Ezra

Book Outhne

Key theme: Restoring the spiritual heart of the nation

Key verse:

I. The Nation Is Restored ()

A. A remnant returns with Zerubbabel and Joshua ()

B. The temple is rebuilt ()

1. The work begins ()

2. The work opposed ()

3. The work resumed ()

4. The work completed ()

II. The People Are Rededicated ()

A. second group arrives with Ezra ()

B. Conviction and confession of sin ()

C. Cleansing of sin ()

Book Overview

When I was young and inexperienced, it often seemed smarter to do the easy things that made me look successful than to do hard things that no one might notice. I’ve lived long enough, however, to understand the wisdom of others who have pointed out that because God is God, He doesn’t hesitate to ask us to do hard things. I’ve learned that when God tells us to do what is difficult, it’s because He wants us to grow. Unlike modern-day press agents and spin doctors, God doesn’t manufacture synthetic heroes; He grows the real thing.

In God’s Hall of Heroes that Ezra recorded are the family names of nearly 50,000 Jews who in 538 B.C. left captivity in Babylon for responsibility in Jerusalem. God had called them back home to do a difficult job: to rebuild the temple and the city and restore the Jewish community in their own land. This noble venture involved a four-month journey plus a great deal of faith, courage, and sacrifice; then, after they arrived in the Holy City, life didn’t get any easier. Their daunting task could easily be called an impossible mission. But as you read the inspired record, you can see the providential leading of the Lord from start to finish and this truth: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” ().

Regardless of our circumstances, we can trust God to be faithful. “Great is Your faithfulness” isn’t just a verse to quote () or a song to sing. It’s a glorious truth to believe and to act upon, no matter how difficult the situation in life might be.

“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations” ().

“Be Transformed”

The second chapter of Ezra begins with a list of the names of the Jewish heroes who willingly returned to the land to serve the Lord. The book ends with a list of the sinners who disobeyed God by marrying pagan women but publicly reconciled with the Lord and the people. But reconciling didn’t automatically heal every wound or remove every pain. The women involved had to leave the community and return to the pagan homes from which they had come, taking with them whatever children they had borne. Doing what is right doesn’t mean doing what is easy. In fact, doing what is right can be as hard as being convicted of doing wrong.

Pulling nails out of a board may be easy, but pulling out the holes that they leave behind is impossible. Leaders can enforce the law and reform a nation’s conduct, but only God can change the human heart and produce the kind of character that wants to do what’s right. God’s Spirit can grab our attention when we have made a mess out of life; but even when we turn around and head in the right direction, we are often left with the scars and consequences of the choices we have made. When we pay close attention to God and His Word, we’re much less likely to have to retrace our steps because we went the wrong way! The psalmist was right, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” ().

End of the Babylonian Captivity

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.

Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.

4And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

6And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

7King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods;

and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives,

10thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles.

11All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem

Now these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city.

2Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

the people of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;

4the people of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;

5the people of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five;

6the people of Pahath-Moab, of the people of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve;

7the people of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

8the people of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five;

9the people of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;

10the people of Bani, six hundred and forty-two;

11the people of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three;

12the people of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two;

13the people of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six;

14the people of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six;

15the people of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four;

16the people of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;

17the people of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three;

18the people of Jorah, one hundred and twelve;

19the people of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three;

20the people of Gibbar, ninety-five;

21the people of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three;

22the men of Netophah, fifty-six;

23the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;

24the people of Azmaveth, forty-two;

25the people of Kirjath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;

26the people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;

27the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;

28the men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three;

29the people of Nebo, fifty-two;

30the people of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six;

31the people of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

32the people of Harim, three hundred and twenty;

33the people of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five;

34the people of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;

35the people of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

36The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;

37the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;

38the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;

39the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

40The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

41The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

42The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

43The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

44the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon,

45the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,

46the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan,

47the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,

48the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,

49the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,

50the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephusim,

51the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

52the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

53the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,

54the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

55The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Peruda,

56the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

57the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Ami.

