THE SECOND BATCH TO RETURN FROM CAPTIVITY (EZRA 7 to 10) There was an interval of 58 years between the events in the sixth chapter and those in the seventh chapter (between 516 and 458 BC); during which the events of the book of Esther with king Ahasuerus the Great took place. Certain parts of the book of Zechariah, and probably of Malachi and Joel as well, were written. And during that interval some of those returning from captivity got married to pagan wives, and could have embraced idol-worship through them, if God with His love, did not sent to them Ezra the priest and scribe, leading a new batch, to take over the inner reform, and in particular sending the pagan wives and their children away. With the beginning of the present division, we hear no more of Zerubbabel, Jeshua the priest, and Haggai and Zechariah the prophets. The author started by parading a short account of the events; then got back to deal with them in some detail. CHAPTER 7 EZRA, THE MAN OF THE LAW, SENT TO REFORM A NEW SPIRITUAL PROCESSION Now, the talk begins about a new spiritual procession, the second batch of those returning from captivity under the leadership of the man of the law and of the spiritual reform , Ezra himself. After 80 years since the call of God to Cyrus; the Persian king, 58 years since the building of the temple; and after the Jews were saved from the evil plot of Haman, that came in the book of Esther, in the days of king Ahasuerus (also called Exerxes the Great), the good hand of God stretched to work through king Artaxerxes the first -- Longimanus (son of king Ahasuerus), to whom He gave grace toward Ezra, to give him an open authority to work in Jerusalem. Ezra was a great scholar of the Law (6), a descendant of Aaron; who obviously got a prominent position in the Persian royal court, probably a kind of a state scribe for the Jewish affairs. Being at the same time a practical man (6 – 10), who had pleasure in the study of the Holy Book, he was sent by the king to study the situation in Jerusalem, and to commit the Jews there to keep the Law (25 – 26). There are other evidences that the kings of Persia cared for making the peoples under them practice their worships, as is obvious from a papyrus sent to a Jewish colony in the island of Elephantine at Aswan in Egypt. 1- The good hand of God 1 - 10 2- The king’s letter to Ezra 11 - 26 3- Blessed be the God of our fathers 27 - 28 1- THE GOOD HAND OF GOD: “Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hikliah” (1) “After these things”. The book, here, starts a new epoch. The six first chapters were in the days of Darius Hestasib, Artaxerxes, and Cyrus. Cyrus gave the permission to build the temple in the year 536 BC, which was completed in the days of Darius Hestasib in the year 515 BC. Now Ezra ascends from Babylon to Jerusalem in the year 458 BC., namely after building the temple, and the opposition they faced He starts his talk with proclaiming his descent from Aaron, the first high priest; and confirming that what has been realized, was through the good hand of God upon him, giving him grace in the eyes of king Artaxerxes;, to lead a new spiritual procession from Babylon to Jerusalem.. “Ezra the son of Seraiah”: Ezra a Hebrew name, meaning (help); God sent him to help His people; yet they have to return to the divine law, and get purified of the sins in which they have fallen. Seraiah was not Ezra’s father, but his grandfather. What actually preoccupied Ezra’s mind, beside mentioning the prominent persons, was to reach up with his genealogy to Aaron the high priest. He cared to confirm his priesthood genealogy, which was very important for him to practice his task as a priest. . Seraiah was the high priest at the time of the desolation of the temple in the year 588 BC; was arrested by Nebuzradan, the captain of the guard, together with Zephaniah the priest, and 70 persons, took them over to Nebuchadnezar the king of Babylon, who had them killed in the land of Hamath (2 kings 25: 18-21). Hikliah was the high priest in the days of Josiah the good king, who found the book of the law, delivered it to Shaphan, the scribe who read it before the king (2 kings 22: 13). “the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of ahitub” (2) “the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth” (3) “the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki” (4) “the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest” (5) Phinehas, the priest, by whose zeal he appeased the wrath of God, when he killed the Israeli man who committed adultery with a Moabite woman (Numbers 25: 8) Aaron; The first high priest, brother of the prophet Moses. “This Ezea came up from Babylon, and he was a skilled scribe on 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” (6) “A skilled scribe”; Ezra, an employee in the Persian court, and a counselor to king Artaxerxes; was called ‘a scribe’, because of his job; who used his knowledge, skill, and talent, to study, understand, and teach the law of God to the people, and to walk according to its statutes; according to the words of the psalmist: “My tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45: 1). “On the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given” He so says to confirm that the secret of having got such a skill and knowledge is holding fast to the divine law, granted by God as a gift to the people. The secret of his great knowledge and high position is having the word of God; to be called by the people: “the second Moses”. “The hand of the Lord”; Ezra counts all the graces enjoyed by the people in that time as “gifts from the good hand of God”. He repeated this expression and the like, six times in the two chapters 7 and 8(Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8: 18, 22, 31). The hand of God helps, protects, and guides. Ezra the scribe followed the lead of David the prophet, the king, and the psalmist, who, although he had so great reputation, possibilities, and experience, yet, counted himself a stranger on the earth in need of the God’s commandments, to lead, guide, and comfort him in his sojourn, crying out: “I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide your commandments from me” (Psalm 119: 19). Feeling sojourn motivates him to attach himself to the divine commandment to support him all the time, to grant him prosperity in the Lord, and lifts