You’ve mapped out your journey. The car is packed. The children are buckled in. But before you embark on a cross-country road trip, what else do you do? If you were Ezra, you would stop and plead yet again for the Lord to give you a safe and successful journey. In 8:21, Ezra said: “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.”

We’ve already seen Ezra trust the Lord time and again during his preparations to return to Jerusalem. Today’s reading gives us insight into Ezra’s thought process. He was “ashamed to ask the king” for protection on the journey. Why? He had already assured the king that “the gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him” (v. 22). Ezra didn’t want to appear to dishonor the Lord by asking for human help when he’d already been clear in saying that God would care for him. So, Ezra says, “we fasted and petitioned our God about this” (v. 23). Just as we’ve seen God do many times throughout the book of Ezra, God answered their prayer (v. 23).

The rest of today’s passage lists the many valuable items that Ezra and the returnees brought with them to Jerusalem. Here we see Ezra’s practical wisdom again. He entrusts “twelve of the leading priests” with care of the valuables and charges them to deliver the items safely to their destination (v. 24). For all the details involved in this journey, Ezra trusts the Lord, fasting and praying. He also takes appropriate steps to ensure success. Both were needed.

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Reaching the end of a long journey is a beautiful thing—you step out of the car, stretch your legs, and look forward to some rest and relaxation. In our study of the book of Ezra, we’ve seen this godly leader and his co-travelers reach the end of their long trip to Jerusalem—all without the benefit of planes, trains, or automobiles!

Earlier in chapter 8 Ezra refused to ask the king for protection on the journey, even though the returnees were bringing with them an enormous amount of silver and gold. In today’s market, the value of the materials listed in 8:26–27 reaches $604,081,991.20. Ezra was wise to proclaim a fast and ask for the Lord’s protection on their trip home!

In verse 31 we read that the Lord indeed answered their prayers: “The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way.” As we’ve seen many times already since meeting Ezra in chapter 7, he is quick to credit the Lord for his success. He never took credit for himself but rather consistently acknowledged God’s grace and kindness toward him. Ezra and the returnees rested for three days (v. 32). Then they “weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest” (v. 33). The men proved faithful: “Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time” (v. 34). The exiles then worshiped the Lord. They sacrificed “twelve bulls for all Israel” (v. 35), again reminding us that the people returning from exile represent all Israel and not just the ten tribes of Judah (see discussion on September 19). Now in Jerusalem, Ezra and his group of Levites and temple servants “gave assistance to the people and to the house of God” (v. 36).

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From time to time my wife and I leave our three young sons with a babysitter. On the way home I always feel the same anxiety—did our children torment this sweet girl who watched them for a few hours? I’ve never gotten a bad report, but I still worry. Ezra, unfortunately, received a bad report about the behavior of the people living in Israel.

Chapter 9 begins, “After these things had been done.” This was after the delivery of valuables and the sacrifices mentioned in yesterday’s passage—the leaders delivered their report to Ezra. “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices” (v. 1). In fact, they’ve gone so far as to take “some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons” (v. 2). What’s even worse, “the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness” (v. 2).

Remember—God had long ago commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with the surrounding peoples. Why? Because “they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you” (Deut. 7:4). This is how God’s people ended up in exile in the first place! Now they had disobeyed again, returning to the practices that had caused God to judge them nearly a century ago.

When he heard this report, Ezra was “appalled.” He says, “I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard” (v. 3). Then Ezra did what we’ve come to expect: “I...fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God” (v. 5). God’s people had sinned, but Ezra remained faithful and turned to the Lord in his devastation.

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There’s a vast difference between being sorry that you got caught doing something and being sorry that you did something. In the book of Ezra, after God’s people acted wickedly, Ezra approached God in repentance. He reflected genuine sorrow—even though he personally had not participated in the sin.

Ezra’s prayer of confession for the people highlights the concept of corporate solidarity. The apostle Paul uses the metaphor of the body to discuss corporate solidarity in the church: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26). Ezra’s suffering shines clearly through these verses—and Ezra is deeply concerned that even greater suffering is on the horizon. “Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor?” Ezra asks the Lord (v. 14).

Ezra begins by confessing his shame “because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens” (v. 6). He then briefly recounts Israel’s history of sin that led to the captivity in Babylon. They’ve only returned, Ezra says, because “the Lord our God has been gracious” (v. 8). God “has shown us kindness,” “granted us new life,” and “given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem” (v. 9). Yet the returnees “have forsaken the commands” God gave regarding intermarriage with the surrounding peoples (vv. 10–12). Ezra confesses that the exile happened as “a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt,” and yet their punishment was “less than our sins deserved” (v. 13).

Ezra does the only thing he can do—the only thing any of us can do. He confesses the people’s sin and throws himself on the mercy of the God who has been faithful over and over and over again.

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I’m not very handy, but from time to time I’ll attempt a DIY home project. These typically require about a hundred trips to Home Depot, lots of hand-wringing, and then a call to a buddy or two for help. In today’s passage Ezra wasn’t wringing his hands or running to the home improvement store, but he did realize he needed more help. He called for reinforcements.

The passage opens with Ezra and the list of people in 8:1–14 “assembled ... at the canal that flows toward Ahava” (v. 15). They camped “there three days,” during which Ezra “checked among the people and the priests,” searching for Levites (v. 15). He did not find any, so he gathered several leaders, whom he refers to as “men of learning,” and sends them to “Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia” (vv. 16–17). We don’t know exactly what Kasiphia refers to, but we do know there were Levites there, and the “men of learning” returned to Ezra with 20 more Levites, in addition to 220 “temple servants” (vv. 19–20). Ezra would need these temple servants, who ensure smooth and proper functioning at the Jerusalem temple, reestablishing and then maintaining proper worship.

As has been Ezra’s pattern, he credits the Lord with the success of this mission. It succeeded “because the gracious hand of our God was on us” (Ezra 8:18). A few things stand out about this passage. First, Ezra was humble. He recognized when he needed help and was willing to ask for it. Second, Ezra was wise. He took all necessary precautions to ensure his work would be successful. Third, Ezra relied fully on the Lord. Here and throughout the book, we see Ezra credit the Lord with any and all of his success.

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