And after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkijah,
Ezra 7 opens a new section of the book. It starts with a date, a foreign king's name, and a family tree reaching back to Aaron. Behind it lie decades of silence, a people under foreign rule, and God preparing one man to bring His word back to a declining nation.
The phrase that opens the chapter covers a long stretch of unrecorded history. The narrative jumps from the finished temple to a new king and a new generation.
There is a long break in the history, of about sixty years, between Ezra 6 and Ezra 7. The Book of Esther belongs to that period, if the common view is right that the Ahasuerus of Esther was King Xerxes. Ezra 7 records what happened in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus. Here Ezra, "a ready scribe in the law of Moses," appears for the first time, and is God's agent for blessing. He is spoken of elsewhere as priest and scribe.
Those silent years were not empty. Another writer sees God at work in them:
Between the two parts of this book there are 60 years. In those 60 years the events of the book of Esther took place. They show that God in sovereign mercy kept His people, so that His own service could be set up again.
Israel's own kings are gone. A foreign throne now dates the chapter.
Notice again that the signs are everywhere: ruling power on the earth has passed from the Jew to the Gentile. So the date of Ezra's mission is given as "in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia," and the commission the king gave him for his work is recorded in full (vv. 11-26). This proves that God's people were at this time under the authority of the Gentiles, and that God Himself always recognizes the powers that have their source in His own sovereign appointment.
Israel's own failure had produced that arrangement, yet God did not abandon them in it.
But now their turning away from God had laid them at the feet of the Gentile world-power. So God worked in His compassion — first by prophets and His own word, and now by help that came at the king's word from Babylon. And the faithful priest, who had the king's confidence, comes up to Jerusalem to call the remnant back to the law of Jehovah, which they had neglected and broken.
The verse begins a list of names that runs back to Aaron, Israel's first high priest. Anyone could check Ezra's credentials.
First (vv. 1-5), we find his genealogy, and it has no gap in it. He came from the priestly line. Through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — his descent goes back to "Aaron the chief priest."
Descent alone did not make Ezra useful. Commentators draw a sharp line between what he inherited and what he acquired.
He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he only became "a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given," by personal study of the Word. So an inherited office, even among the Jews, could not give a man the fitness to use it. That fitness could only come from time spent alone with God in the Scriptures.
Spiritual decline had set in since the temple was finished. So where does a failing people turn?
Where, then, can one find a resource against this spiritual decline and its results? There is but one resource: the word of God. God raises up Ezra to teach the people the law of Moses and to remind them of its importance. This is not a matter of new revelations, as it was when Haggai and Zechariah spoke to the people. It is simply a matter of bringing the "statutes and ordinances" (v. 10) found in "the law of Jehovah" back to light, and of applying them to the conscience.
Ezra's story stands out because nothing spectacular happens in it.
All is ordinary: his resources are only what ours in this day are, the word and the presence of God. But he used them, and used them well and faithfully throughout. Before he began to act, he prepared his heart to seek the Lord. He had meditated on His statutes until his progress, as we may surely say, was plain to everyone.
- Silence — About sixty unrecorded years sit between chapter 6 and this verse. The events of Esther fall in that gap, and God kept His people through it.
- Sovereignty — A Persian king's name dates the chapter. Rule had passed from the Jew to the Gentile, and God honours the authority He Himself appointed.
- Standing — The genealogy runs back to Aaron without a gap, so Ezra could prove his right to the priesthood.
- Study — Birth made him a priest; only personal time in the Scriptures made him a ready scribe. Position never supplies the fitness to use it.
- Supply — Against decline there is one resource: God's word. Not fresh revelation, but old truth brought back to the conscience — carried by a man whose only resources were the word and the presence of God.
the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
This verse sits inside a family list. It runs back from Ezra through Zadok and Ahitub to Aaron, Israel's first chief priest. The names look like dry record-keeping. Commentators read them as the credentials of the man God was about to send back to Jerusalem.
One writer ties this genealogy to the tone of the whole book Ezra wrote:
Ezra was a priest, his genealogy is traced back to Aaron. The Holy Spirit of God gives us the genealogy of Ezra to show the priestly character of that book. And if we bring worldly things into the worship of God, we are on very dangerous ground.
