And Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
Cyrus does not just free the captives — he also hands back the gold and silver articles Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the temple. Who is this Sheshbazzar, and why does Scripture give so much space to a list of bowls and dishes?
Two names, one man. Commentators explain the name in this verse as a Babylonian name given during the exile.
This prince was Zerubbabel. Sheshbazzar was the name the Babylonians had given him. He was born in Babylon, and his name means "stranger in Babylon." He became the princely leader of the returning exiles... In all there were 5,400 vessels of gold and silver which were handed over to Zerubbabel to take back to Jerusalem. It all shows that God had not forgotten His people. When His appointed time came, He showed His power on their behalf.
He was more than one exile among many.
He was a "prince of Judah," and he seems to have held some office in Persia, since he is called Sheshbazzar... He led the Jews who volunteered to return from exile under the decree of Cyrus.
The list of vessels looks like a minor detail. It actually sets the clock on the whole captivity.
There had been three deportations... The last of these three was the most significant one in terms of the damage done. The temple was burnt, and very large numbers led captive. But the 70 years of captivity run from the first deportation — the one we would call minor. Why was this first one the important one in God's eyes? Well, it's because of the vessels.
Take away the vessels and something more than property is lost.
Without vessels, it was impossible to bring sacrifices as prescribed. No vessels, no worship! This is the tragedy. Doesn't this remind us of a sad fact? Much of the Christian world has lost the whole idea of worship, and above all of worship together. Concerts, performances, and all sorts of other things have taken the place of meetings for worship.
Cyrus had to fetch these things out of a pagan temple before he could hand them back. Someone kept the record down to the last item.
King Cyrus had all the articles Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem brought out of the temple of his idols. He sent them back to their rightful place. He knew that Babylon's idols were not God. The Persian treasurer, Mithredath, counted these out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. The record of them was faithfully kept.
One thing is missing from the list, and it is the most valuable of all.
The holy vessels were counted and restored, as far as was fitting, for Jehovah's house in Jerusalem. The ark was not there — the centre, the most valuable, the nearest to the glory. Sadly, the glory itself had gone. But on the day when the salvation of Israel comes out of Zion, the glory will return, never to leave again.
A foreign king, the builders, and those who stayed behind all move in step. No one organised it.
The Lord produced the same heart and the same aim in everyone involved. Cyrus was one of them, and without his permission the captives could not have returned. Another group was the leading fathers of Judah and Benjamin, who were needed for the actual building work. A third was those who stayed behind... There were no meetings beforehand to arrange things and reach agreement. The union of heart and purpose came from the Lord's action on the hearts of all alike... So every instrument that is needed comes forward at the right moment, for the work is of God, and it must be done.
This pattern was not limited to Ezra's day.
Alongside the spiritual work of God in the souls of His people ran a providential work of God in the world around them. So it has been again in more recent times.
- Taken. The vessels went to Babylon first. God dated the seventy years from that loss, not from the burning of the temple.
- Emptied. No vessels meant no sacrifices, so the real loss was worship itself. The same loss happens wherever performance takes the place of worship.
- Kept. They sat in an idol's temple, yet they were still there when Cyrus went looking. God had not forgotten His people.
- Counted. Mithredath counted them out item by item to the prince of Judah, and the record was kept. What God restores, He restores in order and into named hands.
- Incomplete. The ark is missing from the list, and the glory had gone. The return under Zerubbabel is real but partial; the glory comes back in full only when salvation comes out of Zion.
And this is the number of them thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine-and-twenty knives,
Ezra pauses the story of a nation's return to print a warehouse list: bowls, platters and knives, counted one by one. Why does God's Word keep a receipt? And why did these objects matter enough to count?
A Persian official counted the items out, one by one, to the leader of Judah. Where the list below says knives, the ESV says censers.
More important still, King Cyrus brought out all the articles that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem. They were in the temple of his idols, and Cyrus sent them back to where they belonged. He knew that Babylon's idols were not God. The Persian treasurer, Mithredath, counted these out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. The record listed each one: 30 gold platters, 1000 silver platters, 29 knives, 30 gold basins, 410 silver basins, and 1000 other articles. The total number of gold and silver articles was 5,400.
These were working tools. Without them, the whole system of sacrifice stopped.
Without vessels, it was impossible to bring sacrifices as prescribed. No vessels, no worship! This is the tragedy. Does it not remind us of the sad fact that the idea of worship, especially worship together, has been lost in wide parts of Christendom?
The vessels also stood for something, and the length of their absence shows how much.
King Belshazzar desecrated the sacred vessels carried away to Babylon. Cyrus decreed their return, and some of them will come back and be put in the restored temple (Ezra 1:7-11). These vessels represented the worship rendered to God. The prophet announced seventy years between their removal and their return. That long span shows their symbolic importance.
Three waves of captives went to Babylon. The first wave lost something the other two did not.