58All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their father’s house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel:

60the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two;

and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

62These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

63And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.

64The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

65besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers.

66Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,

67their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses, when they came to the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place:

69According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments.

70So the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Worship Restored at Jerusalem

And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

2Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

3Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.

They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day.

5Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD.

6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Restoration of the Temple Begins

8Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.

11And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:

“For He is good,

For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy,

13so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,

2they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,

5and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed

In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language.

8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion:

9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites,

10and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River—and so forth.

11(This is a copy of the letter that they sent him.)

To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and so forth:

12Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations.

13Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished.

14Now because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king,

15that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed.

16We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion beyond the River.

17The king sent an answer:

To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River:

Peace, and so forth.

18The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me.

19And I gave the command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it.

20There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the region beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them.

21Now give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the command is given by me.

22Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?

23Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease.

24Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Restoration of the Temple Resumed

Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

3At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?”

4Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building.

5But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter.

6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:

The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king.

7(They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus.)

To Darius the king:

All peace.

Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.

9Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: “Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?”

10We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them.

11And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.

12“But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon.

13“However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God.

14“Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.

15“And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’

16“Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and it is not finished.”

17Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.

The Decree of Darius

Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon.

2And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

3In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,

4with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury.

5Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—

6Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.

Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

8Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.

9And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail,

10that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

11Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this.

12And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent.

14So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

18They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Celebrated

And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

20For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

21Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel.

And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

The Arrival of Ezra

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

2the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

3the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

4the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

5the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—

this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

7Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

9On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

11This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel:

12Artaxerxes, king of kings,

To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:

Perfect peace, and so forth.

13I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.

And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand;

and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem;

16and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem—

17now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

18And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God.

19Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

20And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.

21And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently,

22up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit.

23Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

24Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God.

25And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them.

26Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem,

28and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.

So I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra

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 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, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males;

4of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males;

5of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males;

6of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males;

7of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males;

8of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males;

9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males;

10of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males;

11of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males;

12of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males;

13of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males;

14also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

Servants for the Temple

Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.

16Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding.

17And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God.

18Then, 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, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men;

19and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men;

20also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.

22For 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.”

23So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Gifts for the Temple

24And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them—

25and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered.

26I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold,

27twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.

28And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers.

29“Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.”

30So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

The Return to Jerusalem

31Then 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 from ambush along the road.

32So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were 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; with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui,

34with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.

The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

36And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God.

Intermarriage with Pagans

When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

2“For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.”

So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.

4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.

At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.

6And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.

7“Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.

8“And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.

9“For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

“And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,

11“which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.

12‘Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’

“And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this,

14“should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?

15“O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

Confession of Improper Marriages

Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.

“Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

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

5Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath.

6Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.

7And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem,

8and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity.

9So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain.

10Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel.

11“Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”

12Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do.

13“But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter.

14“Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”

15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.

Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

17By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

Pagan Wives Put Away

And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

19And they gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their trespass offering.

20Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah;

21of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah;

22of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

25And others of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah;

26of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah;

27of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;

28of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai;

29of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Ramoth;

30of the sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;

31of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

32Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah;

33of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;

34of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluh,

36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

37Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasai,

38Bani, Binnui, Shimei,

39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

42Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph;

43of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Annotations for Ezra

See , . God is faithful to His Word. For at least forty years, the prophet Jeremiah had warned the leaders of Judah that the Babylonian exile was inevitable (see ; ), and he had pled with them to repent of their sins and surrender to Babylon. Only then could they save the city and the temple from ruin. The leaders didn’t listen; in fact, they called Jeremiah a traitor—and the holy city and the temple were destroyed in 587–586 B.C.

In 538, about seventy years after the exile (as prophesied in , ), Cyrus the Great, king of Persia and conqueror of Babylon, issued a decree that permitted the exiled Jews to return to their land and rebuild their temple. This, too, had been prophesied by Isaiah (). What Cyrus did twenty-five centuries ago reminds us today of some important spiritual truths. God is faithful to His covenant. In spite of their sins, these exiles were God’s chosen people and children of the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (). The nation had broken the covenant, but the Lord had remained faithful to His Word.