The line through Shallum, Zadok and Ahitub gave Ezra a right to serve. That right alone did not equip him:
The genealogy of Ezra is traced back to Aaron (vv. 1-5). He was therefore entitled to all the rights and privileges of the priesthood (see Ezra 2:62). He was also a ready scribe in the law of his God. That qualified him to teach the people the statutes of Jehovah (see Lev. 10:8-11; Mal. 2:4-7). He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given" only by personal study of the Word. So even among the Jews, an inherited office could not supply the fitness to carry it out. That could only come from dealing with God personally in the Scriptures. Neglecting the teaching side of their office is what led to the failure and corruption of the priesthood.
Earlier in the same book, other men could not produce a record like Ezra's:
If any could not show their genealogy, they had no claim to take part in the work they had been called to. For the priests, the consequence was even more serious. If they could not find their register, they were treated as unclean and put out of the priesthood. They were not told that they were not priests. The point taken was that their claim was not proved. It might be proved at a later time. Grace could restore what was lost under law; only for this they had to wait patiently.
Zadok, named here as the son of Ahitub, served as priest in David's day:
Son of Ahitub, of the house of Eleazar. He was priest in the reign of David, and though Abiathar was called high priest, at times Zadok is named before him. Abiathar was set aside by Solomon, and Zadok became high priest. 2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Kings 2:35; Ezek. 44:15.
Ezra's ancestors were not just names in a chain. They had a character of their own:
Ezra was, in every respect, remarkable as chosen of God to fulfill this mission. In the first place (vv. 1-5), we find his genealogy which presents no gap. He came from the priestly line. Through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — his descent went back to "Aaron the chief priest".
The same writer turns this straight onto anyone who serves God's people now:
Should not the case be the same today for the ministers of the Word? Their persons, their works, and their conduct should clearly show that all their springs are in Christ (Ps. 87:7), the true high priest. It should be evident to the eyes of all who their Leader is and from whom they have received life.
Ezra's mission brought no power with it. It brought what the people needed:
The way God stepped in through Ezra's mission is, I think, a touching proof of His loving-kindness. It suited the need of the people exactly. It was not power. Power had been moved to another place. It was the knowledge of the will and the ordinances of God — of the mind of God in the word. The king himself recognised this (Ezra 7:25). Guarded by the good hand of his God, this pious and devoted man goes up with many others to Jerusalem.
- Traced — the list runs back without a gap through Zadok and Ahitub to Aaron. The Spirit records it to stamp a priestly character on the book that follows.
- Proved — Ezra could show his register. Others back from exile could not, so they lost their place among the priests until their claim could be proved.
- Inherited — Zadok, named in this verse, was priest under David. Solomon later put him in Abiathar's place as high priest.
- Earned — birth and consecration made Ezra a priest. Only personal study of the Word made him a scribe skilled in the law. An office never supplies the fitness to use it.
- Shown — Ezra's line made plain where he came from. Those who serve should make plain whose they are. What God sent through Ezra was not power but the knowledge of His mind in the Word.
the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
This verse sits inside a chain of fathers and sons that runs back from Ezra to Aaron, Israel's first high priest. It names only Amariah, Azariah and Meraioth, yet their list is what proves Ezra's right to the priesthood.
The three men named here are priests. A Bible dictionary gives the father of Meraioth, the earliest of the three:
Meraioth was the son of Zerahiah, a priest. 1 Chronicles 6:6-7, 52; Ezra 7:3.
The point of the list is the man it ends with. Ezra could show a descent from Aaron with no gap in it, and the record carries the good name of earlier priests in his line:
Ezra was, in every respect, remarkable as chosen of God to fulfil this mission. In the first place (vv. 1-5), we find his genealogy, which presents no gap. He was of the priestly race, and through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — he had his origin in "Aaron the chief priest."
A page of names can look like dead weight. One writer finds a purpose in it, and a warning with it:
Ezra was a priest; his genealogy is traced back to Aaron. The Holy Spirit of God gives us the genealogy of Ezra to show the priestly character of that book. If we bring secular things into the worship of God, we are on very dangerous ground.
Commentators differ over whether this genealogy is complete. Rossier reads it as having no gap. William Kelly counts links left out of it, yet holds that the record is sound:
If you take Ezra, for instance, giving his own genealogy as a priest, you find that he leaves out not just three links in the chain, but seven. There may well have been a special reason for the omission. But whatever we make of the difficulty, it is clear that a priest giving his own genealogy would not put it forward in a faulty form.
Another writer, quoting a source, explains why the list here is short:
1 Chronicles 6:1-15 gives the high priest's genealogy going down the line, ending with the captivity. Ezra 7:1-5 gives it going up the line, from Ezra himself back to Aaron. There it is shortened by leaving out many links, because the writer had already given a complete register in Chronicles.
