Ezra 1:5–11
Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. 7 Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
9 This was the inventory:
gold dishes 30
silver dishes 1,000
silver pans 2,930
10 gold bowls 30
matching silver bowls 410
other articles 1,000
11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
The preservation of the sacred temple vessels, which allowed for them to be restored to the temple, was a special blessing of God’s grace. It is clear that Cyrus gave the returnees a very rich collection of precious metal articles for use in the temple, since the total of 5,400 articles greatly exceeds the number of articles enumerated in the list. The meaning of some items in the list is uncertain. The Hebrew term translated as “silver pans” may refer to knives or some other objects used in the temple sacrifices.
The identity of Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah, is a historical problem. In Ezra chapter 2 the leader of the returnees is Zerubbabel, not Sheshbazzar. The most likely explanation is that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were two different names for the same person. This was a common occurrence in ancient times. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Esther all had two names. Both Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel had the title Governor of Judah, and both are credited with laying the foundation of the temple (Ezra 5:14-16; Haggai 1:1). These coincidences support the theory that they were actually the same person. Since the governor is called Sheshbazzar in a letter to the Persian king, Sheshbazzar was probably the name by which he was known to the Persians, while Zerubbabel was the name that he used among the Jews. Other interpreters have suggested that Sheshbazzar was an older relative of Zerubbabel who quickly faded from the picture. This is based partly on the fact that Zerubbabel had an uncle named Shenazzer, whom some have identified with Sheshbazzar (1 Chronicles 3:17,18). Since the book of Ezra does not specifically identify Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel, this second interpretation is possible, but the first explanation seems more probable.
One of the most important thoughts of this section is expressed by the phrase, “Everyone whose heart God had moved . . . prepared to go up.” Willing hearts are necessary if God’s work is to prosper. Willing hearts are the gift of the Holy Spirit, who works in God’s people and makes them eager to work for the Lord. It seems that many of the exiles were unwilling to leave the prosperity of Babylon for the difficulties of the journey to Zion and the hard labor of rebuilding God’s house. Some who were not moved to make the journey themselves instead gave their support to those who were undertaking the mission on behalf of the whole people of Israel.
The example of those “whose heart God had moved” encourages us to sacrifice willingly for the sake of the gospel. We should also gladly support that work of God’s kingdom which we cannot undertake in person. This chapter challenges each one of us to ask, Am I willing to face hardships and make sacrifices to help the people of God build his church here on earth? May the Holy Spirit give us willing hearts so that we are ready to answer with a resounding yes!