Ezra 2:36 - Meaning and Application

Here is an account of the priests who returned, and they were a significant group, about one-tenth of the whole company. The total number was more than 42,000 (Ezra 2:64), and the four priestly families here made up more than 4,200 (Ezra 2:36-39). So God’s share, as it were, was a full tenth, a blessed portion.

Three of the priests named here came from fathers who had once led priestly divisions (1 Chronicles 24:7, 1 Chronicles 24:8, 1 Chronicles 24:14). The fourth was Pashur (Ezra 2:38). If this was the same Pashur whose descendant abused Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:1), it is surprising that such a bad man could have such a good and numerous family line.

The Levites were far fewer, and I cannot help noticing how small their number was. Taking the singers and gatekeepers together (Ezra 2:40-42), they still did not reach 350. There was a time when the Levites were more eager for their duty than the priests (2 Chronicles 29:34), but that was not the case now.

One place or family may be known for zeal in one time, and another place or family at a different time. God’s Spirit is free, like the wind that blows where it wishes and changes direction.

The Nethinim were likely the Gibeonites, whose name means "given," since they had been assigned to temple service by Joshua first (Joshua 9:27), and later again by David (Ezra 8:20), after Saul had driven them away. They worked under the Levites in God’s house, doing lowly tasks such as cutting wood and carrying water. Along with them were the children of Solomon’s servants, who were also attached to temple service, whether they were Jews or Gentiles is not clear, and they were counted among the Nethinim (Ezra 2:55, Ezra 2:58).

It is an honor to belong to God’s house, even in the humblest task.

Some people were thought to be Israelites by birth, and some were even thought to be priests, but they could not prove their claim. There were some who could not prove they were Israelites (Ezra 2:59-60). They believed they were of Jacob’s line, and they longed to go up to Jerusalem because they loved God’s house and people. That put true-born Israelites to shame, especially those who were Israelites only in name and had lost the taste for the true worship of God (Isaiah 48:1).

Others could not prove they were priests, though they were supposed to belong to Aaron’s line. What is not carefully preserved in writing is likely to be forgotten in time. Here we are told how they lost their evidence. One of their ancestors married a daughter of Barzillai, a great man from David’s time, and he took pride in that noble family connection. He preferred that family honor to the dignity of his priestly line, so he had his children listed under Barzillai’s family instead of Aaron’s, and their priestly records were lost.

In Babylon, the priesthood brought no earthly advantage, so they did not care much about being tied to it. Those who think their ministry, or their connection to ministers, lowers their status forget who said, "I magnify my office." They also lost what came with that proof. When they could not show their records, they could not simply be assumed to be priests. So they were set aside, as if unclean, and kept from the priesthood.

Now that the priests had their rights back and could live from the altar again, they would gladly have been recognized as priests. But they had sold their birthright for the honor of seeming like men of rank, and so they were rightly lowered in status and kept from the most holy food. Christ will be ashamed of those who are ashamed of him and his service.

It was the tirshatha, or governor, who placed them under this restriction. Some think this was Zerubbabel, the current governor. Others think it was Nehemiah, who is called by that title in (Nehemiah 8:9, Nehemiah 10:1), and who may have given the order years later. But the ban was not final. It was only a temporary suspension until there should be a high priest with Urim and Thummim, by whom God’s will could be known in the matter.

That seems to have been expected and desired, though it does not appear that the second temple ever had that blessing. They did have the full Old Testament canon, which was better than Urim. And by lacking that special oracle, they were taught to look for the Messiah, the great divine spokesman, of which Urim and Thummim were only a picture.

It also does not appear that the second temple had the ark, whether the old one or a new one. Those outward signs slowly faded as the real thing drew near. Through the prophet, God showed that his people would not suffer from lacking the ark (Jeremiah 3:16-17). In those days, when Jerusalem is called the throne of the Lord and the nations are gathered to it, people will no longer speak of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, nor will they even think of it, because they will do well without it.