerusalem. The confidence in God which they had avowed and maintained was splendidly vindicated by His hand upon them for good in their journey. They who honour Him with their hearty trust, He will honour with His great salvation. (d).
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) But what is to be the justification of this implicit confidence? It can only be justified upon the supposition that God is a being having particular powers, and of a particular character. Confidence in God, for instance, would be entirely irrational if He were conceived of as a destiny, as a force, as a soul of the universe,if He were not believed to be a person distinct from the universe, its ruler, and its sustainer, as well as its creator, acting upon it in the perfection of His freedom, and without any sort of limit to His power, except such limits as His own moral nature may impose. Again, confidence in God would be misplaced if it were believed that He is the personal, the free, the omnipotent creator; and yet if He were imagined to act, as we should say in human words, capriciously, that is, without reference to those eternal laws of righteousness and truth, the traces, the echoes of which we find within ourselves, and which are in their essence, and demonstrably, not fruits of His arbitrary enactment, but constitutive parts of His eternal nature. Our Lord, therefore, reveals God as a Father, a revelation which assures us at once of His power and His love. It is the combination of these two facts, Gods almightiness and Gods love, which taken together constitute or warrant what we term His providence, His power, that is, under the guidance of his love making provision for the good of His creatures generally, but supremely and in particular of man, and, among men, in a yet more eminent degree of His servants.Canon Liddon.
(b) Gods promises, by reason of His unchangeableness, may be relied on; what occasion, then, of prayer, seeing the thing promised will come round of its own steady accord, whether you open your lips or no? The answer is short and simple. These promises are made only to those who expect, and desire, and ask for them. They are not promised indifferently, and come out of their own accord at all, but to such only who have meditated them, and who value them, and desire them, and earnestly seek them; being, in truth, too valuable to be thrown about to a scrambling mob; being the high and holy attractions by which God intended to work upon the nature of man, and lead it out of its present low and sunken estate into glorious liberty and unwearied ambition of every noble excellence. They are prizes in the hand of God to stimulate the souls activities,more glorious prizes than laurel wreaths, or the trumpetings of fame, or principalities and thrones,and they are yielded only to an application of faculties, at the least, as intense and ardent as is put forth in pursuit of human ambition. God does not cheapen His promises down to a glance at them with the eye, or a mouthing of them with the tongue, but He requireth of those that would have them an admiration equal to that of lovers, an estimaequal to that of royal diadems, and a pursuit equal to that of Olympic prizes.Ed. Irving.
(c) Suppose I were to set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and before I started were to go to Brown Brothers & Co., and obtain letters of credit for the cities of London, Jericho, &c. Then, with these papers, which a child might destroy, which would be but ashes in the teeth of flame, which a thousand chances might take from me, I should go on with confidence and cheer, saying to myself, As soon as I come to London I shall be in funds. I have a letter in my pocket from Brown Brothers & Co. which will give me five hundred dollars there; and in the other cities to which I am bound I shall find similar supplies, all at my command, through the agency of these magic papers and pen strokes of these enterprising men. But suppose that, instead of this confidence, I were to sit down on shipboard, and go to tormenting myself in this fashionNow, what am I to do when I get to London? I have no money, and how do I know that these bits of paper which I have with me mean anything, or will amount to anything? What shall I do? I am afraid I shall starve in the strange city to which I am going. I should be a fool, you say; but should I be half the fool that man is who, bearing the letters of credit of the Eternal God, yet goes fearing all his way, cast down and doubting whether he shall ever get save through his journey? No fire, no violence, nor any chance can destroy the cheques of the Lord. When He says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, and My grace shall be sufficient for thee, believe it; and no longer dishonour your God by withholding from Him the confidence which you freely accord to Brown Brothers & Co.H. W. Beecher.
(d) A heathen could say, when a bird scared by a hawk flew into his bosom, I will not betray thee into the enemy, seeing thou fliest to me for refuge; how much less will God yield up a soul to its enemy when it takes sanctuary in his Name, saying, Lord, I am hunted with such a temptation, dodged with such a lust; either Thou must pardon it, or I am damned; mortify it, or I shall be a slave to it; take me into the bosom of Thy love, for Christs sake; castle me in the arms of Thy everlasting strength; it is in Thy power to save me from or give me up into the hands of my enemy; I have no confidence in myself or any other; into Thy hands I commit my cause, myself, and rely on Thee. This dependence of a soul will undoubtedly awaken the almighty power of God for his defence.W. Gurnall.
FAITH AND PRUDENCE
(Ezr. 8:21-23)
In the text we find Ezra about to return to Jerusalem, and ashamed to ask the king for any military protection. He had made certain statements to Artaxerxes, and he was reluctant to act in a manner which might bring those statements into question. He felt, what Christian people often feel, the conflict between prudence and faith. Prudence dictates one line of conduct, Christian consistency seems to dictate another, and the perplexity is sometimes painful.
We observe
I. That, as a grand rule in the Christian life, faith and prudence must go together. The Scriptures often relate the marvellous helps which good men have found in the days of peril, but they give no countenance to presumptuous reliance on supernatural intervention. As the rule of life, the Scriptures bind us to take all human precautions against the various forms of mischief we have reason to apprehend. In this unbelieving generation there is not much reason to speak against excessive faith, but there is some reason thus to speak. The workman gave as his reason for not going to church, That religious people were hypocrites, because they called the temple Gods house, and yet put upon it a lightning rod. This worldly workman could not see that Gods Church ought to recognise Gods law, and act agreeably thereto; but he thought he saw a glaring contradiction in this union of prudence and piety. And some noble men in the Church sympathise with this workman, and reject the securities which prudence would counsel. They will leave their property uninsured; in times of disturbance they will not claim the protection of the magistrate; and in time of sickness they will not call the physician. This is, to a large extent, a serious mistake. As a rule, we are to accept the hand of soldiers which Ezra, in peculiar circumstances, rejected. We must not rashly cast ourselves into peril on the idea that angels have charge concerning us. We must not tempt the Lord our God. We must not, without imperative reason, leave the ship and step upon the sea, otherwise, with Peter, we must suffer disaster. If devout men do not attend to the dictates of prudence, they must suffer for it; and not only so, but they injure Christianity likewise. The truth of religion is based on false issues, and thus brought into suspicion or contempt. The good man guideth his affairs with discretion. Yet there are times
II. When faith in God must supersede the provisions of ordinary prudence. When faith and prudence gave different counsel, Ezra chose to walk by faith, and not by sight, and we must all feel that he did right. The question is: When are we to go beyond merely prudential considerations, and venture all on the unseen power of God? An attentive consideration of Ezras situation and conduct may throw some light on this delicate question. We are shut up to faith when
1. Prudential action would most probably be construed as a denial of the Divine government. Ezra had told the king that the hand of God was upon all them for good who seek Him. And now Ezra considered that to reveal any anxiety for a guard of soldiers would appear to the heathen king like a practical denial of the overshadowing providence of Jehovah. A band of soldiers would have hidden the Shepherd of Israel; Artaxerxes alone would have been seen; and so Ezra, with a fine spiritual instinct, saw the hour for simple trust had come, and by declining the soldiers left open the full view of God, and His gracious and glorious government. A line of action is here marked out for ourselves. To remove the scruples of the few we are not to take the lightning conductors from our temples, and essay similar reformations; but we must seek so to act that we satisfy the world generally that we do believe in the Divine superintendence and care. A worldly man believes only in the band of soldiers; and, to let him know that we believe in something beyond, we must sometimes be willing to act without the band of soldiers altogether. Are we not too anxious about material helps and visible securities? We have boasted of the power of the Lords good hand, and are we then to resort to sorry shifts for our safety and success? Has not the Church, by clinging so feverishly to visible resources, and helps, and defenders, given some sanction to the worlds unbelief? When
2. Prudential action would cause us to lean on worldly associations and resources. Artaxerxes was an idolater, and Ezra was anxious not to ask too much at his hands. It seemed inconsistent to Ezra that he should be soliciting a band of pagan soldiers to protect Gods people and the treasures of Gods Temple. Here, again, we have a line of action marked out for us. We are the confessed servants of the Holy One of Israel, and prudence must not lead us to worldly alliances and dependence upon sinful circles. In our personal life we must observe this. We must beware of compromises with the world for the sake of our personal safety and aggrandisement. And in regard to Gods Church, we must observe this. Policy would often direct us to expect great things from the greatness, wealth, or wisdom of unregenerate men for the Churchs sake. So far from seeking their assistance, we ought to be shy of their gold and patronage. Thus did Ezra. And thus acted Paul and Silas (Act. 16:16-19). When prudence would lead us to seek for much, either for ourselves or for the Church, at the hands of unbelieving men, we must pause and follow the path faith indicates. Let us dare anything, suffer anything, rather than compromise our own character and the character of God, in the eyes of the world, by linking our fortunes and the fortune of the Church with those who are joined to idols. When
3. Prudential action might embarrass the progress of Gods kingdom. If Artaxerxes had detected any inconsistency in Ezra, he might have ceased to be favourable to his cause, and have prevented or delayed the return to Jerusalem. Rather than endanger the popularity and progress of the cause of God, Ezra was prepared to run great risks. Here another line of action is marked out for us. If prudence would circumscribe, fetter, or destroy the work of God, the time has come to appeal to loftier considerations. Calculating, cautious piety would condemn the act of Ezra as imprudent, and no doubt, speaking after the manner of men, it was imprudent; but many imprudent things have been done, or there would not have been so much Christianity in the world as there is; and many more imprudent things will have to be done before Christianity fills the world. The practical, calculating spirit of our age invades the Church, and in the administration of its affairs we frequently ask too anxiously about ways and means, and are afraid to venture to victories beyond unless we can see our way. Let us remember that Gods kingdom is a supernatural one, and in its promotion we must often act with a boldness which could not be justified in the court of prudence. There is a holy venturesomeness in evangelisation which carries with it a far higher guarantee of success than do the pondered schemes of a rationalising statesmanship. Thus, then, there are timestimes which a true, delicate, noble spirit will not fail to recognisewhen we must renounce the counsellings of worldly wisdom, and, stepping boldly into the darkness, cry, with Ezra, Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee!
III. The separation of faith from prudence must be effected only in the spirit of sincere and earnest dependence upon Heaven (Ezr. 8:23). No precipitancy, no levity, no presumption. By fasting and prayer they obtained the sweet assurance that God would honour their faith and preserve them. He was entreated of us. Not lightly must we discard ordinary defences and helps. When we can do no other, we must humbly, solemnly rest ourselves in the hand of God. The times come to us all when faith and policy give contradictory counsel. When such times come, let us not be found wanting to our profession and our God. In many circumstances simple trust in God will prove the truest policy. And, on the contrary, policy, leading Gods people to rest on worldly men, and means, and measures, finally demoralises and betrays them. Hear how God reproaches Israel for their lack of faith in the Unseen Powers: Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God, &c. (Isa. 31:1; Isa. 31:3).W. L. Watkinson.
EZRA AND HIS TIMES
(Ezr. 8:21-23)
Let us see how much is included in these words of Ezra, and endeavour to ascertain their bearing on our position and circumstances.
I. Ezras language was in striking contrast with the general state of opinion around him. He says, not egotistically,great men have no egotism,but he says, because he cannot help living when there was a time to speak, I was ashamed; others can take their own course, but I could not ask our heathen but noble king for a band of horsemen and soldiers to help us in the way. Others might, and probably did, feel that it would only be courteous to accept the kings offer; others, that it would look more respectable; others, that it would be safer; others, that they would get through their journey quicker; and others, that Ezra was carrying things rather too far, he might have a little thought for timid women and children. Such thoughts as these were very current, depend upon it, amid that motley crowd. He knows he is right, and can afford to be singular; and, as he can bide his time, he knows the people will one day thank him for what they may now condemn. And here we see a guiding principle for us. At particular crises of public opinion, it devolves upon some men to go into the land of the enemy, that they may bring truth out of captivity. It is a perilous and generally a thankless task; but it must be done, that it may be brought out into a glorious enlargement, before men shall see its form or feel its power. Such men have no ultimate fear for truth; they know its vitality depends upon no accidental prosperity, and can be destroyed by no accidental adversity; such men never change sides; they have sometimes sailed with truth under sunny skies into a secure haven; they have also sailed with her through many a stormy wind and tempest, and they have always come right at last. The world wonders at their eccentricity, and recommends them to beg or borrow a band of soldiers and horsemen, to assist them in their progress; but they are ashamed to think of such a thing; it hurts their consciences, and wounds there are long in healing, and when healed they leave ugly scars. If they could make truth successful to-morrow, they must do it with truths weapons, and her weapons only; but they cannot advance the liberation of truth by any unworthy means, or by any unnatural alliance. Christ for ever, and His word, cried Luther, as he left Wittemberg with a penny in his pocket, and a threadbare gown upon his back. Christ for ever, and His word, let every modern Ezra and Luther say, until that word shall enlighten every mind and emancipate every heart; and this it will do, if we will let truth do its work, without soldiers and horsemen.
II. Ezras situation afforded him an opportunity for asserting this great principle under very trying circumstances. In reading the Old Testament, it is needful to call to mind the peculiar political constitution of the Jews. It was a pure theocracy. The only one the world has ever seen, or is likely to see. God was their King, and their King was their God. God would defend them; He would be a wall of fire round about them; He would lead them forth to battle; He would be their national safeguard. This the Jews continually forgot. Their crying sin was departure from the true theocratic idea. They trusted in everything but truth; in every one but God. Egypt and Assyria were, by turns, their strongholds of confidence. Hence the prophets cry, Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, &c. (Isa. 31:1, &c.).
But Ezra fell back upon the old principle of the theocracy. What was true in Judea, he took to be true in Babylon. That which was true to Isaiah was true to him now. He could not see any clear path of safety, except in the path of duty; and he would rather be there than in the way of mere expediency. Others might suggest that, under present circumstances, they need not be so very precise; they had permission to return to Jerusalem, was not that enough? If the king, of his own goodness, chose to help them with horsemen, they could accept his offer up to the gates of Jerusalem; they were not now in the land of the theocracy, and allowance must be made for their peculiar circumstances; and to be so strict about an abstract principle was being righteous overmuch. All that was perfectly incomprehensible to Ezra; he knew of no guiding star but principle, and that alone he resolved to follow.
And Christs whole life illustrates this principle of confidence in God and in truth, once exhibited by Ezra under circumstances of great temptation; a principle we seek to uphold, as constituting a very essential part of a free, a spiritual Church state. How often was Christ urged by the impatient longings, and the worldly spirit of the Jews, to gratify their intense and long-cherished hopes, and to establish His kingdom in a worldly form, before the last demand was made upon Him, as He entered, in the midst of an enthusiastic host, the capital city of Gods earthly dominion, before His last refusal, expressed in His submission to those sufferings which resulted in the triumph of Gods pure spiritual kingdom!
Thus, oftentimes, the good man will have to strive against the spirit of his age; but obeying Christ, and confiding in Christ, whilst doing so, his conflict will lead to certain victory: he will not conquer by a band of horsemen and soldiers, but by the exhibition and enforcement of truth, by the use of weapons that are not carnal, but spiritual; weapons mighty, nevertheless, to the pulling down of strongholds, in the use of which the Christian warrior says, Now thanks be unto God, who causeth us to triumph in every place, by Jesus Christ.W. G. Barrett.
EZRA AN EXAMPLE IN BUSINESS
(Ezr. 8:21-23)
The circumstances in which Ezra was placed were as difficult as can be conceived. He had to contend with the scorn and opposition of pagans, and with the corruptions of Jews. He bears up under his difficulties: he labours through them; he endures as seeing Him who is invisible.
I. His humiliation.
II. His faith.
III. His prayer.
IV. His holy jealousy.
V. His success.
R. Cecil.
CONTRASTS
(Ezr. 8:22)
The hand of our God is upon all them for good, &c.
I. A contrast of human character.
1. Those that seek God. To seek God implies
(1.) Faith in Him. Seekers after God believe in the existence of truth, righteousness, love; in the existence of a Supreme and Perfect Being; they believe that God is.
(2.) Desire after Him. Seekers after God believe in Him as the Supremely Good and Beautifulnot only the Almighty, but the All-attractive. They do not simply seek His blessing or His favour, but Himself. The former may be mean; the latter must be noble. To seek Him is to desire the highest truth and righteousness, goodness and beauty, &c.
(3.) Prayer to Him. They who come to God believe not only that He is, but that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Out of the faith and longing of their heart they petition Him for His favour and His presence. Their attitude and inclination is towards God.
2. Those that forsake God. Sin is frequently represented as forsaking God, departure from Him, distance from Him (Isa. 59:2; Jer. 1:16; Jer. 2:13; Luk. 15:13; Eph. 2:13; Col. 1:21-22). Forsaking God begins in the heart. Some sinful thought or purpose has been cherished, and so God has been shut out of the heart. Guilt has been contracted, and the sinner has become afraid of God, and tried to escape from Him. (Comp. Gen. 3:8-10.) This forsaking God proceeds from the heart to the conduct. Gods commands may be outwardly obeyed for a time by one who has forsaken God Himself; but ere long the commands also will be set at naught. When the affections are estranged from God, the actions will soon follow, &c.
Here then is the contrast of character: The one seeks God, draws ever nearer to Him, &c.; the other forsakes God, departs ever farther from Him, &c. Ask yourselfWhich is my character? Am I a seeker or a forsaker of God?
II. A contrast of Divine treatment.
1. The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him. His power is exercised on their behalf; His providence watches over and secures their true interests. But is this really the case? Do we not sometimes find those that seek God in poverty, privation, and pain? Do they not sometimes cry, Thy hand is heavy upon me? not, Thy hand is upon me for good? Earthly parents see many things to be for the good of their children, which appear unmixed evils to the children themselves. Does the sick infant see that the nauseous medicine which heals him is for his good? Does the young schoolboy see that it is for his good to master the declensions and conjugations of grammar? And
What am I?
An infant crying in the night:
An infant crying for the light:
And with no language but a cry.
Tennyson.
Not by any hasty conclusions on the results of human character and conduct; not by an induction formed from a brief and narrow observation of human experiences, must our judgment of the Divine procedure be determined; but by His own revelations of His character and government, and by the testimonies of the wise and good amongst men. These unite in assuring us that the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him.
(1.) For their good temporally. Being perfectly acquainted with the circumstances, temperament, and tendencies of every man, He gives to each one who seeks Him what will really be for his good. No good will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
(2.) For their good spiritually. Many and precious are the spiritual benefits which He bestows upon His people, e.g., pardon and peace, purity and power, grateful recollections and inspiring anticipations, &c.
(3.) For their good eternally. He is preparing them for a glorious destiny, and endless. Our Lord has gone to prepare a place for us in His Fathers house. And as He was both guide and guardian to Ezra and his company from Babylon to Jerusalem, so is He the guide and guardian of all His people to their blessed and abiding home. They enter heaven through Him.
2. His power and His wrath are against all them that forsake Him. A sentimental theory which ignores the stern aspects of the character of God is very popular with some people. There is a growing tendency to magnify the love of God, and then deny His wrath, &c. We rejoice in knowing that He will have all men to be saved; that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; but we cannot question His wrath. God is tender, without weakness; angry, without sin. He is just, as well as merciful. Sin has been punished by Him, is punished by Him, and will be punished by Him. (Comp. Pro. 11:21; 2Pe. 2:4-9; Rev. 6:16-17). (a). His power; who can estimate it? It is against all them that forsake Him. (b). Who can conceive His wrath? It is infinite as His love. It is His love flaming forth against the incorrigibly wicked. (c). He is mighty in strength; who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered?
CONCLUSION:
1. How solemnly mans destiny is in his own hands, or, more correctly, in his own choice! Deeds are destiny; character is fate. For our character we are each responsible. Heaven or hell is the result of mans own choice and character.
2. In this world character may be changed. Those who have forsaken God may return to Him, assured of a joyous welcome. By the grace of God sinners may here and now be converted into saints. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, &c. (Isa. 55:6-7). O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, &c. (Hos. 14:1-2; Hos. 14:4).
