Ezra 8: 1 – 36
Why Pastor’s Quit
8 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: 2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; 4 of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; 5 of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; 6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; 10 of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; 11 of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; 13 of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; 14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. 15 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. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. 17 And 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. 18 Then, 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; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 also 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. 21 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. 22 For 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.” 23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. 24 And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them— 25 and 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. 26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. 28 And 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.” 30 So 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. 31 Then 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. 32 So we came to Jerusalem and stayed there three days. 33 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, 34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time. 35 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. 36 And 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.
In today’s scripture we are going to talk about why Pastor’s quit. In our past studies we were going over the situation of the priest Ezra. He had gathered together all the people who wanted to return to Israel. One thing that was startling to him as he reviewed everyone in the group was that there were no Levites. These men were responsible in a nut shell to do the work of the ministry. The High Priest was called upon to do the special festival events but other than that they just walked around looking like big shots.
Now having been in exile in Babylon these men had taken on other jobs to get by. They had finally had the opportunity to enjoy their own families and to do some other things that they often dreamed about. So, taking all these factors into account they were not ready to go back to Israel and pick up doing all the ministry requirements.
Today the world which includes most Christians who are unaware and could care less if many of the men who have committed their lives in being servants called it quits.
Statistics reveal that approximately 1500 Pastor’s leave their pulpits each month. Some critics may say, ‘so what. This just leaves an opening where some young and energetic seminary graduate will fill the void.’ Oh really? The same statistics reveal that 80% of seminary graduates quit serving in the ministry within 5 years. What people do not realize that they are being short changed in being fed good teaching and service. Churches throw in novices who do not even know the word of God. They might be popular talkers but are not anointed to give the word of God to others.
This staggering number quitting includes some of the brightest, most inspiring pastors in the country. To prevent the continued flight of pastors, believers need to understand the cause of the problem. Though every situation is unique, the reasons pastors leave is often similar.
1. Discouragement.
Complaints speak louder than compliments. It is human nature that people hesitate to complement a Pastor, but you can be absolutely certain if something a church member does not like they will crucify you. After all the Pastors are their personal servants so they deserve what they get. People will slander their Pastor’s with false charges and complaints because in some way you offended them. In the church world and the complaint will stick. Pastors are guilting even though there are exonerated from any wrong doing. Someone once told me that ‘sheep bite’.
2. Failure.
No matter how you try you realize that all you do is a failure. You cannot just teach the word and go home. You stay around trying to help people who will turn on you in a second.
3. Loneliness.
With so many people looking to pastors for guidance, it can be difficult for pastors to let their guards down. They don’t want to come across as less than perfect. They feel they can’t be transparent and vulnerable. That creates a sense of isolation. People forget that Pastors are human also. They have all the problems that everyone else has.
Pastors can’t find people they can open up and share their struggles with. Instead they just absorb all the problems of others and for seeking a personal peace go into isolation.
4. Moral Failure.
Serving others on a normal work week of 60 to 80 hours a Pastor’s guard can be let down. This is the opportune time for the enemy to send in the temptation which results in the moral failures of pastors. These situations are magnified more than the average person and rightly so because a Pastor has made a commitment to his Precious Holy Lord Jesus to be obedient since he represents Him. The Pastor knows that what much has been given then also much is required. A Pastor must be always aware that one failure and he is done as the Lord’s servant.
5. Financial Pressure.
Most ministries are nonprofits, so pastors are not compensated well. They cannot afford half decent homes or cars to serve. They lose a lot of their funds in expenses that are not compensated. When you can’t fully provide the life, you want for your family, it makes it hard to continue. Then you look at friends not in the ministry with big houses and nice cars.
6. Anger.
When things aren’t going well, pastors become angry—with others, themselves or God. Thoughts fall along these lines: “I did everything you told me. I went to seminary. I started a ministry. Why are you not doing what you said?” The worst thing about anger is it spreads like wildfire.
7. Burnout.
Pastors are put on a treadmill. They go from the ministry to a hospital visit to writing a sermon to meeting with congregation members.
People suck the very life out of them. If someone comes and asks if I have a minute, in truth I can tell you that it translates to ‘I want to take a least an hour of your time while you listen to me tell you all my problems.’ When they ask you if you have a couple of minutes to speak with them, then call home for you will be hours late. In most cases people just want to regurgitate all their problems onto the Pastor. They do not want any advice on how to change. What hurts me personally after hearing someone not come up for air for hours as the sessions ends, the person has the gall to ask you, ‘and how are you doing.’