God’s people need to remember that the Lord God is sovereign over all nations and can do what He pleases with the most powerful rulers. The Lord called Cyrus “My shepherd” () and “His anointed” (), and Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus would liberate the exiles and enable them to rebuild their city and temple. People don’t have to be Christian believers for God to use them. Whether a mayor, governor, senator, prime minister, ambassador, or president, God can exercise His sovereign power to accomplish His purposes for His people.

, The decree addressed two kinds of people: (1) those who wanted to return to their land, and (2) those who preferred to remain in Babylon. The latter group was urged to give offerings to help finance the journey and the restoration of the temple.

God not only stirred the heart of Cyrus to grant freedom to the captives (v. ), but He also stirred the hearts of the Jews to give them the desire to return to Judah (v. ). “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (). The same God who ordains the end (the rebuilding of the temple) also ordains the means to the end, in this case, a people willing to go to Judah and work.

In we read that Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of the temple, while attributes this to Zerubbabel, and confirms it. A logical conclusion is that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were the same person. Often in that day people would have more than one given name, especially if they were Jews born in foreign lands (see ).

, The numbers given here total 2,499, but the total given in verse is 5,400. The list in , stating there were one thousand “other articles,” suggests that verses , list the larger and more valuable items, while many smaller objects weren’t even listed in categories.

, From the parallel list in , we must add the name of Nahamani, bringing the total to twelve men, one for each of the tribes. The “Nehemiah” in is not the man who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, because he didn’t come on the scene until 444 B.C. And the “Mordecai” listed isn’t the Mordecai of the Book of Esther. “Jeshua” is Joshua the high priest, who is mentioned twenty-three times in Ezra and Nehemiah. He was an important part of the leadership of the remnant and served at the side of Zerubbabel, the governor. Everything in God’s work rises and falls with leadership. When God wants to accomplish something, He calls dedicated men and women to challenge His people and lead the way.

The long lists of names given in Scripture, including the genealogies, may not be interesting to the average reader, but they’re very important to the history of God’s people. Unless an inheritance is involved, most people today are more concerned about the behavior of their descendants than the bloodline of their ancestors—but that wasn’t true of the Old Testament Jews. Reasons for knowing ancestry are (1) assuming the rights and privileges of the Jewish nation, of which there were many, (2) Jews returning to Judah couldn’t reclaim their family property unless they could prove their lineage, and (3) the priests and Levites must certify their ancestry, otherwise they couldn’t serve in the temple or share in the benefits of that service.

, Six hundred fifty-two people couldn’t prove their Jewish ancestry (the towns mentioned were in Babylon, not Judah). Zerubbabel and Joshua didn’t send these people back home but allowed them the rights of foreigners (; ; , ; , ; ).

No doubt some men thought they could enter the priesthood and have a much easier time living in Jerusalem, but Zerubbabel rejected them. God had made it clear that any outsider who attempted to serve at the altar would be put to death (; ).

Go to the

Ezra wrote nothing about the long trip (900 miles) or what the Jews experienced during those four difficult months. This is reminiscent of Moses’ description of Abraham and Sarah’s journey to Canaan: They “departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan” ().

“Early autumn” is literally the seventh month, which would be Tishri, our September–October, a month very sacred to the Jews (). It opened with the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) was on the tenth day, and from the fifteenth to the twenty-first days of the month, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth). The first thing Jeshua the high priest did was restore the altar so he could offer sacrifices for the people.

The priest didn’t have to wait until the temple was completed before offering sacrifices to God. As long as a sanctified altar and a qualified priest were present, sacrifices could be given to the Lord. After all, what’s in a person’s heart, not the external furnishings, concerns God the most (; , ; ; ).