Birth settled what Ezra was allowed to do. It did not settle what he was able to do:
Ezra's genealogy goes back to Aaron, so he was entitled to all the rights and privileges of the priesthood (see Ezra 2:62). He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he only became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given" by personal study of the Word. So an inherited office, even among the Jews, could not supply the fitness to carry it out. That could only come from dealing with God personally in the Scriptures.
Ezra's readiness came in an order, and teaching was not the first step:
He prepared his heart to seek the law first of all, and then to do it. For himself, he did not separate practice from knowledge. He was not like the teachers of the law in the days of Jesus. They loaded people with "burdens hard to bear," and did not touch the burdens with one of their own fingers (Luke 11:46). The commands of the Word he fed on soaked right through his daily life. Only after that did he set his heart "to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."
- Line. Amariah, Azariah and Meraioth stand in a priestly chain that runs back to Aaron. It gives Ezra a provable claim to the priesthood.
- Legacy. The line carries more than blood. The faithfulness of Zadok and the zeal of Phinehas stand in the family Ezra came from.
- Length. Commentators differ on the gaps. Some read the list as unbroken. Others count missing links, and note that Chronicles already holds the full register.
- Learning. Descent made him a priest; only personal study of the Word made him a scribe. Inherited position never supplies the fitness to use it.
- Living. He sought the Word, then did it, then taught it. Teaching came last, after his own life had been shaped by it.
the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
Ezra 7:4 sits in the middle of a list of fathers and sons — Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki. The list carries Ezra's name back, step by step, to Aaron, Israel's first chief priest. It answers one question: on what ground does Ezra stand when he comes to Jerusalem to teach God's people?
The chapter opens a new stage. The temple was finished, and the people had peace. One writer sees that peace as where the trouble began. God's remedy was not new revelation but the recovery of what He had already said.
Now that the first work is finished, the people are called to enjoy its fruit in peace. Will they keep their spiritual level in these new circumstances? No; times come when that level drops fast. The world creeps in. Ungodly alliances are tolerated, as we will see at the end of this book, and they weaken the moral fiber.
Where, then, can one find a resource against this spiritual decline and its results? There is only one resource: the word of God. God raises up Ezra to teach the people the law of Moses and to remind them of its importance. This is not about new revelations, as when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah spoke to the people. It is simply about bringing the "statutes and ordinances" (v. 10) found in "the law of Jehovah" to light again, and applying them to the conscience.
Zadok and Phinehas stand in this same list, and it ends with Aaron. One writer reads these names as a record of character.
Ezra was remarkable in every way as the man God chose for this mission. First (vv. 1-5), we find his genealogy, and it has no gap. He came from the priestly line. Through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — he traced his origin to "Aaron the chief priest".
Commentators differ on whether the list is complete. One writer counts the links and finds names missing:
So if you take Ezra, for instance, giving his own genealogy as a priest, you find that he leaves out not just three links in a chain, but seven. There may well have been a special reason for leaving them out. But whatever we decide about the true answer to this difficulty, it is clear that a priest giving his own genealogy would not put it forward in a faulty form.
Uzzi and Bukki stand between Phinehas and Zadok in this list. Phinehas received a specific promise about his descendants.
He showed his zeal for God by killing Zimri and Cozbi. God commended him for it, and promised His 'covenant of peace' to him and his descendants — even 'the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.'
Men did not keep that promise. God did:
For hundreds of years the wrong line had seized the high priesthood. Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. That branch took the high priesthood without any right to it, despite Jehovah's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But the line was restored in Zadok, in the days of David and Solomon, for Jehovah is faithful despite man's failure and hostility.
The genealogy settles Ezra's right to serve. It does not settle his ability to teach.
He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given" only by personal study of the Word. So inherited office, even among the Jews, could not give a man the qualities needed to carry it out. Those could come only from his own time with God in the Scriptures.
Most of his fellow priests never made that second step:
But he was a skilled scribe, and that did not come through birth. It came through hard work at learning the law of Moses (v. 6). This ought to have been true of all the priests (Lev. 10:8-11), though most of them failed in this.
Ezra's origin was plain for anyone to check.
Should it not be the same today for those who serve the Word? Who they are, what they do, and how they live should show plainly that all their springs are in Christ (Ps. 87:7), the true high priest. Everyone should be able to see who their Leader is and from whom they received life.