Pastor’s just keep running until there’s no passion or energy left. They become exhausted and depleted.
8. Physical Health.
Many pastors overwork themselves and simply do not care for their bodies. When you’re busy, it’s easy to eat poorly and forget about exercise. But eating the right foods is essential to physical health. It’s the difference between fueling the body and depleting the body.
Pastors also don’t get enough rest or regular exercise. Pastors do not have the time to do something they might like to do for fun. After all they are on call 24 hours and 7 days a week. Exercise makes a huge difference in physical and mental health.
9. Marriage/Family Problems.
Too often, a pastor’s spouse and children end up taking a backseat to the ministry. The key is balance. You can just see the hurt on their faces when you have planned to do a family thing then you get an emergency call and cannot go. They are the ones who are the hurting ones.
10. Too Busy/Driven.
A lot of pastors simply are not working efficiently. They cannot protect their calendars or give themselves the space they need. They cannot say “no.” They cannot make themselves unavailable.
These modern day ‘Levites’ need prayers. They need our Holy Yeshua to cover their backs in all areas. You know it is interesting in the book of Ezekiel our Holy God Yahweh called him to be a ‘watchman’ on the walls. A watchman is to keep an eye out on the horizon to watch for enemies. If he sees the enemy approaching he is to give out a warning cry. You see there is a problem being on the wall for the watchman is looking out on the fields before him but is not aware that someone next to him on the wall has a knife and is ready to stab him in the back. Again, please pray for us Pastors. The problem with this request is that it will be ignored.
8 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:
Notice the ‘me’. Ezra is here speaking in the first person, of those who went with him from Babylon.
Two branches of priests are described, representing the two sons of Aaron who were left after his first two sons were slain for offering false incense (Leviticus 10.1-2).
2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males;
Phinehas was the son of Eliezer, who was the third son of Aaron (Numbers 25.11; 1 Chronicles 6.50). Gershom was the name of one of the sons of Moses (Exodus 2.22), and of one of the sons of Levi (1 Chronicles 6.10). It had now been taken by the current head of the house of Phinehas. He had probably died by the time Nehemiah’s covenant was sealed as he was not a sealant.
Ithamar was the fourth son of Aaron (Exodus 6.23; 1 Corinthians 6.3). Daniel was the chief man of the house descended from him. He was one of those who sealed the sure covenant of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10.6).
David was, of course, the king of Israel of that name. Hattush was his descendant and may well be the Hattush mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3.22, who was there described as ‘of the sons of Shecaniah’. This Hattush was probably the one who sealed the covenant of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10.6), although there was an Hattush who was a priest who went up to Judah with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12.2). The importance of the mention of this name is that it indicates that there was a descendent of David among the later returnees. Amongst the earlier ones, of course, was Zerubbabel (2.2). There may have been others among the sons of Bethlehem (2.21).
The sons of Parosh are the ones mentioned first of ‘the males of the people of Israel’ (2.3). A further one hundred and fifty will now join them. Zechariah was chief man among them.
4 of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males;
Sons of Pahath-moab are mentioned in 2.6 as having returned with Zerubbabel. These will therefore join them in the community. Eliehoenai was the chief man among the new arrivals, and he brought with him two hundred males.
5 of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males;
No sons of Shecaniah are mentioned as having returned with Zerubbabel, but it is possible that there were some with him who were named under the name of their city, or it may be that none had then chosen to return. The name of their chief man may therefore have been Ben-Jahaziel
6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males;
Sons of Adin had arrived with Zerubbabel (2.15). They were now being joined by other members of their family under the headship of Ebed, the son of Jonathan, who brought with him fifty males.
7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males;
Sons of Elam had arrived with Zerubbabel (2.7) and they were now being joined by more members of the family under the headship of Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah,
8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males;
Sons of Shephatiah had arrived with Zerubbabel (2.4). They were now being joined by other members of their family under the headship of Zebediah, the son of Michael.
9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males;
Sons of Joab, a son of Pahath-moab, had arrived with Zerubbabel (2.6). They would now be joined by two hundred and eighteen males and their families, under the headship of Obadiah, the son of Jehiel. The reason for their distinctive mention here may be because for some reason they had achieved more importance and therefore now liked to see themselves as separate from the other sons of Pahath-moab.
