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Ezra Chapter
Two
Ezra 2
Chapter Contents
The numbers that returned. (1-35) The numbers of the
priests and Levites. (36-63) The offerings for the temple. (64-70)
Commentary on Ezra 2:1-35
(Read Ezra 2:1-35)
An account was kept of the families that came up out of
captivity. See how sin lowers a nation
which righteousness would exalt!
Commentary on Ezra 2:36-63
(Read Ezra 2:36-63)
Those who undervalue their relation to the Lord in times
of reproach
persecution
or distress
will have no benefit from it when it becomes
honourable or profitable. Those who have no evidence that they are
by the new
birth
spiritual priests unto God
through Jesus Christ
have no right to the
comforts and privileges of Christians.
Commentary on Ezra 2:64-70
(Read Ezra 2:64-70)
Let none complain of the needful expenses of their
religion. Seek first the kingdom of God
his favour and his glory
then will
all other things be added unto them. Their offerings were nothing
compared
with the offerings of the princes in David's time; yet
being according to
their ability
were as acceptable to God. The Lord will carry us through all
undertakings entered on according to his will
with an aim to his glory
and
dependence on his assistance. Those who
at the call of the gospel
renounce
sin and return to the Lord
shall be guarded and guided through all perils of
the way
and arrive safely at the mansions provided in the holy city of God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezra》
Ezra 2
Verse 1
[1] Now
these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity
of
those which had been carried away
whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had
carried away unto Babylon
and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah
every one
unto his city;
The province — Of
Judah
called a province
chap. 5:8. And he calls it thus emphatically to mind
himself and his brethren of that sad change which their sins had made among
them
that from an illustrious
independent
and formidable kingdom
were
fallen to be an obscure
servile
and contemptible province
first under the
Chaldeans
and now under the Persians.
Verse 2
[2] Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua
Nehemiah
Seraiah
Reelaiah
Mordecai
Bilshan
Mispar
Bigvai
Rehum
Baanah. The number of the men of the people of
Israel:
Who came
… —
This catalogue
differs in some names and numbers from that Nehemiah 7:6-64
which might be because several
names were given to the same persons; and because of the many changes which
might happen in the same families between the time of the first making of this
catalogue by Ezra
and the making it anew so many years after.
Verse 3
[3] The
children of Parosh
two thousand an hundred seventy and two.
The children —
The posterity
as that word is constantly taken in this catalogue.
Of Parosh —
That descend either from Parosh
or from that family whereof Parosh was the
chief. And so for the rest.
Verse 5
[5] The
children of Arah
seven hundred seventy and five.
Seven hundred
… — In
Nehemiah 7:10
they were only six hundred and
fifty two
it seems seven hundred and seventy five marched out of Babylon
but
some of them died
others were hindered by sickness
or other casualties
and
so there came only six hundred and fifty two to Jerusalem. And the like is to
be said in the like differences: which it suffices to hint once for all.
Verse 21
[21] The children of Bethlehem
an hundred twenty and three.
Beth-lehem —
And so these were the remainders of the inhabitants of that city. (And the like
may be said of the two following names
Netophah and Anathoth
or others of the
like nature.) So little was Beth-lehem among the thousands of Judah! Yet thence
must the Messiah arise.
Verse 39
[39] The
children of Harim
a thousand and seventeen.
Harim —
The head of one of the twenty four courses which David appointed
1 Chronicles 24:8
of all which courses
some
observe here are not above four or five that returned. There is another Harim
mentioned above
verse 32
but that was no priest
as this was verse 36.
Verse 43
[43] The
Nethinims: the children of Ziha
the children of Hasupha
the children of
Tabbaoth
Nethinims —
Persons devoted to the inferior services of the priests and Levites. Commonly
supposed to be the Gibeonites
given
(so their name signifies) by Joshua
first
and again by David
when Saul had expelled them
to the priests and
Levites
for those services.
Verse 55
[55] The
children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai
the children of
Sophereth
the children of Peruda
Servants —
Who had lived in Solomon's family
and after his death
called themselves and
their families by that name
esteeming it a great honour that they had been
servants to so great a prince.
Verse 62
[62]
These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy
but
they were not found: therefore were they
as polluted
put from the priesthood.
