Ezra 8:1-36
~22 min read
TRANSCRIPT
Here we have a more detailed account of Ezra's Mission. This is Ezra's description of the return. This is what was summarised in Ezra 7:7-9. In Ezra 7:7-9 we see the return summarized. And now in chapter 8, we see more details of this journey. And specifically, chapter 8 tells us about two problems that Ezra faced in the course of this journey back to Jerusalem. And we want to focus on these two problems and learn from them lessons that we can apply to our service to the Lord today. And these two problems are, first of all, a lack of Levites for the service of the temple, and secondly, the danger of the journey, the “enemy in the way”, as Ezra put it.
I. Learning From The Lack of Levites
First of all, the lack of Levites. And this is set up really in the first few verses of this chapter where again we have a genealogy. And again as we've mentioned before more than once, the genealogies here in Ezra, as also in the rest of the Old Testament, are significant and important. Important for Israel, of course. God's covenant with Israel placed emphasis and focus on the family lines. God's Commandments in the law of Moses revealed a divine concern for the family. Israel's inheritance of land was apportioned by family, and there were provisions in the law to make sure that it remained in those families.
But these genealogies are also significant for us, as we have seen already, and specifically here as we compare this list in Ezra chapter 8 with the earlier one in Ezra chapter 2, we find some differences. We find the priests and Levites mentioned last in Ezra chapter 2, here mentioned first. And I think this is because of Ezra's specific Mission. He was going back not just to repopulate the land, but to beautify the house of God. That is to establish the teaching in the temple, the teaching of the law.
And then also, we see in Ezra chapter 8, smaller numbers compared to Ezra chapter 2. And especially as Ezra views the people, there are no Levites. No Levites in this list. Ezra was viewing the people for three days, again because he had a specific Mission. He was looking for Levites and priests because he was going back to beautify the house, to establish the teaching of the law, the service of the temple. That was his specific Mission. He needed the Levites for that because it was especially the duty of the priests and the Levites to teach the Law of God. This is what God himself had said in Deuteronomy 33. Deuteronomy 33:10, “They” – that is the Levites – “shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.” This was the role of the Levites that God himself had given to them.
And so as Ezra was going back not just to beautify the temple with some kind of external ornament, not just the building, but as he was going back to establish the religious instruction of the people, the Levites were very important for him. Now Ezra was not about to change this God-appointed role. He was not going to say, 'Well, I can't find any Levites, so you and you and you, you take over because there are no Levites here, we've got no choice, so we just have to find someone else.'
No, God had specifically instructed the Levites to be teachers of his law, and Ezra was not going to change that. Ezra would not overlook even a supposedly minor detail like this. And so he had to set about to find the Levites. And in verse 16 of chapter 8, he sends Chief men, men of understanding with commandment to go to this other place and to look for Levites. And they found there some Levites and Priests and Nethinims for the service of the temple. And this was what Ezra needed to go back to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission.
But the lesson for us I think comes especially as we consider the question of why there were no Levites in the first place. Why was it necessary for Ezra to go and look for the Levites to ask them to come and join this return? Why were there no Levites even in the first return under Zerubabel? If you go back to Ezra chapter 2, we find a noticeable lack of Levites. There are some Levites, but very few. Ezra 2:40, “The Levites… seventy and four.” 74 Levites. That's a very small number in light of these other numbers in Ezra chapter 2, especially in light of the number of the priests in verse 36 of Ezra chapter 2: “The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.” And then more names and numbers of priests, a very much larger number of priests than Levites. Only 74.
It was supposed to be the other way around. There was supposed to be many more Levites than priests. We can see this for example in Numbers 18. In the law of tithes, the people of Israel were commanded to give their tithes to the Lord, one tenth of their substance. And this tithe was given to the Levites. One tenth of the substance of the people of Israel was for the Levites. And then the Levites themselves would give a tithe, and that tithe was for the priests. The Levites had a tenth of all the substance of Israel. The priests had a tenth of the ten because there were far fewer priests. And of course, this is only logical. The Levites were a whole tribe, the priests were just one family, the line of Aaron. They were the priests. So there were meant to be many more Levites. And yet already in Ezra chapter 2, there are few Levites, and here in Ezra chapter 8, there are no Levites at first. Why is this the case?
