Ezra 8:35-36-Finishing the Journey Right

Preparation Notes

At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God. [1]

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

35 – seventy-seven – not a multiple of twelve (which seem to represent the tribes of Israel). Argues for the accuracy of the narrative.

We know, for example, from the Ugaritic literature that seventy and seventy-seven were used as a literary device to denote a fairly large number (for seventy-seven cf. UT, 75:II:49). There is obvious merit, therefore, in the view of some scholars that seventy-seven must be regarded as symbolic and should not be changed.[2]

All the numbers here are multiples of twelve except “seventy-seven,” but in 1 Esdr 8:66 it is seventy-two (thus a multiple of twelve). However, there is no textual evidence for the change. Since seventy-seven is often used to denote a large number, most scholars think the original text must have had “seventy-seven.”[3]

36 – satraps – There was only one satrap in the Trans-Euphrates area, but this likely included other regional satrapies, like Egypt.

It is not unlikely that the satraps of Trans-Euphrates and Egypt are meant here. Palestine is near enough to Egypt, which had a substantial Jewish population, to include the Egyptian satrap.[4]

Thoughts on the Passage:

This section is written in third-person, distinct from the Ezra Memoir sections of first-person that preceded it.

It could indicate a second author (the Chronicler or an editor), but it is also not outside the realm of possibility (and thus the interpretation I take) that Ezra wrote it in the third person:

The authorship does not change the meaning of the passage, but the humility if Ezra can also be seen if he wrote this paragraph: he is focusing on the actions of the people instead of his own.

35 – come from captivity, the returned exiles… - No matter how comfortable we become in our captivity, it is nonetheless captivity. We are separated from our home.

This is the first time this group has been referred to as exiles or captives. The first group was referenced early on, but this group had not been up to this point.

Many did not return with this group – they remained in the comfort of their cage.

· 35 – At the beginning of the journey, there was worship. At the end – worship. The point of the journey – worship.

o As soon as they came to be near the altar they thought themselves obliged to offer sacrifice, whatever they had done in Babylon[5]

§ The church will never be in the position again of Israel in the Babylonian Captivity.

· For Israel, there was only a single place to offer acceptable worship – the altar of God, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. The great sin of Israel was the offering of worship that was unacceptable to God, often mixing elements of idolatry into their worship.

o And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.”[6] – 2 Kings 17:9-12

· But while the church faces the ever-present temptation to idolatry and syncretism, we are not restricted to a single location for worship.

o For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.[7] – Matthew 18:20

o [The Samaritan woman at the well] Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”[8] – John 4:20-24

o When Ezra’s people arrived safely in Jerusalem, therefore (vv. 31–32), it was right that they should offer sacrifices (v. 35), not merely because the king had said they should (7:17), nor even as an isolated act of thanksgiving (the emphasis of sin offerings and burnt offerings is in any case on penitence and atonement; Lev. 4:22–26; 5:10), but because they were reconstituted as the people of God and therefore must worship.[9]

o [From Artaxerxes] …with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings and offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.[10] – Ezra 7:17

· 35 - Compared with the offerings of the returnees under Zerubbabel (6:17), when many more exiles were involved, the offerings on this occasion, except for the identical number of male goats, were far less.[11]

o They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel.[12] – Ezra 6:17

· 35 - All the offerings were “a burnt offering to the Lord,” indicating that even the sin offering, which was usually only partially burned with the rest being offered to the priests, was burned completely to the Lord.[13]

o The sin offering got rid of the uncleanness of exile, as was suggested in 6:17, and it is even more obviously in view here.[14]

o Alec Motyer has written, “The burnt offering is the offering which expresses holding nothing back from the Lord: hence its Hebrew, ‘olah, the ‘going up,’ so called because the sacrificial beast in its entirety was consumed on the altar and ascended in smoke.” The people had come to give themselves to the Lord’s work, and for now at least they meant it. [15]

· 36 – The obligations to man followed the fulfilment of the obligations to God and to God’s people.

o Even though the deliveries of these documents and edicts had immediate material benefits, they were a lesser priority than the worship of God.

· 36 – they aided the people and the house of God – this could refer to either antecedent: the returnees or the satraps and governors. Either reading is legitimate.

o If this refers to the returning exiles, they did what they came to do. It was not simply a relocation – it was a mission to return to restore the worship of God and the nation of Israel.

o The first thing the returnees did was worship God. For those who love God, the first response before, during, or after any project such as this must be worship.[16]

· No matter what comes next in the narrative, the worship and thanks in the fulfilment of the mission took priority over everything.

o This could have been a peaceful ending to the book – except our peace will not be found on earth:

§ “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:46–47)[17]

· Psalm 66: Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

2 sing the glory of his name;

give to him glorious praise!

3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

4 All the earth worships you

and sings praises to you;

they sing praises to your name.” Selah

5 Come and see what God has done:

he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

6 He turned the sea into dry land;

they passed through the river on foot.