The work didn’t begin until the second month of the next year, which means the people spent nearly seven months gathering materials and preparing to build. In the second month Solomon had started building the original temple (), and he had gathered his materials in much the same way (; ).

Note the emphasis on unity. The people gathered together (v. ); the workers stood together (v. ); the Levites sang together (v. ); and all the while, the people were working together to get the foundation laid. Their tasks were varied, but they all had one goal before them: to glorify the Lord by rebuilding His temple.

, Why were they weeping on such a joyful occasion? Because they had seen the original temple before it had been destroyed over fifty years earlier, and the new edifice was nothing in comparison. (Haggai would later preach a sermon about this. See .) These godly old men longed for the good old days, but the sins of their generation had caused the fall of the kingdom to begin with! Had their generation listened to the prophet Jeremiah and obeyed God’s Word, Jerusalem and the temple would still have been standing.

Catalyst

Some were weeping, some were shouting for joy (). We have similar (often generational) disagreements in the church today. It isn’t a question of accepting the one view and rejecting the other—unless we want to divide families and split the church. It’s a matter of balance: The old must learn from the young and the young from the old, in a spirit of love and submission ().

The older men were looking back with longing, while the younger men were looking around with joy. Both of them should have been looking up and praising the Lord for what He had accomplished. We certainly can’t ignore the past, but the past must be a rudder to guide us and not an anchor to hold us back. God’s people are a family, not a family album filled with old pictures; they’re a garden, not a graveyard covered with monuments to past successes.

Go to the

From the beginning, the remnant faced opposition from the mixed population of the land who really didn’t want the Jews inhabiting Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple. Opportunity and opposition usually go together; the greater the opportunity, the greater the opposition. “For a great and effective door has opened to me,” wrote Paul, “and there are many adversaries” ().

When the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, they deliberately mingled the nations they had defeated; this led to racial and religious confusion (). The people of Samaria, the former northern kingdom, offered to work with the Jews to help them build the temple. These people claimed to worship the same God the Jews worshiped, so it seemed logical that they should be allowed to share in the work. On the surface, the Samaritans seemed to be acting like good neighbors, but their offer was insidious and dangerous.

If these outsiders had begun to mingle with the Jewish remnant while helping to build the temple, before long the two groups would have begun socializing and intermarrying, and that was contrary to the Law of Moses (; ; ). God’s people today must maintain a separated position and not get involved with anything that will compromise their testimony and hinder God’s work (; ).

Ezra was mainly interested in the opposition that came while the temple was being rebuilt during the reigns of Cyrus and Darius. But the parenthetical discussion in this section flashes forward a few decades and deals with the rebuilding of the city (v. ) not the temple. King Artaxerxes ordered the Jews to stop rebuilding the city. In fact, it’s likely that the Persians wrecked the work the Jews had already completed, and the report that Nehemiah received from his brother described what the Persians had done (). Only upon the arrival of Nehemiah in 445 B.C. was the work on the city resumed, the walls finished, and the gates restored.

, Church history shows that when God wants to arouse His people to do His will, He calls people to proclaim the Word of the Lord. Never underestimate the power of the faithful preaching of God’s Word. Haggai began his ministry of the word on August 29, 520 B.C. (), and five of his messages are recorded in the book that bears his name. A month or two later, he was joined by a young man named Zechariah, a priest whom God had called to be a prophet (). These two men delivered God’s Word to the leaders and the remnant.

Any work of God that isn’t built on the Word of God will never prosper. Moses’ success as the leader of Israel came from his faith in and obedience to God’s Word (). Joshua’s success in conquering the enemy in Canaan was based on his devotion to the Word of God (). When we obey God’s Word, we can expect “great reward” (). If we want to know the power of God, we must also know the Word of God ().

Catalyst

The Jews didn’t look upon the Persian officer Tattenai as a troublemaker, but they graciously answered his questions. After all, they had nothing to hide, and the eye of the Lord was upon them. God saw to it that the work was allowed to go on while Tattenai contacted the king to find out what to do. Believers’ relationship to civil authorities should have no place for arrogance, accusation, or carnal anger masquerading as zeal for the Lord. Even where we disagree with officials, we can do it graciously (; ; ; , ; ; ).