10 of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males;
There were no sons of Shelomith mentioned among the arrivals under Zerubbabel, but they may well have been named under the name of their town. They arrived under the headship of Ben-josiphiah.
11 of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males;
Sons of Bebai had arrived under Zerubbabel in 2.11. They were now joined by other members of their family under the headship of Zechariah, the son of Bebai.
12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males;
Sons of Azgad had arrived in two different groups on the first return (see on 2.12). Their number is now further increased here under the headship of Johanan, the son of Hakkatan.
13 of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males;
Sons of Adonikam had returned with Zerubbabel (2.13). The reference here to them as the last’ may indicate that now all the sons of Adonikam had returned. Three chief men are named.
14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
Sons of Bigvai had arrived with Zerubbabel (2.14). These will now add to them. There were two chief men over them, Uthai and Zabbud.
So those gathered with Ezra included two priests, one from each of the surviving branches of Aaron’s sons (a large proportion of priests had already gone back), a descendant of David, and twelve representative family groups, possibly numerically representing the twelve tribes of Israel, thus covering every aspect of Israel’s life.
Gathering his party together at the Canal which runs to Ahava, which was probably an important caravan junction, Ezra reviewed those who were present, both of priests and of people, and discovered no Levites among them. Possibly in view of the already small number of Levites who had previously returned (2.40), and probably because they would be needed to carry the Temple vessels, he then proceeded to take measures in order to add some to his party.
15 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.
Babylon itself was surrounded by rivers and canals, and this was probably a recognized assembly spot for caravans. While they were encamped there ‘for three days’ Ezra, as caravan leader, reviewed the people and the priests who were with him. Note the usual distinction between ‘people’ and ‘priests’. ‘Levites’ are notably missing as soon became obvious to Ezra.
16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding.
Noting the absence of Levites Ezra chose out some important men whom he could send to remedy the need, for Levites would be required in order to carry the sacred Temple vessels. It was to Levites that God had given that privilege in the Law of Moses. Nine of these were ‘chief men’, and therefore men of influence, and two were ‘men of discretion’. This last phrase may have been used to describe men who had a special gift of friendly persuasion. The importance of those in the delegation would be in order to impress those to whom they were going. The necessity for ‘persuaders’ indicated the sensitivity of the task in hand. It is possible that the ‘men of discretion’ were in fact the Jarib and Elnathan already mentioned but now defined. Note that there are two (or three) Elnathans and one Nathan. Nathan means ‘given’, Elnathan ‘given by God’.
17 And 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.
These chief men were sent to ‘Iddo, the chief man at the place and I sent them forth to Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo, his brothers, the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us servants for the house of our God.’
Casiphia was clearly a place where Ezra knew that many Levites would be found. and here it is clear that it is a place where the Levites were to be found in numbers. It may suggest, not so much that Casiphia contained a specific sanctuary but that the Levites had made it a Levitical city so that it was seen as a place for gathering for worship and religious guidance (note how the Levites participate in teaching and prayer in Nehemiah 8.7-8; 9.4), especially now that so few priests remained (note the number who had gone with Zerubbabel in chapter 2).
‘That they should bring unto us servants for the house of our God.’ That it says ‘they’ and not ‘he’ demonstrates that it was calling for voluntary response from the Levites. It was an honoured service to which they were being called. They were to be YHWH’s servants, His inheritance. And they would be needed to bear the sacred Temple vessels. But we can understand why men who were free to live life as they liked, balked at the idea of becoming restricted to lowly service in the Temple. Exile would have given them a new perspective. This was no doubt why not one of them had responded to Ezra’s original call.
18 Then, 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;
‘They brought us a man of discretion.’ Presumably the Levites and Nethinim came together to discuss who should respond to the call of God, for it was ‘they’ who, as a result of ‘the good hand of our God upon us’, brought to his representatives a number of Levites and Nethinim who were willing to respond to his call. These were headed by a worthy man of ‘the sons of Mahli, who was the son of Levi, who was the son of Israel’.
‘The man of discretion was unnamed, and as that is unlikely it presumably referred to Sherebiah, the first named, who came with his sons and his kinsmen, numbering eighteen in all. The name Sherebiah occurs regularly in Ezra/ Nehemiah. See verse 24 where it refers to him as one of those to whom the treasures were entrusted for the journey. Furthermore, in Nehemiah 8.7 a Sherebiah is one of the Levites who taught the Law; in 9.4,5 he participated in prayer and worship; and in 10.12 he was one of those who sealed Nehemiah’s covenant, indicating his important status. These references probably refer to this man. In 12.8 there is a Sherebiah who was a chief of the Levites, who accompanied Zerubbabel, possibly his grandfather.
