Ezra – La Vista Church of Christ

Ezras Still Need Shecaniahs

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:03:22 +0000

“Ezra.” If you’re familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible, you remember the name. “Shecaniah”?

Probably not. But here’s something we all need to understand: the “Ezras” of the world desperately need the “Shecaniahs.”

In Ezra 10, after rebuilding the temple, restoring the Passover, and contending with a wide variety of adversaries, Ezra was worn out and discouraged. The people were distracted and dangerously close to slipping into the old patterns of behavior that had led to the exile of their forefathers. And Ezra had reached the end of his rope.

"While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: 'We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law. Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it'" (Ezra 10:1-4).

Ezra has a book of the Bible named after him. Shecaniah doesn’t. Ezra was known by Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Shecaniah wasn’t. Ezra is remembered for standing before a great assembly of people, reading the Book of the Law of Moses for hours, and leading a multitude to repentance and restoration. Shecaniah isn’t. But Ezra 10 documents a dark day. A deep valley. Ezra was bitterly weeping, with a tear-streamed face to the ground. And Shecaniah was there to help.

Shecaniah was honest about the current predicament. He didn’t gloss over the mess. He didn’t downplay the seriousness of the situation. He didn’t point fingers. He didn’t cast the blame as far away from himself as he could. Notice the pronouns. “We have broken faith with our God.”

He shared the gift of optimism and perspective with Ezra. “Even now there is hope.”

He challenged Ezra. “Arise.”

He reminded Ezra. “It is your task.”

He strengthened Ezra with the blessing of fellowship. “We are with you.”

He inspired Ezra. “Be strong and do it.”

Then Ezra arose and Israel was motivated to take the next right step.

Your name might not be known by the masses. Your reputation may not open the doors of power.

Your biography probably won’t be written. But you can make a real difference today by following in Shecaniah’s footsteps. Just look around. Who is worn out? Spent in the service of others? Maybe a little discouraged? Close to the end of their rope?

How could you serve as a refreshment to their souls?

Optimism. Perspective. Encouragement. A reminder. Strength. Fellowship. Inspiration. Those are the gifts Shecaniah gave on that tough day in Ezra 10.

In a darkened world full of discouragement, self-centeredness, and pessimism, be a Shecaniah this week.

"Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness" (Romans 12:6-8).

I’ve always heard about the three waves of the Babylonian captivity, but where is this found?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:06:08 +0000

Question:

I've always heard about the three waves of the Babylonian captivity, but where is this found?

Answer:

Three Captivities

Jehoiakim, also called Eliakim, was put into power by Pharaoh Neco who had killed his brother. Babylon attacked Judah and Jehoiakim surrendered to Babylon for three years, but he rebelled and Judah suffered its first devastating blow by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar took away many in the ruling class. This is the wave that took Daniel into captivity (II Kings 23:34-24:6; Daniel 1:1-4).
Jehoiachin, also called Coniah or Jeconiah, only managed to reign three months under Babylon. He was carted away in the second attack by Nebuchadnezzar along with the middle class, craftsmen, and the remainder of the upper class. In this attack, the treasures of Israel were carted off to Babylon. This was the wave that took Ezekiel into captivity (II Kings 24:6-16).
Zedekiah, also called Mattaniah, managed to reign eleven years before rebelling and the third wave destroyed what was left of Judah. Most of Jeremiah deals with Zedekiah's reign. (II Kings 24:17-25:21).

Three Phases of the Return

Lead by Zerubbabel, the first wave of fewer than 50,000 people returned and began work on the Temple, managing to lay the Temple's foundations before quitting. Years later the project was restarted and the temple was completed (Ezra 1-6).
Lead by Ezra, the second wave consisted of just over 1,700 people. The priests returned and the law again was taught and followed (Ezra 7-10).
Lead by Nehemiah, this group rebuilt Jerusalem's walls and reestablished the government with Nehemiah serving as governor for twelve years (Nehemiah).

Why are the lists in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:17:00 +0000

Question:

When I read Ezra and Nehemiah, I had some problems with the counting numbers recorded in both books. I believe the list of names in Ezra chapter 2 and Nehemiah chapter 7 are the same thing. But the number of singers and porters are different in these two books. While in Ezra 2:41-42 there were 128 singers and 139 porters, in Nehemiah 7:44-45 there were 148 singers and 138 porters. And in Ezra 2:65 there were singing men and women 200, but in Nehemiah 7:67 the number of singers was 245. Other numbers are the same, so what is wrong about these three countings?