Genealogy —
The Jews were generally very exact in their genealogies from their own choice
and interest
that they might preserve the distinctions of the several tribes
and families
which was necessary both to make out their titles to offices or
inheritances
and to govern themselves thereby in the matter of marriages
and
from the special providence of God
that so it might be certainly known of what
tribe and family the Messiah was born.
Verse 63
[63] And
the Tirshatha said unto them
that they should not eat of the most holy things
till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
Tirshatha —
The governor
Zerubbabel.
With Urim
… —
That this point which could not be found out by human skill
might be
determined by Divine direction. Hereby it appears that the Urim and Thummim
were lost in the destruction of the city and temple
tho' the Jews fed
themselves with hopes of recovering them
but in vain. And by the want of that
oracle
they were taught to expect the great oracle
the Messiah.
Verse 64
[64] The
whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and
threescore
The whole
… —
The particular sums here recited
come only to twenty and nine thousand eight
hundred and eighteen. Unto whom are added in this total sum twelve thousand
five hundred and forty two. Which
either were of the other tribes beside Judah
and Benjamin: or were such as were supposed to be Israelites
but could not
prove their pedigree by their genealogies.
Verse 65
[65]
Beside their servants and their maids
of whom there were seven thousand three
hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and
singing women.
Women —
For women as well as men were employed in this exercise in the temple-service.
Verse 68
[68] And
some of the chief of the fathers
when they came to the house of the LORD which
is at Jerusalem
offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place:
The house —
That is
to the ruins of the house; or to the place were it stood.
Verse 69
[69] They
gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one
thousand drams of gold
and five thousand pound of silver
and one hundred
priests' garments.
Sixty one thousand drams — Sixty one thousand drams of gold amount to something more than so many
pounds of our money. So bishop Cumberland
who likewise supposes five thousand
pounds of silver
to be about thirty seven thousand pounds sterling.
Verse 70
[70] So
the priests
and the Levites
and some of the people
and the singers
and the
porters
and the Nethinims
dwelt in their cities
and all Israel in their
cities.
And all Israel in their cities — And they dwelt in peace
in perfect harmony
a blessed presage of their
settlement
as their discord in the latter times of that state
was of their ruin.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezra》
02 Chapter 2
Verses 1-67
Verse 1-2
Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the
captivity.
Going up out of captivity
I. The deliverance
from captivity.
1. This captivity had been--
The most deplorable degradation and the most real and terrible
subjection are those of sin.
2. This deliverance--
Salvation from the bondage of sin is freely offered in the gospel
but no one is
compelled to accept the offer.
II. The journey
home. This journey was--
1. A restoration.
2. A restoration to their own home.
3. A restoration to religious privileges. The salvation of Jesus
Christ restores man to his true condition and to his forfeited inheritance.
III. The
subordination to leaders. Society could not exist without leaders and rulers.
They are necessary--
1. For the maintenance of order.
2. For insuring progress.
3. Because of the differences in the characters and abilities of men.
(William Jones.)
Emancipation
The Rev. J. Jackson Fuller
of the Cameroons
a coloured
missionary
said at the Young People’s Meeting of the Baptist Centenary: “Although our fathers
in my country were born under the British flag
yet we were nothing more and
nothing else than the chattels of the Englishman. We were British slaves
and
it was partly by the missionaries going to our country--the island of
Jamaica--and telling us of the love of Jesus Christ that their vivid
description of our oppressed condition aroused the English nation
and in the
year 1834
after paying twenty millions of money
you set us all free. The very
day you passed the Emancipation Act in England
I was made free. You young
people would have been glad
or your fathers before you would have been glad
had they the opportunity of seeing that morning in the year 1884 when thousands
of children and their fathers and mothers gathered together during the evening
waiting for that morning of the 31st of July to dawn. At eleven o’clock at
night they gathered in mass and waited for the hour to pass when the clock
should strike twelve. And then you would have been glad to see that mighty mass
of human beings rise on their feet and sing the Doxology--‘Praise God
from
whom all blessings flow.’ I was among that number that gathered that night. I
heard the Doxology sung. I am one of the boys that were rescued when you paid
twenty millions of money and set our fathers free.”
The number of the men of
the people of Israel.
A suggestive record
Consider--
I. The
significance of the fact of the record.
1. It Was an honour to the pious and patriotic ones who returned.
2. It is an illustration of the Divine record of God’s spiritual
Israel (Luke 10:20).
3. It suggests that every one of His people is precious in the sight
of God (Isaiah 49:16).
