And Ezra 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?
Where This Arrival Falls in the Story
Ezra was not part of the first group to come home. He arrived decades later, and not everything he found had gone well.
Michael HardtTo 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:
Leslie M. GrantThis 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).
Why a Persian King Dates the Year
The verse counts the year by a foreign king's reign, not by a king in Jerusalem. That detail carries weight.
The Christian's FriendNotice 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 Road Between the Two Dates
The first month and the fifth month mark the two ends of a long road.
Edward DennettEzra 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."
The Hand That Brought Him There
One phrase keeps returning at every stage of Ezra's story.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIn 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.
What Ezra Carried Into the City
Ezra did not arrive with power. He brought something else.
J. N. DarbyThe 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:
Leslie M. GrantIt 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?
Summary
- 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.