NOTES for Ezr 8:21-36
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. |
22 For I was ashamed to require 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 for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. |
23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us. |
24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, |
25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellers, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: |
26 I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents; |
27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. |
28 And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. |
29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. |
30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God. |
31 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 of such as lay in wait by the way. |
32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. |
33 Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels 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; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; |
34 By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time. |
35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, 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 this was a burnt offering unto the LORD. |
36 And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God. |
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Before beginning the return to Jerusalem, the travelers devote time to fasting and prayer. Much comes together in this fast: prayerful unity with the Lord, hope in His protection, a desire to be purified before meeting the Promised Land, and the need to gather themselves spiritually before the journey. Ezra’s words quoted here, “that we might humble ourselves,” give us a glimpse into his inner world: Ezra does not set himself apart from his companions or exalt himself above them, but regards himself in the same way as the others. His refusal to ask the king for an armed escort follows naturally from Ezra’s mission: he is going to serve the Lord, and the Lord is a more reliable Protector than any armed force.
On the same page we find both the account of the fast and a businesslike inventory of the valuables and sacrificial animals intended for the Temple. There is no contradiction here: standing before God is not an abstract soaring in the empyrean; it is real life itself. Beginning with what can be seen, we can direct our hearts toward what is invisible and incomprehensible.
Readings for 24 October 2018
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