II. The
significance of the contents of the record. We have in this list--
1. Significant persons.
2. A significant place:
Bethlehem (Ezra 2:21).
3. Significant numbers. (William Jones.)
Religious service
It is here suggested--
I. That there are
various spheres of service in the Church of God (Ephesians 4:11-12).
II. That the
humbelest sphere of service in the Church of God is a place of privilege and
honour.
III. The privilege
of sevice in the Church of God is not limited to any particular races or
classes of men. (William Jones.)
Verse 62
These sought their register.
The importance of a clear spiritual pedigree
I. The doubtful
pedigree amongst the people is an illustration of uncertainty as to our
spiritual state.
1. This uncertainty may consist with association with the people of
God (Ezra 2:59-60).
2. This uncertainty must involve spiritual loss.
Lacking Christian assurance our testimony for Christ would be
likely to be deficient in clearness and attractiveness
in fervour and force;
it would especially fail to set forth the joyful character of true religion.
II. The doubtful
pedigree amongst the priests is an illustration of uncertainty as to our
ministerial calling and condition.
1. A ministerial pedigree may be lost by reason of worldliness.
2. The loss of ministerial pedigree involves a corresponding loss of
ministerial power and reward.
3. The final decision as to the standing of a minister of uncertain
pedigree must be given by God Himself (Ezra 2:63). (William Jones.)
Melancholy records
Here is the picture of men seeking a register
and finding nothing
in it; looking up old family papers
and their names are not found in the
tender record. A man not known at home! He may have been born there
and have
lived a good many years of his early life there; but to-day he has no record on
the hearthstone
no place at the table
no portion in the family memory: it would be a breach
of courtesy to name his name. Something must have happened. There is an
ineffable sadness about this:
all nature seems to be violated; instincts have been rooted out; natural
affection seems to have been burned down and utterly destroyed. Consider the
tremendous possibility of outliving one’s natural rights
or forfeiting
birthright
inheritance
paternal blessing
all the wealth of home’s true love.
Talk of falling from grace! What is this but an apostasy from the best grace--a
fall from childhood’s trust
the wilful obliteration of the name from the
scroll whose meaning is nothing but love? Here is a child who is not named in
the will. Consider what you have done. How infinite in detestation must have
been the character which resulted in this issue! Take more general ground
and
the principle still applies. Here is a man who is unknown in the community; his
name may be written upon certain official papers
but it is not inscribed on
the scroll of the heart
on the memory of gratitude; it is not to be found
anywhere put up as a thing most prized and loved. He is but a figure in the
community
but a tax-payer
but an occupier of a house; he is not a living
presence in any sense of beneficence. When he is buried no one will miss him in
the heart. His name is not written upon the register of trust
affection
or
benevolent interest. Seeing that all these things are possible
there must be a
reason for them:
what is it? It is always a moral reason
where it touches any conception of
general justice. At the last shall we go to the book of life and not find our
names there? The answer is in our own lives. Sad to turn away from the record
saying
“My name is not there!” But
blessed be God
the humblest
least
vilest may
through the blood of the everlasting covenant
the whole mystery of
the priesthood of Christ
have their names written in heaven. (J. Parker
D.
D)
And some of the chief of the fathers
when they came to the house
of the Lord which is at Jerusalem
offered freely.
Possessions and offerings
I. The completion
of their journey. “They came to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem.”
II. The extent of
their possessions (Ezra 2:65-67).
III. The presenation of their
offerings.
1. The object of their offerings.
2. The spirit of their offerings.
3. The measure of their offerings.
IV. The settlement
in their cities. This suggests--
1. Home after exile.
2. Rest after a long and tedious journey. (William Jones.)
Offering freely
As I was reading my Greek Testament the other day
I was delighted
with a discovery concerning the well-known text: God loveth a cheerful giver. The word
cheerful is our word for hilarious. And I began to imagine what would happen if
the meaning of the word was put into action. “Will you give five pounds to
missions?” “Will you contribute a hundred pounds towards our evangelistic work
this winter?” “Ha
ha
ha! I am only too glad for the opportunity to give
since I have so abundantly received.” And the hilarious giver writes out a
cheque on the spot. How much better that sounds than the doleful
“Oh
dear! I
am tired with the never-ending calls for money
money
money.” But this
“hilarious” giving is not possible except the Spirit is dwelling richly within.
