Ezra 8:1 - Meaning and Application

Ezra had received his commission from the king, and now he called for volunteers, as if he were raising a banner to gather the scattered people of Israel and Judah, as promised in (Isaiah 11:12). He was saying, in effect, that any of the people of Zion who were settled among the daughters of Babylon and wanted to go to Jerusalem should come now, since the temple was finished and worship had begun again. You might think that with such a leader and such encouragement, all the Jews would have at last shaken off their comfortable life and answered the call in (Isaiah 52:1-2). It is hard to see how anyone could read that and still stay behind.

But many did stay. They loved ease more than true religion. They thought they were fine where they were, or they did not believe Jerusalem would improve their condition, or they were afraid of the difficulties of the journey. Yet some did offer themselves willingly to go with Ezra. The heads of several families are named here to honor them, and the number of men each brought adds up to 1,496. Two priests are named in (Ezra 8:2), and one descendant of David, but it seems they came without their families. They may have planned to see how they liked Jerusalem first, and then either send for their families or return if needed.

Several of these family groups had already appeared in (Ezra 2). Some had gone up then, and more went up now because God moved their hearts. Some were called to work in the vineyard at the third hour, and others not until the eleventh, yet even those latecomers were accepted. The last sons of Adonikam in (Ezra 8:13) may be taken by some as a mark against them, as though they were the last to join Ezra. I take it as praise instead, because now all the sons of that family returned and none stayed behind.

The Levites who went with this company had to be almost pressed into service. Ezra set a meeting place for everyone on the first day of the first month, the new year, as he had planned in (Ezra 7:9). There he reviewed the group and counted them, and, strangely enough, found no Levites at all in the company, as noted in (Ezra 8:15). There were some priests, but no other Levites. Where was the spirit of that holy tribe? Ezra, himself a priest, seems to have echoed Moses with the call, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Yet they were slow to come, as if they would rather stay among the sheepfolds and hear the sheep bleat than serve at the temple.

We may suppose they had synagogues in Babylon, where they prayed, taught, and kept the Sabbath. For the time, that was a mercy, and they should have been thankful for it. But now the temple in Jerusalem was open again, and they had been set apart for its service. They should have preferred the gates of Zion to those gatherings in Babylon. Their delay is recorded here as a shame, though it should not be broadcast abroad. When Ezra saw that he had no Levites with him, he was in trouble. He had enough money for the temple service, but he lacked men. The king and princes had done their part well enough, but the sons of Levi had not done theirs.

So Ezra chose eleven chief men, men of understanding, and sent them to fill this serious gap. He sent them to the proper place, where there was a college of Levites, at Casiphia, probably a street or square in Babylon set apart for them, which may be called Silver Street, since the name means silver. He also sent them to the proper person, Iddo, the chief leader there. He did not ask Iddo to come himself, since he may have been too old for such a move. Rather, he asked him to send some younger men, ministers for the house of our God, as in (Ezra 8:17). Providing God’s house with good ministers is a worthy work, and everyone who helps in it shares in its comfort and honor.

Their mission succeeded. They did not come back empty-handed. Though the warning was short, they brought about forty Levites to Ezra’s company. Sherebiah, known as a man of great understanding, came with eighteen men, as in (Ezra 8:18). Hashabiah, Jeshaiah, and twenty with them came too, as in (Ezra 8:19). This shows they were not unwilling, only lazy and inattentive. They just needed someone to call them and stir them up. It is a pity when good men leave a good work undone simply because no one speaks to them about it. It is also a pity when they need that kind of urging, but if they do, it is still a pity if no one gives it.

Even the Nethinim, the servants of the sacred college, the lowest class of temple workers, were more willing to go than the Levites themselves. Two hundred twenty of them responded to this quick summons and had the honor of being named in Ezra’s list, as in (Ezra 8:20). In this way, Ezra says, they were supplied with Levites by the good hand of our God upon us. If a lack of ministers is well made up, God should get the credit. It is his good hand that fits people for the work, moves their hearts toward it, and opens the way for them to serve.