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) It is very common to separate the question of punishment from its strict relationship to justice, and to argue it on infinite goodness. What is this proper view of God! Good is the Lord. But is He good to restrain any administration of government, or to impede any exercise of law? Does His goodness look more indifferently on moral evil than His justice? Is it not its peculiar province to check the consequences of sin? We know not of the goodness which exists only to pity and to spare,which is a misprison of right and holy principle, which is a connivance at every moral perturbation of the universe. It is easy to reduce this awful goodness to our depraved wish and idea. Our God is a consuming fire. He is terrible out of His holy place. God shall destroy for ever. The enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. Those passages which speak of His ire and wrath are many, reiterated, and vehement. Do they tell of goodness, partial and fond, as it is now presumed? A mere indulgence? A figure, most beautiful and frequent, does Holy Scripture present. God is our Parent. Have we not one Father? It is a figure,like as a father. It is argued that all punishment, except for the improvement of the child, would be inconsistent with that relation. But may not the case of the sons disobedience be so heinous, that all, under the influence of the most natural feeling, would justify a treatment the most extreme? disownment? disinheritance? final separation? The paternal relationship, though not as to its fact, yet, as to its exercise, may be altered by the conduct of the offspring: moral government cannot be altered. The one might be renounced: the other is necessary and insubvertible. May we not fear that, in consequence of sin, the paternal favour is withdrawn, and the filial privilege forfeited? Let that father be the magistrate. The child is now under his jurisdiction as well as discipline. That child may be the transgressor of social law. It is conceivable that his father may be called to pass sentence upon him. Will not all, if it be his inevitable duty, see in its discharge a title to their admiration? Without any impeachment of his tenderness, is not such bearing truly great? Does not history hallow it? Has it not saved commonwealths? Why should not the same suffrage be accorded to God? He is the righteous Father. He sitteth King for ever. He reigns not for a part, but for the whole. His goodness must agree with universal justice, or with that which is the same thing, the protection of universal claim and interest. And if this notion of goodness is to be entertained, how frequently would it have been disappointed! Had earlier creatures than ourselves been forewarned that our earth was soon to be formed, and our race to be created, it would have seemed improbable to them that aught but good could be admitted. The entire scheme would have demanded this expectation. What evils do exist, moral and physical! Then their idea of that which goodness can allow would have been disappointed. It would have been false. When men have been threatened with Divine judgments, they have imagined a presumption against them in the Divine goodness. To the antediluvian the impending fate appeared most unreasonable; the men of Sodom derided the fear of overthrow. If they thought of God at all, arguments like those which we have considered were ready. Goodness forbids it. A parent cannot do it, &c. Then their idea of that which goodness can allow was disappointed. It was false. So we may speculate concerning the future state. Its punishment may affect our views as exaggerated beyond all showing of truth, of reason, of analogy. We may interpose the Divine goodness. We may pronounce that this state of things cannot be. But we are not placed more favourably to give judgment than they who have palpably erred. Our idea may be disappointed. It may be false.R. W. Hamilton, LL.D., D.D.
(b) How miserable will all wicked rebels be under this power of God! Men may break His laws, but not impair His arm; they may slight His sword, but cannot resist His power. If He swear that He will sweep a place with the besom of destruction, as He hath thought, so shall it come to pass; and as He hath purposed, so shall it stand (Isa. 14:23-24). Rebels against an earthly prince may exceed him in strength, and be more powerful than their sovereign; none can equal God, much less exceed Him. As none can exercise an act of hostility against Him without His permissive will, so none can struggle from under His hand without His positive will. He hath an arm not to be moved, a hand not to be wrung aside. God is represented on His throne like a jasper stone (Rev. 4:3), as One of invincible power when He comes to judge; the jasper is a stone which withstands the greatest force. Though men resist the order of His laws, they cannot resist the sentence of their punishment, nor the execution of it. None can any more exempt themselves from the arm of His strength than they can from the authority of His dominion. As they must bow to His sovereignty, so they must sink under His force. A prisoner in this world may make his escape, but a prisoner in the world to come cannot (Job. 10:7): There is none that can deliver out of Thine hand. There is none to deliver when He tears in pieces (Psa. 50:22).S. Charnocke, B.D.
(c) Wicked men hereafter will feel the full weight of Gods wrath. In this world they have the wrath of God abiding on them, but then it will be executed upon them; now they are the objects of it, but then they will be the subjects of it. Now it hangs over them, but then it shall fall upon them in its full weight, without any alleviation, or any moderation or restraint.President Edwards.
SEEKING THE LORD, AND ITS ADVANTAGES
(Ezr. 8:22)
The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him, &c. Our text contains a great scriptural truth, applicable to all ages, countries, and persons. It is a truth which is corroborated by many parallel passages, and therefore expresses a subject of more than ordinary importance. There are two things clearly expressed in the text,mans responsibility, and the different results of piety and sin. Gods hand shall be upon all those who seek Him, and that for good, and His wrath is against those who forsake Him. Observe, we are directed
I. To seeking God, and its advantages. Seeking God denotes
1. A consciousness of our need of Him. Men in general do not regard God, He is not in all their thoughts. Many feel as Pharaoh did when he exclaimed, Who is the Lord? &c. But the enlightened, convicted sinner, and the true Christian, feel that God is the fountain of their existence, and the only source of their peace and happiness. Whom have I in heaven but Thee, &c. God is all and in all to the pious mind; and their need of Him is every moments experience.
2. Earnest and fervent prayer to God (Ezr. 8:23.) Seeking and praying are synonymous. Thus Christ taught His disciples. Ask, seek, knock, &c. Thus, too, Job says (Job. 23:3), Oh that I knew where I might find Him! &c. We cannot find God but by earnest prayer and supplication, and He is ever near to all who call upon Him. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, &c.
3. To seek the Lord is to come to Him in the way of His appointment. We may seek anxiously and fervently, but what will it avail if we seek in the wrong way? Thus heathen philosophers laboured to know the true God. Thus, too, many anxious pagans. Many are like the devotional eunuch, they read, &c., but understand not. The Word of God is, however, explicit and full on this subject. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. One God, and one Mediator, &c. No man cometh to the Father but by Christ.
4. To labour in all things to have Hit approbation. To commit all to Him; to refer all to Him; to acknowledge Him in all; and seek His blessing upon all our steps. To set the Lord always before us, and to labour to walk well pleasing in His sight.
Notice the advantages arising to those who thus seek Him, The hand of our God is upon all, &c.
(1.) The hand of His pardoning mercy. To those who thus seek Him, He says, I, even I, am He who blotteth out your iniquities. Seek ye the Lord, &c. Then it follows, Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, &c.
(2.) The hand of His delivering power. He delivers the souls of His people, raises them from the horrible pit, &c. Translates them from the kingdom of darkness, brings their spirits out of the prison of sin, and from the dominion of Satan. Rescues from the gall of bitterness, and the bond, &c.
(3.) The hand of His providing goodness. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. He is their Shepherd, and they shall not want. He leads them into green pastures, &c. My God shall supply all your need, &c.
(4.) The hand of His heavenly guidance. The Lord leads and guides His people. He led them by the right way, &c. The Lord shall lead thee continually, &c. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
(5.) The hand of His sustaining grace. The Christian is weak and feeble; of himself, insufficient: exposed to many enemies and perils. The saints of the Lord are therefore only absolutely secure in His hand. He keeps them by His mighty power; He preserves them for His kingdom and glory. There is often
(6.) The hand of His manifest providence. How clearly do we see this in the history of His Church and people! It is said of one, So long as he sought the Lord, the Lord made him to prosper. How many thousands have experienced that godliness is profitable to all things, &c.
II. Forsaking God, and its attendant evils. To forsake God is the opposite course to that we have described in seeking the Lord. It is refusing Him homage and veneration. It is to disobey Him; to live without His fear; to turn from the way of righteousness; to withdraw our hand from the Gospel plough; to draw back; to make shipwreck, &c. Now, against these. His power and wrath are declared. Power to punish, wrath to inflict a fearful and eternal doom. Power and wrath of God to cast both body and soul into hell fire. (See Heb. 10:22, &c.) A certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
APPLICATION. We learn:
1. The value of true religion. The good hand of the Lord upon us.
2. The awfulness of apostasy from the Lord.
3. The necessity of both vigilance and perseverance. (See Heb. 3:12; Heb. 4:10-13.)
4. Urge the unconverted to seek the Lord, and live.Jabez Burns, D.D.
THE GUARDIANSHIP OF THE SACRED TREASURES
(Ezr. 8:24-30)
Having sought the Divine guidance and protection in their journey, Ezra proceeds to make wise arrangements for the safe conveyance of the offerings for the service of the Lord at Jerusalem. True prayer will always be followed by earnest effort in the same direction.
Notice:
I. The treasures to be guarded. The silver, and the gold, and the vessels, the offering of the house of our God, &c. (Ezr. 8:25-27). These treasures were
1. Valuable in themselves. Six hundred and fifty talents of silver, &c. (Ezr. 8:26-27). (We have already stated the estimated value of these things: see Explanatory Notes on Ezr. 8:26, and homily on Ezras confidence in God, Ezr. 8:21-23.)
2. Valuable as being consecrated to God. Mark how Ezra speaks of them: The offering of the house of our God: the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers. To every pious mind the fact that they were designed for sacred uses would greatly enhance their worth.
3. Valuable as being the spontaneous gifts of friends and well-wishers. The king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers. As expressions of the good will and kind feeling of the donors to the returning exiles and to their religion, these treasures were very precious. They were well worthy of the most watchful care.
II. The guardians of the treasures. Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, &c. (Ezr. 8:24). These guardians were
1. Adequate in number. There were twenty-four of them in all; twelve priests and twelve Levites. It was well to have a goodly number for the weighty responsibility.
2. Appropriate in official character. They were priests and Levites. Ezra said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also. The consecrated things were intrusted to consecrated persons. This was in harmony with Divinely-appointed usage amongst them (see Num. 3:5-10). It was also in accordance with the charge of God by Isaiah the prophet: Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord (Isa. 52:11). The principle is of universal application, that holy things should be committed to the charge of holy persons.
3. Distinguished amongst their brethren. Ezra selected twelve of the chief priests; and Sherebiah and Hashabiah were eminent amongst the Levites (see on Ezr. 8:18-19). By selecting eminent men for this trust Ezra acted prudently; for they would be the more likely to keep it with fidelity than untried men. He also acted religiously; for he thus honoured in the eyes of the people the Lord God, to whom these treasures had been offered.
III. The charge to the guardians of the treasures
1. Points out the value of the things committed to them. In three ways Ezra does this
(1.) By weighing them so carefully before delivering them into their hands. He weighed unto them the silver, &c. (Ezr. 8:25-27).
(2.) By reminding them of their source. They were the voluntary offerings of the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present.
(3.) By reminding them of their destination. They were designed for the service of the Lord God of their fathers.
2. Enjoins watchful care of these things. Watch ye, and keep them. They were to see to it that they were neither lost, nor stolen, nor intermingled with the other possessions of this great company during their long journey.
3. Indicates their responsibility for them. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, &c. (Ezr. 8:29). Thus Ezra gave them to understand that they would be required to deliver them up at the end of the journey safely and accurately. They would have to account for them
(1.) Exactly: until ye weigh them. The same weight which had been given to them they must deliver up at the end of the journey.
(2.) Unto the chief men of the nation: the chief of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel.
(3.) In the chief place of the nation: at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord. Thus Ezra impressed upon them the importance and sacredness of the trust committed to them, and the greatness of their responsibility.
IV. The acceptance of the guardianship of the treasures. The selected priests and Levites did not seek to excuse themselves from this trust and its onerous obligations; they do not seem to have offered any demur in relation to it, but accepted it at once. So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, &c. (Ezr. 8:30).
CONCLUSION:
1. Our subject speaks to ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How precious and sacred is the trust committed to them! How solemn their responsibility! (1Co. 4:1-2; Tit. 1:7; Tit. 1:9.) By the Holy Ghost let them seek to be faithful to their glorious, awful trust (1Ti. 6:20; 2Ti. 1:14). (a.)
2. To all who have charge of public funds or the property of others. Let them copy the scrupulous care and fidelity of Ezra, that they may be able, when called upon, to give a punctual and exact account of the things committed unto them.
3. To all men. God has committed some gift to every man to be used in accordance with His holy will; and He will call every man to account for such gift. Blessed are they who will be able to render such an account as shall call forth from Him the Well done, good and faithful servant! (Comp. Mat. 25:14-30.) (b.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Brethren, have we at all understood what was done to us when we were ordainedthat it was an act of exchange and of interchangewe giving ourselves to Jesus Christ; He giving to us a trust of ministry, on the definite basis of a Divine communication of truth?
How little have they realised the good deposit, who have regarded it as nothing more than the reading of services or the preaching of sermons, out of the resources of natural or acquired knowledge, and as only a part of the life, of which all other parts might be just as earthly, just as self-indulgent, just as frivolous, as if no transaction at all had passed between us and Jesus Christ! How many must confess, sorrowfully and with tears, that they were not conscious then, if they have ever awakened to the consciousness afterwards, of anything whatsoever having been put into their hands when they became ordained men! Oh, we do not blame themstill less would we let them despair. But surely it is something to be grieved for, that we thus undertook a sacred office in utter ignorance of its sacredness; that we thus took it upon us to tell men the way of salvation, when we scarcely so much as knew what they needed to be saved from, or what it was to be saved.
The good deposit. Let us first of all feel it to be something. Let us try to touch and to handle just one substantial ingredient of it. Let us resolve, let us struggle, let us pray, that this revelation, this self-manifestation of God, which is enshrined in this volume called holy, shall shine out of it upon us. It shall not be a name, it shall not be a formula, it shall not be a mere buzzing soundit shall be a voice. If we could make one verse speak, if we could make one little sentence of the Testament call us by our name, and tell us to do something because of it, it might be the beginning of months to us. It might be the dawning of the dayit might be the very sunrising of an altered life; for then, certainly, we never could rest till it had spoken again to us, and again, and again. Then we should begin to turn to it as our adviser, as our counsellor, as our friend. Then we should never attempt to write or to preach till the revelation had put a word in our mouth; we should listen for it in the night watches; we should kneel to it as we rose from our sleep, God-sustained and God-commissioned.
How serious should we then behow evidently taken knowledge of as men that had a trust, and were set and bent upon faithfulness to it! Men would come then to listen to us, as to men who were in communication with the world out of sightas men who were charged, each separate time of ministering, with something special to say, and with the true way of saying it.C.J. Vaughan, D.D.
(b) Obligation and capacity are commensurate. God does not desire to reap where He has not sown, nor to gather where He has not strawed, but where He has given much, of them He will expect the more. He expects not from a brute the service of a man, nor from a man the obedience of an angel; He expects not from him that has one talent the results of five, nor from him that has five the results of ten; but He does expect everywhere, and from all beings, that each shall serve according to his actual and several ability.
With respect to the power to do something for Christ, this differs in different men, and in the same man at different times. There are differences of talent, wealth, influence, station, opportunity; and there are very frequently growth and accession in all these things as Christians advance and succeed in life. It will often be found, however, that the most able and endowed classes do the least; and of certain individuals it is sometimes true, that as their means increase their doings diminish; for it is diminution, if, while Providence enlarges power, the service rendered is only what it was.T. Binney, LL.D.
FROM AHAVA TO JERUSALEM; AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE CHRISTIAN
(Ezr. 8:31-32)
Notice
I. The setting out from Ahava. Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem. They went forth
1. From captivity to liberty. In Babylon they were not in cruel bondage, as their fathers had been in Egypt; and in departing from Babylon they did not go forth to civil or political freedom, as their fathers did when they left Egypt. But in Babylon they were captives. They could not leave the places in which they were settled without permission. Their departure is repeatedly spoken of as a going up out of the captivity. And while they who departed were still subject to the Persian civil government, they were allowed full religious freedom. The Christian pilgrim is emancipated from the captivity of sin. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. But the believer in Christ Jesus is made free from sin; he is delivered from the bond of iniquity, from the thraldom of evil habits, &c. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (a.)
2. From exile to their ancestral home. They were going forth to the land of their fathers, which was sacred and dear to them by many precious and glorious memories and associations. They were going home. Christians are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly, &c. Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Our conversation (rather, country or citizenship) is in heaven. We, too, are going home.
3. From the land of idolatry to the scene of true worship. The priesthood, the altar, and the temple of the true and living God were at Jerusalem. The chief reason of their return to their own land was that there they could more fully and perfectly worship Jehovah, the God of Israel. We are travelling to the scene of pure and perfect and perpetual worship. Our journey will end in heaven, and there every thought and affection, every word and action will be sacred. (Comp. Rev. 7:15; Rev. 21:2-3.) (b).
There God in Christ revealed
In fulness of His grace
Shall we behold for ever,
And worship face to face.
II. The progress on the journey. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. They progressed
1. Notwithstanding enemies. The path of the Christian pilgrim is beset with foes. His progress is opposed by
(1.) Invisible, spiritual enemies. He has to contend against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, &c. (Eph. 6:10-17). Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, &c. (1Pe. 5:8-9).
(2.) Enemies in human society. The allurements of the world; the deceitfulness of riches; the temptation to substitute policy for principle, and to sacrifice the spiritual and eternal for the material and temporal, &c.
(3.) Enemies in our own nature. The flesh lusteth against the spirit, &c. (Gal. 5:17). Carnal appetites contend against spiritual aspirations, &c.
2. By reason of the Divine blessing. The hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered, &c. He was both guide and guardian to Ezra and his company. And He leads and protects His people in their heavenward journey. We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. He hath said, I will, never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, &c. (Heb. 13:5-6).
III. The arrival at Jerusalem. And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. Their arrival was characterised by
1. Grateful rest. For three days they rested after their long and toilsome journey. The rest would be very welcome, &c. There remaineth a rest to the people of God. In heaven the Christian pilgrims rest from their labours. (c.)
Rest more sweet and still
Than ever nightfall gave,
Our weary hearts shall fill
In the land beyond the grave.
2. Joyful welcome. Many of the pilgrims in Ezras company had relatives in Jerusalem, persons who had gone up there with Zerubbabel, or the children of such persons, and heartily would they welcome their newly-arrived kinsfolk. Have we not kinsfolk in the better country who wait to greet us on our arrival there? We are not journeying to a strange land, but to our Fathers house. Many of our loving and beloved ones are already there, and wait to welcome us into their shining ranks, and sacred services, and delightful society. And when once we are united there, we shall part no more. (d.)
O happy world! O glorious place!
Where all who are forgiven
Shall find their loved and lost below,
And hearts, like meeting streams, shall flow,
For ever one, in heaven.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) The work of grace shall conquer the work of depravity; the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus shall set free the soul from the law of sin and death. Nothing else could do it, nothing external to the soul; no outward law of excellence could do it, nothing that did not work within the soul as a living principle of life and action. By this new principle introduced, this new determination of the will in accordance with Divine grace, the man is set free from the evil dispositions of the unregenerate heart, from its inbred, habitual, long-cherished, long-growing, and powerful corruptions; he is set at liberty to serve God out of love, no longer bound in slavery to the law of sin and death in an evil nature. This is the great deliverance; this is freedom indeed; instead of the death of sin, a death to sin, a redemption from its indwelling power by the working of an opposite power of holiness and life, which, as Christs own life, imparted to the soul, becomes the habit of the soul. But it is too low an expression when we say imparted to the soul, for in order to work this freedom, this regeneration, this new creatureship in Christ, Christ Himself takes up His abode within the soul, and works in it. So the man says, this freeman of Christ, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. This new life in the soul is not only a life in Christ, but the life of Christ. Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,liberty from the bondage of corruption, from the law of sin and death, liberty of life, liberty of holiness, liberty to serve God, not as a slave but as a child, not with the spirit of bondage to fear, but with the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.G. B. Cheever, D.D.
(b) All earthly shrines shall pass away. The beautiful temples shall fade into oblivion; the fanes which utter their silver melody as each Sabbath dawns, awakening the sweetest associations of the soul and calling man from cares and sorrow to God and peace,all, all shall depart. The music, so subtle and deep and elevating, shall sink into silence; the prayers, so eloquent and importunate and fervid, shall cease; the call to dying sinners, and neglecters and despisers of Jesus, shall no longer be heard. Altars and priests shall be no more. And instead shall come the holiest worship and the purest homage, and the cleansed heart and the immortal body, and man shall walk in that region which sin cannot enter, and death cannot shadow, and pain cannot touch, amid scenes of beauty and undecaying sweetness, and in that realm whose King is the Lord of hosts, and whose subjects are the obedient servants of their lawful Monarch, and the willing children of their Royal Parent. And instead of temples for the hymn of homage, and the prayer of faith, and the voice of persuasion, there shall be the spiritual worship of redeemed souls, and angelic beings uttering a deeper language than ever was heard on earth, and breathing a more liquid hymn of tenderness than ever rose from an earthly pile, and the soft and exquisite expression shall be fully realised: 1 saw no temple therein.J. W. Lester, D.D.