There did we rejoice in him,

7 who rules by his might forever,

whose eyes keep watch on the nations—

let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

8 Bless our God, O peoples;

let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept our soul among the living

and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us;

you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net;

you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

12 you let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;

I will perform my vows to you,

14 that which my lips uttered

and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,

with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;

I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,

and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

17 I cried to him with my mouth,

and high praise was on my tongue.

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.

19 But truly God has listened;

he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,

because he has not rejected my prayer

or removed his steadfast love from me! [18]

Scripture Text - Ezra 8:35-36

At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God. [19]

Sermon Text:

We are told that the first act for the entire group of returning exiles was to worship God in His temple, the way He had commanded.

Yes, 24 priests and Levites delivered the treasures they had been carrying for these months to the priests in the temple,

But for the majority of those who had returned with Ezra, this was their first act.

Today, as we look at this passage, we would all do well to remember that the worship of the Almighty God is our most fundamental act.

It is the purpose for which we were created – to be with God.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.[20] - Genesis 2:15

And after God had made woman from the man’s rib, we are told:

And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.[21] – Genesis 2:22

Everything in these first chapters of Genesis, where we are given God’s view of His Creation, shows the close communion between Himself and man He had created us for.

So much so that even after Adam sinned and ate from the forbidden tree, we are told:

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day[22] - Genesis 3:8

And after Adam’s great sin that condemned all mankind and shut us all up under sin, God planned His redemption of us to restore us in our relationship with Him.

For these people returning from 130 years of exile – their entire lifetime, and the lifetime of their parents – worship of God was the most important purpose in the return.

In Babylon, in the captivity, it simply was not possible to worship God properly.

We see the grief of the people for this loss immediately after the captivity:

The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned! For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim, for Mount Zion which lies desolate; [23] - Lamentations 5:15-18

Or perhaps the more familiar Psalm of mourning:

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! [24] - Psalm 137:1-6

Recall that God’s people were carried off into captivity BECAUSE they had forsaken the proper and exclusive worship of God.

Hear the indictment of the nation of Israel in 2 Kings 17:9-12:

And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.”

Those “high places” the writer speaks of are makeshift altars outside Jerusalem that dotted the hilltops.

The disobedient people of Israel had this in common:

They thought they could worship God any way they saw fit.

We have a lot of people in our churches today that think that as well.

That God will take whatever I want to give Him, however I want to give it.

Did you ever hear anyone tell you this?:

I can worship God as well in my bedroom as I can in church.

If that person is saying this to explain to you why he refuses to join with God’s church in worship on a regular basis,

It is quite sure he is not worshipping in his bedroom any more than he is worshipping with God’s people.

While it is true that private devotion, prayer, and even worship are essential to a growing follower of Jesus Christ,

So is the encouragement, fellowship, generosity, accountability, and obedience of worshipping alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ.

I mention generosity here recalling the spiritual gifts and opportunities you have been given for the building up of one another – as we talked about a few weeks ago.

The bottom line in worship is that we cannot define how to come to God:

He has defined how we should come to Him.

Worship of our Holy God is not a matter of just bringing to Him any old thing,

Like when you would hurriedly draw a picture on a piece of paper and give it to your Grandmother for a Christmas gift.

That might work when you are two; when you are an adult, it simply shows how little you care and how selfish you are.

Worship demands preparation.

Verse 35 describes the offering the exiles brought on behalf of themselves and on behalf of those who had sent offerings with them.

At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats.

The gold and silver that had been sent with this group had been intended for this very purpose:

…with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings and offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.[25] – Ezra 7:17

Not only the royal offerings, but the individual offerings to be made would have to be procured as well.

We are not told specifically about those because Ezra is primarily concerned with the offerings that were being made on behalf of the entire nation.

That is likely why many of the offerings are in multiples of 12:

12 bulls

96 rams

12 goats for sin offerings

You may recall that when Zerubbabel and his exiles dedicated the rebuilt Temple in 516 BC, they offered many bulls and rams, but also:

and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel[26] - Ezra 6:17

Worship requires cost.

The end of verse 35 describes the offerings:

All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

Most of us don’t have detailed knowledge about the kinds of burnt offerings today, but this was unusual:

Normally many of these offerings would be partially burned and partially eaten by the worshipper, while others would be to provide for the priests and Levites.

But for the offerings on this day, they are called “whole burnt offerings”.

Nothing was held back for the worshipper;

Everything was offered to God.

When I say that true worship has always, and even today, has a cost, most people’s minds race toward two things:

Offerings (money) or time.

No…and no – that is not what I mean.

It is true we are called to support the mission of the local church with our resources – yes.

And it can even be said that coming to worship together costs us at least an hour – yes.

But if those are the only two costs, you are making a paltry offering indeed.

The biggest cost, if you are truly worshipping, is DEVOTION.

That is, I believe, what made the offering of Cain unacceptable: his very heart that made perfunctory, uncaring worship.