- Decline — peace after the temple was built let the world seep in. The one resource against it was God's word pressed on the conscience.
- Descent — the names trace Ezra back to Aaron through men known for faithfulness and zeal. His right to serve rests on God's own priestly line.
- Promise — God gave Phinehas a covenant of an everlasting priesthood. He kept it even through the centuries when the wrong family held the office.
- Preparation — birth and consecration made him a priest. Only personal study of Scripture made him a skilled scribe, a step most priests skipped.
- Display — Ezra's origin was plain to all. In the same way, a servant's life should make plain whose he is and where his life came from.
the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest,
The family tree that opens Ezra 7 ends at this verse, with the line running back through Phinehas and Eleazar to Aaron himself. Before Ezra acts, God introduces him by his ancestors — which raises two questions: what does the list prove, and what can it never prove?
The list runs backwards, name by name, with nothing missing. One writer picks out two ancestors in it who are remembered for more than their birth:
Ezra was, in every respect, remarkable as chosen by God to fulfil this mission. First (vv. 1–5), we find his genealogy, which has no gap. He was of the priestly line. Through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — he had his origin in "Aaron the chief priest."
Descent from Aaron gave Ezra a real place. But one writer draws a sharp line between what birth secured and what it could not:
Ezra's genealogy goes back to Aaron (vv. 1–5). He was therefore entitled to all the rights and privileges of the priesthood. He was also a skilled scribe in the law of his God, and that qualified him to teach the people God's statutes. He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he only became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given" through personal study of the Word. Inherited office, even among the Jews, could not supply the qualifications for carrying it out. Those could only come from dealing with God personally in the Scriptures. Neglect of this second part of their office is what led to the failure and corruption of the priesthood. By the days of King Josiah, God's word had been completely forgotten. Finding a copy of the law in the temple became a landmark in his reign.
Another writer applies the same test to the rest of the priests:
He was a priest of God through birth. But he was a skilled scribe. That did not come through birth. It came through hard work at learning the law of Moses (v. 6). This ought to have been true of all the priests (Lev. 10:8–11), though most of them failed in this.
Phinehas was Aaron's grandson. One act made his name:
Son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. He showed his zeal for God in killing Zimri and Cozbi. God commended him for it, and promised His "covenant of peace" to him and his descendants, even "the covenant of a perpetual priesthood." He succeeded Eleazar as high priest.
So this one verse holds two kinds of priest: Aaron, set apart to the office, and Phinehas, whose zeal won a covenant. One writer treats these two men as two lights for reading the priesthood of Christ:
"Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace... even the covenant of a perpetual priesthood." Nothing can be finer than this. You could not have a more magnificent light in which to read the Christ of God than that act of Phinehas. Aaron was never entitled to a covenant of peace in this way. So you have these two Old Testament lights in which to read the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. He was the true Aaron and the true Phinehas.
The list is not filler. One writer reads it as a key to the whole book, and as a warning:
Ezra was a priest; his genealogy goes back to Aaron. The Holy Spirit of God gives us the genealogy of Ezra to show the priestly character of that book. And if we bring secular things into the worship of God, we are on very dangerous ground.
The same applies to those who serve God's people today:
Should the case not be the same today for the ministers of the Word? Their persons, their works and their conduct should clearly show that "all my springs are in you" (Ps. 87:7) — in Christ, the true high priest. It should be obvious to everyone who their Leader is and from whom they have received life.
- Line — The list runs back to Aaron with no gap. Ezra's standing as a priest rested on a record anyone could check.
- Title — That descent gave him every right and privilege of the priesthood. It was a real position, not a formality.
- Limit — Birth made him a priest. Only personal study of Scripture made him a skilled scribe, able to teach. Neglect of that study is what corrupted the priesthood.
- Zeal — Phinehas stands in the same line. His zeal won a covenant of peace and a priesthood that never ends. With Aaron, he is one of two lights for reading Christ's priesthood.
- Stamp — The list marks the whole book as priestly. It presses one question on every servant today: is it clear whose you are and where your life comes from?
-- this Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah the God of Israel had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him.
Sixty years of silence separate Ezra 6 from Ezra 7, and then Ezra arrives — a priest by birth whose request a foreign emperor grants in full. Two questions follow: what made him fit for the work, and why did the king say yes?
Ezra held two things at once: a priest's office and a working knowledge of God's law. They did not reach him by the same route.