Sublime beyond the reach of words to express is the choral service of the heavenly Temple. Inspiring and thrilling are the strains that rise from that mysterious mount on which stands the collective Church of the First-born, and whose praise swells and flows triumphantly away, till the universe is filled with the harmony which comes rolling back full on the throne of God.R. Ferguson, LL.D.
(c) Peace is the very highest mode of joy. It is the joy of rest; and this rest partakes the repose of the Divine nature. It is on God that the soul is fixed, and hence she cannot but enjoy the calm and the quiet of Infinite Perfection.
As the wave a ray of light receives,
And rests unbroken;
so it is the fact of each nature being in immediate union with God and of His fulness flowing into it, which insures its everlasting res. In such a case, unrest is impossible. Here we may see a ripple on the bosom of the most placid lake, but there every breast is soothed into unruffled peace. The gentle words of the SaviourFEAR NOTaddressed to the spirit as she was passing through the waters of death, have there deepened into the tranquillity of a sinless nature, and on the bosom of her God she will recline for ever.
This deep repose of soul in the world of glory is not incompatible with the loftiest and the most unwearied activity. Best is often confounded with sloth, and repose with indolence. But neither indolence nor sloth can exist in heaven, where the purity of each individual nature involves a corresponding vitality, and the vitality a corresponding activity. It is true that the motion of the soul there is ever towards rest; but it is no less true that the rest is ever towards motion. In seeking the one only centre of her life, it is that the soul may come back replenished and filled unto the fulness of God, and thus be prepared to enter on new and still higher spheres of service. In her moments of most profound quiet, her every power is on the utmost stretch and reach of effort.Ibid.
(d) Thy dead men shall live; that decaying dust shall rise again. Weep not as though thou hadst cast thy treasure into the sea, where thou couldst never find it; thou hast only laid it by in a casket, whence thou shalt receive it again brighter than before. Thou shalt look again with thine own eyes into those eyes which have spoken love to thee so often, but which are now closed in sepulchral darkness. Thy child shall see thee yet again; thou shalt know thy child; the selfsame form shall rise. Thy departed friend shall come back to thee, and having loved his Lord as thou dost, thou shalt rejoice with him in the land where they die no more. It is but a short parting; it will be an eternal meeting. For ever with the Lord, we shall also be for ever with each other. Let us comfort one another, then, with these words.C. H. Spurgeon.
AT JERUSALEM: THE FAITHFUL SURRENDER OF IMPORTANT TRUSTS
(Ezr. 8:33-36)
We have here
I. A sacred trust faithfully discharged. Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God, &c. (Ezr. 8:33-34). This trust was discharged
1. With minute accuracy and reverent care. Notice
1. The particular accuracy with which everything was accounted for. Everything was
(1) weighed. The silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed, &c. By weight of every one.
(2.) Numbered. By number and by weight of every one.
(3.) Inventoried. And all the weight was written at that time.
2. The reverent care with which these treasures were delivered up. This is indicated
(1.) In the sacred place in which they were delivered. In the house of our God.
(2.) By the consecrated persons to whom they were delivered. By the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, &c. It appears from Ezr. 8:29 that the chief of the priests and Levites and the chief of the fathers of Israel were also present at the time. (a.)
2. With a grateful sense of relief. It seems to us that the twelve priests and the twelve Levites, who had charge of these treasures during the long and perilous journey, must have felt relieved and thankful when the journey was concluded in safety, and the treasures were surrendered entire and inviolate. Blessed is he who, in relation to the trusts of life, will be able to render as satisfactory an account as this! Blessed who at the end of lifes journey will be able to say, Lord, Thou deliveredst unto me five talents, &c. (Mat. 25:20-21). Or, with St. Paul, I have fought a good fight, &c. (2Ti. 4:7-8). (b.)
II. Divine worship devoutly offered. The children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, &c. In these sacrifices there was
1. An acknowledgment of sin and of the need of atonement with God. They offered twelve he-goats for a sin offering.
2. An expression of thankfulness and self-consecration. They offered twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs; all this was a burnt offering unto the Lord.
3. An indication of the unity of the twelve tribes of Israel. A sin offering and a burnt offering was offered for each of the twelve tribes. Offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six (8 12) rams, twelve he-goats for a sin offering. (For further notes on the significance of these sacrifices, see homilies on chaps. Ezr. 3:1-3, Ezr. 6:16-18; and for illustrations, see those accompanying the above-mentioned homilies.)
III. The royal letters duly delivered. And they delivered the kings commissions unto the kings lieutenants, &c.
1. The delivery of these letters was an evidence of loyalty to the Persian government. It was an acknowledgment of the authority of Artaxerxes the king, and of his officers west of the Euphrates. The same Word which commands us to fear God commands us also to honour the king (1Pe. 2:13-17). Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, &c. (Rom. 13:1-7).
2. The time of their delivery was an evidence of their supreme regard for Jehovah their God. First, they gave up the sacred vessels and treasures for the worship of Jehovah; then they presented to Him their humble and grateful sacrifices, and then they delivered the kings commissions unto the kings officers. Our loyalty to the earthly sovereign must be subordinate to our reverence for God. To Him must be given our highest, holiest affections, and our constant and complete obedience.
IV. Valuable help promptly rendered. The kings lieutenants and governors on this side the river furthered the people, and the house of God. They carried out the behests of the king expressed in the letters which Ezra delivered to them. Thus the journey of Ezra came to a very satisfactory and successful issue.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Many fill their life with regrets for being confined to such a narrow sphere of usefulness. If they only were in the ministerial office, or had millions of money, they would do so and so; but what can an ordinary labourer, a poor Sunday-school teacher, accomplish? Friend, be content to serve God where He has placed you; for there precisely you can accomplish the most. It is better to make the best of what you have than to fret and pout for what you have not. The man with one talent is never accountable for five; but for his one he must give as strict an account as the other for his five. It may require more humility to husband one talent than five; and, so far as the improvement or misimprovement of either is concerned, they are both equally important in the sight of God. The kings million and the widows mite are worth the same with the Eternal.Dict. of Illust.
(b) Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Oh blissful sentence! Words of unutterable, inconceivable import! Language of condescending grace, not now to be comprehended! To be acknowledged before the assembled universe, not only as His servants, but His good and faithful servants. To be told that we have served Him faithfully, and told it from the throne of His glory! To hear Him say Well done! and have the plaudit reverberated in ten thousand times ten thousand echoes from the lips of admiring and adoring angels, till heaven rings with the sound, Well done, well done, thou faithful servant of the Lamb! Nor is this all. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Come into the same place, yea, into the same joy. Come and dwell with Me, and have one felicity common to both.
This reward will be bestowed on all His faithful servants without exception. It belongs not to apostles merely, nor to martyrs, reformers, missionaries, and ministers; but to the most obscure, and illiterate, and humble Christians on earth. It is not the service of official station merely that is alluded to, but the service of personal religion. Christ is as truly served by the most retired believer, though not as publicly, nor as extensively, as by the most popular and successful preacher. It is the service of faith, patience, self-denial, suffering, mortification, that is to be rewarded; the service of a devoted heart and a holy life that is to be thus honoured and blessed, whether the man who performs it follows Christ in the retirement of a private or the activities of a public station. It is true the reward will be in proportion to the service, and the degrees of glory according to the degrees of grace; but all faithful servants will be rewarded by admission to the presence and service and enjoyment of Christ in heaven.J. A. James.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT
B. Lists are given of returnees, and treasures which they carried back; the treasures are delivered.
1. The list of returnees is given.
TEXT, Ezr. 8:1-14
1
Now these are the heads of their fathers households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2
of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;
3
of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list;
4
of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him;
5
of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him;
6
and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him;
7
and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him;
8
and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him;
9
of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him;
10
and of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him;
11
and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him;
12
and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him;
13
and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah and 60 males with them;
14
and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud and 70 males with them.
COMMENT
Ezr. 8:1 states the intention of listing only the names of heads of households, and identifying the families, or clans, from which they were descended.
Ezr. 8:2 begins the list with three persons in a special category: priests and royalty. Note the contrast with the list in chapter two, which ended rather than began with priests.
Two lines of priests were descended from Aaron: one through his third son, Eleazar, and his grandson, Phinehas: Ezra was included in this line (Ezr. 7:1-5). The other was through Eleazars younger brother, Ithamar. Both lines had a representative here.
Royalty was represented by a descendant of David.
Although no numbers are given, there were obviously other members in these three families in this first group. Twelve other priests are alluded to, two by name, in Ezr. 8:24.
Ezr. 8:3-14 apparently name the leading men from Israel mentioned in Ezr. 7:28. Twelve groups are included, possibly as reminders of the twelve tribes, though not necessarily descended from them; no effort is made to link each with a separate specific tribe. While the names of individuals are new, all but one of the clans (i.e., Shelomith) are among those mentioned in Ezr. 2:1-15. The total of all the families is 1496, plus Ezra and the three names of verse two.
WORD STUDIES
AHAVA (Ezr. 8:15; Ezr. 8:21): possibly means water; it may be akin to the Latin, aqua.
BABYLON (Ezr. 8:1): gate, i.e., court, of Bel (the god of the Babylonians).
CASIPHIA (Ezr. 8:17): this comes from a word meaning pale, silver, white, or shining. Perhaps it was a city known for its brightness, or for its money.
HOLY (Kodesh: Ezr. 8:28): pure, consecrated, separated. Because a thing was entirely or purely separated to one purpose, it was sacred for that use. With little change the word is used of men devoted to pagan temples and practicing the lowest vices and perversions. It makes a great deal of difference to what purpose, or God, a person devotes his life.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
VIII.
(1-14) A list of the chief names, given by families, of those who accompanied Ezra.
(1) This is the genealogy.The names of the heads of houses is followed generally by that of the wider families they belonged to. With this list is to be compared the register of those who went up with Zerubbabel (Ezr. 2:2 seq.).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
GENEALOGY OF EZRA’S COMPANIONS FROM BABYLON, Ezr 8:1-14.
1. Chief of their fathers This is not a list of the names of Ezra’s companions, nor even of all the elders or chief fathers among them, but rather a record of their genealogy, showing what ancient houses of Israel were represented, and designating them by the names of distinguished ancestors of the remote past.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The List Of The Names Of Those Who Gathered In Order To Go With Ezra From Babylon ( Ezr 7:28 to Ezr 8:14 ).
Having been given permission by Artaxerxes to take with him on his mission all Israelites who freely and voluntarily wanted to return to their own land, Ezra gathered together to go with him ‘chief men out of Israel’ who fitted into that category. This time the situation was a little different from the time of Cyrus, for now there was a settled community which would receive them, and there was a functioning Temple in Jerusalem. Along with these chief men were many who were related to them, being of the same clan. The details of those who were going is listed, and once again it is only the adult males who are numbered. Significantly the priests and the Davidides (who were intercessory priests (Psa 110:4; 2Sa 8:18) and had a special place in Temple worship in Ezekiel) are not numbered. The same applied to the Levites in Num 1:47. This points to this list having been prepared by a priest, and therefore probably Ezra. Such a list would necessarily have been made by Ezra once they had all gathered at the river (or canal) of Ahava (Ezr 7:15) in preparation for the journey.
The numbering from which the Levites (and therefore the priests) were excluded in Numbers 1 was the list of those available for military service. Ezra may well have seen the planned journey as a military operation, with the adult males required to defend the caravan. From this priests would be excluded.
This list differs from that in Ezra 2 in that it commences with priestly representatives, followed by a Davidide, followed by the names of twelve families of which the names of their chief men are given (although there are more than twelve chief men. See Ezr 7:13-14). It has been suggested that twelve groups were chosen in order to represent them as paralleling the twelve tribes of Israel returning to their land as at the Exodus (compare Num 1:5-43). See the note below on Ezr 7:28 b for the Exodus motif. We can compare this with the twelve chief men in Ezr 2:2 (if we include Sheshbazzar as suggested).
Ezr 7:28
‘And I was strengthened according to the hand of YHWH my God upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.’
We note that Ezra saw himself as strengthened by the hand of YHWH his God upon him. He may well have seen himself as paralleling Moses for whom YHWH would put forth His hand (Exo 3:20) and who was very much strengthened by the hand of YHWH (Exo 4:1-17; Exo 13:3; Exo 13:14), and who numbered the adult males of the people in readiness to go forward (Num 1:1-4), and also Joshua who was entering a new country with the Law of God in his hand and knew himself to be strengthened by YHWH (Jos 1:1-9). And the consequence was that Ezra gathered together the chief men of Israel to go with him, as Moses had so long before (Exo 4:29; Num 1:5-17).
Ezr 8:1
‘Now these are the heads of their fathers’ (houses), and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:’
Notice the ‘me’. Ezra is here speaking in the first person, of those who went with him from Babylon. For ‘the heads of their fathers’ compare Ezr 1:5 where it spoke of those who took part in the initial return. Note that in this case their genealogy is specifically said to be given. ‘In the reign of Artaxerxes the king’ underlines the name of his royal benefactor.
The Priests.
Two branches of priests are described, representing the two sons of Aaron who were left after his first two sons were slain for offering false incense (Lev 10:1-2).
Ezr 8:2
‘Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom.’
Phinehas was the son of Eliezer, who was the third son of Aaron (Num 25:11; 1Ch 6:50). Gershom was the name of one of the sons of Moses (Exo 2:22), and of one of the sons of Levi (1Ch 6:10). It had now been taken by the current head of the house of Phinehas. He had probably died by the time Nehemiah’s covenant was sealed as he was not a sealant. He was presumably a head of his father’s house (Ezr 7:1). Note that the priests are not numbered (see Num 1:47). That there were a number of them comes out in Ezr 8:24 where twelve are chosen to watch over the money and vessels destined for the Temple. The reason for not numbering them is that they were sacred to YHWH and not seen as part of those available to fight, the latter being more dispensable.
Ezr 8:2
‘Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel.’
Ithamar was the fourth son of Aaron (Exo 6:23; 1Co 6:3). Daniel was the chief man of the house descended from him. He was one of those who sealed the sure covenant of Nehemiah (Neh 10:6). There was also a Daniel who was one of David’s sons (1Ch 3:1), and of course there was the famous prophet who traditionally wrote the book of Daniel was named Daniel. It was thus a popular name. Again the priests are not numbered.
The House Of David.
Ezr 8:2
-3a ‘Of the sons of David, Hattush, of the sons of Shecaniah.’
David was, of course, the king of Israel of that name. Hattush was his descendant and may well be the Hattush mentioned in 1Ch 3:22, who was there described as ‘of the sons of Shecaniah’. This Hattush was probably the one who sealed the covenant of Nehemiah (Neh 10:6), although there was an Hattush who was a priest who went up to Judah with Zerubbabel (Neh 12:2). The importance of the mention of this name is that it indicates that there was a Davidide among the later returnees. Amongst the earlier ones, of course, was Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:2). There may have been others among the sons of Bethlehem (Ezr 2:21). The moving of ‘from the sons of Shecaniah’ to follow Hattush does not alter the original text, it fits the pattern that follows and it ties in with 1Ch 3:22. As with the priests, his family are not numbered. This may be because they were seen as intercessory ‘priests after the order of Melchizedek’ (Psa 110:4; compare 2Sa 8:18).
The Chief Men.
Ezr 8:3
‘Of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty.’
The sons of Parosh are the ones mentioned first of ‘the males of the people of Israel’ (Ezr 2:3). A further one hundred and fifty will now join them. Zechariah was chief man among them. Unusually his father is not named, but compare Ezr 7:13-14. The fact that in the next few verses the numbers end in nought suggests that the numbers are round numbers.
Ezr 8:4
‘Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.’
Sons of Pahath-moab are mentioned in Ezr 2:6 as having returned with Zerubbabel. These will therefore join them in the community. Eliehoenai was the chief man among the new arrivals, and he brought with him two hundred males.
Ezr 8:5
‘Of the sons of Shecaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.’
No sons of Shecaniah are mentioned as having returned with Zerubbabel, but it is possible that there were some with him who were named under the name of their city, or it may be that none had then chosen to return. The name of their chief man may therefore have been Ben-Jahaziel (compare Bar-timaeus – Mar 10:46), in which case there would be no need to name his father who was, of course, Jahaziel.
Alternately it may be that a name has been accidentally omitted. On this basis some have suggested emendation to ‘of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel’ (Zattu having dropped out) which would find partial support in the apocryphal 1Es 8:32 . But that in itself might have been an attempt to solve what it saw as a problem, something which the writer of 1 Esdras tended to do. Even then 1 Esdras has Zathoes, which does not agree with its own rendering of Zattu as Zathui ( 1Es 5:12).
Shecaniah was a very popular name. It is the name of priest who returned with Zerubbabel (Neh 12:3) It is the name of the chief of the tenth course of priests under David (1Ch 24:11). It is the name of a priest during the reign of Hezekiah (2Ch 31:15). It is the name of one of the sons of Elam who supported Ezra in dealing with the problem of marrying foreign wives (Ezr 10:2). A Shecaniah is the father of Shemaiah, the keeper of the East Gate, in Neh 3:29. Another was the father-in-law of Tobiah the Ammonite (Neh 6:18). And we have already seen a Shecaniah mentioned above in Ezr 7:3.
Ezr 8:6
‘And of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.’
Sons of Adin had arrived with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:15). They were now being joined by other members of their family under the headship of Ebed, the son of Jonathan, who brought with him fifty males.
Ezr 8:7
And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.’
Sons of Elam had arrived with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:7) and they were now being joined by more members of the family under the headship of Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah,
Ezr 8:8
‘And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males.’
Sons of Shephatiah had arrived with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:4). They were now being joined by other members of their family under the headship of Zebediah, the son of Michael. The sons of both Adin and Shephatiah are in a different order from Ezra 2 confirming that one list has not just been built up from the other.
Ezr 8:9
‘Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.’
Sons of Joab, a son of Pahath-moab, had arrived with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:6). They would now be joined by two hundred and eighteen males and their families, under the headship of Obadiah, the son of Jehiel. The reason for their distinctive mention here may be because for some reason they had achieved more importance and therefore now liked to see themselves as separate from the other sons of Pahath-moab.
Ezr 8:10
‘And of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males.’
There were no sons of Shelomith mentioned among the arrivals under Zerubbabel, but they may well have been named under the name of their town. They arrived under the headship of Ben-josiphiah. Compare comments on Ezr 7:5.
Shelomith was a popular name with both men and women. It was the name of the mother of a man who was stoned for blasphemy (Lev 24:11), and of a daughter of Zerubbabel (1Ch 3:19). It was the name of one of the sons of the priest Izhar (1Ch 23:18).
An emendation has been suggested here to ‘of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of (ben) Josiphiah’, on the basis of 1Es 8:36 , although the latter has Banias, whilst 1Es 5:14 has Bani. 1 Esdras would appear to be trying to achieve conformity. The same stricture applies as in Ezr 7:5.
Ezr 8:11
‘And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty eight males.’
Sons of Bebai had arrived under Zerubbabel in Ezr 2:11. They were now joined by other members of their family under the headship of Zechariah, the son of Bebai. They share with the sons of Joab (Ezr 7:9) the distinction of not being a round number. This latter Bebai was a different Bebai, carrying on the family name.
Ezr 8:12
‘And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males.’
Sons of Azgad had arrived in two different groups on the first return (see on Ezr 2:12). Their number is now further increased here under the headship of Johanan, the son of Hakkatan. Johanan was a popular Jewish name..
Ezr 8:13
‘And of the sons of Adonikam, the last, and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males.’
Sons of Adonikam had returned with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:13). The reference here to them as the last’ may indicate that now all the sons of Adonikam had returned. Three chief men are named and the names of their fathers are omitted. This must be seen as surprising in itself (although compare Ezr 7:3 b), but interestingly 1 Esdras concurs. In view of the changes by the writer of 1 Esdras elsewhere one may feel that the author could think of no explanation. This must throw doubt on his other changes. The reference to ‘with them’ confirms the plurality of chief men.
Ezr 8:14
‘And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them (literally ‘him’) seventy males.’
