all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia 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?
The man who carried them up
One writer explains where the name Sheshbazzar came from, and who this man was.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinMithredath 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:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHe 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.
Why a list of dishes closes the chapter
One writer shows that these vessels gave the first captivity its whole character.
H. L. RossierThis 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.
What Babylon had done with them
The same writer explains why taking these vessels was worse than any earlier stripping of the temple.
H. L. RossierUnder 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.
Counted — but not complete
The list is exact, but one thing is missing from it.
The Bible TreasuryThe 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 hands at work at once
Two works of God stand behind this return.
F. B. HoleVerse 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.
The comfort hidden in an inventory
One writer turns this care for dishes into comfort for God's people.
Hamilton SmithHe 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.
Summary
- 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.