Ezra 8:31-36

5. The journey is made, and the goods are delivered at Jerusalem.

TEXT, Ezra 8:31-36

31

Then we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way.

32

Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

33

And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levities, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

34

Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

35

The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord.

36

Then they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps, and to the governors in the provinces beyond the River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

COMMENT

In Ezra 8:31 the journey is resumed after eleven days spent at the staging area; once more the book speaks of the hand of God: and the mention of the enemy and ambushes shows that God's protection was very necessary and very real.

Ezra 8:32 speaks of three days, perhaps suggesting a time for rest and reorganization, or possibly a Sabbath observation before they reported their arrival and officially handed over the treasures.

Ezra 8:33-34: see the care taken in this entire operation. Of those who received the valuables, four men are named and identified by family and position. Everything is weighed as it is changing hands. Every piece receives a number, and all information is recorded on the spot.

The mention of Meremoth raises some interesting speculation. Here he is called the son of Uriah the priest. In Nehemiah 3:4; Nehemiah 3:21 he is further identified as the grandson of Hakkoz. The sons of a man by the same name are mentioned in Ezra 2:61 as unable to supply genealogical records; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood until the deficiency could be amended by God's answer through Urim and Thummim. Perhaps they were able to find the missing records; perhaps God corrected the deficiency and made His acceptance known; or perhaps there were two men named Hakkoz, and only one lacked proper credentials; at any rate, here is Meremoth, grandson of Hakkoz, discharging a high responsibility as a priest.

Ezra 8:35 again stresses the number twelve and its multiples, as the new arrivals made an offering in behalf of all Israel; only the number 77 varies from the pattern.

We have seen that there were about 1500, plus 258, or roughly 1760 men on the trip; they sacrificed almost 200 animals; assuming that the total number of men, women, and children was about 7,000, that would be an animal for every nine men, or thirty-five people: a respectable offering.

With Ezra 8:36 the mission is completed; all records are turned over to the officials whom the Persians had appointed over the Beyond-Euphrates area. Ezra had fulfilled his responsibility to the king (Ezra 7:14), to his people and to God.

WORD STUDIES

AHAVA (Ezra 8:15; Ezra 8:21): possibly means water; it may be akin to the Latin, aqua.

BABYLON (Ezra 8:1): gate, i.e., court, of Bel (the god of the Babylonians).

CASIPHIA (Ezra 8:17): this comes from a word meaning pale, silver, white, or shining. Perhaps it was a city known for its brightness, or for its money.

HOLY (Kodesh: Ezra 8:28): pure, consecrated, separated. Because a thing was entirely or purely separated to one purpose, it was sacred for that use. With little change the word is used of men devoted to pagan temples and practicing the lowest vices and perversions. It makes a great deal of difference to what purpose, or God, a person devotes his life.

SUMMARY

The eighth chapter of Ezra furnishes details of the trip described in chapter seven, One note runs through it: there was a division of responsibility.
As the company prepares to leave Babylonia, we are made conscious of two priests, a descendant of royalty, and twelve heads of clans in charge. When Ezra needs recruits from among the Levites, he sends nine men and instructs them how to get them. When the trip begins, he calls for fasting and prayer and lays their whole safety in the hands of God. The treasures for the Temple he entrusts to twelve of the priests. When the trip is ended and everything has been turned over to the Temple officials, they celebrate with sacrifices and a full report is turned over to their superiors, along with the original orders.