him up to the heavenly life. + The sojourners on earth need the commandments of God to protect them against the works of the body and the love of money. Whoever follows these commandments, the world would not be able to prevail upon him. But there are commandments written in symbols, whose meaning is not obvious, like: “Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of the house” (Matthew 24: 17; Mark 13:15; Luke 17: 31); And, “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8: 22); etc. … together with the commandments concerning the sacrifices, the feasts, the clean and unclean animals … That is why, it is befitting of the sojourner on earth to seek from the Lord to reveal the meaning of His commandments, and not to hide them from him, to keep and to love, to become blameless.. (St. Josabius the Caesarian) + Being a sojourner on earth, he prayed to God not to hide his commandments from him, to enjoy love as a unique and principal thing; Now he desires to have love for the sake of His judgments, a desire that is worthy of commendation and not condemnation. (St. Augustine) “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 Artaxerexes”(7) “And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king” (8) “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” (9) “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” (10) He started by keeping the Law, sought it in his heart, and hid it wherever he went to live by it, whether in the royal palace in Babylon, or during the journey to Jerusalem.. The next stage was to turn the divine commandment into work and behavior that touch his feelings, words, and deeds; and finally to preach and teach it to others; As according to the Lord Christ: “Whoever does and teaches these commandments is called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5: 19). + It is not enough for us to acquire these commandments, but we need as well to keep them diligently and faithfully. (St. John Chrysostom) + He who the truth, will say: “I delight in your commands which I dearly love” (See Psalm 119: 93). ; The goal of being delighted in the commandments of God, is to put them to work. How wonderful to delight in the commandments and to understand their meanings, then to lift our arms up to do the works that conform to those commandments. We should not keep these commandments “grudgingly or of necessity” ((2 Corinthians 9: 7), but with joy. And while having delight in them, and keeping them, we are committed to utter them (Deuteronomy 6: 7); hence he adds: “*I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart” (Psalm 119: 69) ;For the sake of my love for Your commandments, I do not cease to talk about them; I recite them while greatly delight.. (The scholar Origen) + Whoever has my commandments in his memory, and persistently keeps them in his life, on his lips, in his ears, and in his behavior and works; such a man loves Me, and by his deeds he proclaims this love. Whereas by applying it, yet without fruition, love would become no more than a meaningless word. (St. Augustine) + To be far from doing according to the commandments of God, is to be far from God. This is the essence of the sin of being separated from God, and not being united to Him. (St. Basil the Great) + The secret teachings and knowledge, I hid in my heart. But the judgments, I revealed to all, for all humanity to perceive and understand; “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5: 10). (Josabius the Caesarian) 2- THE KING’S LETTER TO EZRA: The king’s letter to Ezra reveals the hand of God and His Spirit working to the account of His people. a- The pagan king exhorted the priests and the Levites to go to Jerusalem to restore the worship of God, and to reform the people (13) b- He called Ezra “the scribe of the law of the God of heaven” (21); for he saw in him a unique heavenly feature. c- The king and his counselors gave gifts and articles, (other than the articles of the house of the Lord that Cyrus sent back to Jerusalem) d- The pagan king exhorted the Jewish people and their priests to offer freely to the house of their God (16) e- He gave Ezra the authority to make decisions according to the law of his God (25); and to appoint magistrates and judges for all the people wherever they are in the region beyond the River. f- He gave him the authority to issue verdicts unto those who do not observe the law of God and of the king, whether it be death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment. “Now 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” (11) “Artaxerxes king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: perfect peace and so forth” (12) In that letter the good hand of God is revealed about the spiritual impact of Ezra upon the king, who saw Ezra, not as a regular scribe working for him, in the royal court, but as “A scribe or the law of the perfect God of heaven”. We never heard that a king in Israel called a scribe or even a prophet by such an amazing title. Artaxerxes counted the God of Ezra the Perfect God of heaven. “I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you” (13) “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” (14) The seven counselors were heads of their fathers’ houses in the kingdom of Persia, mentioned in the book of Esther as closest to the king: “Crshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan; seven princes of Persia and Media” (Esther 1: 14); who represented a counseling body for the king; The figure 7 had its consideration with the Gentiles as it did with the Jews. “To inquire concerning the spiritual conditions of the Jews”. It so appears in the letter that Ezra was authorized, not only to inquire about issues concerning the law, but he had the authority to punish those who do not observe them. “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” (15) It is amazing to see how the kings of Judah made the temple poor, while the pagan kings of Persia have freely offered to it (Isaiah 49: 23; 60: 4-16). 