19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men;
Along with Sherebiah came Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, a Merarite, along with his kinsmen and their sons. Hashabiah, like Sherebiah, was also the name of one of those to whom gold was entrusted for the journey (verse 24). In Nehemiah 3.17 a Hashabiah, who was a Levite, and was ruler over half of Keilah, worked on the wall being built by Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 12.24 Hashabiah, a chief of the Levites, along with Sherebiah and Jeshua, was of those who offered praise and thanksgiving. These may all have been the same Heshabiah.
So thirty eight Levites demonstrated their willingness to accompany Ezra which, considering the short time being allowed, would have been very encouraging. (There were apparently only nine days, that is from the first of the month to the twelfth of the month, after considering the three days of review - 7.9; 8.15, 21). They would be later be joining the Levites who had come up with Zerubbabel (2.40).
20 also 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.
Of the Nethinim, who had been gifts of the Davidic house (‘David’ often indicates the Davidic house) for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty volunteered to go with Ezra. They would be required to watch over the bearing of the treasures as assistants to the Levites.
This probably indicates that the names of the volunteering Levites and Nethinim were listed, although it might have been by a public roll-call. To be mentioned by name regularly indicated praise and approval.
The people who were returning with Ezra having all gathered. Ezra proclaimed a fast so that they could effectively pray for a safe journey.
21 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.
The people who had gathered for the journey had about twelve days to get themselves organized for it, and towards the end of that period Ezra proclaimed a fast where they were at the river Ahava so that they could humble themselves before God, praying for their journey to be a safe one and to be relatively unhindered. Fasting had always been a way of expressing humility and recognition of unworthiness at difficult and dangerous times, and no more so than at this period. This is the first mention that we have of ‘little ones’ but it is a reminder that that all those who returned who were married would have with them families and little ones. He was also concerned because he knew that they were taking large amounts of gold and silver with them, to say nothing of their own possessions. It was going to be a large caravan. Such a trip always produced its own difficulties, and it was going to be a great temptation to large bands of brigands, who tended to watch the trade routes.
22 For 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.”
He could, of course, have asked the king for an escort (the king had promised him every assistance). But he was ashamed to do so because of the way in which he had boasted to the king of how the hand of God would be with them. In the face of that asking for military help would have seemed to him as a betrayal that would cast doubt on the faithfulness of God. The narrative demonstrates what often happens when men cast themselves on God and take a step of faith. They can go through periods of apprehension and wondering why they had done it. Not all have such faith that they never have a moment of doubt. It is an encouragement to us that Ezra, the great man of faith, should also have experienced doubts. But even without the escort they had over 1500 men of fighting age and over, who were available to act as guards, and a good number of older teenagers who would also be able to carry weapons, no doubt all showing themselves on the edges of the caravan. We are not told what animals were available but it is probably safe to assume that Ezra was not averse to asking for horses for his guards, in which case they would at least appear to be a formidable fighting force. A further factor that would have given him some assurance was that the network of roads maintained by the Persian authorities were regularly watched over by protective patrols.
His boast to the king had been that Israel’s God had His hand on all who sought Him, for good, while His power and wrath were revealed against all evildoers. If it were true then it should ensure that the godly caravan was protected, while any adversaries would be routed. To have asked for an escort would have belittled God. Note how he sees all evildoers as forsaking God, although he may well have had in mind regular prayers for protection found in the Psalms. But he was still clearly apprehensive of the possibility of ‘liers-in-wait’ (verse 31).
In contrast to Ezra, Nehemiah was delighted to have an escort provided by the king (Nehemiah 2.9). This is to see the distinction between two godly men, one of whom was a priest and the other a believing politician. In neither case is blame attached to the decision. It is a reminder that God works with His own in multiple ways, while not despising practical common sense. Ezra’s faith proved justified. Nehemiah’s was equally justified. Of course, Nehemiah was going to Jerusalem as Governor, and was probably accompanied by Persian officials. The king would have looked skeptically on him if he had chosen the same route as Ezra about an escort.
23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.
So, they fasted and prayed earnestly, and came to a place where they were confident that God had heard them, and the future would prove them right.