This first captivity had a particular character. The second and third captivities brought devastation and carried away great numbers of men. The first one stripped the house of the Lord instead, robbing it of the precious objects used in the service of worship. At the time of Judah's restoration, all these objects came back, 5,400 of them. That was the most characteristic feature of the journey that brought the remnant of the people back to their land.
Commentators differ here. Some say every object came back. Others say only part of them did.
One item is missing from the list, and its absence says more than the totals.
The holy vessels were counted and restored, as far as was fitting, for Jehovah's house in Jerusalem. The ark, the centre, the highest in value, the nearest to the glory, was not there. Sadly, the glory itself had withdrawn. But in the day that the salvation of Israel comes out of Zion, the glory will return, never to leave again. When Jehovah turns again the captivity of His people, it will be no feeble remnant: Jacob shall be glad, Israel shall rejoice.
The man who signed for the goods had two names, and his story points past his own day.
Mithredath the treasurer handed them to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This prince was Zerubbabel; Sheshbazzar was the name the Babylonians had given him. He was born in Babylon, and his name means "stranger in Babylon." He became the prince who led the returning exiles… All this shows that God had not forgotten His people. When His appointed time came, He showed His power on their behalf. Nor has He forgotten His promise to bring a remnant back from the great scattering among all the nations of the world. When that return comes, a greater than Zerubbabel the prince of Judah will be the leader. The Lord Jesus, the Son of David, will be their Deliverer.
A count at the start means a reckoning at the end.
The children of Israel, the remnant who returned from Babylon, had the precious vessels of the temple entrusted to them. They received them in far-off Babylon. They had to carry them safely across all the distance in between until they came to Jerusalem. There they were to weigh them out. They had to give full account for every vessel of the sanctuary put into their hands. So if, in the middle of Babylonian confusion, God in His mercy has put these precious truths into our hands and into our hearts, let us hold fast to them as we go through the wilderness. And when we reach that holy place, let us be ready to give full account, full weight, for every truth entrusted to us.
- Taken — the first captivity stripped God's house of its worship vessels, and seventy years ran between their removal and their return.
- Kept — the vessels sat in an idol's temple, and Belshazzar desecrated them, yet Cyrus brought them out again.
- Counted — a Persian treasurer handed 5,400 gold and silver articles, item by item, to a prince of Judah born in exile.
- Restored — without vessels there was no sacrifice and no worship, so the vessels went back with the returning remnant.
- Incomplete — the ark was missing and the glory had gone. The full return still waits for a leader greater than Zerubbabel.
thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second [sort] four hundred and ten, [and] other vessels a thousand.
As the exiles prepare to leave Babylon, officials count out the temple articles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off, piece by piece. Why does Scripture record the exact number of gold and silver bowls — and what did those objects mean to God?
The Hebrew word behind "bowls" (older translations say "basons") names a specific piece of temple equipment:
kephor, 'large cup or bowl,' probably for the wine drunk before the Lord; where Scripture speaks of blood, it uses a different word. 1 Chr. 28:17; Ezra 1:10; Ezra 8:27.
One writer traces God's seventy-year clock back to these vessels:
There had been three deportations. The last of the three did the most damage: the temple was burnt, and very large numbers of people were led captive. But the 70 years of captivity count from the first deportation — the one we would call relatively unimportant. Why was this first one the important one in God's eyes? Well, it's because of the vessels. Nebuchadnezzar had taken the vessels of the Temple, took them to Babylon, and even put them into the house of his idols. Such a thing had never happened before. True, some kings had taken silver from the treasure and even from the wings of the doors of the temple (Ahas and Hezekiah) to appease the king of Assyria. But the holy vessels had never been touched.
The loss was not only material. One writer draws out what it cost Israel, and what a similar loss costs today:
Without vessels, it was impossible to bring sacrifices as prescribed. No vessels, no worship! This is the tragedy. Does it not remind us of a sad fact? Wide parts of Christendom have lost the very idea of worship, and especially of worship together. Concerts, performances, and all kinds of things have replaced meetings for worship. Do you know a place where you can meet with Christians in full liberty of collective worship to the Father and the Son? This is the one thing the Father 'seeks': worshippers.
One writer sees two works of God running side by side — one inside the hearts of the exiles, one out in the wider world:
Verse 5 of the first chapter shows that there was a real work of God in the souls of many, including leaders both civil and religious. This work led them to seize at once the opportunity given them: to return to the land of their fathers and re-establish the worship of God by rebuilding His house. In the providence of God, Cyrus actively promoted this. Besides the valuable vessels given by Jews who did not join the journey to Jerusalem, he restored all the holy vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had placed in the house of his gods. God's work in the souls of His people was matched by His providential work in the world around them.
