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Ezra 7-10    Listen Podcast

Ezra comes to town (Ezra 7)

1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
7 Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
9 On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
11 ¶ This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel:
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth.
13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.
14 And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand;
15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem;
16 and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem—
17 now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.
18 And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God.
19 Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.
20 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.
21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently,
22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit.
23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God.
25 And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them.
26 Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.
27 ¶ Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem,
28 and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. ¶ So I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

This chapter begins with Ezra's ancestral link back to Aaron. This list of ancestors is abbreviated when compared to Ezra's list found in I Chronicles 6:1-14 (see notes). "After these things" speaks of the completion and dedication of the temple in 515 B.C. Ezra rolls in, and he has a letter in hand from the new King of Persia. Most Bible historians have concluded that this new king is Artaxerxes I, making the date of Ezra's arrival around 457 B.C. This most-commonly-held view indicates a gap of almost 60 years between chapters 6 and 7 of the Book of Ezra. Since Ezra is a scribe, he's well versed in the Law of Moses. He shows up to teach the people of Judah God's ways after a 111-day trip from Babylon. While line of sight from Babylon to Jerusalem is only around 500 miles, the route taken back then was northwest along the Euphrates and then south to Jerusalem, a 900-mile trip. Needless to say, that took much of the fun out of travel.

We'll see in chapter 8 that there was a significant mass of people along with property that traveled with Ezra here. With this letter from the king in chapter 7, Ezra is given significant authority and resources to do the job (verses 19-24). Notice verse 23, "Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?" Historians tell us that there was a rebellion brewing down in Egypt in 460 B.C., and the king was trying to appease the factions who might have influence over Israel at the time. This verse shows us that the king didn't want to make the God of Israel angry, so he rolls out the red carpet for Ezra and his countrymen. Oh! And here's another political move to get the Jewish leadership behind the Persian King's efforts in verse 24: Make the religious leadership and temple servants (Nethinims) tax exempt. That's the good clergy news. Verse 26 is the lawyer-buster verse, "Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment." If you don't like what Ezra's doing...well...you better like what Ezra's doing!

There are some prophetic implications in this chapter. This "seventh year of Artaxerxes the king" equates to 457 B.C. when this decree was issued to rebuild the temple. This is likely the beginning of the countdown to the Messiah as specified by Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27 (see notes). Read the commentary on that chapter to understand the significance of the decree issued here.

So, who are these folks who returned? (Ezra 8:1-23)

1 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;
3 of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males;
4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males;
5 of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-jahaziel, and with him three hundred males;
6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males;
7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males;
8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males;
9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males;
10 of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males;
11 of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males;
12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males;
13 of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males;
14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
15 ¶ Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.
16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding.
17 And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God.
18 Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men;
19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men;
20 also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name.
21 ¶ Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
22 For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”
23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Now, the most exciting part of reading the Bible...genealogies! These are the people who left Babylon with Ezra. They're listed here according to their ancestry. We'll need some certified Levites, and we have them in verses 15-20. Then for the fasting and prayer in verses 21-23 before Ezra and his large company actually head for Jerusalem. Why? Verse 22 explains, "For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, 'The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.'" Ezra had declined to ask the king for protection (since the king had such great respect for the protecting hand of Ezra's God), and this fast just seemed like a good way to get right with God and call upon him to protect their journey before they leave - three days' worth of fasting and prayer.

We need guards (Ezra 8:24-36)

24 ¶ And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them—
25 and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered.
26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold,
27 twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.
28 And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers.
29 Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.”
30 So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 ¶ Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.
32 So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.
33 ¶ Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui,
34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.
35 ¶ The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.
36 ¶ And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God.

Tax exempt back in 7:24 - that's the GOOD clergy news. Now here's the bad clergy news: The Levites are designated to carry the temple furnishings back to Jerusalem on this 900-mile journey. Who better to guard the temple possession than the Levites - just like the old days! Ezra makes the appropriate appointments. Upon their arrival, they offer burnt offerings to express their thankfulness to God in allowing them to return to Jerusalem. We see in verse 36 that Ezra carried with him the "commissions" (royal edicts) which are delivered to the government officials over the region. They're back in their land under the protective decree of the King of Persia. So...they're protected from their enemies, but they are not governing themselves independently. They function more as a state within a union than a nation.