Now this requires a little bit of reading between the lines, but this suggestion has been made by some commentators, and it seems plausible that the reason for this lack has to do with the nature of the Levites' work. What were the Levites supposed to do? The Levites had the role to teach but also to serve in the temple. In the wilderness with the Tabernacle, it was the role of the Levites to pack up the Tabernacle and to carry it from place to place as the people traveled. And then when they came to a place where they were to settle for a time, then the role of the Levites was to unpack and set up the Tabernacle. Once Israel was established in the land of promise, in the land of Canaan, the duties of the Levites centered around the specific location of the temple.
We can see this in 1 Chronicles 23. In 1 Chronicles 23:24-26, “These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward. For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever: And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.” Because the house of God was now in a specific place, it's not going to move around. But this is the duty of the Levites.
Verse 28: “Their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God both for the showbread and for the fine flour for meat offering for the unleavened cakes and for that which is baked in the pan for that which is fried and for all manner of measure and size and to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord and likewise at even and to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the Sabbaths in the new moons and on the set feasts by number according to the order commanded unto them continually before the Lord. And that they should keep the charge of the Tabernacle of the congregation in the charge of the Holy place and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the service of the house of the Lord.”
That's what the Levites were supposed to do. They were involved in service in the temple. Still involved in what might be considered menial work, assisting the priests, helping in the sacrifices, making sure that the showbread is laid out properly, standing to praise the Lord in the morning, in the evening. They were subordinate to the priests, and they had no land. Numbers chapter 18, the Levites were given no portion of land, no inheritance of land. The Lord was their inheritance; the service of the Lord in the temple. They were dependent on the tithes of the people. They were supported by the tithes that were brought in by the people. This was for the livelihood of the Levites.
And as we consider this, we perhaps find an explanation for the apparent reluctance of the Levites to go back to Jerusalem even with the first return under Zerubabel. Again, many of the people probably had quite comfortable lives in Babylon, in the provinces. From a material perspective, and from a material perspective, among all the children of Israel, the Levites had the least to look forward to in going back to the land because they could not even get any inheritance of land. They had the least in terms of material prospects. No chance of prestige, no way to own land. Going back to, again, what might be considered menial works, serving in the temple. And this perhaps explains why it was so difficult to find Levites who were willing to go back because of all the people materially, there was nothing for them, no prospects for them.
The question is whether this was the right perspective for them to have. Was it right for them to view the service of the temple in this way? Was it right for them to be reluctant to go back to serve the Lord in the temple again?
If we look in Deuteronomy chapter 33, we see how the Lord describes the service of the Levites. Deuteronomy 33. And as we look now at verse 8 (we looked at verse 10 just now), but now from verse 8, “of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.”
That's reference to what happened in Exodus chapter 32. In Exodus chapter 32, when the people made the golden calf and sinned greatly against the Lord. And then in verse 26, when Moses saw what the people had done, he “stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.” This was God's judgment on the people.
The children of Levi separated themselves to stand on the Lord's side and to execute the Lord's judgment. Verse 29, Moses had said, “Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.” And what was that blessing? Deuteronomy 33:10, “They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.” Because they had consecrated themselves to serve the Lord on that occasion, and Moses stood and said, “Who is on the Lord's side?”, the children of Levi gathered themselves to Moses to stand on the Lord's side. The Lord gave them this blessing to serve him in all the generations to come. This service in the temple was God's blessing on the Levites.
But it seems that the Levites in the time of Ezra no longer saw it as a blessing. They no longer recognised it as a privilege to serve God in the temple, to offer the sacrifices, to be involved in the work of the temple, to teach the people. To them, it was not a blessing. And so, they were reluctant. They had forgotten this blessing. They didn't want to go back to Jerusalem. They were happy where they were in Babylon.
And I think there's a lesson in that for our service today. There's a call today also for us to stand on the Lord's Side and do the Lord's work. A call for us to serve the Lord in his house, ministers for the house of our God. But this requires that we seek not to promote ourselves, not to consider our own position in the world, not to consider our own material prospects, but to count it again a privilege to serve, even in the background, even with no earthly prospects, even to serve the Lord in what might be considered menial work because it is service to the Lord. We ought to consider it a blessing.
