Established churches of my past used to have a “homecoming” celebration once every few years.  It was a special time to invite back all who had moved away to settled in other places of the world to come back to their home church for a reunion.  A ton of food would be prepared with tables set up inside and sometimes outside under tents.  Many would come back home for this event to renew old friendships and be with family who still attended the church.  It was a time of encouragement and building each other up as we sang and testified of God’s great love and care.  The services, before lunch and after lunch, included much singing from various groups as well as congregational singing.  After the day was done, a count was taken to remember and give thanks to God, “until we meet again.”

It is with these memories of my past that help me try to imagine the captives coming home to Jerusalem and Judah, “each to their own town, from the evil land of Babylon who enslaved them for almost a century. But this is more than a visit back to the place they once called home; this is truly returning home to rebuild, renew, and restore what they once had but did not appreciate before the exile.

Ezra 2

The List of the Exiles Who Returned

Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town, ² in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah):

The list of the men of the people of Israel:

³⁶ The priests:

⁴⁰ The Levites:

⁴¹ The musicians:

⁴² The gatekeepers of the temple:

⁴³ The temple servants:

⁵⁵ The descendants of the servants of Solomon:

⁵⁹ The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel:

⁶¹ And from among the priests:

⁶² These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. ⁶³ The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there was a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴ The whole company numbered 42,360, ⁶⁵ besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 200 male and female singers. ⁶⁶ They had 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁷ 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. ⁶⁹ According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments.

⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God used an unbeliever, Cyrus who was king of Persha to order the return of the once exiled back to their hometowns.  But being set free wasn’t enough; God also put upon the heart of this ruler to send funds with them so they could rebuild upon returning!  There is no one like our God!

God also chose leaders from among the returning remnant of His people in the rebuilding and restoring.  Warren Wiersbe helps us to understand the bigger picture of the process of this “homecoming” by referring to the words of Nehemiah who we will study after the book of Ezra.  Sometimes we have a tendency to only read what is before us without reference and parallels to others telling of this tremendous homecoming arranged by God Himself!  Wiersbe comments;

“From the parallel list in Nehemiah 7:7, we must add the name of Nahamani, bringing the total to twelve men, one for each of the tribes. The “Nehemiah” in Ezra 2:2 is not the man who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, because he didn’t come on the scene until 444 B.C. And the “Mordecai” listed isn’t the Mordecai of the Book of Esther. “Jeshua” is Joshua the high priest, who is mentioned twenty-three times in Ezra and Nehemiah. He was an important part of the leadership of the remnant and served at the side of Zerubbabel, the governor. Everything in God’s work rises and falls with leadership. When God wants to accomplish something, He calls dedicated men and women to challenge His people and lead the way.” –Wiersbe Study Bible

This list of names in Scripture and in many other passages, Matthew for example, may not be important to us reading today; but this recording and count meant everything to a Jewish family.  The list was not only a history but a legal and binding way to decide who belonged with inherited rights. Most people today are more concerned about the behavior of their descendants than the bloodline of their ancestors—unless an inheritance is involved. Then it might get dicey when money and valuable things might be had.  But that wasn’t true of the Old Testament Jews. Genealogy decided if you were in or out.  It also decided who would lead the tribe and God’s Temple work.

The Homecoming Count was important because the Jews returning to Judah couldn’t reclaim their family property unless they could prove their lineage and the priests and Levites must certify their ancestry, otherwise they couldn’t serve in the temple or share in the benefits of that service.

What do we say after a long trip of driving home in our comfortable vehicles?  “FINALLY, WE’RE HOME!”

What if we traveled by foot for about four months to get back home?  Ezra wrote nothing about the long trip (900 miles) or what the Jews experienced during those four difficult months.  Oh, how the remnant of people who survived the exile into slavery and bondage by the evil King Nebuchadnezzar must have shouted for joy with tears running down their faces when home came into view on their journey! 

Oh, what joy, relief, with pure release of emotions when they returned home—the land God had promised all those centuries earlier to their ancestors.  Now, they are back home.  Home to God.  Home to the familiar.  Home of their faith before their faith had diminished.  Home to rebuild, renew, restore and build new!

The emotions are similar when we decide to come back home to God after years of rebellion against Him.  We repent when we finally see Jesus for who He really is—our Savior and Redeemer.  As we repent, the tears of emotion fall, the baggage we have been carrying for so long is put down, for we have finally come home.  Because of God’s love for the world—every person who believes in His Son is included.  Our rights to be in God’s family does not depend on our hereditary—only on our repentance with a sincere heart.

Friends, Come home. 

Lord,

Thank you for the thoughts you have given to us through Your Story of working in and through your people.  You still do this work in and through us!  What a day that will be, when we see you in all your glory, but for now we are grateful to experiences glimpses of your glory right now, here on earth, that encourages our walk and builds our faith. 

Cleanse our hearts, renew our mind, refresh our souls, and continuing restore the joy and peace of you in us and us abiding in you. To you be the glory! Great things you have done and are still doing!

In Jesus Name, Amen