It is never right to use faith as an excuse for foolishness. So having committed everything to God, and having obtained assurance of His protection, he now took wise steps to safeguard the treasure. He divided the treasure up among a number of trustworthy men, so that each could protect what was entrusted to him. They would have to watch against both internal thieves, and any attempts made by bandits on the caravan.
24 And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them—
As became the responsibility of Levites, to Sherebiah and Hashabiah (compare verse 19) and ten of their brothers was granted the privilege of overseeing the bearing of the treasures. These were of course the chiefs among the Levites. They would oversee the actual bearing of the treasures by their brothers. But in order to safeguard them from any charges of failure in their duties, and in order to keep overall watch over the treasures, twelve chiefs of priest were set over them to take overall responsibility for the treasure. As the treasures were mainly intended for the Temple it would have been an insult to the priests if they had not had such overall responsibility. The number twelve indicated that they were acting on behalf of all Israel.
25 and 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.
The silver, gold and vessels were weighed and technically handed over to the chiefs of the priests, who would be called upon to sign for them, but they would immediately have called on the Levites to bear them. They would not bend their backs to such matters. These were the offerings for the house of God which had been received from the king, his chief counsellors, his princes and all of Israel in the locality who had willingly offered. Here we learn that additionally to the counsellors, the aristocracy had been called on by the king to contribute.
26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.
The riches that had been gathered were now put into the hands of those appointed. Six hundred talents of silver were a huge amount. But it was tiny as compared with the riches of the Persian empire. The hundred silver vessels were apparently one talent each, although it could be repointed as dual, and therefore as two talents. A hundred talents of gold were again a very large amount. But the richest men throughout Babylonia had contributed and wanted the king to see how much they cared about his life and the life of his sons. Twenty bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics each were for the Temple of the God of. The two vessels of beautifully glittering bronze were clearly seen as very special. They were ‘precious as gold’. That may have been because some metal-worker had had his own secret formula which had achieved unique and spectacular results (he may even have discovered how to produce true brass, but if so his secret died with him), or it may be because the material used came from a distant country and was rare.
What had to be carried if these figures are correct was considerable, in weight as well as in value. There were at least 850 talents and 1,000 darics. If we take a talent as representing approximately 66 pounds, the talents would come to over 56,000 pounds. Divided among 258 Levites and their assistants that would mean each carried about 225 pounds, although of course they would be able to call on asses and camels for the most part. (The holy vessels may have had to be carried by hand). It is not therefore impossible.
Remembering that Solomon would not even deign to use silver, ‘silver was not accounted of in the day of Solomon’ (1 Kings 10.21), and that the Persian kings were richer far, we should not be surprised at the huge amount of silver involved. When we consider that the king and his wealthy counsellors would be vying with each other to be accounted generous, and that on top of these were the further contributions required from the wealthy aristocracy, these figures are not inconceivable. In the king’s eyes, nothing would have been too good for the God of Heaven, and he had probably heard how fabulously richly inlaid the Temple had once been. He would not want to suffer by comparison in the eyes of the God of Heaven.
28 And 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.
Ezra then reminded the priests and Levites that they were ‘holy unto YHWH’, as were the sacred vessels, which he may well have consecrated. It is probable that these vessels would have to be carried by the Levites themselves because of their holiness, which would be why the presence of Levites would be so necessary. But while the silver and gold were a freewill offering to YHWH, and therefore to be sacred in a secondary way, they would eventually be melted down and used for the benefit of the Temple. Thus they were not ‘most holy’, and could no doubt be borne by asses and camels.
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.”
The priests and Levites in question were to keep watch over the sacred vessels and the treasure, and guard them until they were able to weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers’ (houses), as they handed them over in the side rooms of the house of YHWH.
30 So 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.
And thus did the priests and Levites receive the weight of the silver and gold and the vessels in order to bring them to the house of God in Jerusalem.
The journey had begun on the first day of the month (7.9), but due to the delay caused by the necessity of obtaining Levites to bear the sacred vessels, the caravan could not set off from the river Ahava until the twelfth day of the month. However, once they had started off the journey went well, and as soon as they reached Jerusalem they rested for three days and then handed over the treasures to the priests and Levites in the Temple, after which offerings, and sacrifices for sin, were made to YHWH. Finally the king’s commissions were handed over to the kings satraps, and the governors of Beyond the River, who, along with the Israelite leadership, faithfully carried out their requirements.
