And some of the chief fathers, when they came to the house of Jehovah which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in its place.
The exiles reach Jerusalem. The first recorded act of their family heads is to give — freely, for a building that does not yet stand. Two questions follow. How could they come to "the house of the LORD" when the temple lay in ruins? And what makes a gift acceptable when the givers are poor?
The wording is careful. It does not say they came to the ruins. One writer asks the obvious question:
It is beautiful to read in verse 68 that "they came to the house of God." What house, one might ask. The temple had been burnt many years ago and nothing had been rebuilt. But they had come to the right place, and in God's eyes this is where His house has to be and is.
So the site itself held God's claim. The gift is for raising the house "on its site" — God had fixed the place before anyone laid a stone. Another writer notes why the exiles went straight there:
They must have gone at once to the ruins of the former temple, because that was the spot they loved. It is significant that although it was leveled to the ground, it still existed in the mind of God, and also in the thoughts of the people.
The same wording tells us what moved the givers. What they saw when they arrived opened their hands:
It seems God used the ruined state of His sanctuary to touch the hearts of these heads of families. When they came to the LORD's house, they saw its condition. The sight moved them, and they "made freewill offerings" out of what they owned. The Spirit of God is careful to note, putting His approval on the act, that "according to their ability they gave." In this they are examples for all time to those of the Lord's people who have the privilege of serving the Lord.
Note the order: they looked, the sight moved them, they gave. No one appealed to them for money.
The verse calls these gifts freewill offerings. One writer shows what that word rules out:
The principles in these statements apply to every age. The apostle Paul enforces the same when he says, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7)... So it matters more than anything to remember this: everything offered to God must come from hearts made willing by His Spirit. It must be spontaneous. It must not come from persuasion or outside pressure, but from the heart. The church of God would be in a very different state today if it had remembered this. What has caused more ruin than the many worldly schemes for raising money?
Their total looks large on its own. Set beside Solomon's day, it was small:
In verses 68 and 69 we find a second mark of these returned people: zeal for the building of the house of God. This is the devotion that sacrifices its own interests for the work of the Lord. The heads of families give a sum of their own free will... This was very little compared with what the heads of families had once given for building Solomon's temple (1 Chr. 29:6-9). But in a time of extreme poverty this gift had great value in the eyes of the Lord of the temple. He owns all the treasures of the universe, and He valued the gift by the zeal that moved them to offer it. In the same way He later valued the widow's two small coins more than the surplus of the rich.
The text does not say they tithed. It says they gave in proportion to what they had. That measure is what carries over:
They were faithful in their giving, not according to the Law, the tenth part, but according to their ability. And in the New Testament the rule for the Church as to giving is stated in 1 Cor. 16:2, "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper."
- Sight. They came to "the house of the LORD" when there was no house to see. God still counted the place as His, and so did they.
- Stirred. The ruin itself did the persuading. God used the state of His sanctuary to touch their hearts, and no one had to ask.
- Spontaneous. The offering was free. Gifts to God must come from willing hearts, never from persuasion, pressure, or money-raising schemes.
- Small. Their total was tiny next to Solomon's day, yet God prized it. The Owner of everything weighs the zeal behind a gift, as with the widow's two small coins.
- Standard. Not a fixed tenth but "according to their ability." The New Testament keeps the same measure: each gives as he prospers.
They gave after their ability to the treasure of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' coats.
The long list of returning exiles ends with money. Leading families reach a burnt-out temple site and hand over gold, silver and priests' garments — a sum far smaller than Israel once gave, and measured only by "their ability."
One writer counts this gift among the marks that the return was genuine:
And when they got there, "they offered freely." This is another feature of this revival. There is a genuine interest in the things of God, in His work. And we read that "they gave according to their ability."
The text says they came to "the house of the LORD," though no house was standing. That wording explains what moved them to give:
Notice the form of the statement: "When they came to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem." It shows that the house still existed before the eye of God, whatever its outward condition, and even though it had been torn to the ground. So although three different temple buildings stood up to the time of the Lord, it was always the same house in the mind of God… God seems to have used the ruin of His sanctuary to touch the hearts of these leading men. When they came to the LORD's house and saw its condition, it moved them, and they "offered freely" of what they owned. The Spirit of God is careful to note it, setting His seal of approval on the act: "they gave according to their ability."
No law fixes the amount. The standard is what each person has, and one commentator carries it straight into Christian practice:
They were faithful in their giving — not according to the Law, the tenth part, but according to their ability. And the New Testament states the rule for the Church about giving in 1 Corinthians 16:2: "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper."