Sons of Bigvai had arrived with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:14). These will now add to them. There were two chief men over them, Uthai and Zabbud. Again their fathers’ names are not given. In view of the ‘with him’ (in contrast to ‘with them’ in Ezr 7:13) it has been suggested that ‘ben’ (son) has dropped out and been replaced by waw (‘and’), but there is no other evidence to support this. We would then read ‘Uthai the son of Zabbud’. But against this it can be claimed:
1) That the families in Ezr 7:13-14 came last in the list precisely because they had multiple chief men.
2) That while 1 Esdras, characteristically of the writer’s methods, reduces the chief men to one, it gives a very different name for the father (‘Uthi the son of Istalcarus’).
3) That we could argue that ‘with him’ indicates that Zabbud was the most important of the two sons, the ‘with him’ simply referring to Zabbud.
4) That ‘with him’ simply sees the two men as a unit, possibly because they were twins. Even if they were not, the writer may well have thought that he could reasonably present two chief men as a unit, while feeling it unsuitable when there were three.
5) Some Hebrew MSS and versions do have ‘with them’ (it would, however, be an obvious correction).
So those gathered with Ezra included two priests, one from each of the surviving branches of Aaron’s sons (a large proportion of priests had already gone back), a Davidide, and twelve representative family groups, possibly numerically representing the twelve tribes of Israel, thus covering every aspect of Israel’s life. That other priests accompanied the two mentioned is apparent from Ezr 7:24. But, as became priests, they were not ‘numbered’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Assembling of the Company
v. 1. These are now the chief of their fathers, v. 2. of the sons of Phinehas: Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar: Daniel, v. 3. Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh: Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty v. 4. of the sons of Pahath-moab: Elihoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.
v. 5. of the sons of Shechaniah: the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.
v. 6. of the sons also of Adin: Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.
v. 7. And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy v. 8. And of the sons of Shephatiab: Zebadiah, the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males.
v. 9. of the sons of Joab, v. 10. And of the sons of Shelomith: the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males.
v. 11. And of the Sons of Bebai: Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.
v. 12. And of the sons of Azgad: Johanan, the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.
v. 13. And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.
v. 14. of the sons also of Bigvai: Uthai and Zabbud v. 15. And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava, v. 16. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Arid, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men, v. 17. And I sent them, v. 18. And by the good hand of our God upon us, v. 19. and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; v. 20. also of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO WENT UP TO JERUSALEM WITH EZRA, AND THE NAMES OF THE CHIEF MEN (Ezr 8:1-14). This list is parallel with that of Ezr 2:3-19, and repeats for the most part the same family names, though not quite in the same order. The numbers are in each case very much smaller, never amounting to one-third, and sometimes falling below one-twelfth. At the utmost, three new families are mentioned as furnishing colonists those of Shechaniah (Ezr 2:5), Shelomith (Ezr 2:10), and Joab (Ezr 2:9); but in two of these cases the reading is doubtful Altogether, we may say that Ezra was accompanied to Jerusalem by members of the same families as Zerubbabel, but by fewer families, and by fewer members of each. Thus Ezra’s list is much shorter than Zerubbabel’s. It contains, however, more names of chiefs, eighteen such names being given, whereas in Zerubbabel’s list there are, including Zerubbabel himself, only eleven. The entire number of adult male colonists who accompanied Ezra was, including Levites and Nethinim, 1773. Counting five to a family, this would give a total of nearly 9000 souls. Among the chief men, there is no name that is remarkable, excepting that of Hattush. “Hattush, of the sons of Shechaniah,” is, beyond all reasonable doubt, the descendant of David mentioned in 1Ch 3:22, who was a son of Shemaiah, and Zerubbabers great-great-grandson.
Ezr 8:1
On the expression chief of the fathers see comment on Ezr 2:68.
Ezr 8:3
Of the sons of Shechaniah. This clause should be attached to the preceding verse, since it refers to Hattush, who was Shechaniah’s grandson; and Ezr 8:3 should begin with the words, “Of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah.”
Ezr 8:5
A name has fallen out either between “Shechaniah” and “the son of Jahaziel,” or between “of the sons” and “of Shechaniah.” The Septuagint has, “Of the sons of Zattu, Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel.” Zattu is mentioned in Ezr 2:8.
Ezr 8:10
Here again there is a similar omission of a name, which the Septuagint supplies by reading, “Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah.” Bani appears as the head of a family in Ezr 2:10.
Ezr 8:13
The last sons of Adonikam are probably his younger sons, whose descendants returned with Ezra, their elder brethren’s families having returned with Zerubbabel.
Ezr 8:15-31
DETAILS OF EZRA‘S JOURNEY FROM BABYLON TO JERUSALEM (Ezr 8:15-31). We gather from scattered statements in this passage
1. That Ezra, with his companions, after a journey of nine days’ duration, reached Ahava from Babylon on the ninth day of the first month;
2. That he rested three days at Ahava, and proclaimed a fast;
3. That he was there joined by a small number of Levites and a considerable body of Nethinims from the immediate neighbourhood;
4. That, on the twelfth day of the first month, he resumed his journey, and, though threatened by some opposition upon the way, arrived safely at his destination fourteen weeks after he quitted Ahava, and exactly four months after he had started from Babylon. The only other important fact mentioned is, that at Ahava twelve of the principal priests were selected by Ezra, and the royal offering of silver, gold, and vessels handed over to them for safe custody, after having been carefully weighed. The weights are recorded with Ezra’s usual exactness in verses 26, 27.
Ezr 8:15
1 gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava. The “river that runneth to Ahava” is now generally identified with the Is of Herodotus, a small stream flowing into the Euphrates from the east, at a point where stood a city of the same name, distant (according to Herodotus) eight days’ journey from Babylon. The city appears to be mentioned under the slightly variant forms of Ava () and Ivah () in the Second Book of Kings (17:24; 19:13). It is called Aia, or Aba, by the LXX.; Ihi in the Talmud; Aei by Isidore of Charax. The modern name is Hit. The town has always been one of some importance in connection with the bitumen springs of the neighbourhood. Ezra s reason for selecting the place as a halting-point seems to have been the fact that many Jews were settled in the district (see verse 17). We abode in tents. A large caravan, like Ezra’s, even when it reached a town, would pitch its tents outside, and remain in them rather than scatter itself among the khans and caravanserais. The phrase is therefore to be understood literally. I viewed the people. Rather, “I looked among the people”I looked to see whether there were any Levites or no. (“Quaesivi in populo et in sacerdotibus de filiis Levi.“Vulg.) And found there none of the sons of Levi. It is difficult to account for the fact; but there seems certainly to have been a special disinclination to return to Jerusalem on the part of the Levites. Only seventy-four went up with Zerubbabel, when the priests who returned were 4289 (Ezr 2:36-40); and now there was not a single one in the whole of Ezra’s band. Did the jealous spirit of Korah (Num 16:8-10) still animate the great body of the tribe?
Ezr 8:17
Iddo, the chief at the place Casiphia. Not “the Caspian” certainly; nor even “Casvin,” which is at least 400 miles from Hit by the nearest route, but some Babylonian village in the vicinity of Ahava, not otherwise known to us. Unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims. The “and” here is rightly supplied. It has fallen out in consequence of the word Iddo ending with the same letter. Iddo, though the head man of the village under the Persians, belonged by descent to the comparatively low grade of the Nethinims.
Ezr 8:18
By the good hand of our God upon us. This is Ezra’s usual mode of acknowledging the good providence and favour of Almighty God (see Ezr 7:6, Ezr 7:9, Ezr 7:27; and Ezr 8:31). Similar expressions occur also in Nehemiah (Neh 2:8, Neh 2:18), but not elsewhere in Scripture. A man of understanding. In the Hebrew Ish-sekel, which some take for a proper name, but without any necessity. No such name is known to have existed; and the real name of “the man of understanding” appears to have been “Sherebiah,” who is mentioned more than once in Nehemiah (Neh 8:7; Neh 9:4, Neh 9:5) as a chief Levite. And Sherebiah should be simply “Sherebiah.” The preposition “and” (Hebrew ) has been inserted by a careless copyist.
Ezr 8:20
The Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed. We learn this fact from the present passage only; since neither in Kings nor Chronicles is there any mention made of David’s adding to the hieroduli, or temple servants. It is, however, quite in accordance with his other arrangements that he should have done so. The original Nethinims were the Gibeonites (Jos 9:23). All were expressed by name. Iddo sent to Ezra a list of the Nethinims, which, however, he does not think it necessary to insert.
HOMILETICS
Ezr 8:1-20
The rendezvous, or the second muster.
We have been told twice before in this story that Ezra went up from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezr 7:6-8, Ezr 7:9), and that he did not go by himself. But we only now enter upon the actual details of this second and supplementary expedition. Who were those that went up with him? And what was the nature of the first step which he and they took in common? We may answer these questions in the opposite order. The first step was to meet Ezra at the river or town of Ahava, situated, it is supposed, on the road to Jerusalem via Carchemish, and far enough off from Babylon to ensure comparative quiet and proper discrimination. Those who came consisted of two principal detachments, one of which came to the spot not only before the other, but in a somewhat different way. We may describe the first detachment as one in which we find the first last; the second as being one in which we find the last first.
I. THE FIRST LAST. Who might be expected to be foremost in a case of this kind? Where do we find them in actual fact? Let us consider this
1. As to family. Judging by all analogy, the family of David, the royal family of Judah, ought to have been foremost in such a matter. Who so likely to feel the evils of captivity as the heirs to a throne? Who so eager to return from banishment (one would suppose) as those who had been banished at once from dignity and from home? The previous return, also, under the edict of Cyrus, seems to bear out this idea. Though no figure there is so prominent as that of Ezra is here, yet the most prominent of all those there mentioned is that of Zerubbabel, the lineal descendant of David, and representative of his house. Under his Babylonian name of Sheshbazzar he is the only person mentioned by name as returning in Ezr 1:1-11; and be comes first of all in the detailed catalogue of Ezr 2:1-70. Most probably, also, judging from what we read long afterwards of the descendants of David in Luk 2:4, the 123 returning “men of Bethlehem” mentioned in Ezr 2:21 in a later part of the same catalogue were kinsmen of his. In the present instance, on the other hand, we find apparent mention in Ezr 2:2, Ezr 2:3 of only one of this same royal family as returning, viz; Hattush, of the sons of Shechaniah. Also we find even this solitary specimen of that royal race only occupying the third place on the list of those named. Whatever the reasons, therefore, this is the fact, that the family first in rank and genealogy appears anything but first here either in importance or position. Is it the beginning of that descent which ends long after with finding David’s greatest descendant as a “carpenter’s son”?
(2) As to class. Here, also, judging from analogy, the class to take the lead in a journey to the centre and heart of Jewish worship and faith would be that class to which belonged exclusively, in its various ramifications, the administration of worship. Such, we find, too, in the previous expedition, was the ease on the whole. The Levites then, it is true, were not many either in number or in proportion, when all told; but the priests then, though all belonging, apparently, to only four out of the whole twenty-four courses, were very many in proportion. The exact numbers of both (Wordsworth) were 350 Levites and 4200 priests, out of a total of 42,300 Israelites, the priests, therefore, constituting about one-tenth of the whole (Ezr 2:36-42, Ezr 2:64). A very large proportion, if we bear in mind that the priests represented only one family (that of Aaron) out of two families (those of Aaron and Moses), both sprung from Amram, one of the eight grandsons of Levi; a state of things, it will be easily seen, which would probably make the priests about one-sixteenth of one tribe, instead of being, as in this ease, one-tenth of the whole assemblage. In contrast to this, in the present ease, though something more than twelve priests, judging from Ezr 2:24, must have been present, only two, exclusive of Ezra himself, were thought worthy of being named (see verse 2), those who accompanied them (if any really did) being not referred to or even mentioned, as was the ease before in Ezr 2:36-39, and as is the case also here as to all the other Israelitish families referred to in Ezr 2:3-14. The ease as to the Levites is still more surprising. Not only were none numbered in this first detachment; none at all after three days’ search were even to be found (end Ezr 2:15). They were “conspicuous by their absence.” Other families of Israelites that had sent up members before were doing the same now (comp. Ezr 2:3-14 with Ezr 2:3 seq.); one such family, apparently, their very last man (Ezr 2:13); but no Levitical family had done anything of the kind. Many lay Israelites, a few priests, no Levites at all. Altogether, this is the most notable feature in this detachment as here reviewed by Ezra (verse 15), viz; that those who should have been in the van of all are either, as it were, in the rear, or else not present at all.
II. THE LAST FIRST. This will be seen by considering the steps taken by Ezra to remedy the state of things just described. We find that he went
(1) to the right quarter, viz; to a place called Casiphia (possibly the “White House,” from keseph, white), the geography of which is unknown, but which may have been (Wordsworth and others) a kind of college for Levites, or at any rate a place where many dwelt in company with their associates the Nethinims, and under the presidency of one Iddo, either himself perhaps a Levite, or even a Nethinim (comp. “his brethren,” verse 17), of high repute. Also he sent
(2) by the right sort of messengers, viz; by a considerable body of them, even eleven well-known men, likely therefore to be of weight. Also by men well qualified, being men accustomed to command (“chief”), and yet prepared to obey (“with commandment”); some of them, further, being accustomed to teach (“men of understanding” = teachers1Ch 15:22; 1Ch 25:8; Neh 8:7, Neh 8:9, etc; Kiel), yet not unwilling to be taught, and to have words put in their mouth; thus showing, as noticed before, that Ezra understood men as well as books.
(3) With the right kind of result.
(a) As to number, bringing back 258 pilgrims in all;
(b) as to qualifications, all brought back being such “ministers” (verse 17) as were sought;
(c) as to variety, being both Levites and their assistants;
(d) as to character, being all men of resolution and purpose, whose “names” (end verse 20) would be given as those of men whose minds were made up.
Also, among these, two especially of much note, viz; Sherebiah and Hashabiah (comp. verse 24, and Neh 8:7; Neh 9:4; Neh 10:11, Neh 10:12; Neh 12:24), the first named especially being a man of such acknowledged judgment and learning that his coming was regarded as a special mark of God’s providential goodness (so we understand, with many, begin, verse 18). Thus conspicuously were the “last first;” thus happily were the vacant places in Ezra’s company, as it were, more than suppliedEzra himself being judge.
In CONCLUSION, we may see here
1. How important religious movements often begin, viz; with the comparatively undistinguished, the rank and file. So with John the Baptist (Mat 21:26), and our Lord himself (Mar 12:37; Joh 7:48). Both cases seem referred to in Mat 21:31, Mat 21:32.
2. How they are often perfected afterwards, viz; by the coming in then of distinguished persons assuming the lead of the whole. So amongst those baptized by John came Jesus among the last (Luk 3:21). See, also, in regard to the burial of Christ, how the two “counsellors,” Joseph and Nicodemus, then interfered. And, finally, in the preaching of the gospel, how Paul was “born” last and became the first (1Co 15:8-10; 2Co 11:5, 2Co 11:23, etc.; Gal 2:5, Gal 2:8).
3. How all so assisting have their peculiar points, both good and evil. Some are to be praised for forwardness (2Co 9:2), some for steadiness when begun; some to be blamed for backwardness, some for fickleness, as the Galatians. So John is first to reach the sepulchre, Peter first to go in.
4. How perfect the impartiality of the Scriptural record. All this, so little to the credit of the Levites, written by a Levitical hand. Comp. story of Gen 34:1-31; also Gen 49:5-7, as recorded by Moses, himself a Levite.
5. How devoutly humble its spirit. Every advantage is attributed to the good hand of our God (1Co 15:10; Psa 115:1; Php 2:13).
HOMILIES BY J.S. EXELL
Ezr 8:1-20
The Church preparing itself for duty.
I. THAT IT IS PREPARED BY COMING OUT FROM A HUMILIATING CAPTIVITY. “This is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon” (Ezr 8:1). Ezra and his comrades must quit the scene of their captivity before they can carry the sacred vessels to Jerusalem; the Church must arise and leave its moral Babylon before it can serve God in successful enterprise.
II. THAT IT IS PREPARED BY PRAYERFUL SOLITUDE. “To the river that runneth to Ahava” (verse 15).
1. Sacred solitude. Not the solitude of the misanthrope.
2. Prayerful solitude. Seeking guidance before setting out for Jerusalem.
3. Thoughtful solitude. Counting the cost of the journey to Jerusalem.
4. Active solitude. Ezra inspected the people and the priests, and finding none of the sons of Levi, successfully sent for them.
5. Friendly solitude. The companionships of heaven were with Ezra and his company by the river. Such solitude cannot fail to prepare the Church for duty.
III. THAT IT IS PREPARED BY THE PROVIDENTIAL GIFT OF TALENT (verse 18).
1. Talent required. Ezra inspected his company. God requires ability in the work of his Church. Ministers should see that the Church has the requisite capability for its work.
2. Talent varied. “The people, the priests, the Levites.” The Church needs combined capabilities; the lower as well as the higher; the Levites as well as the priests.
3. Talent absent. “And found there none of the sons of Levi.”
4. Talent sought. Ministers should endeavour to bring talent into the Church.
5. Talent obtained providentially. “And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding.” Thus God prepares the Church for duty.
IV. THAT IT IS PREPARED BY THE ENERGY OF ONE DEVOUT MAN. “And I gathered them together” (verse 15). Who was this man? He was a “ready scribe.” He had “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord” (Ezr 7:10). Such men are competent to prepare the Church for duty; they have first prepared themselves.
1. The power of sanctified individuality in the Church.
2. The use God makes of a sanctified individuality in the Church.
3. The wisdom of a sanctified individuality in the Church. It discovers the absent Levites.
4. The authority of a sanctified individuality in the Church. It sends for the Levites and they come.E.
HOMILIES BY J.A. MACDONALD
Ezr 8:15-20
The halt at the Ahava.
The journey of the children of Israel from Babylon to Jerusalem may be viewed, like that of their fathers from Egypt to Canaan, as a type of the pilgrimage of Christians from the abominations and miseries of the sinful world to the purity and happiness of heaven. In this view the halt at the “river that runneth to Ahava” may suggest
I. THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SEASONS FOR REELECTION.
1. The halt furnished Ezra with such a season.
(1) It gave him an opportunity for “viewing the people and the priests.” His purpose was to see how the company he conducted would be useful in recruiting the colony at Jerusalem. Christians should consider of what service may they be to the Church of the firstborn in heaven.
(2) The value of service is measured by sympathy with its purposes. Therefore we should cultivate fellowship with God and with the purest and noblest of his people.
2. The review discovered to Ezra a want of Levites in the company.
(1) There were priests there who were Levites. But the priests had functions of their own distinct from those of the Levites who were not of the family of Aaron.
(2) There were no Levites who were not priests. These too had their own proper functions.
(3) As in Jerusalem there was work for every order of sacred person, so should there be in the Church. So will there be in Jerusalem above. QueryDo we, as Ezra did, reflect upon the needs of God’s Church? Is God’s cause ours, as it was his?
II. THAT REFLECTION SHOULD LEAD TO ACTION.
1. Ezra resolved upon a mission.
(1) There were Levites still in Babylon. So are there Christians mingled with the communities of Antichrist.
(2) The Levites were congregated at Casiphia. This word comes from a root which denotes silver. Some think Casiphia meant the Caspian Mountains, in the silver mines of which these Levites were working. Others construe it to mean Silver Street, possibly some bazaar in Babylon in which silversmiths conducted trade. How characteristic of the sons of Levi to be where precious metals are exchanged!
2. The mission he resolved upon he organised.
(1) He chose “chief men” for his missionaries. If Providence has given men high social position, its influence should be devoted to the ministry of his message.
(2) He also summoned “men of understanding.” The world should not so monopolise the talent of our sons that only the refuse, the imbeciles, are given to the Church. There is scope in the message of God for the greatest ability.
(3) “Men of understanding” here are not only those of good natural parts, but those who are skilled in the teaching of God’s law (Neh 10:28, Neh 10:29).
3. He then instructed his missioners.
(1) He sent them “with commandment unto Iddo, the chief at the place of Casiphia.” Calls to the service of God come with authority. Ministers of the gospel are ambassadors for Christ (2Co 5:20).
(2) He sent them with arguments. He “put words into their mouths.” The import of the words is suggested in the end to be accomplished, viz; “that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of God.” Surely the service of God in his house is far more important than the trade in Silver Street.
III. THAT WELL–DIRECTED EFFORT WILL INSURE SUCCESS.
1. The missioners returned, having gained over “a man of understanding.“
(1) This achievement is put in the forefront. This son of Mahli was evidently a great acquisition to Ezra.
