Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.
Ezra 2 is a long list of names and numbers, and verse 1 is its heading. In one sentence it says who these people are, where they had been, and where they went: a nation carried off to Babylon, and a small company now walking home.
A humbling title
They are not called a kingdom here, but the people of a province — a district inside someone else's empire. One writer hears honesty in that word:
The Bible TreasuryWhat a humbling description: "the people of the province who came up out of the captivity"! Pride forgets and hides such things. Faith, cleared and cheered by grace, can afford on the darkest day to admit the truth: Israel may change, but the Lord does not change. That is why the sons of Jacob are not destroyed. His own people may well be ashamed of themselves; they glory in Him alone, and in His grace toward them. Yet they were still under the Gentile powers, as Christ Himself pressed home to their rebellious spirits.
Called out a second time
The verse says they came up out of the captivity. One commentator sets this return beside the earlier rescue from Egypt, and notes how few joined it:
F. B. HoleAs we all know, God redeemed the people out of Egypt, and still they failed completely. They fell again and again into idolatry under their kings, until the captivity in Babylon came. When the foretold period had passed, Cyrus allowed a return to rebuild the temple, and we read, "Now these were the people of the province who came up OUT of the captivity" (Ezra 2:1). Once more God called His people out, though only a few of the many answered.
Why such a list was kept at all
A register of families and head-counts can look like dry paperwork. One writer reads its survival as a sign of what God thought of these people, however little they grasped His plans:
Edward DennettThe very existence of this list shows how precious to God was the response His grace had produced in the hearts of His people, however weakly they had entered into His thoughts about His house. That is why He has kept it on record. It is evidence that He looks with joy on the smallest fruits of His Spirit's work, and that He knows the names of His people and makes them known. This encourages everyone to walk in His ways, to stand with His interests, and to stay faithful in times of corruption and falling away.
Names He remembers
Names and numbers can seem like the least spiritual part of the Bible. One writer ties this list to what the New Testament says about God's memory:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThis chapter contains the names of the returning remnant. It is a sample page of the records God keeps. From it we may learn that He remembers His people, that He knows them by name, and that He does not forget their works. Nehemiah repeats this list (chapter 7), and adds a record of those who helped build the wall. He has a book of remembrance (Mal. 3:16). The apostle reminded the Hebrew believers of this when he wrote: "For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do" (Heb. 6:10).
Back to Jerusalem, and back to careful ground
Each one returned to his own town — and with the return came a new seriousness about who belonged. Dennett links that new care to what the exile itself had been:
Edward DennettIn the land of their exile they had not taken the same care over who had a right to a place and who was qualified. Babylon stands for the corruption that holds God's people in bondage through their sins. So their time in captivity was a careless time. They were suffering under the hand of their God, yet it was still a time of confusion and disorder. It had to be, since they had no temple, no sacrifices, and were without the Lord's presence. But now, through the mercy of their God, there had been a recovery... and now that the Lord's house was to be their centre once more, they were right to examine the claim of everyone who had returned from Babylon.
Why the list still speaks
Commentators differ on how far this company should be called the faithful remnant. Rossier stops short of that title, yet still holds them up as a pattern:
H. L. RossierThis remnant of Judah returned to Jerusalem under Cyrus, to wait for the Messiah and welcome Him. They are not the true remnant. Even so, the Holy Spirit presents them as showing the marks a believing remnant should take on in a time of ruin. They are a most helpful example for us Christians, who now find ourselves among the ruins of Christendom: an example that teaches us how we may be witnesses of God in hard circumstances.
Summary
- Province, not kingdom — the heading admits how far they had fallen. Faith can own that, because God has not changed.
- Out of captivity — God called His people out a second time, and only a few of the many answered.
- Counted by name — the list survives as proof that God takes joy in the smallest fruit of His work and knows His people by name.
- Not forgotten — Ezra's page matches God's book of remembrance. He does not overlook work done for His name.
- Home, and careful — captivity bred carelessness about who belonged. Back with God's house at their centre, the returning company tested every claim.