Measured against Israel's past, the total is thin. Measured against the givers' poverty, it is large — and God measures it the second way:
In verses 68 and 69 we find a second mark of these returned exiles: zeal for the building of the house of God. It is the devotion that sacrifices its own interests for the work of the Lord. The leading fathers willingly give a sum worth about two and a half million francs. This was little indeed compared with what the leading fathers had once offered for the building of Solomon's temple (1 Chr. 29:6-9). But in a time of extreme poverty this gift had great value in the eyes of the Lord of the temple. He owns all the treasures of the universe, and He valued this gift by the zeal that prompted them to offer it. In the same way He later valued the widow's small coins above the surplus of the rich.
Ability sets the amount, so the willing heart becomes the real measure:
Grace refuses all compulsion, but it values, encourages and directs readiness of mind: without this, what is giving worth? Is the gift acceptable? Or the giver? But if the readiness is there, a person is accepted according to what he has, not according to what he does not have. Sentiment disappears; reality takes its place.
- Sight. These leaders arrived at ruins that God still called His house. Seeing it opened their hands.
- Freedom. No one forced the gift. A real interest in the things of God shows up in His work.
- Measure. They gave by ability, not by a legal tenth. The New Testament sets the same rule: each one lays aside as he prospers.
- Heart. Without a willing mind, giving is worth nothing. With it, a person is accepted by what he has, not by what he lacks.
- Value. The gift was tiny beside Solomon's day. Still, the Owner of all treasure prized it, as He prized the widow's small coins above the surplus of the rich.
And the priests, and the Levites, and [some] of the people, and the singers, and the doorkeepers, and the Nethinim dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
Chapter 2 ends quietly. After the long lists of names and numbers, everyone goes home to his own town. Does that settling show grace restoring a people to their inheritance, or the first hint that private comfort came before the house of God?
Only a small group came back from exile. One writer sees God's hand in the fact that they filled the towns at all:
Not all of those who returned to Judah worked at rebuilding the temple. For the most part the priests and Levites, some of the people, the gatekeepers and Nethinim lived in their cities. The temple would have had little significance if there were no residents in any of the cities of Judah. The numbers in the cities would be small compared with their size before the captivity. Yet each city would be a testimony to the restoring grace of God. Today also, each little assembly that God restores is a testimony to His grace and faithfulness. But such testimonies give us no reason for pride. We thank God for His goodness, and our own weakness only humbles us.
Commentators differ here. Another writer reads the same sentence as a warning sign, and points to Haggai 1:
The spiritual reader may well ask about this record, especially when it is read in the light of what happened afterwards, as told in Haggai 1. Is it not a symptom of the decay of their first energy? Does it not reveal the tendency to think of themselves and their own houses before the interests of the Lord's house. Solomon spent thirteen years building his own house, and only seven on the temple. Knowing what man is, it is not surprising if the restored remnant began by first minding their own things.
The verse names priests and Levites together. But only seventy-four Levites came back, and one writer explains why:
There was no lack of people, as we shall see in Ezra 8. But on their part there was indifference, spiritual laziness, and no doubt love of their own comfort. So only seventy-four people present themselves to escort the priests, the people, and their chiefs! … Those who have received gifts from the Lord for evangelising, teaching, and feeding the flock of Christ are afraid. They will not go forward with the strength He gives them, or exercise their ministry as the Lord has entrusted it to them.
The verse's last group has a name worth knowing. Older translations leave it as "Nethinim"; the ESV says "temple servants":
The Nethinim were temple servants. The word means "given" or "devoted," that is, to God. … According to Ezra 8:20 this order originated with King David. Jewish tradition identifies them with the Gibeonites, whom Joshua appointed as helpers to the Levites (Joshua 9:3-27). Whatever their origin, they were devoted servants of God assigned to certain duties in the temple.
Yet God records their family names too:
These modest functions are very valuable in the eyes of the Lord. See how, from verse 43 to verse 57, God gladly registers all the names of their fathers. In the same way today, the Lord forgets none of it — serving tables, passing the bread and the cup, taking care of the "upper room."
The verse ends with all Israel in their separate towns. The next chapter shows them together again (older translations read "cities" where the ESV has "towns"):
The end of the previous chapter states that all lived in their cities — "and all Israel in their cities." Then came the important seventh month (Tishri), with its holy gathering. … The remnant gathered "as one man to Jerusalem." … This gathering "as one man to Jerusalem" reminds us of that other gathering in Jerusalem centuries later, "when they were all together in one place" (Acts 2:1). … Whenever God's people let the Spirit of God show His power unhindered among them, the result is always to bring them together. The Spirit of God never divides, but unites.
- Grace settles them. They reach their own towns because God brought them back. Every small, half-empty city is a testimony to His restoring grace.
- Grace names them. The list records priests, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants alike. The Lord forgets no service, however humble.
- Grace devotes them. "Nethinim" means given. The last group in the list carries a name of dedication to God.
- Grace outruns them. Only seventy-four Levites came home; indifference and love of comfort kept the rest away, and workers are still missing today.
- Grace gathers them. Living in many towns did not scatter them. The next chapter finds them gathered as one man, for God's Spirit never divides but unites.