31 Then 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.
They left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the month. The intention to leave earlier was possibly because of the approaching Passover, which they would celebrate as a family festival en route. The first month may well have been chosen in order to parallel the flight from Egypt. And during their journey, which would be almost a thousand miles, they were aware that the hand of God was upon them. Given that their journey took around four months, they would have had to travel at about nine miles a day which was good going for such a mixed caravan. But the Persian network of roads made it quite feasible.
‘The hand of our God was on us.’ In verse 22 Ezra had informed the king that ‘the hand of Israel’s God was upon all who those who seek Him’. In verse 17 he had declared that they had obtained a response from the Levites because of the fact that ‘the hand of Israel’s God was upon them’. Now he reveals that they had a safe journey because ‘the hand of Israel’s God was upon them’.
‘He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and those who lie-in-wait by the way.’ We do not know whether the deliverance came because of beating off attacks, or by way of no attacks. But either way God was triumphant. We have here a reminder of the dangers of travel in those days. There were those who lay in wait, ever ready to take advantage of a weak moment, and as we know the caravan was a rich prize.
32 So we came to Jerusalem and stayed there three days.
Arriving in Jerusalem they rested for ‘three days. This period would enable them to recover from the rigors of the journey and sort themselves out. The leaders’ attention would initially be required to keep things organized, for they had to be settled in. Including women and children there would probably have been over five thousand people to cater for. But the Jews already there would no doubt have made them welcome. We can be sure that news would have gone ahead of the caravan
33 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,
Then on the fourth day they had reported at the Temple taking with them the gold and the silver and the sacred vessels, which were weighed and handed over to the Temple authorities. These Temple authorities consisted of Meremoth, the son of Uriah the priest and Eleazar, the ‘son’ of Phinehas, who would therefore also have been a priest. And together with them were two Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui. The priests would probably be responsible for the weighing and recording, while the Levites did the carrying.
Two priests would be required so as to establish the receipt of the treasures on a twofold witness. It would be the minimum required. The number of Levites would match that of the priests. In Nehemiah 13.13 Nehemiah assumes the same pattern which was probably a long established one.
Meremoth, the son of Uriah the priest, was presumably one of the Temple treasurers. ‘Uriah the priest’ indicates a priest of some importance. Ezra was also regularly called ‘Ezra the priest’, and ‘Shelemoth the priest’ was appointed as a Temple treasurer (Nehemiah 13.13). The title does not therefore mean High Priest but indicates a leading priest. Meremoth thus came from an important priestly family.
34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.
Full records were kept of both the vessels and ingots by number, and by weight, and everything that was brought and handed over was recorded by weight. It is probable that Ezra knew that he would have to report back details of the handing over, and written proof that he had done so.
35 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.
The personal pronouns here change from ‘we’ to ‘‘them’’. This was necessary because here it was all the children of the captivity who participated, not just those who had come with Ezra. It was ‘the children of the captivity who had come out of exile’ regardless of when they had come, and this is confirmed by the mention of the offerings being for ‘all Israel’. Clearly the High Priest and the incumbent priests would be equally involved. Thus, Ezra’s returnees were welcomed by the previous returnees, and all together offered offerings and sacrifices.
There were twelve bullocks for all Israel, one per tribe; and ninety six rams, possibly, but not necessarily, seen as eight per tribe (but note the number of lambs), and seventy-seven lambs. To the people of that day seventy-seven would indicate intensified divine perfection. They tended to read into numbers ideas rather than quantity. And these were all offered as whole burnt offerings, that is as offerings of homage and dedication to YHWH which were wholly burnt up. Additional to these were the twelve he-goats sacrificed as a sin-offering, one for each of the tribes of Israel, necessary to deal with the sin of Israel so that Israel could be dedicated to God and approach Him in worship. The ‘twelve tribes’, would be including the priests and the Levites. All these offerings and sacrifices were ‘a burnt offering to YHWH’, symbolic of atonement, dedication and worship.
36 And 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.
The community leaders (they), then ensured the delivering of the king’s commissions, as contained in his decrees, to the Persian authorities, that is to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the administrative districts in Beyond the River.
The point being made is that the Persian rulers did what was right by God’s people, in enhancing the Temple, and ensuring that it fully fulfilled its purpose in encouraging the worship of God, whilst the leaders of Israel played their part in ensuring the same.
