The Meaning of Ezra 8: A Journey of Faith

The Journey from Ahava to Jerusalem

The scene is set by the river Ahava in Babylonia, where a community of Jewish exiles has gathered for a life-changing journey back to their homeland. Led by Ezra, they are carrying not only their families and possessions but also precious treasures donated by the Persian king for the temple in Jerusalem. Before they can even take the first step, however, Ezra must solve a personnel crisis and make a crucial decision about how they will face the dangers of the road ahead.

The List of Returnees  (Ezra 8:1-14)

¹ These are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:
² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom.
³ of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah with his kinsmen, 150;
⁴ Iddo, the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh.
⁵ of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men of the sons of Adin;
⁶ Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men.
⁷ And there were twelve of the priests' sons who were the sons of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai.
⁸ And of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men.
⁹ And there were registered 24,000 of the priests, the heads of fathers' houses, in the days of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and 9,734 of their kinsmen.
¹⁰ Of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and 150 men with them.
¹¹ The whole was 5,000 talents of silver, silver vessels weighing 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold,
¹² and with them the second group of a hundred and twenty-two who had come after them.
¹³ And of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty men.
¹⁴ Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with him 70 males.

Recruiting the Levites  (Ezra 8:15-20)

¹⁵ I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi.
¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight,
¹⁷ And I sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God.
¹⁸ According to the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18;
¹⁹ and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20,
²⁰ And of the sons of Immer, Hanani and Zebadiah.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection  (Ezra 8:21-23)

²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.
²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him."
²³ So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Entrusting the Treasures  (Ezra 8:24-30)

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them.
²⁵ and I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered.
²⁶ I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold,
²⁷ And twenty bowls of gold worth a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold.
²⁸ Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers.
²⁹ Watch and guard them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.
³⁰ So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

Safe Arrival and Worship  (Ezra 8:31-36)

³¹ Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.
³² Then we came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days.
³³ On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.
³⁴ Everything was counted and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.
³⁵ At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.
³⁶ And they delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.