No more marriages to foreigners! (Ezra 9)

1 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.”
3 So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.
4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
5 ¶ At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.
6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.
8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,
11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, “The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.
12 Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’
13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this,
14 should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?
15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

Never mind what our forefathers did, this marriage thing - marrying foreigners - must stop. Then they read the laundry list of forbidden marriages. Deuteronomy 23:7 (see notes) says, "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land." However, since Deuteronomy had been written, there had been quite a lot of negative history with both Egypt and Edom. I guess the officials in Ezra 9:1 just went ahead and threw them in for good measure.

It seems like a strange concern in verse 2 when the leaders of the returned exiles come to Ezra talking about the evils of intermarrying with the surrounding folks in such seemingly naive terms saying, "so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands:" And what about Ezra's reaction to this report in verse 3, "So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished." Ouch! That's gotta hurt! But here's the point. They recognized the intent in the beginning for not intermarrying with the pagans was to prevent religious diversity. These foreigners bring their pagan religions with them. So...how long has the practice of marrying heathen women been going on? There's your answer in verse 7, "Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty." That verse is part of the prayer that Ezra prays publicly beginning in verse 6 and extending to the end of the chapter. While they freely acknowledge that their forefathers failed to uphold the marriage policy established by God, these returning exiles mean business as they make every good faith attempt to keep it from happening again. So, they take the spirit of past commandments (the prevention of religious diversity), lump in the pagan Egyptians, and seek to rectify what they view as a significant problem. They meant well. To top off the new proposition, in verses 6-15 Ezra prays an emotional prayer in earshot of everyone confessing sin in this matter. Hey...these people are serious about serving their ONE TRUE GOD! They don't want to take any chances with compromise this time around.

Incidentally, this marrying-pagan-women problem during this era also receives attention in Malachi 2:10-17 (see notes).

Some of these wives must go! (Ezra 10:1-17)

1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.
2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.
3 Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
4 Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.”
5 ¶ Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath.
6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.
7 ¶ And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem,
8 and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity.
9 ¶ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain.
10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel.
11 Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”
12 ¶ Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do.
13 But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter.
14 Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”
15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.
16 ¶ Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.
17 By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

Are you a violator of the marriage policy or not? They set up a committee to examine the question of inappropriate marriages. It took several weeks to go through all the families of the exile, but they stuck with it until the task was finished. And why did they do this? Look at Ezra 10:14, "Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter." They felt that these men who intermarried would result in the wrath of God upon them i.e. a shortfall of rain (verse 13). According to verse 17, the task of ridding these men of their foreign wives took about three months to accomplish.

Who are the violators? (Ezra 10:18-44)

18 ¶ And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19 And they gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their trespass offering.
20 ¶ Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah;
21 of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah;
22 of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 ¶ Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 ¶ Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 ¶ And others of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah;
26 of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah;
27 of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;
28 of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai;
29 of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Ramoth;
30 of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;
31 of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah;
33 of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;
34 of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,
35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluh,
36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasai,
38 Bani, Binnui, Shimei,
39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph;
43 of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 ¶ All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Here's the list of violators. Isn't it interesting that their names are immortalized because they married heathen women! The problem doesn't actually get solved here, though. In Nehemiah we see that this problem of intermarrying with the surrounding natives kept recurring. With the help of the numbers found in Nehemiah 7 (see notes) of the total of returning exiles, here's a little table to show the extent of this intermarriage problem.

The extent of the intermarriage problem in Ezra 10 compared to total returning exiles in Nehemiah 7
Category
Totals from Nehemiah 7
Intermarried from Ezra 10
Percentage
Priests
4,289
17
.4%
Levites
74
6
8.1%
Singers
128
1
.8%
Gatekeepers
139
3
2.2%
Laity
28,144
84
.3%
Totals
28,774
111
.4%

As it turns out, there were not that many mixed families to begin with, but none after the three months. I wonder what kind of severance package those women received? We see in verse 44 that some had children by these wives as well. According to verse 3, those women retained custody of their children. Let it be noted, this was a man-made solution to a man-made problem.