He became a priest by birth and consecration; but he only became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given," by personal study of the Word. So even among the Jews, an inherited office could not give a man what he needed to carry it out. That could only come from time spent alone with God in the Scriptures. Being consecrated gave the priest the right, by grace, to serve before God. But his service pleased God only when he did everything in obedience to the Word, and he could not teach at all unless he himself knew the mind of God. Neglect of this teaching side of their office led the priesthood into failure and corruption.
The verse does not simply say "the law of Moses." It adds who stood behind it. That clause answers a question about where the law came from.
Ezra was "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given." A blessed testimony that the Law of Moses was given by God, and not put together piece by piece, corrected, revised and added to by different hands.
What God sent His people was not a display of strength. It was a man who knew what God had said.
The way God stepped in through Ezra's mission is, I think, a touching proof of His loving-kindness. It suited exactly what the people needed. It was not power. Power had been moved elsewhere. It was the knowledge of God's will and His commands — the mind of God in the word.
Ezra asked; Artaxerxes granted. The verse gives the reason, and it is not Ezra's skill at asking.
Ezra showed himself to be a true man of faith. He traced everything up to God. He lost sight of himself, and to his soul God was everything. It was not his request (v. 6) that moved the king to act. It was God who put the thing into the king's heart. It was not Ezra's influence that commended him to the king and his princes. It was God who showed him mercy in front of them.
"The hand of the LORD his God" is not a one-off phrase in this book. It runs through Ezra's story like a refrain, and it reaches past him.
We meet this phrase many times (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31), and it shows how this man of God trusted the LORD for guidance. He saw His hand when Artaxerxes granted all he asked. It was the good hand of God that brought him to Jerusalem (7:9). His hand strengthened him (7:28)... The same hand that was for good upon Ezra, guiding, keeping and shielding him, is still upon all His people who trust Him and obey His Word.
The order matters. Ezra's inward purpose came first; the king's permission followed. That is the pattern writers draw out for anyone waiting on circumstances to change.
In the book we are looking at, king Artaxerxes is a picture of someone who sets an open door before Ezra. Yes, but Ezra had set his heart to do the will of God. God works all outward circumstances, and He opens the way when our heart is set on doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. We never have any ground to complain about circumstances if only our heart is right with the Lord. The Lord can and will take care of all else.
- Hand — the key. The verse gives one reason for everything Ezra received: God's hand was on him. Nothing else explains it.
- Hand prepares. Birth made Ezra a priest. Study made him a scribe skilled in the law. An office never supplies the fitness to use it.
- Hand gives the word. The God of Israel gave the law; no chain of editors pieced it together. What the people needed was that word, not power.
- Hand moves kings. It was not Ezra's request or influence that won Artaxerxes over; God put it into the king's heart.
- Hand opens doors. Set your heart to do God's will, and He arranges the circumstances. Then there is no ground to complain about them.
(And there went up [some] of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the doorkeepers, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.)
This verse is the roll-call of the second return from Babylon. Ordinary Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants all travelled with Ezra to Jerusalem. Two questions follow: why did so few come, and why does God name such humble ranks?
This verse does not follow straight on from chapter 6. A long silence separates the two.
To see why Ezra's journey to Jerusalem matters, keep two things in mind. 80 years had passed since the first return from Babylon (ch.1-2). About 60 years had passed since the people finished rebuilding the temple. We are now in the days of the reign of King Artaxerxes I (465-424). How were things going in Jerusalem for those who had rebuilt the temple, and for their families and children? Sad to say, not everything had developed in a positive way.
The word "some" is the point. The king's backing was generous and public, yet the response was thin.
Artaxerxes had made a magnificent decree and given generously, yet the company was very small. Most preferred Babylon, and stayed there. God knows the faithful ones, and their names stand here in His Word forever. The Gentile king had given the decree, and the people had everything they needed. Even so, the undertaking was one of faith. They came out of Babylon trusting the LORD; they marched on in faith. Notice especially that only males are mentioned. The mixed marriages we read about in the next chapter most likely happened because no women had joined Ezra's expedition.
The decree behind this verse left the choice open.
The king decrees that "any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you" (v. 13). Cyrus had given the same privilege, as we see in Ezra 1. Now, after many years, the Spirit of God works once more through the king to deliver His people. But no human force was allowed: if a man went up, he must go of his own free will, for God would have willing servants. If under constraint, it must be only that of the Holy Spirit.