What might have happened if the Jewish remnant had been offensive and treated Tattenai and his associates with defiance and disdain? Peter admonishes us to speak “with meekness and fear” ) when unsaved people question us, because this glorifies God and opens new opportunities for witness. God’s eye is upon His people as they serve Him, so we need not fear what human beings can do to us.

Go to the

Careful to “redeem[ing] the time” (, ), the Jewish workers framed their answers to glorify the Lord. They didn’t try to cover up the sins of the nation () and they openly acknowledged that they were “the servants of the God of heaven and earth” (v. ). Both in their words and their demeanor, they presented a clear witness to this important Persian official, and God used him to certify their right to build and get supplies from the king!

God used Darius the king. The royal secretaries searched the archives and located the scroll Cyrus had left containing the edict that governed the return of the Jews to their land. This edict authorized the Jews to rebuild their temple and even gave the limits of its dimensions.

“Let the work of this house of God alone” literally means, “Keep your distance!” Neither the local Persian officials nor the people of the land were to interfere, but rather, they were to do everything they could to support the work. The king described the terrible judgments that would come to anybody who didn’t obey his edict (vv. , ). So, what started out as an investigation ended up as a royal decree that protected the Jews and provided for them.

Though no ark was in the Most Holy Place, and no glory filled the house, the temple was still dedicated to the Lord because it was His house, built for His glory. Instead of weeping over what they didn’t have, the Jews rejoiced over what they did have, and this is always the attitude of faith.

On the third day of the last Hebrew month of 515 B.C., the temple was completed, about seventy years from its destruction by the Babylonians in 586. God had been faithful to care for His people. He provided encouragement through the preaching of the prophets and even used the authority and wealth of a pagan king to further the work.

When King Solomon had dedicated the temple, he had offered so many sacrifices that they couldn’t be counted () and 142,000 peace offerings that were shared with the people (). The Jewish remnant offered only 712 sacrifices, but God accepted them. Most important, they offered twelve male goats as sin offerings, one for each tribe, because they wanted the Lord to forgive their sins and give them a new beginning.

Each year, the Jewish men were required to travel three times to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts of the Passover, Harvest, and Tabernacles. During their years in exile, how the hearts of the Jews must have yearned for the day when once again they were free to go to their Holy City and worship God.

During the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Jews had to remove all yeast (leaven) from their dwellings—this was a picture of personal purification. To a Jew, yeast symbolized evil, so Passover was a time to put away all evil from their lives ().

Some priests in the Jewish remnant couldn’t prove their ancestry (), but Ezra wasn’t among them. He had the best of credentials and could prove his lineage all the way back to Aaron, the first high priest. He didn’t squander the rich spiritual legacy they had entrusted to him but used it to honor the Lord and serve His people.

Nearly sixty years had passed since the completion of the temple in Jerusalem, and the Jewish remnant was having a very difficult time. So God raised up Ezra to lead a second group of refugees from Babylon to Judah to bring financial and spiritual support to the work and to help rebuild the city.

Ezra’s careful study of the Word of God had increased his faith () and helped him understand God’s plans for the Jewish remnant, and he wanted to be a part of those plans. Certainly as he studied the Old Testament Scriptures, he prayed for God to help His people, and God answered that prayer by calling him to go to Jerusalem.

Ezra is a good example for us to follow in our relationship to the Word of God. He was a man with a prepared heart, devoted to the study of the Scriptures. Even the king recognized and affirmed Ezra’s great knowledge of the Scriptures (). He also followed it in his daily life. Obedience to the Word is where we experience the blessing, not just in the reading or the hearing of it (). Each generation needs to discover the precious treasure of the Word of God, but that can’t happen unless previous generations are faithful to learn the Word, guard it, obey it, and teach it.

