The Hand Of Our God For Good

Ezra attributes the provision of a Levite of discretion, Sherebiah, to the good hand of God. God’s power is at work on behalf of the returnees in the provision of a good man to serve and lead. We, too, should pray that God’s power would be at work on our behalf in providing men of discretion to lead us. So three leading Levites—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah—join the returnees, and Sherebiah and Jeshaiah come with kinsmen and sons, totaling almost 40 Levites. In addition, 220 of the Nethinim (“temple servants”), those devoted to the service of the temple, join the Levites to return to the land.

Let’s take stock of how much time passed as these events played out. Ezra 7:9 states that the journey began on the first day of the first month of the seventh year of Artaxerxes (cf. 7:7). Ezra 8:15 says they camped by the river to Ahava for three days. They sent a delegation to fetch the Levites, and then verses 21-23 say they fasted to seek God. Then in verse 31 they set out on the twelfth day of the first month. So if they fasted for one day, that means that between days 4 and 11 these three Levite leaders, their clans totaling almost 40 men, and 220 temple servants were summoned to return to the land, made the decision to go, and set out. That means that over the course of seven days they were summoned, made their preparations, joined the returnees, and set out for the land of promise.

In a seven-day period, 260 people leave everything for the kingdom of God. Would you be prepared to leave your whole life and go seek God’s kingdom? Or would all the trappings of luxury and familiarity hold you back? Are you on the edge of faith in Christ and not sure whether or not it’s worth all it will cost you? Follow the example of these 78Levites who saw that it was better to pursue the kingdom of God than to wallow in Babylon.

Ezra 8:21-30

The Levites initially failed to join the returnees, but God mercifully used Ezra to summon them to join the new exodus that was under way. Ezra recognizes the provision of good men as God’s power at work on his behalf, and he sets himself to rely again on God’s power in verses 21-23 (ESV):

These people are about to undertake a dangerous journey. There are no state troopers on the highways between Persia and Jerusalem, but plenty of bandits, pirates, and scalawags. We’re about to see that these people returning with Ezra are transporting a lot of money.

How are they going to keep themselves and their funds safe? Verse 21 clearly shows that they are going to rely on God and His power rather than on the power of man. What do you rely on when you feel threats to your safety or your money? There’s a stark contrast between this and a boast that Adolf Hitler made. Hitler boasted that the little pastors would sell their souls for the measly salaries that he provided for them (Goldberg, Liberal Fascism, 364-65). He knew he had the pastors in the palm of his hand. He was confident that they would not object to what he was doing because they were on the payroll. Ezra refuses to feel indebted.

In verse 22 we see that Ezra has boasted to the king about God, and so he doesn’t want to ask the king for an escort or the king will think he isn’t really confident in God. Further, Ezra seems to view relying on the king’s escort instead of the Lord as forsaking the Lord.6 We see this in the words Ezra recounts himself saying to the king there in verse 22: “God 79blesses those who seek Him, but His wrath is against those who forsake Him” (my trans.).

In Israel’s history, the people were exiled precisely because they relied on foreign powers—Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon—instead of the Lord. God’s wrath was against Israel because they forsook Him for the gods of those nations, because to get help from those nations Israel’s kings poured out libations to the gods of those nations. That’s what entering into covenant with those peoples entailed.

On the other hand, Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:29 that from exile Israel would seek the Lord and find Him when the searched after Him with all their hearts. Now here they are in exile, committing themselves to seek the Lord. I’m convinced that Ezra is doing this because he knows Deuteronomy 4:29 and he knows Israel’s history. Ezra is living out what Moses prophesied.

What Ezra says here in verse 22 encapsulates the theology of the book of Ezra. God’s good hand will be on those who seek Him, but His wrath will be against those who forsake Him. God will glorify Himself by showing justice and mercy. He will be glorified in salvation through judgment (see further Hamilton, God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment). All through Ezra 7-8 we see the hand of God for good on Ezra and those returning with him:

Do you want the hand of God on your life for good? I can’t promise you that God will bless you in all the ways He blesses Ezra. I can promise you that if you will do what Ezra does, if you will turn from your sin and seek the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ, you will experience the good hand of God on your life. Romans 10:13 promises that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. If you will turn away from forsaking God and if you will seek Him, as Ezra 8:22 says, you will be delivered from God’s wrath and enjoy His good hand upon you.