The list runs from priests at the top down to the temple servants, called the Nethinim in older translations. Their name tells you their place.
The name means 'given, devoted ones.' It was used for those who helped the Levites in the service of the tabernacle and the temple… God does not appear to have appointed them, as He did the Levites. Instead 'David and the princes' appointed them 'for the service of the Levites.' Ezra 8:20… After the return from exile the Nethinim are called the 'ministers of this house of God.' Like the priests and Levites, they paid no 'toll, tribute, or custom.' Ezra 7:24.
Writing on the earlier list of these same classes, one commentator draws out why God names such people:
These humble jobs are very valuable in the eyes of the Lord… It is the same today. Whether it is serving tables, passing the bread and the cup, or taking care of the "upper room", the Lord forgets none of it. He records the names of those who have kept this service, and they deserve it as much as anyone else.
Singers travelled out of Babylon with both companies. One writer turns that detail into a picture of our own journey.
The returning captives probably sang these songs, for 200 singers are counted with Zerubbabel, and others with Ezra, when each company came out of Babylon. (See Ezra 2:64-65, Ezra 7:7) We should follow that happy pattern and sing in spirit too. Our journey runs from Babylon to Jerusalem — from man's city to God's city — from this present evil world to the world to come.
A Persian court authorised this return to Jerusalem — not a normal state of affairs for Israel.
They were not only few and feeble, but unfaithful… But their turning away from God had now laid them at the feet of the Gentile world-power. In His compassion God worked anyway: first by prophets and His own word, and now by help that came at the king's word from Babylon. And the faithful priest who had the king's confidence comes up to Jerusalem. He calls the remnant back to the law of the LORD, which they had neglected and broken.
This date matters to students of prophecy. Artaxerxes gave two separate commands, and commentators differ over which one Daniel points to.
The king gave the first command to Ezra the scribe, "in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king." In the twentieth year of the same king's reign, he gave another command to Nehemiah. Now it is important for us to decide which of these two Daniel means… But Scripture alone can decide the questions that arise out of Scripture.
- Willing — God forced no one out of Babylon. He wanted volunteers, and the only pressure allowed was the Spirit's.
- Few — the decree was generous and the funds ample, yet most stayed in Babylon; only men went, and the journey stayed an act of faith.
- Named — God records those who did go, class by class, from priests down to the temple servants whose name means "given ones."
- Valued — the Lord forgets no lowly service; those who do it deserve their place in the record as much as anyone.
- Singing — a small, weak company still travelled with singers, the pattern for anyone journeying from man's city to God's.
And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
Ezra reached Jerusalem in the fifth month of Artaxerxes' seventh year. That one line of dating raises two questions: why does a Persian king's reign set the clock, and what brought Ezra safely across the desert?
Ezra was not part of the first group to come home. He arrived decades later, and not everything he found had gone well.
To see why Ezra's journey to Jerusalem matters, remember that 80 years had passed since the first return from Babylon (ch. 1-2). About 60 years had passed since the temple was rebuilt. We are now in the days of King Artaxerxes I (465-424). You may wonder how things were going in Jerusalem among the people who had rebuilt the temple, and among their families and children. Sad to say, not everything had developed in a positive way.
This same seventh year also fixes the distance to the next chapter of the restoration:
This was in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:8). So it was 13 years later that King Artaxerxes commissioned Nehemiah to go to Judah (Neh. 2:1-8).
The verse counts the year by a foreign king's reign, not by a king in Jerusalem. That detail carries weight.
Notice again that the signs are everywhere: governing power on earth has passed from the Jew to the Gentile. So the date of Ezra's mission is given as "in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia." The king's commission for his work is even set out in full (vv. 11-26). This proves that God's people were at that time under Gentile authority, and that God Himself always recognises the powers that come from His own sovereign appointment.
The first month and the fifth month mark the two ends of a long road.
Ezra 7:9 says they set out on the first day of the first month. That was probably the day the people gathered at the river Ahava (Ezra 8:15). So the journey itself took a little less than four months. Ezra testifies that God guided them through every danger and shielded them from all their enemies. Truly "the name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe."
One phrase keeps returning at every stage of Ezra's story.
In all this the hand of the Lord is acknowledged. We meet this phrase many times (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31), and it shows how this man of God trusted the LORD for guidance. He saw His hand when Artaxerxes granted everything he asked for. It was the good hand of God that brought him to Jerusalem (7:9). His hand strengthened him (7:28). The same good hand is acknowledged again in bringing them men to serve (8:18) and in delivering them (8:31). The same hand which was for good upon Ezra, which guided, kept and shielded him, is still upon all His people who trust Him and obey His Word.