The reference to the law of God being in Ezra’s hand may refer to actual scrolls that Ezra brought with him for his audience with the king, or perhaps the phrase simply means “God-given wisdom” (see v. ).

The Lord had told the struggling people in Jerusalem, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine” (), and here he proved it by opening the royal treasury and providing money to buy sacrifices to be offered at the temple in Jerusalem. The king commanded his officers beyond the river to give the Jews money out of the local royal treasury, and he defined the limits ().

, Ezra praised the Lord for moving the king to cooperate with His plans, and he saw this event as proof of God’s mercy and covenant love. Ezra took no credit for this accomplishment; it was all because God “has extended mercy to [him] before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.”

Catalyst

Undoubtedly, the Lord gave Ezra special faith for this journey, because He knew that Ezra’s desire was only to glorify God. When you consider the factors involved in this expedition, you can see what great faith Ezra possessed. Here were several thousand Jews, inexperienced in travel and warfare, carrying a fortune in gold and silver, led by a scholar, not a soldier, and planning to travel through dangerous territory that was infested with brigands; yet their leader didn’t want an army to protect them. If anybody deserves the “Great Faith Award,” it’s Ezra!

Our God is the Alpha and the Omega; what He starts, He finishes (; ; , ; ; ). If God is at the beginning of the journey and we trust Him, He’ll remain with us throughout the journey and take us to our destination. Each step of the way, God will see to it that we fulfill His loving purposes, and He will never forsake us (, ; , ).

Go to the

Wisely, Ezra gathered eighteen men who were the heads of Jewish families, knowing that they could influence their relatives, and the result was a total of 1,515 men, plus women and children (v. ), who agreed to go with Ezra to Jerusalem. This wasn’t as large a company as the first contingent who had accompanied Zerubbabel and Jeshua nearly eighty years before, but that didn’t discourage them. Comparing the names in this list with those in reveals that many of Ezra’s companions were related to those first settlers. The pioneer spirit seems to run in families.

Many of the Jews were comfortable in Mesopotamia and quite satisfied to live and die there. During the captivity they had followed Jeremiah’s counsel to be good citizens and settle down to normal lives (). Over the decades, the old generation had died, and a new generation had arisen that had never seen Jerusalem or the temple and probably had little interest in the welfare of their fellow Jews sacrificially laboring there. Again Ezra delegated leaders of the people to approach the leader of the Levites and ask for willing ministers for the temple in Jerusalem. Because of “the good hand of our God,” many Levite families and temple servants volunteered to come along.

Ezra’s whole approach to this trip was spiritual because if the good hand of God wasn’t with them, everything would fail. To receive the blessing and help of God, however, the people had to humble themselves and seek His face. So Ezra called for the whole community to fast and pray, asking God to protect them on their long journey.

, In one sense, this event is a parable of the Christian life. God’s people are on a difficult and dangerous journey to the heavenly Jerusalem (), and the Lord has committed certain of His treasures to us. Our task is to protect what He has entrusted to us and be ready to give a good account of our stewardship when we get to the end of the journey. The only difference is that, in our journey, God expects us to invest and increase the treasure and not just guard it. (See ; , , ; ; , ; .)

The Jewish residents and the new arrivals gathered at the altar to worship God and declare their unity as His people. The twelve bulls for the burnt offerings and twelve male goats for sin offerings were for the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem. Unlike when the altar was first set up over seventy-five years before, no one lamented for the good old days ().

, A group of Jewish leaders informed Ezra that some of the people, as well as some priests and Levites, had taken foreign wives for themselves and for their sons, and some of these men had even divorced their Jewish wives in order to marry heathen women ().

It was perfectly in order for these concerned Jews to report to Ezra what was going on, for he was one of their key spiritual leaders and carried great authority from the king (, ). The household of Chloe informed Paul about some of the flagrant sins in the church at Corinth (), and he didn’t rebuke them for it because religious gossip and honest concern are quite different. Covering sin never brings blessing to a nation or an individual (see ; ).