80Look at verse 23: “So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request.” Let me encourage you to seek the Lord, to implore Him for His favor, for His good hand to be upon you. Don’t reject worldliness and then fail to seek the Lord.

Even if it isn’t apparent on the surface, there are two groups of 12 in verse 24. Here again we have a symbolic use of 12 priests, signaling the restoration of all Israel. I think the translation in the HCSB, “12 of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their brothers,” is preferable to the ESV here because Sherebiah and Hashabiah seem to be the same Levites mentioned in verses 18-19. So we have 12 priests and 12 Levites.

Look at the mercy the Lord has shown to Sherebiah and Hashabiah and their kinsmen. Initially they didn’t sign up for the journey, but after they responded to Ezra’s call, they are given this place of honor. God is rich in mercy. God’s hand is for good even on these Levites who did not seek Him at first. We can all take comfort from this. We have all had times when we preferred Babylon to Jerusalem. It’s not too late for you to seek the Lord. His hand for good is better than anything Babylon can offer.

In verses 25-30 Ezra is going to weigh out the money. The coinage in use at that time wasn’t necessarily uniform as ours today is. So they weigh this material because some clever thief could decide that if he shaved a bit from each coin of say, 1,000 darics (v. 27), he would have quite a haul of precious metal. So they weigh it out, and look at Ezra’s appeal in light of the king’s decree from chapter 7. The king has commissioned Ezra to do this job (7:15-16), but the king is not what Ezra fears. Look at verse 28: “Then I said to them, ‘You are holy to the Lord, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.’” Ezra is not appealing to a threat from Artaxerxes. Ezra appeals to God’s holiness to motivate these men to be faithful. We will be as faithful as we think God is holy. In other words, how we steward what God has given us shows what we really think of God.

Ezra 8:31-36

They have fasted and sought the Lord. They have divided up the funds for the journey. And now in verses 31-36 we read of the sacrifices they will make on arrival in Jerusalem.

81We read again of the four-month journey (cf. 7:9). Ezra recounts that God answered the prayers of 8:21-23: “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way” (8:31 ESV). They didn’t have a royal escort. There weren’t Persian helicopters that could be ordered to their aid. There were, however, plenty of bandits and renegades in the region, but the Lord delivered them. Ezra gives credit where it is due.

We see in verse 33 that they arrived in Jerusalem, and everyone was faithful with the funds. Let’s pray for the hand of our God for good for our churches in the matter of financial faithfulness. I’ve heard stories of churches who have discovered that those who were supposed to be depositing the church’s gifts in the church’s bank account were diverting those gifts to their own accounts. We’ve all heard stories of men serving in pastoral ministry who have been unfaithful with the church’s money.

In 1926 the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Foreign Mission Board pressed charges against its treasurer, George Saunders, for embezzling $92,000. In 1928 the Home Mission Board of the SBC pressed charges against its treasurer for embezzling $909,000. Both were convicted

Let’s pray that the good hand of God would be on us (v. 31), that we would recognize that we are holy to the Lord (v. 28), and that we would be faithful with funds. In Ezra 8:34 everything is recorded. These men were faithful, and so may it be with us.

Look at the twelves and sevens in verse 35: 12 bulls, 96 rams (12×8), 77 lambs, and 12 goats. The returnees have arrived with the Levites, the money, and Ezra himself, and they offer these sacrifices in an attempt to renew Israel. Verse 36 tells us that they also did what the king commissioned them to do, and we saw in chapter 7 that the king’s decree would result in the establishment of God’s law in God’s land by God’s returned people.

All this looks great. But if we back up from it, there are maybe 3, 000 people who have returned with Ezra in chapter 8. And back in Ezra 1 there were about 49, 000 people who returned to the land. Let’s round up and let’s say it’s 55, 000 people. That’s it! That’s the kingdom of God on earth?

But here this chapter is in the Bible, and here we are talking about it 2, 500 years later. This chapter is a great encouragement to us. We look 82at our lives, and we say, rightly, “I am nothing in the eyes of the world. I have no power. I have no status. I have no influence.” And Ezra 8 says to us that God is advancing His kingdom in the world with nobodies who are nothing, and there aren’t very many of them, either. What a God! This God uses people like us. This is a God to know. This is a God whose hand is for good on all who seek Him.