One writer follows the vessels from the idol's temple into the hands of Zerubbabel:
Then Cyrus restored the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and put into the house of his gods (Daniel 1:2). His grandson, Belshazzar, defiled them at his shameless feast (Dan. 5:2). That same night Belshazzar was killed and Babylon fell. No doubt Cyrus had these vessels collected and carefully guarded... In all there were 5,400 vessels of gold and silver, handed over to Zerubbabel to take back to Jerusalem. It all shows that God had not forgotten His people. When His appointed time came, He showed His power on their behalf.
Yet one article never appears in the list, and it was the greatest of all:
The holy vessels were counted and restored, as far as was fitting, for Jehovah's house in Jerusalem. The ark, the centre, the highest in value, the nearest to the glory, was not there. Sadly, the glory itself had gone away. But in the day that the salvation of Israel comes out of Zion, the glory will return, never to leave again.
- Vessels named. The "bowls" are large cups, probably used for the wine drunk before the Lord. They were working equipment for God's house, not decoration.
- Vessels taken. Nebuchadnezzar put the holy vessels in an idol's temple, something no king had done before. God dated the seventy years from that deportation.
- Vessels missed. Without them the appointed sacrifices could not be offered at all: no vessels, no worship.
- Vessels returned. Cyrus collected, guarded and released 5,400 gold and silver articles. God had not forgotten His people. His work in their hearts was matched by His work in world affairs.
- Vessels incomplete. The ark, the most valuable and the closest to the glory, was missing from the list. The glory itself returns in the day Israel's salvation comes out of Zion.
All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. The whole did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezra's first chapter ends with an inventory rather than a speech. It raises three questions: who was Sheshbazzar, why does God count temple dishes so carefully, and what does it mean that freed captives go home carrying the vessels of their worship?
One writer explains where the name Sheshbazzar came from, and who this man was.
Mithredath the treasurer handed them to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This prince was Zerubbabel: Sheshbazzar was the name the Babylonians had given him. He was born in Babylon; his name means "stranger in Babylon." He became the prince who led the returning exiles… In all, Zerubbabel received 5,400 vessels of gold and silver to take back to Jerusalem. It all shows that God had not forgotten His people. When His appointed time came, He showed His power on their behalf.
The same writer looks ahead to a further return, with a greater leader:
He has not forgotten His promise either. He will bring a remnant back from the great scattering among all the nations of the world. When that return comes, a greater than Zerubbabel the prince of Judah will be the leader. The Lord Jesus, the Son of David, will be their Deliverer.
One writer shows that these vessels gave the first captivity its whole character.
This first captivity had a character of its own. Devastation and the great number of men carried away marked the second and the third captivities. What marked the first was the plundering of the house of the Lord, stripped of the precious objects used in the service of worship… When Judah was restored, all these objects came back — 5,400 of them. This was even the most characteristic feature of the exodus that brought the remnant of the people back to their land… The main feature at the start of these 70 years is that the glory of the temple, the glory of the service of the worship of the Lord, was itself carried away captive.
The same writer explains why taking these vessels was worse than any earlier stripping of the temple.
Under Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar plundered all the treasures of the house of God on a far greater scale, and smashed the vessels which Solomon had made… But, I repeat, this was a profanation with no precedent: decorating a temple of idols with the vessels made for the worship of the true God… Wicked Belshazzar drank wine from the sacred vessels with his lords, his wives and his concubines, in praise of his idols. He meant to celebrate the triumph of false gods over the true God, and to set them against the Lord in public. That same night, God answered him with judgment and death.
The list is exact, but one thing is missing from it.
The holy vessels were counted and restored, as far as was fitting, for Jehovah's house in Jerusalem. But the ark was not there — the centre of it all, the highest in value, the nearest to the glory. Sadly, the glory itself had withdrawn. But in the day that the salvation of Israel comes out of Zion, the glory will return, no more to leave.
Two works of God stand behind this return.
Verse 5 of the first chapter shows a real work of God in the souls of many… It led them to seize at once the opportunity they were given to return to the land of their fathers, and to set up the worship of God again by rebuilding His house. In the providence of God, Cyrus promoted this… he restored all the holy vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had placed in the house of his gods. God's spiritual work in the souls of His people was matched by His providential work in the world around them.
One writer turns this care for dishes into comfort for God's people.
He keeps the basins and knives of His house. He brings the vessels back again to the second temple. So His care for His redeemed ones must be more tender than His care for a spoon.
- Spoiled. Above all, the first captivity stripped God's house of the objects used in worship.
- Profaned. Those same vessels stood in an idol temple. Belshazzar drank from them to crown his false gods over the true God. God answered that same night with judgment.
- Counted. A Persian treasurer counted out every item into the hands of Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. He was born in exile, and his name means "stranger in Babylon."
- Carried. The vessels went up with the people. The return of worship was the mark of this exodus, and proof that God had not forgotten His own.
- Incomplete. The ark was not in the list, and the glory had withdrawn. The restoration was real but partial. It points on to a greater Leader and a glory that will not leave again.