(2) A man of understanding is an acquisition to any cause. How valuable to the cause of order is the influence of such an one!
2. Thirty-eight Levites are next mentioned.
(1) The “man of understanding” is mentioned before Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah, with their sons and brethren, perhaps because of the influence he may have exerted in bringing them over. A man is not only valuable for what he is, but for what he does.
(2) We have Sherebiah the Levite again mentioned amongst them that made religious confession of God’s goodness and their own wickedness (see Neh 9:5).
3. Then follow 220 Nethinims.
(1) Here is an acquisition for which Ezra had not asked. God does for us more than we ask (l Corinthians Ezr 2:9; Eph 3:20).
(2) All success is from God. Ezra recognised this (verse 18). Let us follow his good example.J.A.M.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
B.EZRAS OWN DOCUMENTARY REPORT
Ezr 8:1-36
I. Respecting his Companions. Ezr 8:1-14
1These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. 2Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. 3Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. 4Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. 5Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. 6Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. 7And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. 8And of the sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males. 9Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. 10And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and threescore males. 11And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males. 12And of the sons of Azgad: Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males. 13And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. 14Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
II. Respecting a Rendering of this Band Complete. Ezr 8:15-20
15And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priest, and found there none of the sons of Levi. 16Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. 17And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. 18And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; 19And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; 20Also of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name.
III. Respecting the Preparation for the Journey, the Journey and Arrival in Jerusalem. Ezr 8:21-36
21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 22For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that 23seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us. 24Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, 25And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: 26I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a hundred talents, 27and of gold a hundred talents; Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. 28And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers. 29Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord. 30So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God. 31Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. 32And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. 33Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad 34the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; By number and 35by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time. Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin-offering; all this was a burnt-offering unto the Lord. 36And they delivered the kinds commissions unto the kings lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Ezr 8:1-14. The register of those heads of families who went up to Jerusalem with Ezra is here inserted as a second important document. It originated from Ezra himself, as the use of the first person in Ezr 8:1 shows; it is the foundation on which his narrative of his journey and activity in Jerusalem rests. It is distinguished from the register in chap. 2 by giving not only the names of the families to which those returning belonged, but also the heads themselves of those households who returned. It is as if they became gradually more and more conscious that the existence of the Jewish congregation no longer depended upon nationality, but the free resolution of individuals, that the individual accordingly, that especially the deciding heads of households had an entirely different significance from ever before, and that this their significance might be exhibited by their express mention by name in the sacred history. That the names of families here almost exclusively, yea, if we accept the very natural emendation in Ezr 8:3; Ezr 8:5; Ezr 8:10, are without exception the same as those that occurred already in chap. 2, is explained simply from the fact that of the families which returned with Zerubbabel, households had still remained behind in Babylon, which now with Ezra followed their relatives; and that this very relationship might have been decisive for the resolution to go up with Ezra. It is worthy of note that in this emigration just twelve families were represented. In connection with the importance then ascribed to the number twelve (comp. Ezr 2:1 sq.; Ezr 6:17; Ezr 8:35) Bertheau finds it probable that Ezras company was to be a representation of the congregation of Israel in its totality.In Ezr 8:28-36 are found some other deviations, which now perhaps are worthy of consideration. As regards the sum total of those who returned with Ezra, it amounted to one thousand four hundred and ninety-six men and fifteen heads according to the Massoretic text; but according to Esdras one thousand six hundred and ninety men and thirteen heads without counting the priests and sons of David, whose number is not given, and in comparison with the number of the rest was perhaps but small, since Zerubbabel had already led back with him a relatively large number of priests and sons of David. In the numerical signs corruption might easily creep in, and we must leave it undecided, which statements are more correct.
Ezr 8:1. These are now the heads of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up.= , not only here but usually, house of their fathers=their household. The head of the house of their father=the head of the household. In a household, however, the sons are often again fathers, without their forming on this account households of their own. Thus often many fathers belong to the household, and under a common head of the household. Thus the head of the fathers houses can easily be head of fathers. The suffix of refers without doubt to the totality, that is, to the children of Israel. is first record itself; then the register of families is, however, sometimes used for the family itself. It is here added, because the name of the heads of households is to be followed by the name of the family to which they belonged.
Ezr 8:2. Here are first mentioned two heads of households of two priestly families; of the family of Phineas, who was a son of Eleazar, thus a grandson of Aaron, Gerson; and of the family of Ithamar, who was Aarons younger son (comp. 2 Chronicles 30, 29), Daniel; whether the latter is identical with the one mentioned in Neh 10:7 is uncertain. Both are to be regarded as accompanied by their households; for in Ezr 8:24 Ezra is able to select from the priests who went up with him, twelve to take care of the presents. Then follows a head of a household of the family of David, without doubt the king David, namely, Hattush, possibly to be identified with Hattush, the son of Hashaniah (Neh 3:10), but to be distinguished from the priest Hattush, Neh 10:5; Neh 12:2. It is questionable, however, whether he is not more closely defined by the first words of Ezr 8:3.
Ezr 8:3. Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh.The twice-repeated following one another and unconnected is striking. The Sept. has supplied an and before the second, so that it designates at once two families as such to which the head of household next following belongs. But this is certainly only to improve the text which was at that time just the same as ours. Esdras, on the other hand, has , since it renders the of Ezr 8:2 by , attached of verse 3 as a much closer definition, and besides read the singular for . It is very probable that there has been a corruption of the text in this passage, and the conjecture that Esdras makes recommends itself all the more that in 1Ch 3:22 is adduced as a son of Shemaiah, and therewith also is a grandson of Shechaniah [so Rawlinson.Tr.] Accordingly we have left in Ezr 8:3 only the family of Pharosh, as such, to which Zechariah with his household belonged. The next clause we may translate: And with him belonged genealogically one hundred and fifty men, since is taken as preterit., and the singular is explained from the fact that it precedes the verb. might, however, be a noun, so that the sense would be: and with a family, = of men.
Ezr 8:5. Of the sons of Shechaniah the son of Jahaziel.It is singular that the son of Jahaziel is not mentioned by name. The Sept. has , and Ezr 8:32 essentially the same seems. to be the same as Ezr 2:8. Thus the Sept. and Esdras seem to have read , so that it is to be translated: of the children of Zattu, Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel [so Rawlinson.Tr.]
Ezr 8:9. Here the sons of Joab are treated as a particular family, whilst in Ezr 2:6 they are counted with the sons of Jeshua as of the family of Pahath-Moab. Probably only a few of them belonged to those who returned under Zerubbabel, so that they were then not counted with that family with which they were nearest related, although the number of the children of Pahath-Moab, in consequence of this, became rather large.
Ezr 8:10. Here the Masoretic text has: of the sons of Shelomith the son of Josiphiah.It is the same as in Ezr 8:5, according to the Sept. and Esdras, and we are to read: Of the sons of Bani (comp. Ezr 2:10) Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah [so Rawlinson.Tr.].
Ezr 8:13. And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, etc.It is strange that a common head of a household should be mentioned first. Keil supposes that the sons of Adonikam, here referred to, because they did not constitute a proper fathers house, are embraced together with the sons of Adonikam, who returned under Zerubbabel, and distinguished from the latter as . But all the new comers here mentioned would have united with their fellow-members of the same families who already dwelt in Judah from the time of Zerubbabel. Besides the reference to those who previously returned is so entirely without support that cannot well be explained from it. Perhaps the meaning is: not a first-born of the first line, who as such would have been head of the fathers house, but only a later born, none of whom had the dignity of a head of a fathers house, but only that of subordinate heads of families. Accordingly only lesser divisions of that fathers house went up with Ezra. Thus would be explained from the same circumstance from which the name of a common head of a household fails. It is true we must then suppose that had gained such a general sense in itself that it had become a technical term for those later born.
Ezr 8:14. Instead of one head of the sons of Bigvai, two are mentioned, Uthai and Zabbud, yet not as later born sons, but as it seems as real heads of fathers houses. The author of Esdras 8:40 has , so that it might be asked, whether the two names are not to be reduced to one.
Ezr 8:15-20. Above all Ezra was anxious to gain for the emigration some persons capable of ministering in the worship. Ezr 8:15 is probably to be translated: I gathered them together to the river, that runneth to Ahava, not that floweth into the Ahava. Ahava is probably the name of a place or region, after which the river there flowing was named; in Ezr 8:21 it occurs briefly as , and in Ezr 8:31 , which is either: the river of Ahava; or also after the analogy of the , the river Ahava. Where we are to seek the river and region is not known; probably, however, in the vicinity of Babylon; probably it is a tributary or canal of the Euphrates, according to Ewald, Gesch. IV., S. 154, perhaps the Pallacopas, in favor of which is certainly the name ( ), and indeed the more northern, which lay more in a direction towards Canaan.1And I viewed the people.Respecting the lengthened form by the addition of the , here and in ver 16, comp. Ewald, 232, g [Green, 99, 3.Tr.].
Ezr 8:16. The Sept. translates: And I sent to or for Elieser, etc. [so A. V.]. This might mean in connection with Ezr 8:17 : I sent thither in order to have him come and use him as a messenger to Iddo. We may, however, take the in this later usage of the language with the Vulg. and many interpreters without hesitation, as nota accus., according to 2Ch 17:7, where it is used in this very way with , thus: I sent Elieser, etc. The first name messengers were , probably heads of little communities; the remaining two , that is, teachers, Neh 8:7; Neh 8:9; 1Ch 15:22; 1Ch 28:8, etc. Keil takes it in a more general sense, judicious, prudent; but this is opposed by its connection with and the circumstance that Ezra would have sent men who could make an impression in accordance with their entire position. According to Ezr 8:15 these men did not belong to the Levites, who usually carried on the office of instruction, comp. 1Ch 15:22; 1Ch 28:8, etc. But scholarship in the Scriptures might have gradually become more widely diffused, especially in Babylon. It is possible, also, that they were priests. In Ezr 10:15; Ezr 10:18-31, many of the names here mentioned recur again; but probably different persons were meant there.
Ezr 8:17. And I sent them with commandment; thus the Qeri. According to the Kethib, whether now the in be genuine, or first added by the Masoretes, it is to be understood: I had them go forth, unto Iddo., according to later usage is for . What kind of a head or chief Iddo was, what society he was of, whether merely religious, or also learned, why Ezra did not above all seek to influence Iddo himself to the return to Palestine: all this we must leave undetermined.At the place Casiphia.We know not, as a matter of course, how we are to take the clause . The Sept. and Esdras have not regarded as a proper name. The former has , and the latter makes Iddo the head of the treasury without doubt in Babylon. It is probable, if it be a place, it is one in the vicinity of Babylon and Ahava.To his brethren, etc. , which thus gives no sense, should probably be: to his brothers (the Levites) and to the Nethinim, namely, besides to himself, I ordered them to go; not to his brothers, the Nethinim [as A. V.]; for that Iddo himself was one of the Nethinim is improbable from his honorable position; that they, moreover, should be designated as his brethren without any natural relationship would be against all analogy.To bring us ministers for the house of our God.Those are especially meant who, when they had performed the service in the house of God at the feasts, should be able besides to instruct the people in the law.
Ezr 8:18. And they brought us. is written with dagesh in as Gen 43:26, as also , Lev 23:17, as then and sometimes occur with dagesh, quorum omnium ratio nota est in Arcanis Cabbal, R. Mose bar Nachman in Comm. upon Jezir fol. 61.Under the gracious help of God (, as Ezr 7:6), and through the influence of Iddo, they gained forty Levites and two hundred and twenty Nethinim. first of all the (that this is a proper name is shown by the before the following names), a descendant of Mahli, the grandson of Levi (Exo 6:16; Exo 6:19; 1Ch 6:4), then Sherebiah, who again occurs in Ezr 8:24 and Neh 8:7; Neh 9:4; also Neh 10:13; Neh 12:24; then in Ezr 8:19 Hashabiah, who likewise is again mentioned in Ezr 8:24; Neh 10:12; Neh 12:24, and finally Jeshaiah, who does not again meet us in Ezra or Neh.; in Ezr 8:20 the Nethinim, who had been appointed already by Jeshua (comp. note on Ezr 2:43 sq.), then more definitely as it is here alone mentioned, by David and the princes, that, is, the high officials, to perform the heavier work for the Levites. The last words of Ezr 8:20 mean2 according to 1Ch 12:31; they were all expressed by name (particularly), namely, for the going up with Ezra.
Ezr 8:21-30. The final preparation for the departure; at first the arrangement of the feast. The fasting had the purpose of imploring from God a way straight or level, free from hindrance, thus a prosperous journey. As an evidence of a penitent self-humiliation, it contributed to gain the favor of Him who, since He is throned on high, can only dwell among the lowly (Isa 57:15), so already Jdg 20:26; 1Sa 7:6; Joe 1:14; 1Ch 20:3.
Ezr 8:22. To implore the help of God, had a special impulse in the circumstance that Ezra and his companions had expressed a trust in God before Artaxerxes which they would not have confirmed if they had not especially relied upon God; if they had been willing to claim earthly means of protection. To show this trust in God was certainly important, because Artaxerxes respect for the Jewish religion might be best strengthened in this very way. They acknowledged that the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and wrath is against all them that forsake Him.We might expect the words: forevil; but His strength and His wrath=His power of opposing, is sufficiently clear; it is as if the previous clause were: His goodness and favor are over, etc.; so that the words for good might have been left out.
Ezr 8:23. We fasted and besought our God.This should be followed by and not , seems to refer back to Ezr 8:22 in the sense of therefore. Yet it is at least questionable whether it may not after the verb of asking, likewise introduce the object, comp. with (Psa 32:6), and indeed notwithstanding the before .And He let Himself be entreated for us.This is at once manifest in the successful progress of the journey.
Ezr 8:24 sq. The appointment of guardians of the treasures.And I separated twelve of the princes of the priests.Instead of before , we are to read with Esdras 8:54; for Sherebiah, etc., did not belong to the priests, but to the Levites. In addition, therefore, to the twelve princes of the priests, there were accordingly twelve Levites, as those to whom Ezra weighed the treasure and gave it in charge.
Ezr 8:25. And I weighed, etc. is written with after because the Sheva of was meant to be heard, and indeed as Chateph Kametz, and it is probable that this form is to have the same vocalization in the next verse, as then J. H. Mich. found it to be so in many MSS. The other view that it was to be spoken with Chateph Patach was held because the was lacking after , as likewise in Jer 32:9. The silver and gold were a heave-offering, , that is, a present to the house of God, that the king and his counsellors had set apart, comp. Ezr 7:15-16; Ezr 7:19. in connection with means: to take off from the other possessions something, in order to consecrate it to God. The article before represents the relative pronoun as 1Ch 26:28; 1Ch 29:17; 2Ch 29:36, etc.; comp. Ew. 381, b. (with kametz under instead of sheva on account of pause, comp. Est 1:5). These are those who were happened upon or met.
Ezr 8:26-27. What Ezra weighed, , in their hands, as Ezr 1:8. With respect to the talents comp. Ezr 7:22; the darics, Ezr 2:69; the covered cups, Ezr 1:10. Finally there were two copper vessels of excellent polish. cannot very well be part. Hophal; in connection with , it would just as well as the following have the fem. form. It seems to be a noun formed like , , (Isa 8:8) with the meaning of polish. occurs Lev 13:30; Lev 13:32 of bleached hair, become somewhat fox-like by leprosy; the root, , is, however, certainly connected with , Arab. sahaba, and the other roots in and , whose meaning extends to: to be bright. is properly a noun=lovelinesses, comp. , 2Ch 20:25.
Ezr 8:28. The sacredness of the guardians as such, especially of the treasures entrusted to them as a heave-offering to the Lord is emphasized by Ezra, in order to make them right watchful with reference to them until they shall have delivered them up.
Ezr 8:29. is acc. of direction, but not stat. constr. as the article shows. The are, because almost exclusively the temple-chambers, sufficiently definite of themselves. is in apposition with the foregoing.
Ezr 8:31-36. The journey and arrival in Jerusalem.
Ezr 8:31. They began their journey from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month. The interval from the first had been occupied by that which is narrated in Ezr 8:16-30. The statement in Ezr 8:15 that they had encamped only three days on river of Ahava is probably not to be understood as if they after three days had again broken up (Berth.), but indicates either the point of time when that which is mentioned in Ezr 8:15 sq. occurred (comp. v.32), namely, when Ezra observed the lack of Levites (Keil); or it means to say that after three days they had gone somewhat further on their way, but without leaving the river Ahava, towards a region where they could unite with those coming from Casiphiah, from thence them entering upon their journey proper.
Ezr 8:32. When then they had come to Jerusalem, according to Ezr 7:9, on the first day of the fifth month, then after a lapse of three and a half months, they remained there three days, that is, rested, until they understood something further, just as Nehemiah in Ezr 2:11, whilst without doubt they already made preparation for the delivery of the treasures.
Ezr 8:33. Now on the fourth day they weighed out the treasures in the hand (Ezr 8:26) of the priest Meremoth ben Uriah, whom we find again Neh 3:4; Neh 3:21, and probably also Neh 12:3, and Eleazar ben Phinehas, who is not further mentioned, and two Levites, Jozabad ben Jeshua, who may be identical with the one mentioned in Ezr 10:23, and Noadiah ben Binnui, whose family is mentioned likewise in Neh 10:10; Neh 12:8.
Ezr 8:34. By number and weight of every one, that is, as it was for each and every number and weight. The weight was written then at that time, as Neh 4:16, in a public document, so that the correct preservation might be confirmed.
Ezr 8:35. In order now to secure for themselves a good reception with the Lord, they offered above all burnt-offerings, whereby they rendered homage to Him, dedicated themselves to Him (comp. notes upon Ezr 3:3), and indeed for all Israel, in their name and as their representatives, conscious indeed that they had value before God only as a part of this whole, or rather as in union with entire Israel. They offered twelve bullocks (comp. Ezr 6:17), besides ninety-six rams (ninety-six as intensification of twelve) and seventy-seven lambs (seventy-seven as intensification of seven, the number seven expressing the covenant-relation), as a foundation of the burnt-offering, however, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering, because only the reconciled can do homage to the Lord in a proper manner and worthily dedicate themselves to Him.
Ezr 8:36. In order now to put themselves in a good relation with the satraps and governor in Abar Nahara, they delivered to them the decree of the king. The satraps, , Persian (according to the inscription of Behistun), khshatrapava, from khshatrapavan, from which the noun in the Hebrew expression of the word is explained, prop.=land-protector3 (comp. Est 3:12; Est 8:9; Dan 3:2), come into consideration as military officers, alongside of the governors, , as the presidents of the civil government.And they furthered, etc.These closing words are certainly to be referred to those Persian magnates, to whom indeed this supporting was commanded by the royal edict, Ezr 7:20-24. as Ezr 1:4. The Perfect with simply continues the narrative as in Ezr 8:30.
THOUGHTS UPON THE HISTORY OF REDEMPTION
Ezr 8:1-14. So long as God was obliged to dwell in a particular temple, in the midst of His congregation, yet separated from them, mediatorial persons were still necessary, namely, priests, and a worship of sacrifices; Jerusalem must still remain the proper place of worship, and Judah be the holy land as no other land could be. And the congregation in the dispersion must regard it as their sacred duty, over and over again to put themselves in relation to the temple and Jerusalem, and send thither whole bands, in whom the longing for the land of their fathers awoke, to the enlargement of the principal congregation, or yet at least little embassies (comp. Zec 6:9), to enliven the communion with it, so likewise to take part, when opportunity offered, either in person, or at least through representatives, in the offering of sacrifice in the legitimate place of sacrifices. This common relation to the one centre and hearthstone of their religious life, constituted a bond, which held the people together in spite of every scattering and spreading out, yes, cultivated the feeling of a grand unity; and even if this bond was only an external one, it yet was all the more important, the weaker the internal bond was in the times of the law and the letter of the law. Christendom is united by the internal bond of one common faith and the most comprehensive love. Would then that this may never prove internally weaker! Would that in spite of all distances and separations, all might remain ever truly and vitally conscious of this, that they may constitute more than the people of the old covenant one only great union the body of the Lord! What can be more exalting and strengthening than this consciousness that we do not stand alone, do not struggle alone, do not suffer alone, do not rejoice alone, but that the Lord has in every land a people, a great and united people?