How privileged the remnant was to have a spiritual leader like Ezra! He had been given special authority by the king (, ), so we can see how serious it was for him to know what these men had done. Ezra went right to the temple (), sat on the ground, and expressed his grief before the people and before the Lord. As though he were mourning the dead, he tore his tunic and his cloak (; see , ; ).

Ezra was “astonished.” The Hebrew word means “to be appalled, horrified, and desolate.” One of the maladies of society today is that people are no longer shocked by sin and therefore are not willing to do something about it. Leaders can flagrantly break the law and not only get away with it but be admired by the public and be elected to office again.

Ezra identified himself with the people and their sins and spoke to God about “our iniquities” rather than “their iniquities.” Israel was one covenant nation before God, so the sins of one person affected all the people. See , .

No wonder Ezra was ashamed. After all God had done for His people, they had responded by disobeying His Word. “What shall we say?” (v. ). A knowledge of God’s Word is indispensable for effective prayer (), and Ezra knew the Old Testament Scriptures thoroughly.

Guilt always shuts a person’s mouth before God (). Sinners can give Him no logical reason for their sins and no acceptable excuses. Ezra not only confessed the people’s sins but admitted that God had treated them far better than they deserved. He knew that God could easily destroy the remnant and start again with another people (; , ), but, like Moses, he asked God to be gracious and forgiving. Before we try to untangle the problems of life, we must take time to seek God’s face in prayer. Ezra’s is not a long prayer and can be read very deliberately in only a few minutes, but it has tremendous depth.

Never underestimate the power of the prayers of one dedicated believer (). The intercession of only one concerned person can make a difference in what God will do to and for His people. As Ezra prayed and wept at the altar before the house of God, “a very large assembly of men, women, and children” came together, and they fell under conviction of sin.

At times God’s people need to stop laughing and start weeping and confessing. “Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (, ). That’s God’s formula for revival and restoration.

Ezra accepted the plan. He immediately swore in the leading priests and Levites as the committee to investigate the matter and to see that the law was obeyed. Instead of participating immediately in the investigation, however, he withdrew into one of the rooms of the temple to fast and pray for God’s guidance. Ezra allowed the special committee to make the decisions and tell the people what to do. The wise leader involves other people in the process, especially with a sensitive issue. A humble praying leader, a willing people, and a faithful and courageous committee worked together to accomplish a difficult task. What an example for the church to follow today!

, Ten days later (v. ), on December 29, Ezra and the leaders sat down together and began to investigate the matter. Then, three months later, on March 27, 457 B.C., their work was finished. It must have been a difficult job, but they persisted with God’s help. They discovered over 100 offenders, including 27 priests, Levites, gatekeepers, and a temple singer—people we would have expected to be models of obedience.

, The guilty priests promised to divorce their pagan wives, and they offered sacrifices to seek God’s forgiveness. We assume that the other offenders listed followed their example. God in His grace accepted their repentance and confession and granted them forgiveness.

In the closing episode with the pagan wives, we see the same issue Paul dealt with among the Corinthians. He described it as unequal yoking, or having “a part” with unbelievers (see ). This was not a case of racial or moral superiority but a case of spiritual survival. The problem with the marriages wasn’t foreign partners; the problem was believers marrying pagans and letting the pagans set the spiritual tone in the family. Any alliance that makes our allegiance to God secondary creates a commitment that undermines and ultimately destroys our faith.

Ezra 1

1:1 ,

1:2 ; ,

1:3

1:5 []

1:6

1:7 ;

1:7

1:8 ,

Ezra 2

2:1

2:1 ;

2:1 Compare this chapter with .