Ezra did not arrive with power. He brought something else.
The way God stepped in through Ezra's mission is, I think, a moving proof of His loving-kindness. It fitted exactly what the people needed. It was not power. Power had been moved to another place. It was the knowledge of the will and the commands of God — of the mind of God in His word. The king himself recognised this (Ezra 7:25). Guarded by the good hand of his God, this godly and devoted man goes up with many others to Jerusalem.
The next verse shows what prepared him for the work:
It seems that God works this preparation of heart in only a few: not only to seek the truth of God, but to do it, and also to teach it to others. Learning is good, but teaching the truth comes only after obeying it. How can we expect our teaching to be effective if we ourselves are not examples of our teaching?
- Gap. Ezra arrives eighty years after the first return and sixty after the temple was finished. Nehemiah follows thirteen years later.
- Permission. A Persian king's reign dates the year. God's people lived under Gentile rule, and God still recognises the powers He appoints.
- Journey. First month to fifth month: a little under four months on a road with enemies waiting, crossed safely.
- Hand. One phrase covers the whole venture. The hand of God granted his request, brought him to Jerusalem, strengthened him, supplied men to serve, and delivered them. That same hand rests on all who trust and obey Him.
- Purpose. What arrived in the fifth month was not power but the mind of God in His word. It came through a man who had sought it, done it, and only then taught it.
For upon the first of the first month the project of going up from Babylon was determined on, and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
Ezra's journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem took four months. The verse gives two dates and one reason: the good hand of his God was on him. So why does Ezra credit that hand, and not the king's permission or his own planning?
Why does the verse say Ezra "began to go up"? One writer shows where else the Bible uses that word.
The same word appears in Exodus 20:26 for the steps of an altar, and in 1 Kings 10:19 for the steps of a throne. In 2 Kings 9:13 it means the stairs. In 1 Chronicles 17:17 it describes a man of high degree. In Ezra 7:9 it is used of a journey: "began to go up." The word it comes from means simply to go up — to ascend.
God stepped in for His people through Ezra's mission. One writer looks at what kind of help God sent, and what He did not send.
The character of this intervention of God through Ezra's mission is, I think, a touching proof of His loving-kindness. It was exactly suited to the needs of the people. It was not power. That had been removed elsewhere. It was the knowledge of the will and the ordinances of God — of the mind of God in the word. The king himself recognised this (Ezra 7:25). Guarded by the good hand of his God, this godly and devoted man goes up with many others to Jerusalem.
The very next verse opens with "for," and that small word supplies the reason the hand was there at all.
Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD first, and then to do it. He did not separate practice from knowledge. His daily life was soaked in the precepts of the Word he fed on. Only after that did he set his heart to teach it in Israel. In short, his life and his conduct agreed completely with his teaching. The result of this complete consecration to the Word and to the work was that "the good hand of his God was upon him," because — notice this "for" — he had set his heart. We find this in every period of time. God's protection rests especially on those who forget themselves to depend on Him alone, and who give themselves without reserve to His work.
Ezra names that hand again and again. Each mention points to a different service it did for him.
As for Ezra, he attributes everything to God, even the favour of the king (see verses 27, 28). Above all, he lives in the presence of his God. He proves that the hand of the LORD is upon him — to answer his prayer (v. 6), protect him (v. 9), strengthen him (v. 28), and deliver him (8:31).
How long did the road take, and what happened on it? One writer works the timing out from the dates.
Verse 31 gives a short statement about their journey. It simply records the faithfulness of their God in answer to their prayers. "Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. We came to Jerusalem." Ezra 7:9 says they began to go up on the first day of the first month. That was likely the date when the people gathered at the river Ahava (Ezra 8:15). So the journey itself took a little under four months. Ezra testifies that God guided them safely through all its perils and dangers, and shielded them from all their foes.
Seeing God's hand was Ezra's habit. One writer shows what it produced in him, and what it can produce in us.
How good it is to leave ourselves in His hands! We are often tempted to jump the barriers people put in our path, and to force open the doors that human hands have closed. But it is our comfort and strength to remember that the Lord can make His way plain before us whenever He wills. Our part is to wait quietly on Him, ready to go forward when He speaks the word. Recognising the hand of God upon him was a mark of this devoted servant (see verse 9; Ezra 8:18, 22, 31). It was the source of both his patience and his courage.
