GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
EZRA 8:1-14
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8:1 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, the genealogies of those who went up with me from Babylon during 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 Shekaniah. Of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and registered with him in the genealogy were 150 men.
This list runs down to verse 14, with the names of many leaders of families and the number of men. Ezra follows the list from chapter 2. Perosh, a family name here in verse 3, is also there in 2:3. Earlier, this family had 2,172 men return. Now, there were still 150 to return. The list continues this way, bringing twelve such families to our attention. Are there twelve families to represent the twelve tribes of Israel? Perhaps.
13 Of the sons of Adonikam (the last one), whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. 14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.
A curious phrase in this passage is what I have translated as “the last one.” Did this mean that Adonikam’s descendants, with the three fathers and the 60 men who came with them, were the very last ones to come back? Was this family the first one, perhaps the only one, to be completely restored to Judah?
Another theory is that these were the last of all of those who returned, and since they did not have any larger family connection than being descended from Adonikam, their three leaders are named and the rather small tally of 60 men is given to complete the list of exiles who came back with Ezra.
Returning our attention verses 1-2, we see that there are priests and descendants of David who returned, but their number was not given. There are many ways to account for this lack of accounting. The first thing that comes to my mind is that different leaders have different personalities and different ways of doing things, and that where one man (even though he is in charge and has a letter from the Persian King himself) might not always be listened to by Hebrew nobles and priests along the road home. There may well have been no count ever made of those priests nor of those “sons of David” on the return journey. It is a very human touch to the account.
The Holy Spirit preaches the law here by lining up the returning exiles so that we will naturally remember why they were exiled in Babylon in the first place. When Israel went to Egypt, they were commanded to go by God in order to survive a famine. But they went to Babylon because of their sins of idolatry and unbelief. The Lord said, “You will suffer the penalty for your depravity and bear the punishment for your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the LORD God” (Ezekiel 23:49). But he also promised to bring them back after seventy years. That seventy years was long past, but the Lord’s compassion does not have an expiration date. With God there is forgiveness (Psalm 130:4), and in Christ we have this forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13).
Who but the Lord God himself could love this rabble, this collection of fourth- or fifth-generation Jews in a land where they were at peace, where some of them had even prospered, built families, made friendships, and made homes for themselves? But the Lord had directed his people to worship him at the one temple in Jerusalem until the coming of Christ. Today he directs us to worship Christ alone, and the place no longer matters. But then?
He reached out his hand, directed the heart of King Artaxerxes to allow Ezra to go back and study the Word of God, and he commanded that any of the remaining Jews in Babylon or in the rest of Persia who wanted to, could go with him.
Who but the Lord God himself could love such a rabble as we are? We, a collection of prosperous Gentiles who are so well-off and so spoiled by our prosperity that we don’t even understand how good our lives are? We, a collection of Christians who know our Savior but who make any excuse we can to slip into petty sins of convenience and of “abusing liberty.” We must each say, “The sins I have committed are more in number than the sands of the sea; my transgressions are so many, O Lord, so very many! I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven because of my many sins.” But we are led to repentance week upon week, thanks to God’s compassion for us, and we are reminded day by day of our Savior’s all-embracing love. An ancient pastor asked: “When you come to know these things, what joy do you think you will be filled with? Or how much will you love him, who loved you first?” Give him your thanks for what he has done for you, and give him your life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Ezra 8:1-14 summary