Those who are worldly minded or carnal minded will not think much of such service or such work. It will seem demeaning. It will seem beneath us. But we should again recognise it as a privilege to serve the King of Kings. We should see that it is God's blessing that we are called to serve him in his house. Again, fear God and keep his commandments. This is the whole duty of man. This was what Solomon found to be truly meaningful and significant more than all the fame and fortune that he had achieved in the world. Those things were only vanity.
But to serve the Lord, to do the work of God, that is a great blessing. It is not less but more to serve the Lord in his house. Remember what the psalmist say, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10b). That must be our attitude also. After all, our purpose from the beginning was to serve God. That is what we lost at the Fall, and our first parents determined to serve themselves, to usurp the place of God, to rebel against God. That is what has caused all this problem, all this death, all this tragedy in the world. Our refusal to serve God. We want to serve ourselves. We want to go our own way, make our own way in this world.
It is that blessing and privilege of serving the Lord that has been recovered for us in Christ. In Christ, in our salvation and Redemption, we have recovered our purpose to serve the Lord. We are saved for that purpose, to serve him, to do his will. We should recognise the blessing and the privilege of that. And we must remember our purpose if we are to serve the Lord actively and effectively. We are called to serve him, not to serve ourselves. We must be willing, unlike the Levites in Ezra's time, we must be willing to serve.
II. Responding To The Danger Of The Journey
Then, another problem that Ezra faced, Ezra 8:21, was the danger of the journey. He wanted to seek a right way because of the enemy in the way. And so, Ezra proclaimed a fast that they might seek the help of God, they might seek the protection of God as they went on their journey. This is a long journey. It would take many months. It was a difficult road and a dangerous road. There were highwaymen and robbers along the way. And of course, there were enemies of the Jews around Jerusalem, those who had been hindering the efforts at rebuilding, those who were specifically targeting the Jews. We saw how that had been going on even in the reign of Artaxerxes, the king who sent Ezra back. So, the people would be in danger, the people would be vulnerable.
Ezra was not going back with an army. There were little ones, Ezra 8:21, “a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” They had valuable goods. Remember, the king had given silver and gold and some of these precious vessels to take back to Jerusalem. This had been entrusted to Ezra. They had valuable substance and goods with them. This was again making them a very tempting target as they traveled on the way back to Jerusalem. We can easily imagine how highwaymen and robbers would want to take these things and would find it very tempting because there is no one to protect these things. It's a caravan of families with very valuable possessions.
So, how to manage the danger of this journey? We see here Ezra's great concern in verse 22, “For I was ashamed” – Ezra says – “to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way”. He could have asked the King. After all, the king had given him permission to return. The king had given gold and silver as an offering to the God of Israel for the house of God in Jerusalem. Surely, humanly speaking, the king would agree. The king would agree to provide a band of soldiers and horsemen. After all, it's his gold, his offering that he's offering to the God of Israel. Why wouldn't he give soldiers to protect that? Humanly speaking, that's a reasonable thing to do.
But Ezra's concern was for the glory of God. “I was ashamed” – why? – “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.” Ezra had represented to the king the power of God to look after his people, to protect his people. “His hand is mighty. Our God is Sovereign. Our God is powerful. Our God is with us. But can you give us some soldiers to help us?” It doesn't fit. That's why Ezra was ashamed.
We have already told the king about the power of God. Now, if we ask for the king's protection, it will seem as though God is powerless, as though God's power is just a theory. “Yes, our God is powerful, but we need you, oh King, to protect us.” Ezra didn't want to do that. It's not that Ezra regretted what he had said to the king. It's not as though he thought, “Oh, we shouldn't have told the king about the power of God.” Ezra didn't regret his testimony. He wanted to maintain his testimony. That's why he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers. Ezra's concern was for the glory of God.
Now, by the way, if you look in Nehemiah, if you look at Nehemiah 2:9, we see that when Nehemiah went back, he had soldiers with him: “the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.” And this is a little bit of an aside, but just to point this out, there's no contradiction here between Ezra's concern for God's glory and Nehemiah going back with captains of the army and horsemen. It doesn't mean that Nehemiah lacked faith. It doesn't mean that Nehemiah was not concerned for God's glory. As we look at the book of Nehemiah, we see clearly that Nehemiah was a man of faith, and he was very concerned for God's glory.