In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted?[27] – Genesis 4:3-7

I am aware of some who interpret the “fruit of the ground” to mean that Cain brought an inferior offering.

But notice God does not correct him for the type or quality of the offering, but in verse 7, tells him:

If you do well, will YOU not be accepted?

God is not talking about Cain’s offering; He is talking about Cain’s HEART.

He wasn’t devoted to God; he was seeking his own benefit through the offering.

Devotion for us means loving and following God through Jesus Christ even at the cost of anything or anyone else.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.[28] – Psalm 24:3-6

Or you can see in 1 Samuel 15:22:

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. [29]

O, the mighty things God can do with a handful of devoted followers.

The mighty things He can do through His devoted church.

The problem in our churches today is not a lack of form,

Nor a lack or programs,

Nor even at the root, a lack of true doctrine.

The problem in our American churches today is the lack of 24/7,

Sold out,

Love Jesus more than anything,

Spirit-led,

No exceptions DEVOTION.

Worship trumps all other responsibilities.

In verse 36 of today’s passage, we see the fulfillment of the other obligations the returning exiles had:

Delivery of the king’s edicts to the local and regional governors.

This was a REALLY important task.

It was not too long before that those very neighbors had been trying to sabotage the Jews in the area.

And the king considered it important enough to declare to all the officials in the area his support of Ezra and his mission to teach God’s Law.

And this task even carried with it very tangible benefits:

Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. [30] - Ezra 7:21-24

But for Ezra and his returning exiles, this was a SECONDARY task AFTER worship.

It didn’t matter what the payoff was going to be from the resources of the treasurers in the area,

The worship of God came first.

This shouldn’t surprise us:

Ezra began this journey as they gathered at the Ahava canal in worship.

The goal of this entire journey, for Ezra, was to finally worship God in the Temple He had established, and that He had caused to be rebuilt.

Does God’s worship take priority over everything else in your life?

Can you truly say that there is nothing that could lure you away from the worship of God?

Does everything else take a back seat when you are worshipping God?

Can you keep from looking at your phone, thinking about dinner, or recalling what happened yesterday long enough to lovingly seek Jesus Christ in worship?

For Ezra’s group, it had been more than 130 years since ANYONE in their family had made a sacrifice at the Temple.

It is so easy to get out of practice.

I see articles from pastors all over the U.S. worried that after a year of absence from worship in the church because of this pestilence, many will not return at all.

I am saddened because I know it is true that many will not return.

I am not talking about the fringe people who show up once in a while,

But the people who were following well, who seemed to be growing in grace,

Who were sharing their gifts with the church, and building others up.

I guess I would be saddened because the faith I had thought to have such a good, solid foundation may prove to have a shallow foundation made of sand.

And I pray that this does not describe any who are hearing me today.

But child of God, please hear me when I tell you: we have an advantage in worship over Ezra and his people:

Worship now adheres to Jesus Christ, not the abrogated ordinances of the Law.

The Temple worship could be stopped by captivity or by the destruction of the Temple.

But the worship God has provided through Jesus Christ cannot be contained by walls.

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.[31] – Matthew 18:20

The debate on the location of worship for God’s people was relevant in the past, but now worship by followers of Jesus Christ has a new reality:

[The Samaritan woman at the well] Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”[32] – John 4:20-24

There is no government, there is no circumstance, that can separate us from the worship of our God.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ezr 8:35–36). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[2] Fensham, F. C. (1982). The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (p. 122). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[3] Breneman, M. (1993). Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed., Vol. 10, p. 146). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[4] Fensham, F. C. (1982). The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (p. 122). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[5] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 623). Peabody: Hendrickson.

[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Ki 17:9–12). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[7] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mt 18:20). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[8] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Jn 4:20–24). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[9] McConville, J. G. (1985). Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (p. 59). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[10] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ezr 7:17). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[11] Yamauchi, E. (1988). Ezra-Nehemiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, pp. 661–662). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[12] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ezr 6:17). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[13] Rata, T. (2010). Ezra-Nehemiah: A Mentor Commentary (p. 110). Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor.

[14] Allen, L. C. (2012). Ezra. In W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard, & R. K. Johnston (Eds.), Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (p. 67). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

[15] Thomas, D. W. H. (2016). Ezra & Nehemiah. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & I. M. Duguid, Eds.) (p. 164). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

[16] Breneman, M. (1993). Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed., Vol. 10, p. 146). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[17] Levering, M. (2007). Ezra & Nehemiah (p. 96). Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.

[18] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 66:1–20). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[19] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ezr 8:35–36). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[20] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 2:15). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[21] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 2:22). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[22] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 3:8). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[23] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (La 5:15–18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[24] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 137:1–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[25] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ezr 7:17). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[26] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ezr 6:17). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[27] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 4:3–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[28] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 24:3–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[29] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 15:22). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[30] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ezr 7:21–24). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[31] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mt 18:20). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[32] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Jn 4:20–24). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.