Ezra 8:24-30

4. They took along certain treasures, which were entrusted to priests on the journey and were delivered safely at Jerusalem.

TEXT, Ezra 8:24-30

24

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;

25

and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel present there, had offered.

26

Thus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and gold talents,

27

and 20 gold bowls, worth 1,000 darics; and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.

28

Then I said to them, You are holy to the LORD, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers.

29

Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the heads of the fathers-' households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.

30

So the priests and the Levites accepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

COMMENT

Ezra 8:24. Ezra sets a good example for preachers by putting all the valuables into the hands of others (more than one; twelve in fact) to assure their safe arrival, to avoid being suspected of dishonesty, or as a matter of record to give account to his Persian superiors. His choice of priests as the custodians may have been governed by several factors. If anyone were trustworthy, they would be. The articles were all for the use of the priests later on; they might as well have them in their keeping now. Also, he may have felt that marauders would be more hesitant to attack priests than ordinary citizens.

Ezra 8:25 repeats the information of Ezra 7:15 f., that the valuables were contributed by the king, his counsellors, and the people from Israel who lived in Babylon.

Ezra 8:26-27 give the amount and description of these valuables. The Living Bible converts these into American money: $1,300,000 in silver; $200,000 in silver utensils; $3,000,000 in gold; and twenty gold bowls worth a total of $5,000; plus two bronze or brass items whose purity and design made them as valuable as gold. Total weight would be about 30 tons: no small item for this band of travelers.

Ezra 8:28-30 relate Ezra's charge to the twelve priests. Holy utensils must only be handled by holy men; what better reason for putting them into their safekeeping? The money likewise was given as an offering to God. They were responsible for them till delivery was made to the priests, Levites, and leading citizens at the Temple in Jerusalem.

WORD STUDIES

AHAVA (Ezra 8:15; Ezra 8:21): possibly means water; it may be akin to the Latin, aqua.

BABYLON (Ezra 8:1): gate, i.e., court, of Bel (the god of the Babylonians).

CASIPHIA (Ezra 8:17): this comes from a word meaning pale, silver, white, or shining. Perhaps it was a city known for its brightness, or for its money.

HOLY (Kodesh: Ezra 8:28): pure, consecrated, separated. Because a thing was entirely or purely separated to one purpose, it was sacred for that use. With little change the word is used of men devoted to pagan temples and practicing the lowest vices and perversions. It makes a great deal of difference to what purpose, or God, a person devotes his life.