UNROLL
Dawn on a long, still, straight canal in Babylonia: rows of low dark goat-hair tents along one bank, donkeys tethered, the smoke of one cooking fire and date palms, all small beneath a wide, calm, pale sky.

The Book of

Ezra 8

No soldiers, no horsemen: a fast by the canal, a fortune in silver and gold, and four months on the road.

36 verses≈ 7 min3 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–2The returnCyrus lets them go up
  2. 3The altarFoundations laid
  3. 4OppositionThe work stopped
  4. 5–6The templeFinished and dedicated
  5. 7–8Ezra comesThe good hand of GodChapter 8
  6. 9–10RepentanceFaithless marriages confessed

The Exiles Who Returned with Ezra

These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

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Came with Ezra

Who came with Ezra

  1. Of Aaron and David

    Gershom, Daniel and Hattush

    from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom;

    from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel;

    from the descendants of David, Hattush

  2. 150 men

    Parosh: Zechariah

    of the descendants of Shecaniah;

    from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men;

  3. 200 men

    Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai

    from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;

  4. 300 men

    Zattu: Shecaniah

    from the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;

  5. 50 men

    Adin: Ebed

    from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;

  6. 70 men

    Elam: Jeshaiah

    from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;

  7. 80 men

    Shephatiah: Zebadiah

    from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;

  8. 218 men

    Joab: Obadiah

    from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;

  9. 160 men

    Bani: Shelomith

    from the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;

  10. 28 men

    Bebai: Zechariah

    from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;

  11. 110 men

    Azgad: Johanan

    from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;

  12. 60 and 70 men

    Adonikam and Bigvai

    from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;

    and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for the Levites

Ezra
Ezra

Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.

Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. And I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

Golden evening at the edge of the canal camp: a long file of men arrives on foot along the canal path with bundles and staffs, Levites in plain linen in front and temple servants behind, as people come out from the tents to meet them.

And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men; also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites.

0:27

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Question

Quick question

Ezra’s list opens with two priestly families and one royal one.

Who in Ezra’s company was of the descendants of David?

Fasting for Protection

Morning on the bank of the Ahava Canal: the whole company sits on the ground in rows with heads bowed, priests and Levites among the families, no fires lit and bowls set aside, while Ezra stands at the front with his hands lifted; tents and donkeys behind.

And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”

Ezra 8:22

So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.

Reflect

Ashamed to ask

Ezra had told the king, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him,” and then he would not ask for soldiers. Where has what you say about God run ahead of what you trust Him for? What would it look like to pray, even to fast, about it before you reach for other help? Write it down.

Priests to Guard the Offerings

Ezra

Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.”

Ezra 8:28–29

So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.

Ezra
Ezra

On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.

EuphratesBabylonJerusalem

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

The road to Jerusalem

The Ahava Canal lay somewhere near Babylon; its site is unknown. From there the road ran up the Euphrates and down through Syria to Jerusalem, about nine hundred miles. The company walked it in under four months, with no escort.

Arrival in Jerusalem

So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days.

On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time.

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.

Pray

By number and weight

Thank God for His gracious hand on all who seek Him, on every road. Ask for courage to trust Him without the escorts you would rather have. Ask Him to make you faithful with what is His, so that it could all be “verified by number and weight.” And thank Him for those who serve unseen, like the Levites and temple servants who came when they were called.

You’ve experienced

Ezra 8

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A verse to carry with you

The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.

Ezra 8:22

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