Your help will be much appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Answer:

Actually there are seventeen differences between Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7:

Ezra 2	Nehemiah 7
Verse 5: The sons of Arah, 775	Verse 10: The sons of Arah, 652
Verse 6: The sons of Pahath-moab, 2,812	Verse 11: The sons of Pahath-moab, 2,818
Verse 8: The sons of Zattu, 945	Verse 13: The sons of Zattu, 845
Verse 10: The sons of Bani, 642	Verse 15: The sons of Binnui, 648
Verse 11: The sons of Bebai, 623	Verse 16: The sons of Babai, 628
Verse 12: The sons of Azgad, 1,222	Verse 17: The sons of Azgad, 2,322
Verse 13: The sons of Adonikam, 666	Verse 18: The sons of Adonikam, 667
Verse 14: The sons of Bigvai, 2,056	Verse 19: The sons of Bigvai, 2,067
Verse 15: The sons of Adin, 454	Verse 20: The sons of Adin, 655
Verse 17: The sons of Bezai, 323	Verse 23: The sons of Bezai, 324
Verse 28: The men of Bethel and Ai, 223	Verse 32: The men of Bethel and Ai, 123
Verse 33: The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725	Verse 37: The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721
Verse 35: The sons of Senaah, 3,630	Verse 38: The sons of Senaah, 3,930
Verse 41: The singers, the sons of Asaph, 128	Verse 44: The singers, the sons of Asaph, 148
Verse 42: The sons of the gatekeepers, 139	Verse 45: The sons of the gatekeepers, 138
Verses 59-60 Various names totaling 652	Verse 61-62: Various names totaling 642
Verse 65: Servants, 7,337 and singers, 200	Verse 67: Servants, 7,337 and singers, 245

It might be possible that a few of the differences is due to errs in copying the numbers, but given the care of the Jewish scribes, it isn't reasonable that there were that many mistakes in one section.

Ezra states, "Now these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city" (Ezra 2:1). Nehemiah was written about fifty years later. He states, "Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it: These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city" (Nehemiah 7:5-6). Please note that Nehemiah does not state that he had Ezra's records. Though they begin the same, there are differences in numbers. There are also differences in terms. For example, Ezra 2:21 talks about the children (Hebrew: ben) of Bethlehem, but Nehemiah talks about the men (Hebrew: enowsh) of Bethlehem.

The most likely cause of the difference is that Ezra recorded those who left for Israel from Babylon. Many scholars believe that Ezra's list was compiled in Babylon before the people actually left. Of course, in any large crowd things happen. People who start to leave get ill and have to stay behind. Some die, some are born. Some didn't leave with the group but joined it while it was in progress. Nehemiah had a list of who arrived in Jerusalem, but his list was for a later time. "Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ..." (Nehemiah 7:1). In other words, Nehemiah recorded those who came from Babylon at the time the walls in Jerusalem were finished. His list was based on the earlier list but updated to the current numbers. This would also explain the shift from children to men in some of the entries. In the time that elapsed, people would have died and been born giving a different number of people currently in Jerusalem.

Therefore, the clearest answer is that Ezra and Nehemiah's records are for a similar event but recorded at different moments in time.

They Promised to Put Away Their Wives

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 03:20:00 +0000

by Kent Heaton

The book of Ezra is a remarkable book of “those whose spirits God had moved” (Ezra 1:5). The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins for seven decades and the house of the Lord was burned. Zerubbabel led the faithful back to Jerusalem and the Temple was rebuilt. The faith of the people was focused upon the protection of Jehovah before they rebuilt the city walls under the leadership of Nehemiah. In the process of this spiritual renewal, the leaders came to Ezra and declared, “The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands … For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons” (Ezra 9:1-2).

Ezra was ashamed and humiliated because of this sin. The people also were ashamed and weeping came to Ezra declaring they had trespassed against God by taking pagan wives from the peoples of the land. In a extraordinary act of faith in Jehovah God and the will of “those whose spirits God had moved” with the power of His word – the people declared they would make a “covenant with our God to put away all the women, and such as have been born of them, according to the counsel of the Lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God. And let it be done according to the Law” (Ezra 10:3). The tenth chapter of Ezra shows they fulfilled their promise by putting away their pagan wives and even those who had children.

One cannot but be touched with the deep fervency of their love for the will of God. They had struggled to return to a city in ruins to rebuild the house of the Lord. Through adversity and opposition to rebuilding the Temple, those of a willing mind completed the work. It was a hard and arduous task to rebuild stone by stone the glory of the Temple. These were extraordinary people of faith. They not only possessed the fortitude to fight for the house of the Lord they also had within their hearts the conviction to mold their lives to God’s will – no matter the cost.

How high a price to put away a wife that you have no right to be married to? What cost does one pay to serve the kingdom of God in the marital relationship? Where are the willing hearts devoted to the Lord even it means living as a “eunuch for the kingdom of heaven’s sake” (Matthew 19:12)? Was God asking something too hard for the people of Ezra’s day? Would the brethren cry out, “Unfair, unfair”? Could Ezra change his teaching on the law of God concerning pagan wives?

Thomas Carlyle wrote: “Conviction, were it never so excellent, is worthless till it converts itself into conduct” (Sartor Resartus, 1836). Truth is the word of God. Standing upon the foundation of truth with conviction will only be of worth when we turn that belief into action. Those of Ezra’s day were passionate about the cause of the Lord and not their own desires. They were willing to take up a cross for the Lord. May we find their spirit today in the people of God to be fully devoted to the will of God – no matter the cost. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).