2:2 Spelled Mispereth in

2:2 Spelled Nehum in

2:5

2:6

2:10 Spelled Binnui in

2:18 Called Hariph in

2:20 Called Gibeon in

2:24 Called Beth Azmaveth in

2:25 Called Kirjath Jearim in

2:31

2:36

2:37

2:38

2:39

2:40 Spelled Hodevah in

2:43

2:44 Spelled Sia in

2:50 Spelled Nephishesim in

2:52 Spelled Bazlith in

2:55

2:55 Spelled Perida in

2:57 Spelled Amon in

2:58

2:59 Spelled Addon in

2:59 Literally seed

2:61

2:61 Or Hakkoz

2:62

2:63 , , ,

2:63

2:63 Hebrew Tirshatha

2:64

2:68

2:69

2:70

Ezra 3

3:1 ; ,

3:2 ,

3:2 ; , ;

3:2

3:2 ,

3:2 Spelled Jehozadak in

3:3

3:4

3:4 ,

3:5

3:7

3:7 ;

3:8 ;

3:8 ,

3:8 Spelled Jehozadak in

3:9 Or Hodaviah (compare )

3:10 ,

3:10 ; ;

3:10 Following Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads they stationed the priests.

3:11

3:11 Compare

3:12

Ezra 4

4:1

4:2 ;

4:3

4:4

4:5 ;

4:7 , ,

4:7

4:8 The original language of through is Aramaic.

4:9 ,

4:9 Literally Then

4:9 Or Susa

4:10

4:10 , ;

4:10 That is, the Euphrates

4:10 Literally and now

4:11 Literally and now

4:12

4:12 ,

4:13 ;

4:17 Literally and now

4:20

Ezra 5

5:1

5:2

5:2 Spelled Jehozadak in

5:3 ;

5:3 That is, the Euphrates

5:4

5:5

5:6

5:9 ,

5:11 ,

5:12 ; ,

5:12 ;

5:12

5:13

5:14 , ;

5:14 ; ,

5:16

5:17 ,

Ezra 6

6:1

6:1 Literally house of the scrolls

6:2

6:2 Probably Ecbatana, the ancient capital of Media

6:3 ;

6:4

6:5 , ;

6:6 ,

6:10

6:11 ;

6:12

6:14 ,

6:14 ; ;

6:14 ;

6:14 ,

6:16

6:17

6:18

6:18 ;

6:19

6:20 ;

6:20

6:21

6:22 ; ,

6:22 []

6:22 ;

Ezra 7

7:1

7:6 , ,

7:6 , ;

7:7

7:7 ;

7:9 ,

7:10

7:12

7:12 The original language of is Aramaic.

7:12 Literally and now

7:14

7:15

7:16

7:16 ,

7:17

7:25 ,

7:25 []

7:27

7:28

7:28 ; , ;

Ezra 8

8:2

8:3

8:4

8:5 Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint reads the sons of Zatho, Shechaniah.

8:10 Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint reads the sons of Banni, Shelomith.

8:11

8:15 ;

8:16

8:17 Following Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads to Iddo his brother; Septuagint reads to their brethren.

8:18

8:19

8:20 ;

8:21

8:21 ,

8:21

8:22

8:22 , ,

8:22 []

8:23

8:25 ,

8:28

8:28 ,

8:29

8:31 , ,

8:32

8:33 ,

8:33

8:35

8:36

Ezra 9

9:1

9:1 ,

9:2 []

9:2

9:2 []

9:3

9:4

9:5

9:6 ,

9:6

9:7 ,

9:7

9:7 ,

9:8

9:9

9:11

9:12 [, ]

9:12

9:12 [; ]

9:13 []

9:14 []

9:14

9:15

9:15 []

9:15

Ezra 10

10:1 ,

10:1

10:2

10:3

10:3 ,

10:4

10:5 ;

10:6

10:9

10:11 []

10:11

10:14 ; ;

10:15

10:16

10:18

10:18 Spelled Jehozadak in

10:19

10:19 ,

10:25 ;

10:28

10:29 Or Jeremoth

10:30

10:35 Or Cheluhi, or Cheluhu

10:37 Or Jaasu

10:43 Or Jaddu

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