As it was the day of the people's humiliation, not power but pity and devotedness in obedience characterized Ezra. God will have reality in those He honors; false pretensions He hates. Communion with His mind, suitable to His people's state, is what we see here; and this blessed to not a few from a small and unpretentious beginning. Ezra in Babylon had not the living prophets which had cheered the early workers in Jerusalem; but his heart was set on the written word, and the hand of Jehovah did not fail in gracious providence, either for God and His worship, or on his journey to Jerusalem. Details now follow.
“Now these are the heads of their father's houses, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershon: of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel: of the sons of David, Hattush. Of the sons of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males. And of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him fourscore males. Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males. And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and threescore males. And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty and eight males. And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males. And of the sons of Adonikam, that were the last; and these are their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males” (vers. 1-14).
The earlier return included several priests with their numerous houses (chap. 2:36-39); now but two volunteered without mention of their houses. At first no Levites offered themselves to Ezra; but this drew out his zeal, and not without fruit. Of the people some fresh families now returned; of other families a fresh part. Of one family, the sons of Adonikam or Adonijah, “the last sons” appear to have gone up; of whom the ominous number, 666, had returned with Zerubbabel (chap. 2:13). Compare Neh. 7:18; 10:16.
“And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, which were teachers. And I sent them forth unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.. And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name” (vers. 15-20).
The lack of Levites grieved Ezra, as he deliberately reviewed the company that gathered to the river that runs to Ahava. He had means for the due service of God's house, but where were the ministers? He found none of the sons of Levi; and he will be no party to disorder in divine things. So in the strait he sent for chiefs and men of understanding and gave them a charge to a quarter where were Levites. God gave effect to his desire, and near forty Levites responded to the call, with more than two hundred Nethinim, who, if they had a lowly service, were all to their honor expressed by name.
“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way, for us and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God [is] upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and wrath [is] against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us” (vers. 21-23).
Nor was the work begun or carried on in self-confidence. Ezra proclaimed a fast on the banks of the Ahava (the Hit, probably). He had boasted a little to the king of God's hand upon them all for good, notwithstanding their low estate because of their national sins; and he was rightly ashamed to ask of him a military guard against their enemies in the way. To God with fasting then he would have them to turn, assured that he was seeking His glory and doing His will. And God, as he says, “was entreated of us.”
“Then I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered: I even weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents; of gold an hundred talents: and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold. And I said unto them, Ye [are] holy unto Jehovah, and the vessels [are] holy; and the silver and the gold [are] a freewill offering unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep [them], until ye weigh [them] before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers' [houses] of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah. So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring [them] to Jerusalem unto the house of our God” (vers. 24-30).
Here we see righteous care and choice of faithful men, and this in no narrow spirit, but of fellowship. He separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, or Levites, and weighed to them the offering for God's house, with a solemn appeal. So the N. T. still more impressively shows us Timothy and others charged in view of the Lord's appearing (1 Tim. 6:13, 14; 2 Tim. 4:1, 2; Titus 2:13, 14). For responsibility is in view, not exactly of His presence, but of His appearing, when all will be out, and each will receive according to the things done with the body as their instrument, whether good or bad (2 Chron. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:10).
“Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the her in wait by the way. And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. And on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him [was] Eleazer, the son of Phinehas; and with them [was] Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites; the whole by number, by weight: and all the weight was written at that time. The children of the captivity, which were come out of exile, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats [for] a sin offering: all a burnt offering unto the LORD. And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's satraps, and to the governors beyond the river: and they furthered the people and the house of God” (vers. 31-36).
The journey was made prosperously; the offering after three days delivered by number and weight in God's house into the due hand, and as duly recorded at the time; and God was owned according to His word, as He could not be in Babylon. Burnt offerings were presented to the God of Israel, “twelve bullocks for all Israel.” They rose in faith to God's mind, and they embraced in heart before Him all His people. But they were as far as possible from pretending to be more than they were, while they refused to be other than they were. Imitations or substitutes never satisfy a true heart. Besides the bullocks, they offered ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve he-goats for a sin offering. This could not be forgotten. They thoroughly owned their original relationship to Jehovah, so dishonored; they looked with confidence to their glorious restoration for His own name; and both contributed to their doing the right thing meanwhile, in obedience of faith and lowliness of mind. They acknowledged the present ruin of Israel, but clung unwaveringly to Israel's God.