But the situation was different. Nehemiah was going back on an official mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah, having captains of the army and horsemen, would provide clarity that Nehemiah is really on a mission for the king, especially because it seems that the king's policy was being reversed. This, if we look at some of the details in Nehemiah chapter 1, it seems that when Nehemiah made request of Artaxerxes, he was in effect asking Artaxerxes to reverse his policy because the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down. This seems to be a reference to what we read in Ezra chapter 4. Ezra 4:23, King Artaxerxes' letter caused the enemies of Jerusalem to make them “cease by force and power.” Now, Nehemiah is going back with this armed escort that would provide some clarity.
But perhaps even more than that, there is no indication in Nehemiah chapter 2 that Nehemiah asked for this escort. We're just told, Nehemiah 2:9, the king had said, 'Send captains of the army and horsemen with me.' There's no indication that Nehemiah asked. So, there's no contradiction here. Ezra didn't want to ask, and we have no reason to suppose that Nehemiah specially asked. Both were concerned for the glory of God, but it was a different situation.
And that's also a lesson for us as we seek to apply these things. It requires wisdom and prayerful consideration of each case. It's not to say that we always cannot ask for help from anyone, otherwise we detract from the glory of God. Sometimes, it's legitimate to have help as in the case of Nehemiah. The point simply is that Ezra was concerned about this, and he thought in these terms. He thought about what it would mean for the glory of God, gven what he had said to the king, if he now asks the king specially for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect them in the way. Ezra cared about the honour and glory of God.
And he prayed in these terms as well. He entreated God to glorify Himself by protecting them and guarding them on their return journey. And he called for a fast for this. That's how greatly he was concerned. And that's a lesson for us when we pray, to pray in terms of the glory of God, to pray out of a desire for the glory of God, not just for ourselves. Of course, we often pray for ourselves, we pray that we will get what we want, but we must learn to pray that God will be glorified. That must be our desire, that must be our great concern.
That gets really to the heart of service. When we serve the Lord, it's about Him, not about us. It's about his glory, not about our convenience or our honour or our reputation. We serve because we want God to be glorified, we want His name to be magnified. That's the heart, that's the desire, and we pray for that ultimately.
So, here Ezra called for a fast because his great concern was for the glory of God. Fasting, as we recognise, involves the affliction of the body for a spiritual purpose, the affliction of the body especially depriving the body of food, but for that spiritual purpose. It's often associated with prayer. Fasting and prayer together are used to express great grief or mourning again for that spiritual purpose of contrition for sin. Fasting and prayer are used to intensify one's seeking after God as when pleading for help, asking God for his help.
In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, when there is a time of great need, God's people fast and pray. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-4, “the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD”, fasting in prayer to ask for the Lord's help.
That's what Ezra was doing here, a corporate fast, all the people together entreating God to protect them on their journey. The people afflicted themselves in the fast, not to twist God's hand, not to try and force Him to give them what they want, but to signify their utter dependence on Him. This is how much they need the Lord. More than food, they need His help. This is the right use of fasting, when it is done out of a desire for the glory of God.
This is, of course, very easily twisted because what is meant for the affliction of the flesh can easily be twisted to the glorifying of the flesh. This is what the Lord Jesus reminds us in Matthew chapter 6:16, 'When you fast, don't be like the Hypocrites, they disfigure their countenances because they want people to see and know that they are fasting. They are fasting not for the glory of God but for their own glory.’ “I want everyone to see how holy and pious I am, look at me, I'm fasting.”
But it's meant to be unto God, not for people to see and praise us, but for us to seek God and to seek His glory. The concern must be genuinely for the glory of God. And here is where we can learn from Ezra, we can learn from Ezra's example when we pray. We pray for God's help, we pray for the Lord to enable us, to strengthen us, but are we praying really out of a desire for God to be glorified? Is that our great concern? Why are we seeking God's help? Why are we asking the Lord to help us, to enable us? Ezra was doing it because he was really serious about desiring God's glory. That's what motivated his call to fast. That must be what motivates our prayers as well: a desire for God to be glorified.