- Cause — a set heart. The hand rested on Ezra because he had given himself without reserve to God's Word and work.
- Gift — knowledge, not power. The help sent through Ezra was the mind of God in His word, exactly suited to what the people needed.
- Reach — four services. The same hand answered his prayer, protected the road, strengthened him, and delivered him from ambush.
- Cost — four months. The two dates cover a real and perilous journey, and Ezra credits every safe mile to God.
- Result — patience and courage. Seeing that hand made Ezra patient and brave. He could wait for God to open doors, and move the moment God spoke.
For Ezra had directed his heart to seek the law of Jehovah and to do it, and to teach in Israel the statutes and the ordinances.
Ezra 7 tells of a scribe who left Babylon for Jerusalem with a foreign king's blessing. Verse 10 gives the reason behind the journey: a heart set on three things in order — seeking, doing, teaching.
Ezra was a scribe who knew the Scriptures well. Yet the verse points deeper than his training. (The writers quote an older translation, which reads "prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD" and "statutes and judgments.")
As a scribe he must have had a good knowledge of the words he had often written, and this must have prepared his head. The preparing of his heart went much deeper than this, for it led him to "seek the law of the Lord". He really wanted to be instructed of God.
God reveals Himself to hearts, and a prepared heart shapes everything we bring to Him.
It is to the heart that God makes His revelations... Preparing the heart is everything — and this also comes from the Lord — whether for the study of the Word, for prayer, or for worship.
His seeking had a purpose built into it: obedience. The same pattern holds for us.
Ezra lived under the law of Moses. Of that law our Lord said, "Do this, and you will live" (Luke 10:28). Ezra knew well that doing it was the great thing. We are not under the law but under grace, yet we still have the apostle's instruction: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22)... Under the law men were to obey in order to live. Under the Gospel God brings us into life so that we may do His will. It is easy to forget this, and treat Christianity as though it were simply an exalted philosophy to entertain our minds.
Ezra's study aimed at obedience, not at teaching. Reversing that order carries a cost, and the teacher himself pays part of it.
If Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, it was first and foremost that he might do it. He did not do it to increase his knowledge or to build his reputation as a teacher. He did it so that the law would shape his heart, his life, and his ways — so that his own walk would embody the truth... This order can never be ignored without penalty. Teaching that does not flow out of a heart subject to the truth cannot influence others. Worse, it hardens the heart of the teacher himself. This is the secret of many a failure in the Church of God.
Ezra stands apart from the teachers the Lord Himself confronted.
In the days of Jesus, the teachers of the law loaded people with "burdens hard to bear," and would not touch "the burdens with one of their fingers" (Luke 11:46). Ezra was not like them. His daily life was soaked in the commands of the Word he fed on... In a word, his life and his conduct were in complete agreement with his teaching.
What Ezra taught connects directly to why the people had been in exile.
Ezra was not only concerned about himself: he thought of God's people. The preparation was his own — he would know and obey the will of the LORD. But his thoughts were also for the good of those who had returned from exile. Their captivity had come from neglecting God's "statutes and judgments." So these were the very things he would teach, and by keeping them they could have God's blessing.
Verse 10 begins with "for." It gives the reason for what came just before it.
He gave himself completely to the Word and to the work. The result was that "the good hand of his God was upon him" — and notice the word "for": it was because he had directed his heart. This holds true in every age. God's protection rests above all on those who forget themselves, depend on Him alone, and give themselves to His work without holding anything back.
The king opened the way for Ezra. But something came first.
King Artaxerxes is the picture of one who sets an open door before Ezra. Yes, but it was Ezra's heart that was set to do the will of God. God works all outward circumstances, and He opens the way when our heart is set on doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. We never have reason to complain about circumstances, as long as our heart is right with the Lord.
- Heart first. Training as a scribe prepared Ezra's head. But God makes His revelations to the heart, and He gives that preparation too.
- Then doing. He sought the law to obey it, not to build a reputation. Under grace God brings us into life so that we may do His will.
- Then teaching. Teaching must flow from a heart already subject to the truth. If it does not, it moves no one, and it hardens the teacher.
- Then a people. Israel went into exile for neglecting God's statutes. Ezra taught those very statutes, so the returning people could live in God's blessing.
- Then the open door. His heart was set, so God's good hand rested on him and the king opened the door. Circumstances give way to a heart that is right with the Lord.