Ezr 8:15-20. The relation to the God of Revelation who would be conceived, not according to common notions or ideas, but according to His historical manifestation of Himself, and on the ground of the acts of redemption wrought by Him, would be honored according to the regulations given by Himself,begets by internal necessity the need of instruction and training. It cannot be maintained in any other way than by the parents making known to their children, and the learned to the unlearned, the Providences and Histories through which the true God has come near to the understanding, and that trained and suitable persons should cultivate the divine service in a proper manner. The idea, that religious knowledge, so far as it is necessary or desirable, makes its appearance in every man of itself, has no place except in the sphere of natural religion, and is connected, if it has become more general in our day, with a falling away from the religion of revelation to the religion of nature. It thus had its good ground that Ezra would not go up to Jerusalem and enter upon the work of elevation of the congregation at that place, without having gained above all a sufficient number of persons for his emigration, who might stand at his side, as instructors and helpers in the worship of God. And for those who would cherish the true religion, it should ever be a chief care to attract suitable teachers and ministers to the church, whilst now, sad to see, it seems as if it were thought that, at any rate, they could be dispensed with.
Ezr 8:21-30. Already in Isa 52:11 the encouragement: depart, depart, go ye out from thence, is connected with the admonition, be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord. Ezra might even, without this, have felt himself called upon to prepare himself and those who accompanied him by fasting; that is, by self-humiliation, for the journey to Jerusalem. But since he carried with him vessels and treasure designed for the house of the Lord, and in so far sacred; in other words, since his journey ministered not to ordinary, but sacred purposes, by which properly all who took part received a higher significance, purification and sanctification by true and genuine fasting, were an especially indispensable prerequisite. No one can essentially further the cause and honor of God in a free and conscious manner without previously doing what fasting signifiesnamely, chastising, yea, overcoming his soulthat is, his old man. He who has accomplished this will then have a keener feeling also for the particular obligation imposed upon him by his calling or his task, especially for the sacred duty conscientiously to watch that that which has been intrusted to us of blessings or gifts shall be truly serviceable for the higher ends for which they were given to us. He will understand the connection between the two when Ezra says: at first, be ye holy to the Lord, and the Vessels are holy,so watch and take care, etc.
Ezr 8:31-36. Men like Ezra, who know that they are instruments in the hand of the Lord, and indeed for the accomplishment of a high mission, may reckon with the confidence of heroes on especial divine protection and support in the midst of all the dangers threatening them: And although all the devils would withstand us etc. What, however, is secured to them in this respect by God cannot be for them a motive for giving themselves over to a false security, but only become an impulse for them to make use of all that is entrusted to them, with all the more conscientiousness for the accomplishment of its purposes. At the same time they would be very careful, like Ezra, when he ordered the weight of the gifts brought by him to be written down, of securing their good name against any wicked slanders that so easily are raised against them. That the returned exiles so soon offered sacrifice to the Lord, and indeed burnt-offerings, with the sin-offerings belonging to them, expresses, moreover, the knowledge that the mere offering of external gifts, however great they might be, amounted to nothing; that an internal gift, namely, that of the heart, by internal worship, must be added, yea, that it alone, if it be of the true kind, gives worth to all the rest.
When the returned exiles laid claim to protection and support on the part of the magistracy through the handing over the decree of the king to his officers, they subordinated themselves to them thereby at the same time. As they thus through their sacrifice gave to God what belonged to God, so through the decree of Artaxerxes they gave to the state what the state might expect.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Ezr 8:15-20. The importance of teachers and other officials in the congregation. 1) Ezra, although there were priests enough in Jerusalem, felt the absence of Levites and other persons of lower rank, who there might care for the divine service, and also instruct the people. 2) He seeks to procure them before he undertakes anything further. 3) He gains them through the experienced help of God.Starke: That Ezra seeks to supply the lack of Levites, and sends so far for them, shows his zeal for the house of God, and indicates how much we should make of wise ministers of God, should it ever be necessary to bring them from afar. We need also frequently such persons as may fill the lower offices more pressingly than others who sit in exalted stations; and we must have more village-pastors than doctors of theology and superintendents. He who is of a sincere and unenvious disposition in the ministerial office will not always be alone, but can very well endure, yea, desires and assists, that more laborers and colleagues may be procured alongside of him, Num 11:29; Mat 9:37.
Ezr 8:21-30. Respecting the true preparation for the most important journey. 1) By fasting or overcoming ones self; 2) By watchfulness with respect to the blessings and gifts that serve to glorify the divine name; 3) By conscientious execution of the higher duties.Starke: Although Christians are not bound to any particular time of fasting, yet they should ever lead a temperate and moderate life, in order that they may be the more qualified for prayer, 1Pe 4:8.Observe this, ye travellers: Divine protection sought by humble prayer is your safest escort.God is the best guide (Psa 91:11); though we walk in the dark valley we need not fear, Psa 23:4. If after the offering of prayer our enterprise goes successsfully on, we ought not to think that it has been without dangers, but confidently believe that our prayer has been heard.
Ezr 8:31-36. The pilgrims to Zion. 1) Their journey (is towards Jerusalem under Gods especial protection); 2) their blessings and gifts (belong to the house and congregation of the Lord); 3) their aim (to offer to the Lord, and indeed, above all themselves, recognizing the authorities of the world). Brentius: Sunt autem (Christiani), sanctificari in baptismo per fidem in Christum. Unde portare debent sancta vasa, qu sunt sancta opera. Credere in Christum, sanctum opus est.
[Henry: All our concerns about ourselves, our families, our estates, tis our Wisdom and Duty by Prayer to commit them to God and leave the care of them with Him. Our prayers must always be seconded with endeavors.Tis a great ease to ones mind to be discharged from a trust; and a great honor to ones name to be able to make it appear that it hath been faithfully discharged.Wordsworth: It appears from the narrative that Ezras God was good, his treasurers faithful, and his companions devout; and that the royal governors furthered his work. Such were the salutary effects of prayer and fasting.Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1][Rawlinson: In the right direction and at about the right distance are found a river and a town bearing the same name, called by the early Greeks Is. (Herod. I. 179), and by the later Act (Isid. Chas., p.5), by the Babylonians themselves Ibi, and here apparently Ahava. The modern name of the place is Hit. It is famous for its bitumen springs and is situated on the Euphrates at a distance of about eighty miles from Babylon towards the northwest.Tr..]
[2][Rawlinson in loco: The writer seems to mean that he had before him a list of the two hundred and twenty, though he did not think it necessary that he should insert it.Tr.].
[3][Rawlinson in loco: The word is derived from khshatra, crown, and pal, to protect. the active part. of which would be pana. It is evident that the Hebrew term represents the older form of the word, and represents it pretty closely. There is a prosthetic Aleph, as in Adarkon and Ahasuerus, and the tr of the Persian becomes in the Hebrew dr; but otherwise the letters are correctly rendered. Rawlinson refers the satrap to the chief ruler of the Persian provinces, from which the governors (pachavoth), rulers of smaller districts, are distinguished.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
We have here a further relation of Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem. He begins it with prayer; the Lord conducts him and those who accompanied him in safety. An account of his arrival, and his entrance on business.
Ezr 8:1
It is to the honor of Ezra’s company that the Holy Ghost hath caused their register to be made in the book of God. Strange indeed it is, to consider that so long after the proclamation made by Cyrus, so many of the people remained in Babylon; and yet were afterwards to go. But is not this the case in the call of the gospel? The hour was not yet come. And the Lord by this testimony, plainly shows that the work is with him. Paul may plant, and Apollos water; but neither is he that planteth, neither he that watereth anything, but God that giveth the increase.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ezr 8
15. And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava [Ahava was both a town and a river]; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi [only seventy-four had returned with Zerubbabel].
16. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Alnathan, men of understanding [teachers or priests].
17. And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers [a general term including Levites and Nethinims] for the house of our God.
18. And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen:
19. And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
20. Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed [the only place in which the fact is noticed] for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
21. Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us [as the wilderness was now before them], and for our little ones [showing that the whole household went up], and for all our substance [principally the treasures for the temple].
22. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
23. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
24. Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25. And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present had offered:
26. I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents [according to the best computation, the silver would amount to a quarter of a million sterling, and the gold to about three-quarters of a million];
27. Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams [worth rather more than a thousand guineas]; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.
28. And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord [consecrated treasures in consecrated hands]; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers.
29. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.
30. So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
31. Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way [a summary of the journey].
32. And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days [in rest].
33. Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phineas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;
34. By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time.
35. Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the Lord.
36. And they delivered the king’s commissions unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river; and they furthered the people, and the house of God.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXII
EZRA AND HIS GREAT REFORMATION
Ezra 6-10
In the previous chapter we considered the history on this period up to the time the Temple was rebuilt and dedicated and the first Passover after the return was celebrated. This event occurred about 516 B.C. In this chapter we make a leap of nearly sixty years. This is ascertained by comparing the dates in Persia. The first verse of the seventh chapter begins thus: “After these things” and goes on to record the events which occurred about 458 B.C. In the meantime the work had lagged. The people had become lax. Numbers of foreign marriages had been contracted; many moral delinquencies had crept in.
In Persia several events of importance had transpired. Xerxes had become king (488-465 B.C.) . Esther had become queen, the incidents of Mordecai and Haman had taken place and Artaxerxes Longimanus (465-425 B.C.) had succeeded Xerxes on the throne. So we are now to consider the events in Judah during the reign of Artaxerxes of Persia, to whom Nehemiah was cupbearer.
First, we will consider the person and character of Ezra, 7:1-10. We have the record of his genealogy from Ezra himself. He traces his lineage back directly to Aaron, the brother of Moses. He is thus of genuinely priestly blood. His business was that of a scribe: a writer, a recorder, a codifier of the laws. He was an expert in Jewish law. He was doubtless a teacher and a man of high personal character and scholarship. There had been no revival during this period of nearly sixty years among the colonists in Judah and Jerusalem, and when God would stir up a revival among them, he began by arousing a man in faraway Babylon. He impressed upon this man the importance of the work, and stirred him up to lead the people into the complete adoption of the law of Moses among the Jews in Judah. They had no great leaders there. Ezra was among the exiles in Babylon and as a result of long and profound study of the matter, determined that the complete law of Moses must be made effective in Judah and Jerusalem, which was over eight hundred miles away and required about four months for the journey.
Next comes the decree of Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:11-26 ). Ezra must have been a man of great reputation and influence, highly respected by the king and nobility, for in some manner, we know not how, he secured from Artaxerxes the king this remarkable decree. He granted Ezra his whole request. We find two kinds of provisions in this decree, viz: the temporary and the more permanent ones. The following were the temporary provisions:
1. Like Cyrus, his predecessor, he made it a matter of choice to every one as to whether he would return or not.
2. He was to carry the silver and the gold which the king had freely offered for the establishment of the Law.
3. He was to buy with this money all the animals which he required for the performing of the sacrifices and ceremonies.
4. The money not required for this they were at liberty to use as they thought best.
5. The vessels were given them to be brought back to Jerusalem.
6. What other money was required Ezra was at liberty to draw upon the king’s treasure house.
7. All the treasurers who are beyond the rivers are commanded to give Ezra whatever he may require of them, with no restrictions as to the amount of salt he should need.
The following constitute the permanent provisions:
1. Priests and Levites and Temple officers were excused from taxation.
2. Ezra was empowered to appoint magistrates and judges to enforce the law of God, and to teach those who might not know it.
3. Whoever refused to obey this law might be punished by death or banishment or the confiscation of his goods or imprisonment.
The date of this decree is 457 B.C. and it is the most liberal decree yet. No wonder that Ezra breaks forth into that matchless song of thanksgiving! What marvelous powers had been granted to him by the great king of Persia! He blessed God that he had put such things into the king’s heart.
In Ezr 8:1-14 we have the genealogy of those who returned with Ezra. This account is taken from the personal memoirs of Ezra himself. Here he uses the first personal pronoun. Comparing this list with Zerubbabel’s list we find 17,073 males, making in all, perhaps 9,000 people; fewer families, though three new ones added, instead of eleven chiefs, or heads of families, we find eighteen, and there appears one remarkable name, “Hattush,” a descendant of David and the great-great-grandson of Zerubbabel.
In Ezr 8:15-36 , Ezra describes how he himself gathered the caravan together on the banks of a certain river, how he found no Levites among them, how he found certain Levites at a place called Casiphia and thus adds to his company a considerable number of Levites and singers. He proclaims a fast of three days at this camping place, and doubtless the fast was accompanied by earnest prayer. There was a long and dangerous journey before him, and he fully realized it. Ezra knew that a considerable portion of that desert would be infested by roving bands of robbers who would watch for just such caravans as his. He had a large amount of money with him and might have asked for a band of soldiers to accompany them, but he says, “I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against enemies in the way, because we had spoken to the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who serve him.” Such faith could not fail, and the journey was safely made, requiring about four months. It was in 458 B.C. The first thing they did was to turn over the money; the next thing was to offer sacrifices, and the third thing was to deliver the king’s commission.
At this time a considerable amount of laxity prevailed among the priestly families of Judah and Jerusalem. Many of the princes and the chiefs and priests had married daughters of the alien tribes that settled in and around Judah. The law of the priesthood was that they should marry only among the priestly families, and they were violating the law openly and flagrantly. For such a state of affairs to continue would mean the entire dissolution of the race and the obliteration of their religion. The princes, the civil heads, made the complaint because the priests and Levites were guilty. Ezra was dumbfounded. His actions are described in Ezr 9:3 where he says, “I rent my garments and my mantle and plucked out the hair of my head and beard and sat down astounded.” In this attitude he attracted a great deal of attention. And in spite of the crowd that collected about him, he remained in this position until the time of the evening oblation. That hour arriving, it was time for prayer. He stretched forth his hands in an earnest confession. That confession gives a glimpse into the heart of the man. It shows us his whole intense honesty and integrity of purpose. It shows how he identified himself with the people, for in his confession of the sins of the people he included himself with the others. He realized that if this state of affairs continued, the race would deteriorate, the religion of Jehovah would be lost among the foreign elements; that it would be practically impossible for him to impress the law of Moses upon the community; that the nation would justly die, for God would drive them into exile again. As might be expected, a great awe-stricken crowd gathered about the man so humiliated and grieved. They knew full well the cause. One young man, named Shecaniah, speaks. He thinks there is hope for Israel concerning this thing; that all that is necessary is for these men to put away their wives and the children born of such wives; only let it be done in a legal fashion, according to the law of Moses. Ezra revived. He roused himself up and issued a proclamation, calling an assembly of the people to consider the matter. He commands that they make confession of their guilt and separate themselves from the strange women, whom they have married. A divorce court is appointed whose duty it is to carry into effect this command. Two men refuse to obey (Ezr 9:15 ) and the same verse tells us that they had their friends. The work is completed. Homes are broken up. Wives are torn from their husbands and sent back to their homes. Children were torn from their fathers; husbands sat in the gloom of their homes, childless. It is difficult for us to even imagine the full results of such a rigid decree. According to the law of Moses it was the only thing that he could do to save the race and the law of God. The list of those who were guilty of this sin was formidable, but this radical measure was necessary to preserve Israel for her mission in giving the religion of Jehovah to the world.
QUESTIONS
1. What was the time period between the events of Ezra 6-7, how ascertained and what changes occurred during this period?
2. Who was Ezra, what did he do for Jerusalem and how long on the journey?
3. What was the nature of the decree of Artaxerxes concerning Ezra, what was the temporary provisions, what was the more permanent provisions, what date and how does this decree compare with the two preceding ones?
4. What of Ezra’s exultation in Ezr 7:27-28 ?
5. Compare the list of those who returned with Ezra with Zerubbabel’s list as to number, as to families, as to the chiefs, and as to the remarkable names.
6. What was the course of Ezra’s journey and what were the incidents and details of the journey?
7. Upon their arrival at Jerusalem what were the first things they did?
8. What immoral condition did Ezra find in Israel when he arrived in Jerusalem, who made the complaint and why, how did it affect Ezra, and how did he manifest his grief?
9. What course did he pursue and what are the striking features of his prayer?
10. How did God answer his prayer and what measures recom
11. How then did they proceed and what was the details of the work?
12. What do you think of the list of those who were guilty of this
13. What was the ground of justification for this radical measure by Ezra?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Ezr 8:1 These [are] now the chief of their fathers, and [this is] the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
Ver. 1. These are now the chief of their fathers ] The chieftains of those that went up with Ezra, beside those that went up at first with Zerubbabel.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ezra Chapter 8
Well, Ezra proceeds; and he gathers together out of Israel chief men. “And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava: and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi” (Ezr 8:15 ). There was a lack in the work, you observe, a lack of energy for the work. “Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel,” and so on. “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God.” That is the point. It is not asking for power, but it is afflicting themselves before God. It is humiliation of spirit before the Lord, that the Lord may be able to entrust us with a blessing. “I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers” – it was not outward power: that was not the thing – “and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.” And instead of a band of soldiers protecting them, God protected them, which was much better. So they came up through all their enemies.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ezr 8:1-14
1Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; 3of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; 4of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him; 5of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him; 6and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him; 7and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him; 8and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him; 9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; 10and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; 11and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him; 12and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; 13and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them; 14and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and 70 males with them.
8:l-14 This is a list of those Jewish people who returned from exile in Babylon with Ezra. They are, for the most part, members of the same families who returned under Zerubbabel.
This list begins with two priests and one descendant of the royal line of David. In a sense this parallels Zerubbabel (royal line) and Jeshua (family of Aaronic High Priest). The author is trying to show that both groups of leaders (royal and priestly) were also involved in the third return (first, Sheshbazzar, cf. Ezra 1, under Cyrus; second, Zerubbabel/Jeshua, cf. Ezra 2-6, under Darius and now Ezra, some 57-58 years later, under Artaxerxes I).
Ezr 8:1 with me This shows that Ezra himself is writing or dictating his own experience. Ezra’s actions continue in Neh 7:72 to Neh 8:18.
I sections are present in both Ezra and Nehemiah, which show they are two separate books even though they are combined in Hebrew tradition.
Ezr 8:2 the sons of Phinehas, Gershom Phinehas was a son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron (cf. Exo 6:25; 1Ch 6:4; 1Ch 6:50; 1Ch 9:20; 1Es 8:2). In this context, we learn that he was the father of Gershom, a priest who returned with Ezra. He was a relative of Ezra (cf. Ezr 7:5).
the sons of Ithamar, Daniel Ithamar was one of the four sons of Aaron (cf. Exo 6:23). Daniel, one of his descendants, returned with Ezra. Daniel is also listed as a priest in Neh 10:6. Nothing else is known about him.
Ithamar’s descendants’, Eli’s (cf. 1Sa 2:12-16) and Abiathar’s (cf. 1Ki 2:27) actions caused this family of priests to be depreciated in importance and service. Jeremiah was of this family.
the sons of David, Hattush After the list of priests, there is a mention of the royal line of Judah, Hattush. He is mentioned in the Davidic genealogy of 1 Chronicles 3 (cf. Ezr 8:22) and in the extra-canonical book of I Esdras (Ezr 8:29).
sons of Shecaniah This man was a relative of Zerubbabel (also of the royal line of Judah) listed in 1Ch 3:21-22. Because of the recurrent pattern in this context, he may be related to Hattush and not Parosh (cf. Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, p. 475 and The NET Bible, p. 720).
Parosh This name appears several times in Ezra and Nehemiah as an Israelite family that returned with Zerubbabel. A descendant by the same name was active in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (cf. Ezr 2:3; Ezr 8:3; Ezr 10:25; Neh 3:25; Neh 7:8; Neh 10:14; and 1Es 8:30).
Zechariah Several persons by this name are listed in the returnees with Ezra (cf. Ezr 8:3-4; Ezr 8:11; Ezr 8:16; Ezr 10:26). This one was a descendant of Parosh. The NASB is translated in such a way that it implies he is related to Shecaniah, which would make him of the tribe of Judah, but the Hebrew seems to separate this man into another group, not necessarily from any specific tribe.
Ezr 8:4 Pahath-moab This is a leader of the returning Jews who is mentioned several times (cf. Ezr 2:6; Ezr 8:4; Neh 3:11; Neh 7:11; Neh 10:14). The name implies that this large clan was from the area of Moab or they served David there (cf. 1Sa 22:3-4). Two thousand eight hundred and twelve of his descendants returned under Zerubbabel and 200 more under Ezra.
