Ezra 1:9

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.

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?

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.

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.

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 Sadly, the glory itself had withdrawn.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.

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.

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.