And that will show in the way that we behave. For example, just as here with Ezra, if we are always anxious, if we are always worried, will that glorify God? If we're praying and then we are always ringing our hands and worried, “Oh, will God answer? Will God help? Will God enable? Will God deliver?” That's not a good testimony, especially when we're with the people of the world and we pray, and there's no confidence that God will hear and answer.
We should be just like Ezra. Ezra wanted to seek God and to seek God's glory. He was ashamed. He was ashamed to give the king the impression that God was weak, that God was powerless. We should think in these terms also. We should guard and maintain our testimony because we desire God's glory. And when we pray out of a desire for God's glory, we must be careful to show by the way that we behave and the way that we act in our prayers, and in light of our prayers, that again, our God is really sovereign and powerful. Our God is in control.
This can be a wonderful testimony to those around us. We hear of those who are at work. I heard once a friend who was having some kind of work function, and this work function required good weather. So he prayed. He prayed for good weather. And he told his boss, “I've prayed for good weather. Don't worry.” And there really was good weather. God was merciful and gracious and answered that prayer. Now every time they have a work function, they ask him to pray for good weather. And that's a good testimony, isn't it? But if he had said, “Oh, I prayed, but who knows whether it will happen or not? It may not be good weather,” if he had been worried and anxious about the weather even after praying, that wouldn't have been a good testimony.
And sometimes when we behave in this way, we can bear witness to the truth that God is really sovereign and powerful. And that's our desire, to glorify God, that His name should be magnified, that all should recognise that He really is God, God of heaven and earth, sovereign. We can learn this from Ezra. Ezra's desire, after all, he was going back for this purpose: to beautify the house of God, that everyone should see the glory of God and praise.
Here we read in the end of Ezra chapter 8 that God was entreated of them. God indeed protected them, delivered them from all the dangers of the way, and brought them safely to Jerusalem. And all the vessels, all the gold, all the silver, all of that was carefully weighed. None of it was lost. So Ezra's mission began with great success by the grace and mercy and power of God.
But what we see later on in the last two chapters is that all of this was endangered, not really from trouble without, but from trouble within. The great danger that the people faced was not the enemy in the way, not the adversaries around Jerusalem; God delivered them out of all of that. The great danger that they faced was within: wickedness and sin and iniquity within the camp – in many ways a greater danger than all the difficulties and the adversaries and the enemies without the camp. And that's what we will consider in the final message, going through the last two chapters of the book of Ezra. But let us learn from now from Ezra's desire to serve the Lord and from his desire for the glory of God. Let us seek to apply that to ourselves and our service. Let's close with a word of prayer.
Our gracious Father in Heaven, we thank You again for what we have learned from Your Word. We pray You would fill us with a desire for Your glory, that we may pray and serve out of this concern to glorify You. We pray You would guide us and help us in this as we seek to serve You profitably, effectively. Fill our hearts with this earnest desire that Your name should be magnified and praised. And help us again as we recognise Your sovereign providence, to pray and to act in that light, so that others may see and know that our God truly is God of Heaven and Earth. Help us not to be anxious, to take no thought for tomorrow, but to seek first Your kingdom, Your glory, Your righteousness. We pray You would help us in this once again by the work of Your Spirit in us, using Your Word and applying it to our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
THE BOOK OF EZRAMessage 1: Privilege and Promptness in ServiceMessage 1: Privilege and Promptness in ServiceEzra 1:1-11
Message 2: Precept and Praise in ServiceMessage 2: Precept and Praise in ServiceEzra 2:1-3:13
Message 3: Perseverance and Protection in ServiceMessage 3: Perseverance and Protection in ServiceEzra 4:1-5:5
Message 4: Prudence and Providence in ServiceMessage 4: Prudence and Providence in ServiceEzra 5:6-6:22
Message 5: Preparation and Perspective in ServiceMessage 5: Preparation and Perspective in ServiceEzra 7:1-28
Message 6: Purpose and Prayer in ServiceMessage 6: Purpose and Prayer in ServiceEzra 8:1-36
Message 7: Piety and Penitence in ServiceMessage 7: Piety and Penitence in ServiceEzra 9:1-10:44