Ezr 8:5 Zattu This name is omitted in the Hebrew text, but is included in the Septuagint and 1Es 8:32. It is also missing in the Peshitta. He is the head of a large family that returned with Zerubbabel (cf. Ezr 2:8; Ezr 8:5; Neh 7:13; 1Es 8:32). A large number returned with Zerubbabel (i.e., 945 males) and possibly 300 more males with Ezra (cf. 1Es 8:32).
Shecaniah 1Es 8:32 makes him a descendant of Zattu and son of Jahaziel.
Ezr 8:6 Adin This man’s descendants (i.e., Jonathan, Ebed) returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel in 454 (cf. Ezr 2:15) and under Ezra 50 more males made the long trip from Babylon to Judah.
Ezr 8:7 Elam This name, like Pahath-moab, may reflect the area to which these Jewish men were exiled (cf. Ezr 2:7). There is another group from this area mentioned in Ezr 2:31. The first group had 1,254 who returned under Zerubbabel (cf. Ezr 2:7; Neh 7:12; 1Es 5:12).
In this text a second group returns under Ezra with Athaliah, Jeshaiah, and 70 males.
Ezr 8:8 Shephatiah This is another family who returned under Zerubbabel with 372 males (cf. Ezr 2:4), and later, under Ezra (Ezr 8:8; 1Es 8:34) another 81 or 82 (which included Michael and Zebadiah). The parallel non-canonical account in I Esdras puts their numbers as 472 and 71 (cf. 1Es 5:9).
Ezr 8:9 Joab This family is related to Pahath-moab (cf. Ezr 2:6; Neh 7:11). They returned with 2,812 males under Zerubbabel and 80 plus (Jehiel and Obadiah) with Ezra (Ezr 8:8).
Ezr 8:10 Bani This family is listed in Ezr 2:10 as bringing 642 males back with Zerubbabel (cf. 1Es 5:12). Neh 7:15, which is a parallel genealogy, has Binnui and lists the returning males as 648. Many scholars believe this refers to the same person, which is surely possibly, but the mentioning of both Bani and Binnui in Ezr 10:38 makes one wonder.
The name is omitted in the Hebrew text and the Peshitta, but is present in the several manuscripts of the Septuagint, as well as 1Es 8:36.
Ezr 8:11 Bebai This is another family who returned under Zerubbabel with 623 males (cf. Ezr 2:11; Neh 7:16 has 628). Then later under Ezra another 28-29 (cf. Ezr 8:11, which includes Zechariah).
Ezr 8:12 Azgad This name means Gad is strong (BDB 739) and may reflect a tribal origin. This family returned initially under Zerubbabel with 1,222 males (cf. Ezr 2:12; Neh 7:17; 1Es 5:13) and then later under Ezra another 110 plus (including Hakkatan and Johanan, cf. Ezr 8:12).
Ezr 8:13 Adonikam The name (BDB 12) means the Lord has arisen. This family returned under Zerubbabel with 666 or 667 males (Neh 7:18). They are mentioned again here by three proper names and 60 males as returning under Ezra (cf. 1Es 5:14; 1Es 8:39).
Ezr 8:13
NASBthe last ones
NKJVof the last sons of
NRSVthose who came later
TEV(they returned at a later date)
NJBthe younger sons
This possibly means that the whole family returned, some with Zerubbabel, and the rest, at a later time, with Ezra. It is obvious from these English translations that the phrase’s meaning is uncertain. BDB (p. 30) supports the NRSV and TEV’s understanding as an ADJECTIVE of time.
Ezr 8:14 Bigvai This is a significant family that returned with Zerubbabel (cf. Ezr 2:2; Neh 7:7). He is listed in Ezr 8:2 and then the number of males who returned is given in Ezr 8:14 as 2,056. Two of his sons and 70 males returned with Ezra (Ezr 8:14; 1Es 5:14; 1Es 8:14, which says they came from Persia).
NASB, NKJVZabbud
NRSV, TEV,
NIV, JPSOAZaccur
NJB, LXXAzbud
The NASB follows the Kethiv (written) of the Hebrew text (MT), but NRSV follows the Qere (read) of the MT (and the Peshitta).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
chief = heads: i.e. heads of houses.
them that went up. Most of these names appear in Ezr 2and Neh 10. The number is 1,496. If there were no women with them, this might be the cause of the “strange” marriages in Ezr 10and Neh 10.
Artaxerxes: i.e. Darius (Hystaspis). See App-57and App-58.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 8
So in chapter eight it gives to us a list of those who went with Ezra, totaling out about 754 of the males, when you add the priests that were added to later. So they numbered the people, and they found out that they didn’t have any ministering priests among them of the Levites. And so they wanted to take back some priests to administer also. And so search was made, and they found these men and “by the good hand of our God upon us,” they brought to us a man of understanding and his sons who were the sons of Levi, the sons of Israel. And so they returned with them to the land.
But as they gathered at the river and they were ready to go, they had collected a lot of money, the king had given them a lot of gold and silver and he said,
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all of our substance. For [he said] I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because ( Ezr 8:21-22 )
He had actually told the king how great God was. “The God that we serve, He’s the God of the universe,” and really been bragging to the king about God. Been witnessing to the king about the power and the greatness of God and how God watches over His people and how God’s hand is upon those for good who seek after Him, and we’re going to seek after God and all. And so the king gave them all this gold and everything else. But now he has all this treasure and he’s got this long journey through this land that is filled with Nomadic tribes who plunder all of the caravans that come along. They live off of these caravans. And with all of the wealth that he’s carrying, he’s really worried about it. What if they get plundered on the way and they’re going to have to move slowly. Actually it took them four full months to make the journey from the area there in Persia to the to Jerusalem. And with all this money.
So he really had sort of painted himself into a corner in bragging about God. It would be inconsistent to go back to the king now and say, “Would you mind sending a bunch of soldiers and horsemen so we can be protected from the enemy?” When they had told him that God was able to protect. So they fasted and prayed and they then began their journey. So he took twelve of the men and he divided the treasure among them. Weighed out all of the silver and the gold with these twelve men and he instructed them to watch it and to keep it.
And so we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. And we came to Jerusalem, and we were there for three days. Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah ( Ezr 8:31-33 )
And so forth. And so they had these guys bring the gold in and they weighed it out and it was all there. Every ounce made it safely.
And they delivered the king’s decree to the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors on this side of the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God ( Ezr 8:36 ). “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Ezr 8:1-14
Ezr 8:1-14
FURTHER DETAILS OF EZRA’S JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM;
THE LIST OF FAMILIES; CHIEF MEN; WITH THE NUMBERS OF RETURNEES
“Now these are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of lthamar, Daniel, Of the sons of David, Hattush. Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Pahath-moab, EUe. hoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males. And of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him fourscore males. Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males. And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and threescore males. And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty and eight males. And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males. And of the sons of Adonikam, that were the last: and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them threescore males. And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.”
This list is parallel with that of Ezr 3:3-13, and there are many similarities. Generally, the same family names appear in both lists, although not in the same order. “The numbers here are much smaller, never reaching even a third of the totals in the other list, and sometimes falling below one twelfth.” Only in Ezr 8:5 (Shecaniah), Ezr 8:9 (Joab) and Ezr 8:10 (Shelomith) do we find new families mentioned; and two of these are disputed.
The authenticity of his list has been challenged; but Bowman mentioned that, “It has also been defended, and that it fits.” “The reliability of this list is also supported by its appearance with only slight variations in 1Es 8:28-40.”
The whole number of those accompanying Ezra on this journey, including the Levites and Nethinim finally recruited by Ezra, was placed at 1,773 males. Rawlinson placed the total number, including women and children, at about 9,000, estimating five per family. Wlliamson, however, estimated the total number as “some 5,000.”
The most remarkable name in the whole list is that of Hattush the son of Schechaniah. “Beyond any reasonable doubt, he was the descendant of David (1Ch 3:22), through Shemaiah; and he was Zerubbabel’s great-great-grandson.”
E.M. Zerr:
Ezr 8:1. These chief of their fathers are the men referred to in the last verse of the preceding chapter. It was not expected that every Jew would make the journey to Jerusalem at this time, but the leading men among them, in order to accomplish the work at hand. The word fathers has special reference back to the beginning of the nation after they came out of Egypt. Genealogy means the family list. That is, when certain men are named, a jump may be made back to their forefathers to find the fountainhead of the person or persons, if two or more had a common ancestor.
Ezr 8:2-3. Some of these names are familiar, being among the early ancestors of the congregation of the Jews. Again, some cases are mere coincidents and should not be allowed to confuse us. The leading men of whatever unit is being considered will be named, then a sum of the number that went with them will be stated. Thus the number that was with the unit of this paragraph was 150 males. All of them were admitted to the expedition, having been represented in the genealogy or family list.
Ezr 8:4. Sans of Pahathmoab is a general statement of the group the writer wished to consider in this unit. And out of that group he named Elihonenai, whose immediate father was Zerahiah. This man was associated with 200 males.
Ezr 8:5. The next group was composed of the sons or descendants of Shechaniah. But not all of them could be represented in the movement, so a particular one was named to furnish the list. Jahaziel was the one chosen and the name of his son is not given, only that a son of his was given 300 males.
Ezr 8:6. Adin stands for a group of seed of Israel, and both father and son who were selected are named. This son was given 50 males to journey with him.
Ezr 8:7-14. Having considered several verses in detail, I believe the reader now understands the order or method followed, which applies to each of the verses in this paragraph. It was thought unnecessary, therefore, to take space for all of them separately. The thought that will be added, and that applies to each of the verses from the 3rd on down, is the fact that only males are mentioned. That is in keeping with the general plan of the Mosaic system, which required the males only to take upon them the activities of the national services. That was in consideration for the females as being the weaker vessels (physically), and hence not qualified for the journeys and other strenuous items of the system. The sum of all the males listed in verses 3-14 is 1496, which is quite an army of workers and travelers, planning to journey to the native country of their forefathers.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
In this chapter we have, first, a representative list of those who joined Ezra when he went up to Jerusalem. First in order, members of the priestly and royal houses are named (verses Ezr 8:1-2). Then follows the register and number of the people (verses Ezr 8:3-14). Before the actual march commenced, Ezra gathered together at Ahava those who were to accompany him in order to review them and prepare for the journey. He found that none of the sons of Levi was in the company. Recognizing the necessity for their presence, he paused, and sent to Iddo, who perhaps was in charge of some school of the Levites.
In response to his appeal, certain of their number joined him. The journey before them was full of peril, and the character of Ezra is remarkably revealed in his action at this point. Conscious of the perils, he was yet ashamed to seek help in the way from an earthly king; and therefore proclaimed a fast in which, in humiliation, they waited upon God for His guidance and protection.
In this story there is a h e illustration of the independence and dependence of those who follow the Lord. Of greatest importance to Ezra was the honor of the name of his God. That honor he would not sully by seeking help from an earthly king. The voluntary gifts of the king were welcome, and for this Ezra was thankful. To ask for soldiers would have been tacitly to confess questioning the ability or willingness of God to help. God never fails those who act in full dependence on Him and independently of all others. At last, after a long journey, they arrived in safety at Jerusalem, and made their offerings.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
United Prayer for Guidance
Ezr 8:1-23
The number of men who accompanied Ezra amounted to 1754, but the women and children would bring up the gross total to about 7000. The lack of Levites was very serious. These should have been among the very first. A deputation was therefore sent to a neighboring seminary or college, where they were being trained, and here again is the mention of the good hand of God. Sometimes hearts are ready and waiting for service, which need just a word or appeal to complete their plans. There is always special interest in this paragraph for those who are venturing forth on the untried and unknown. The camp at Ahava; the sending for the priests; the waiting for their coming; the recognition of Gods good hand in sending a man of discretion; and then the fast and prayer for protection. We can almost see the little band on the point of plunging into the inhospitable and dangerous desert, spending hours in prayer, and restrained from requesting an escort, lest they might invalidate their leaders trustful boast. How careful we should be to do nothing inconsistent with the proud position that faith gives us in the keeping power of God! Seek Him, O soul of mine, and He will be found, and His hand shall be upon thee for good.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter 8
The March Of Faith
What I would especially press upon the conscience of my reader at this juncture is this: Albeit the movement in which Ezra and his company were participants was distinct from that of Zerubbabel, Jeshua and their brethren, there were no new principles involved than those the former company had already learned from the word of God. No new centre was ever thought of. No new place to gather was suggested. Jerusalem was the one only place and Jehovah the one only Name. He had set His name at Jerusalem: consequently thitherward were the faces of all Ezras company turned. They were soon to learn that those who had preceded them had made a mess and a failure4 of the whole thing; but that did not set them inquiring if it would not be wise to gather elsewhere, to give up the principle of separation, to step aside from the movement and contentedly go back to Babylon. Not at all. Gods word remained. Gods centre remained. Gods Spirit remained,. And for this fresh company there was nothing to do, as guided by that Spirit, but to return to and continue to own the one centre in accordance with the unchanging Word.
Surely in this we may learn a lesson which some are fast letting slip-a lesson which really learned would save from much discouragement as well as from many a blunder here and from much loss at the judgment-seat of Christ.
We turn now to our chapter, and here again we have a table of the chief of the fathers-a table that God delighted to put on record, and which, like the former one, stands on the books of eternity. All will be forever remembered by Him who never overlooks anything done in faith and subjection to His Word. Had one of these turned back to Babylon He would have noted it too; and had any stopped half way between the land of Shinar and the city of God, His eye would have discerned it and His hand recorded it. Solemn considerations are these for any who might be disposed to trifle with divine truth.
Not one of the names here listed may be otherwise known to us; but all stand in Gods sight for distinct living personalities, all of whose acts and words are as clear in His mind as though they still tabernacled in flesh and blood, and walked the earth as strangers and sojourners, servants of the God of heaven, cleaving to His name in the midst of ruin. It is for us to occupy this very position to-day, as though in their place; and, if faithful in it, rest assured, He who forgets not one of them will pass by nothing in our history that He can reward in that day.
When the whole company were assembled together by Ezras orders, by the river that runneth to Ahava, they abode in tents-the sign of pilgrimage-for three days, the period of full display or testimony: and then all were reviewed before their priestly leader, who soon observed that the sons of Levi were sadly conspicuous by their absence. Not one was found among the pilgrim band. What did it mean? Evidently it was harder for these men whose whole portion must be in God, to rise to the blessedness of such a place, than for those who expected to have an inheritance in their ancient home. The Levites were settled in a large measure of comfort in the land of the stranger. To forsake it all and go forth in simplicity to the place of the Name, meant more to them than to some others.5 But, on the other hand, how much greater the blessing, when one thus puts God to the test and finds Him ever the all-sufficient One anticipating every need, and leading the soul out in a way that others seldom know.
Ezra at once sent a deputation of faithful men to lay before the Levites and the Nethinims, who were of old appointed by David to the service of the Levites, to lay before them the importance of going forth with them, That they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God (vers. 55-17). And thus it was that a number of both classes were, as Ezra so beautifully puts it, by the good hand of our God upon us, led to join their company. Among these one is especially mentioned as a man of understanding. Valuable indeed in any movement of Gods Spirit are such men; like those of old, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.
The company was now, one might have supposed, ready to go up to the house of God at Jerusalem. But Ezra has other thoughts. He knows the way is long and lonely. Dangers abound. There are perils of robbers and perils of wild beasts. A safe convoy is surely needed, and where shall such be found but in the living God? The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him and delivereth them. So a fast is proclaimed by the river-side, and all the people are urged to humble themselves before God, to entreat of Him a prosperous way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance (ver. 21). What a lovely sight in the eyes of the Lord was that self-judged; fasting company, in the dust before. Him, crying to Him to be their Guide and Deliverer. No ark, borne on the shoulders of anointed priests, was there to lead them now. No pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night was there to guide. But they knew that He who of old had led them through the wilderness changeth not; and they sent up their petition to Him to be indeed their Shepherd, preserving them from every danger and meeting every need, all along their march of faith. It would have been easy to have applied to their royal patron, Artaxerxes, for a convoy, but this would have given the lie to the profession Ezra had made in his presence. It stirs the heart to read his reasons, so artlessly given in verse 22, for turning alone to God. For I was ashamed, he says, to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to keep us against the enemy in the way; because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His wrath is against all them that forsake Him. This is most blessed. Alas, how 1ittle is the spirit of Ezra entered into in our time-serving age, when almost any means are adopted for carrying on what is called the work of the Lord, and any help is greedily sought, even from the unholy and profane, with no thought of the awful dishonor done to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Money is begged from all sources; patronage desired from the ungodly, if they have but wealth and influence-and this by professed followers of Him who said, If I were hungry I would not tell thee; and whose servants in apostolic days went forth, for His names sake taking nothing of the Gentiles. Ezras faith and godliness might well put all such to shame. His stand contrasts with the dreadful lowering of the standard so prevalent throughout Christendom.
Having borne faithful testimony to the king, he and his company turned to God in fasting and prayer, beseeching Him to lead them forth as of old; and, the record adds, He was entreated of us (ver. 23). And so will He ever be where there is faith to count upon Him, and holiness to refuse all that would compromise His glory.
Not only did Ezra thus honor Gods name before the powers of the world, but he was equally careful in caring for what belonged to the house of God, the treasure committed to him, that good deposit consisting of the gold and silver given by his brethren as an offering unto the Lords house, and the vessels entrusted to him by the king. All were carefully weighed and tabulated, and delivered for safe-keeping to twelve of the priests, who were especially separated for this particular trust. To them Ezra gave a solemn charge, reminding us of Pauls charge to his son in the faith, Timothy, in the first chapter of his second epistle. Ye are holy unto the Lord, Ezra says to them, the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a free-will offering unto the Lord God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord (vers. 28, 29). These were earnest and serious words, and must have made each of the twelve feel intensely the sacredness of the trust committed to them. So to us has a deposit of holy things been entrusted, even the truth of which God has seen fit to make us stewards. We are to safe-guard this holy treasure all through our journey, until we reach the place of manifestation, when all will be weighed once more in the balances of the sanctuary. Well will it be for us then if we have lost nothing on the way, but have held fast, like the beloved apostle Paul, all that has been committed unto us.
The priests and the Levites duly witnessed and tabulated the amount of gold and silver and the weight of the vessels, and the appointed guardians took all in their charge, after which, the journey was begun.
On the twelfth day of the first month the caravan left the river of Ahava, seven days after Ezras first start (chap. 7:9), a week having passed in needful preparation. All along the journey the hand of God was upon them, and Ezra testifies, He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and of all such as lay in wait by the way (ver. 31). What indeed had they to fear from the hand of the enemy when under the protecting care of the hand of God. And what has any saint to fear when that same almighty, yet infinitely tender Hand is ever upon him for good. It has well been said that God is all that we take Him for. The great trouble with many of us is we are so straitened in ourselves, and thus we limit the Holy One of Israel. Able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think is the unlimited resource available to faith.
At last Jerusalem was reached, and for three days the pilgrims rested after their long and arduous journey. Then came the day of reckoning, when account was to be made of the treasure conveyed by the twelve appointed priests. The gold and silver and the vessels were all weighed in the house of God by Meremoth, Eleazar, Jozabad and Noadiah, four men, upon the fourth day. The number in each case is significant, for throughout Scripture four speaks of testing. By number and by weight of every one, the test is made, and all recorded in the priestly record, and found intact. The twelve had fulfilled their trust in a way that you and I, my reader, will be glad indeed to have done, if the day of reckoning give us as clean a sheet as they obtained.
The accounting rendered in a rightful manner, the newly arrived company now flock about the altar of God as a band of worshipers, with a great number of burnt offerings; and, as at the dedication of the temple, with twelve he-goats as a sin offering for all Israel. They take their stand with their brethren as part of a failed people, acknowledging their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, but counting on the covenant-mercy of their faithful God (ver. 35).
It was a scene of great moral beauty, and must have deeply affected the whole company, as once more they were permitted to approach God at the appointed place, and sing the Lords song about His altar and in His house. Often had they longed for this hour when by the rivers of Babylon they sat down and wept when they remembered Zion (Ps. 137). There they had cried, If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Now they were actually in the place where Jehovah had caused His name to dwell of old, and the sweet savor of a multitude of burnt offerings ascended to His throne to testify to the gladness of their hearts; while the sin offering, burned to ashes, told how fully they recognized the evil of having departed from Him who should ever have been the joy of their souls; the God of their fathers, now fully recognized as their God, despite their feeble condition.