For only the Spirit shows the greatness of that salvation which we received
through Christ
and the greatness of our consequent obligation. (A. J.
Gordon.)
The Church the rallying point of nations
The temple and its worship marked the last days of the
kingdom of the Jews anterior to their captivity
and formed the point around
which the returning wanderers gathered at their restoration to the home of
their fathers. So around the Church
the events of all successive empires have
gathered since the day of Pentecost.
I. Every state of
importance
alike in ancient
mediaeval
or modern history has gathered round
the Church
and has received its shape and definiteness from her. Egypt
Assyria
Persia
Greece
and Rome each became important in their different
times in proportion as they were able to bless or to chasten the Church of God.
The long dynasties that ruled on the banks of the Nile; the invasion of the
Hyksos; the vast undertakings of Rameses or Amasis; the gigantic records of
antiquity which rise in such sepulchral magnificence in Egypt from amidst her
waste of sand; the high philosophy of one Ptolemy and the literary research of
another
proclaim one after the other in successive generations the splendour
of an empire whose principal end of existence was to aid in the throes of the
early Church; to give a home to the famine.stricken patriarchs; to be a scourge
in the successive invasions of Shishak
Pharaoh Hophra
and Pharaoh Necho
and
to be the probation of the Jews when God ordained the Chaldean captivity. All
these seem to have been the main objects for which Egypt existed as a nation.
So in each successive period in after-history the Church became more and more
the central body which gave shape to the kingdoms of the world
alike in
mediaeval as in modern history. The vast multitudes from the north-east of
Europe which swept like a bankless flood over the fertile plains of Italy
arrested by the walls of Constantinople or of Rome
or diverted by the
intercession of Ambrose or Gregory
became at length themselves children of the
Church whom they had persecuted; and the imaginative genius of the Goth lent
mellowness
sublimity
and tone to the architecture and service of the Church.
Men who came to persecute remained to pray
and the Gothic invasion formed an
era in ecclesiastical history. The kingdom of France beheld a repetition of the
acts of Constantine in the conversion of Clovis; and Clotilds and her husband
resembled in the story of their conversion Ethelbert
king of Kent
and Bertha
his wife. Charlemagne followed in the passage of years
in family as well as
name mixed up with those who were giving protection to while they received
their own definiteness from the Church of Christ. And the gifts of Pepin became
a record to a long after-day of the power which the Church had to give shape to
the early civilisation of Europe. From the death of Charlemagne throughout
eight following centuries
the interests of Europe became synonymous with those
of France or Germany
while they oscillated in alternating supremacy
each of
them seeking the recognition of the Church for their claims. The Great Reformation
which broke out over Northern and Western Europe bore upon the billows of its
tempestuous sea the vessels that carried the destinies of Spain and Austria
France and England
and many of the minor states of Germany; while religious
questions became the direct causes which shook the dynasty of the Stuarts
and
agitated France through the illustrious periods of Catharine de Medici and
Henry the Great and the imbecile reign of Louis XIII while the names that have
rendered so many pages of French history interesting--the Hugonot and Coligni
Conde and Turenne--were immediately brought out by questions connected with the
doctrine and discipline of the Church in defence of which each one of them was
brought before the notice of history.
II. The Church has
in her that principle of vitality which gives her the power to rekindle life
where it has been extinct
and to reconstruct the shattered portions of fabrics
which have fallen to decay. The children of Israel
leaving their patriarchal
government at Goshen to enter upon that developed state of their history which
was to issue in the kingly line of David
preserved their nationality and drew
together their otherwise scattered forces around the tabernacle
the
priesthood
and the lawgiver; and the Church of God became in the wilderness of
Sinai the source and fountain of national life and existence to the tribes
reseeking their home. A second time the chosen people were called upon to
bewail their sins in a long captivity; a second time their national
distinctiveness bid fair to be lost
but the voices of Daniel and Ezekiel
sounded loudly to penitence and prayer by the Chebar and in Babylon. These were
the voices of the Church of God--these represented that eternal principle
around which national and individual existence might coil and find compactness.
These were the forces from within which kept together the people of the
captivity
and were the means of restoring them in their national integrity to
their homes. Forlorn and orphaned indeed must the returning tribes have felt;
like men who in the chill of the morning wander amid the fading flowers of the
banquet of yesterday. At that moment the Church again became the centre of
their national revival and around the foundation stones of the temple the
scattered people
again became a nation. (E. Monro.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》