Ezra 8

1-14 Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra

1-14 List of family heads and the number of male descendants who came out of Babylon with Ezra during the reign of King Artaxerxes.

15-20 Servants for the Temple

15-17 They camp by a river for 3 days, and Ezra notices there are no Levites among them, so he sends for Eliezer and others who are leaders, and two others who are “wise’ and sends them to Iddo, a leader of temple servants at Casiphia.

18-20 They bring back Sherebiah and Hashabiah and their families plus 220 temple servants.

21-23 Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21-23 Ezra proclaims a fast, asking God to protect them from enemies along the way, ashamed to ask the king, Since he had told the king, since he had told the king that “the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him.” This indicates to me that some men in the Bible we consider to have great faith in God also wanted to rely on man’s power. It might help us in our faith if we were to boast more of God’s power, “forcing” us to rely more on Him.

24-30 Gifts for the Temple

24-27 Ezra calls 12 leading priests and weighs out the silver, gold and temple vessels that the Persian king, his staff, and other Israelites had given them when they left.

28-30 He tells them they are holy and that they must guard the holy vessels until they weigh them again in the temple in Jerusalem.

31-36 The Return to Jerusalem

31-33 They leave the river Ahava on the 1st month, 12th day, arrive in Jerusalem, stay for 3 days before going to the temple to present the vessels to priests Meremoth and Eleazar and to the temple Levites.

35-36 The returnees offer burnt offerings and sin offerings to God and deliver the king’s commission to the government officials.