It has been supposed by many, on the authority of Jewish tradition, that the Songs of degrees (Ps. 120 to 134) were sung by Ezra and his company at various stages of the way, until at last they stood in the house of the Lord and could lift up their hands in the sanctuary and bless Jehovah. These psalms, read in this connection, are, at least, very suggestive, and lead the soul along the way from the tents of darkness to the house of God most blessedly.
The last verse of our chapter tells us that the kings commissions were duly delivered to the authorities beyond the river, as a consequence of which they dared no longer hinder; but in accordance with their instructions they furthered the people and the house of God. So had the wrath of man been made to praise Him, and the remainder been restrained.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Ezr 8:22-23, Ezr 8:31-32
The symbolic phrase “the hand of our God,” as expressive of the Divine protection, occurs with remarkable frequency in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and though not peculiar to them, is yet exceedingly characteristic of them. It has a certain beauty and force of its own. The hand is of course the seat of active power. It is on or over a man like some great shield held aloft above him, below which there is safe hiding. So that great hand bends itself over us, and we are secure beneath its hollow. As a child sometimes carries a tender-winged butterfly in the globe of its two hands, that the bloom on its wings may not be ruffled by its fluttering, so He carries our feeble, unarmoured souls enclosed in the covert of His almighty hand. God is upon us to impart power as well as protection; and our “bow abides in strength” when “the arms of our hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.” That was Ezra’s faith, and that should be ours.
I. Note Ezra’s sensitive shrinking from anything like inconsistency between his creed and his practice. With a keen and high sense of what was required by his avowed principles, he will have no guards for the road. There would have been no harm in his asking an escort, seeing that his whole enterprise was made possible by the king’s support. But a true man often feels that he cannot do the things which he might without sin do. Let us learn again the lesson from this old story that if our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps and material good.
II. Notice, too, Ezra’s preparation for receiving the Divine help. There was no foolhardiness in his courage; he was well aware of all: the possible dangers on the road; and whilst he was confident of the Divine protection, he knew that, in his own quiet, matter-of-fact words, it was given to “all them that seek Him.” So his faith not only impels him to the renunciation of the Babylonian guard, but to earnest supplication for the defence in which he is so confident. He is sure it will be given, so sure that he will have no other shield; and yet he fasts and prays that he and his company may receive it. He prays because he is sure that he will receive it, and does receive it because he prays and is sure.
A. Maclaren, Weekday Evening Addresses, p. 37.
Ezr 8:29
I may venture, without being unduly fanciful, to take these words as a type of the injunctions which are given to us Christian people, and to see in them a striking and picturesque representation of the duties that devolve upon us in the course of our journey across the desert to the temple home above.
I. Notice, first, what the precious treasure is which is thus entrusted to our keeping and care. The metaphor is capable of two applications. The first is to the rich treasure and solemn trust of our own nature, of our own, souls, the faculties and capacities precious beyond all count, rich beyond all else that a man has ever received. The treasure is, first, our own selves, with all that we are and may be under the stimulating and quickening influence of God’s grace and Spirit. The treasure is, next, His great word of salvation, once delivered unto the saints, and to be handed on, without diminution or alteration in its fair perspective and manifold harmonies, to the generations that are to come.
II. A word next as to the command, the guardianship that is here set forth. “Watch ye, and keep them.” The treasure which is given into our hands requires for its safe preservation unceasing vigilance. Guardianship is (1) vigilance; (2) trust, like the trust which is glorified in the context, depending only on “the good hand of our God upon us;” (3) purity, because, as Ezra said, “ye are holy unto the Lord. The vessels are holy also,” and therefore ye are the fit persons to guard them. (4) And besides that, there is in our keeping, our trust, a method which does not apply to the incident before us, namely, use, in order to their preservation.
A. Maclaren, Weekday Evening Addresses, p. 45.
Reference: Ezr 9:9.-R. D. B. Rawnsley, Sermons in Country Churches, 1st series, p. 240. Ezr 9:13, Ezr 9:14.-J. Budgen, Parochial Sermons, vol. ii., p. 168.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 8
1. Those who returned with Ezra (Ezr 8:1-14)
2. The gathering at Ahava (Ezr 8:15-20)
3. The fast proclaimed (Ezr 8:21-23)
4. The appointment of guardians (Ezr 8:24-30)
5. The departure and arrival in Jerusalem (Ezr 8:31-36)
Ezr 8:1-14. The names of those who gathered around Ezra and went up with him are here recorded. In view of the magnificent decree and liberality of Artaxerxes, the company was very small. The majority preferred Babylon, and remained there. The faithful ones are known to God, and their names are here forever written in His Word. Though the Gentile monarch had given the decree, and the people were abundantly supplied with all necessary means, the undertaking was one of faith. They came out of Babylon trusting the LORD; they marched on in faith. It must be especially noticed that only males are mentioned. The mixed marriages of which we read in the next chapter most likely were the result of the fact that no women had joined Ezras expedition.
Ezr 8:15-20. Ezra gathered them together at the river that runneth to Ahava, which probably was a branch of the Euphrates, near Babylon. There they dwelt in their tents for three days. They were pilgrims and strangers, and had gone forth like Abraham, the father of the nation. Ezra viewed the people and discovered the absence of the Levites. While a small number of Levites had gone up with Zerubbabel, none had joined Ezra. Only two priests were present, Gershon, son of Phinehas, and Daniel, son of Ithamar. What indifference this reveals! They had settled down in the enemys land and were satisfied to remain there. They were minding earthly things, and the things of God were forgotten by them. Still they were Levites in their holy calling. It is so today with many who are no doubt saved, but they are worldly-minded, and have but little desire to live in the separation demanded by Him from His people. Ezra was not willing to leave the Levites behind, knowing how absolutely necessary they were for the house of God. How Ezra must have looked to God! Then he acted, and through the good hand of God, which he once more acknowledged, a number of Levites and Nethinim joined the party.
Ezr 8:21-23. He proclaimed a fast. The man of God felt the need of seeking Gods face and His gracious protection. The fasting was the outward sign of deep humiliation and an expression of their dependence, to seek of Him a straight way, for us and for our little ones, and for all our substance. The need of guidance as well as protection was fully recognized by the gathered company, and they trusted the LORD for both. This is still the blessed way of faith for Gods servant, and for the children of God. How great would be the success and the blessing if at all times and in all service Gods people would first seek His face, humble themselves in His presence and trust Him fully. Ezra had told the king that he trusted the LORD, that His hand is upon all them for good that seek Him, and so he was ashamed to ask a military escort to protect them against robbers, who might waylay them and rob them of their possessions. He knew His God was the best shield, and His angels, the ministers used in guarding His people and keeping evil away from them, would be the unseen companions of the caravan. So we fasted and besought our God for this, and He was entreated of us. Their prayers were answered. And He still answers faith.
Ezr 8:24-30. Faith in God did not make Ezra careless. He felt his great responsibility and made the most careful preparations. He set apart twelve of the chief priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them. Levites were also selected by him (8:30). To their custody he committed the holy vessels, as well as the silver and the gold which had been so freely given. Then he gave them the charge, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also and the silver and gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. He had weighed into their hand 650 talents of silver (about $1,250,000) and of gold 100 talents (about $3,000,000) besides the costly vessels of silver and gold. This careful weighing of everything when they received the costly treasures, and the weighing when they delivered the same in Jerusalem, does not mean that Ezra entertained any doubt as to the honesty of the priests and Levites. It was done to avoid all suspicion. The same principle is laid down in the New Testament for the Church: Provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men (2Co 8:21).
Ezr 8:31-36. Then the departure was made on the twelfth day of the first month. In faith and complete dependence on God they set out towards the land of their fathers. And the LORD honored their faith. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. They must have had many narrow escapes, but as they constantly trusted in the LORD, in His good hand of mercy and power, He delivered them from all dangers. The LORD who answered their faith and kept them is the same today, and never disappoints faith. His hand is the same as then, and we too can experience His gracious deliverance. The journey occupied not quite four months. The three days at the end of the journey correspond to the three days before the journey began at the river Ahava. (8:15). What praise they must have rendered to God during these three days in Jerusalem, when their eyes beheld once more the beloved city and the house of the LORD!
On the fourth day the treasures were turned over and were weighed in the house of God. This was done by Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest. He is mentioned by Nehemiah as one of the builders of the wall (Neh 3:4; Neh 3:21). With him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas. Associated with them were Jozabad, the son of Jeshua (mentioned also in 10:23 and Neh 7:7) and Noadiah, the son of Binnui. Thus in the house of God account was rendered, as all His people will have to give an account before the judgment seat of Christ.
Burnt offerings were then offered, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs and twelve he-goats for a sin offering. It is especially to be noticed that the small remnant which had returned embraced in their faith all Israel. All Israel will some day be saved and be brought back to the land, through Him who is the true burnt and sin offering. And as their faith included all their brethren, the whole house of Israel, though they were not with them, so our faith must include all the saints of God.
After having discharged their solemn obligation, giving God the first place, they delivered the kings commissions unto the kings lieutenants, and to the governors on this side of the river; and they furthered the people and the house of God.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
the chief: Ezr 1:5, 1Ch 9:34, 1Ch 24:31, 1Ch 26:32, 2Ch 26:12, Neh 7:70, Neh 7:71
genealogy: Ezr 2:62, 1Ch 4:33, 1Ch 9:1
them that went up: Ezr 7:7, Ezr 7:13
Reciprocal: Ezr 8:16 – chief men Neh 12:36 – Ezra Psa 147:2 – he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE FIRST FOURTEEN verses are occupied with the names of those who accompanied Ezra according to their genealogies, and with the number of the males in each family. God has seen to it that the names of those who bestirred themselves to answer to His call to return to the land, should be placed on record in a very permanent way, while the names of those who did not bestir themselves are almost entirely lost.
With verse fifteen we resume the history of the migration; how again, as is confessed, ‘by the good hand of our God upon us’, there was brought to them the ‘man of understanding’ that they needed, so that all together they were gathered at the river of Ahava, ready to set forth. Ezra recognized, however, that the fact that they had very definitely received help of God in the past did not exempt them from the need of dependence on Him for the present, hence His face must again be sought before they started; so according to the customs of the law a fast was proclaimed that they might afflict their souls before God, and seek of Him the right way for their journey.
Journeying in those days was not particularly safe or easy, so worldly prudence would have dictated the request of an armed escort. This Ezra did not do, and in verse Ezr 8:22 we have his touching confession in the matter. He had spoken in very definite fashion to the king as to the care of his God on behalf of His people and His wrath against those who forsake Him, so he was ashamed to depart in practice from what he had professed. This frank confession on Ezra’s part sets before us a very good example. He was on God’s business, and so did not need to rely on worldly support.
Let us consider how easy it is for us in our day to profess much confidence in God as to how we carry on His work, and yet to fail when the test comes, and we are faced with some very practical questions. We may well be ashamed when some adversary can reproach us by calling upon us to practise what we preach. If we take the Apostle Paul as an example, as well as Ezra, it is quite plain that in carrying on the work of God we do not need the support nor the patronage of the world.
Being assured that God had heard their entreaty, Ezra gave into the hands of trusted helpers the gold and silver treasures they had with them, and they started on their journey from Ahava, and safely arrived at Jerusalem with everything intact. Those to whom the treasure had been entrusted had proved faithful, and they returned thanks to God by their burnt offerings. Thus far all was well.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Ezr 8:1. That went up with me from Babylon Multitudes of the Jews, who loved their ease better than their religion, thinking themselves well where they were, and either not believing that Jerusalem would better their condition, or being deterred by a prospect of the difficulties they might meet with on their journey, preferred staying in Babylon. Some, however, willingly offered themselves to go with Ezra, and the heads of their several families are here recorded for their honour, and the number of males that each brought in, amounting in all to one thousand four hundred and ninety- six.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 8:15. The river that runneth to Ahava, or the river of Diavam. Adiabena is a remote region, according to Boiste, in Assyria, and contiguous to Parthia: but whether the city and river of Ahava were situate there, is really doubtful. The Euphrates and the Tigris are rivers denominated in the sacred writings. Gozan, where a colony of the ten tribes was placed, is also named. Hence, as we are told by critics, that this is a river of Armenia, whose capital is Erivan, on the river Aras, which runs to the Caspian sea; many of the people who returned with Ezra, had resided in Armenia.
REFLECTIONS.
This chapter discovers farther than the last, the great diligence of Ezra after he had received his commission as governor of the Jews. He made a northern circuit, and collected the scattered families on the western rivers of the Caspian sea, whose male adults amounted to about one thousand eight hundred; and consequently, the whole of the women and children could not be less than ten thousand. How noble the spirit which animated him. He wished to save them from the morals and tyranny of the heathen, to bring them into their own land; that being there purified and taken into full covenant with God, they might wait for the Messiah, and inherit every promised blessing. May our hearts be inclined to seek poor sinners in like manner, that we may bring them home to God, and cause them to rejoice in his favour and love.
Ezra, with this emigration, an emigration which had a long and dangerous journey to make, heavily encumbered, and exposed to bands of robbers, entered on his arduous duty by fasting and prayer; and that day is not lost which seeks the blessing and defence of God. There is much delicacy in the shame he felt to ask a guard, for he had boasted no doubt of the defence of the Lords arm.
In all this difficult route, fording rivers, ascending mountains, and penetrating defiles, no sickness assailed them; no bands of thieves could hurt them, neither hunger nor thirst impeded their progress; the good hand of the Lord extended its protection, and brought them safe to the city and sanctuary of the Most High. Grateful for mercies so signal, and elated to see the land of their fathers, they offered atoning victims for their sins, and offerings of peace and thanksgiving for all their favours. Thus they began their journey with fasting and prayer, and consummated it with praise. And if their joy was great on having a sight of Zion, on receiving the greetings of their friends, and the lot of their fathers, what must heaven be to the weary pilgrim, when his captivity is for ever past, when he sees the Zion above, and glorifies God with all his fellow travellers for ever.
There is also a moral trait in the character of Ezra which should not be overlooked. He entrusted the vessels of gold and silver, and gifts of the king and good people of Persia, to the priests by weight and tale; and he delivered them again with the same exactness in Jerusalem. Hence all persons entrusted with private and public property, have a model in this good priest and prince, who thought himself amenable to God and his country. That faithful and worthy servant, who delivers an account of his various trusts with exactness and pleasure, shall secure the approbation of his own heart, and the applause of God and man. So believer, be thou faithful in a few things, and thy Lord will make thee ruler over many.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 8:1-14. A List of Heads of Families.It contains the names of the heads of the families who returned to Palestine with Ezra.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
A LIST OF EZRA’S COMPANIONS
(vv. 1-14)
Those who voluntarily came to accompany Ezra to Jerusalem are recorded here, the men numbering almost 1500. Women also must have been present, but are not mentioned.Not that God thinks less of the faith of women, for He often commends them for their devotedness, but since the emphasis here is on publication, and the women do not hold a public place, there was no reason to refer to them.Children too are not mentioned. In fact, the emphasis inverse 1 is on “the heads of their father’s houses,” showing God’s vital interest in households.
PRIESTS, LEVITES AND NETHINIM ADDED
(vv. 15-20)
Ezra gathered his company together by the river that flows to Ahava, camping there three days.However, among all these people he found none of the sons of Levi present (v. 15). How sad indeed was this deficiency! — for their main concern was the temple of God at Jerusalem, and of all people the Levites ought to have been most anxious to return to Jerusalem, for they were rightly temple servants.Were they content to settle down in Babylon, concerned only for their own comfort in the midst of a world at enmity with God? May we not be like them, but be concerned to place God’s interests first and be willing to labor for the blessing of His present house, the Church of God.
Ezra was not content to go to Jerusalem without Levites, so he called for a number of leaders among the Jews and commanded them to speak to Iddo, the chief man at the place Casiphia, which must have been a place where Levites and Nethinim had congregated, to tell him that Levites and Nethinim were required for the service of the house of God at Jerusalem.
Ezra must have been held in honor among these people, because his words had such effect as to lead eighteen men of one family and twenty of another family of Levites to respond to this call. But also 220 Nethinim responded.These were temple servants, likely Gentiles of the Gibeonites whom Joshua had put in the place of “woodcutters and water carriers” for the congregation” (Jos 9:27).While the Levites were temple servants, the Nethinim were employed as helpers of the Levites, and there is every indication that they proved faithful through the years.
PRAYER AND FASTING
(vv.21-23)
Even with all the required company now gathered, Ezra was not prepared to leave until they had earnestly sought the blessing and guidance of God. He proclaimed a fast that they might humble themselves before God “to seek the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions” (v. 21). This was to be a long journey in which they might be exposed to the dangers of being attacked by robbers, of illness or accidents, bad weather or plain weariness.”For,” he writes, “I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him” (v. 22).Thus, committing themselves simply to the Lord, they had full confidence their prayer was answered (v. 23).
PRIESTS ENTRUSTED WITH COSTLY PROPERTY
(vv. 24-30)
Before leaving also Ezra chose twelve leaders of the priests and ten of their brethren with them to take charge of the silver, gold and other articles that had been offered for the house of God, things given by the king and his counselors as well as by Israelites who were present.These things weighed out to them are detailed in verse 26, — 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 gold basins and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.The 100 talents of gold would be worth close to $800,000.This was no small amount to be entrusted with for a four months journey!
Likely these priests were thoroughly trustworthy men, but it was still necessary to have more than one or two in charge of the property, in order to honor the truth that Paul emphasizes in 2Co 8:20-23, — “avoiding this, that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us.” Indeed the more honest a man is, the more he should desire to have his actions carefully scrutinized by others.Thus too, those who are trusted to handle money in an assembly should be careful to have the amounts and the disposition of any funds closely checked by others.
Ezra reminded the priests that they themselves were holy to the Lord and that what was entrusted to them was also holy (v. 28).Therefore he tells them, “Watch and keep them until you weight them before the leaders of the priests and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord” (v. 28).What a reminder for every believer today!We are entrusted with the truth of the Word of God, and should take to heart what Paul writes to Timothy, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” (1Ti 6:20).Just as the priests were required to give account in Jerusalem of all that was committed to their trust, so we shall give account at the judgment seat of Christ of the way we handled the word of God committed to us.
COMING TO JERUSALEM
(vv.31-36)
Only a brief mention is made of the four month trip to Jerusalem, but full credit is given to God for His preserving care in bringing them in safety, for verse 31 indicates that there were enemies along the road.Yet any effort by them to cause trouble was thwarted before it began. On the fourth day after arriving at Jerusalem the silver and gold and all the articles carried there were weighed in the house of God by two priests accompanied by three Levites.How rightly this was done, that everything might be found in proper order. Similarly, at the end of our Christian journey, all our life will be weighed in “the balances of the sanctuary.”Do we exercise ourselves to have “a conscience void of offense toward God and men,” so that we shall gladly welcome that review?Notice that all the weight was written down at the time (v. 34). So indeed there will be an eternal record of that which has been done in true devotion to the Lord.
Those who returned were children of those taken captive 70 years before, and they offered twelve bulls, 96 rams and 77 lambs as burnt offerings to “the God of Israel,” not simply the God of Judah.The twelve bulls were for the twelve tribes of Israel, though all those tribes were not even represented there.Also twelve male goats were added as a sin offering (v. 35), again with the twelve tribes in view.Today also, when God brings about a return of even a small number to recognize the truth of the Assembly of God, we must never lose sight of the fact that He loves the entire body of Christ, of which we are only a small part. Though it is impossible to have practical fellowship with all the one body, it is only right that we embrace them in our affections. When we break bread (however few we may be), we should always remember that “the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ”? — thus recognizing our fellowship with the entire body of Christ, not only those present.
Ezra’s company delivered the king’s orders to his officials in that area, which the officials honored by giving support to the Jews and to the work of the temple (v. 36).God in this way was giving special encouragement to His people in the work that was for His honor.
“So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer” (Ezr 8:23).
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
8:1 These [are] now the chief of their fathers, and [this is] the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of {a} Artaxerxes the king.
(a) Read Ezr 7:1-28.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The leading men who returned 8:1-14
The descendants of the priestly and royal families in Israel appear first in this list (Ezr 8:2-3). Then the names of the rest of the Jews follow. A comparison of Ezr 8:3-14 with Ezr 2:3-15 shows that Ezra’s companions were mainly the relatives of those Jews who had returned 80 years earlier under Sheshbazzar. The one exception was Joab’s family (Ezr 8:9).