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” (16) There were freewill offerings from the king, his counselors, the people of Babylon friendly with the Jews, and the Jews who chose to remain in Babylon. Those offerings were to buy the animals to be offered on the altar, beside the grain and drink offerings, and the rest of the aspects of ministry. Those offerings of gold and silver was a sign of submission of the king and his seven counselors to the God of heaven, and of their care that worship in Jerusalem would not be hindered. “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” (17) “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” (18) The pagan king in the fifth century BC, exhorts the man of God, and his brethren, “whatever seems good to them to do with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of their God” (18). “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” (19) “The articles that are given to you”. Those articles are not those taken from the house of the Lord by Nebuchadnezar, that were already sent to Jerusalem by king Cyrus, but were gifts from king Artaxwerxes and his counselors and from all the people (of Babylon and Israel). “The God of Jerusalem”, Namely, the God of Israel who dwells in Jerusalem. “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” (20) “And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king do 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” (21) “Up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cores of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit” (22) 100 cores of wheat are equal to 150,000 kilogram; and 100 baths of wine equal to about 3500 liters. “Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven; for why should be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?”(23) While the Jewish people in Jerusalem, not fearing the wrath of God, broke the law for the sake of the evil desires of their bodies; and while some of them even got married to pagan women; the pagan king in Babylon was keen not to have the wrath of God dwell on his kingdom and on his household; saying: “Why should be wrath of God against the realm of the king and his sons?” (23). … This was obviously the hand of God! Here, the pagan king judges the believers and the ministers in all times, who are slothful in the work of God, and seeks from them to practice it with due diligence. Solomon the sage says: “He who deals with a slack hand, becomes poor; but the hand of the diligent makes one rich” (Proverb 10: 4); and, “The way of the slothful man is like a hedge of thorns; but the way of the upright is a highway” (Proverb 15: 19) + The good worker daringly asks for his wages; whereas the lazy and slothful worker does not dare to look into the eyes of his employer. (St. Clement the Roman) + Those called slothful in the book of wisdom, cover their way with thorns, and count the zeal in keeping the commandments of the Lord harmful to the soul. Those who act against the apostolic commandments, who do not eat their bread with labor, but make slothfulness their way of life, are like the dreamers who trust in their dreams rather than the teachings of the gospel; count the fantasies as visions. (St. Gregory of Nyssa) “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” (24) The Persian king exempted all those working in the house of God of all kinds of taxes, tributes and customs, so as to be only preoccupied with serving the Lord. “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” (25) “According to your God-given wisdom”; Ezra, being a faithful man, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, is committed to apply the law of God by wisdom and not by force. “all such as know the laws of your God, and reach those who do not know them”; While there was a governor appointed by the king of Persia for the civil aspects of the province beyond the River, Ezra’s authority, on the other hand was only over the Jewish people in that region, those who follow the law of Moses; Namely, his responsibility was confined to the spiritual aspects concerning religion; his mission was to teach it to the people, and to put their spiritual things in order. “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” (26) Perceiving the greatness of the law of the God of heaven, from Ezra’s life and behavior, the king of Persia gave it priority over his own law. … How amazing! … The pagan king exhorts the man of God to teach the people the law of the God of heaven, diligently and with firmness. 3- BLESSED BE THE GOD OF OUR FATHERS: “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” (27) Before such exalted and amazing divine work in the heart of the pagan king, toward the people of God, Ezra could only praise God and give Him thanks. He had no other way to express the good and amazing hand of God, that moved the pagan king to work with every material possibility and authority to the account of the kingdom of God, with such great generosity, and trust in God, together with humility; other than to raise this praise. “To beautify the house of the Lord”; It was not the goal of Ezra to beautify the temple with more buildings and adornments, but to adorn it with more care for the sanctity of the house, and that of the people and the priests. “and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s princes” (28) “So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered chief men of Israel to go up with me” (29) Before such a letter from the king, revealing the future mission of Ezra; the later perceived that the good hand of God was upon him; (an expression he repeated six times in chapters 7 and 8) and referred every achievement to God and not to himself. ------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM EZRA 7 LET MY HEART SEEK YOUR COMMANDMENT + In the land of captivity You shone the light of Your law over Ezra; You made him a skillful scribe; Whose heart seeks Your commandment, and in it finds his delight; He kept it in his heart, and made it his guide in his sojourn; Its splendor reflected on him; To find grace in the eyes of the king and his counselors. + By Your commandment, he became the leader of a new procession; To cross over from the land of captivity to the city of Jerusalem; Carrying a multitude of offerings; As well as leading human vessels, very precious in Your eyes; Your commandment provided him with enough possibilities. + In amazement he stood wondering, what could he present to You in return, For the sake of the multitude of Your goodness on him! He could only present a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise; He could only proclaim Your love and Your exalted mercies; Blessed be You, O Beneficent!
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