8:28  In reminding the priests that they were holy to the Lord Ezra is emphasising the need for integrity. These men had entrusted to them large amounts of precious metals. Ezra was concerned that the men would be honest in their dealings. Holiness is the guard against sin.

Do we see our holiness as a reason for being totally honest or do we not even think about the fact that we are holy and should behave as such (1Pet 1:15-16)

There’s a wonderfully human insight into Ezra’s character in Ezra 8:21-23. This is the sort of description that helps us to realise that these great Godly men of the Old Testament were ever so much like us.  Ezra had been offered soldiers and horsemen to accompany him, but had refused the king’s offer  -  why? Because he had already told the king that God would protect him. Ezra, unlike Cromwell, didn’t pray and still keep his powder dry. Ezra refused the powder!

Vs.21-23 The road from Babylon to Jerusalem was dangerous, being occupied by bandits.  Because Ezra had made a statement of faith concerning Yahweh, he felt it would be inconsistent to ask the king for protection on the journey. (Later, it appears that Nehemiah had no such conflict of faith (Neh 2:9)). 

And so, Ezra petitioned Yahweh for a safe journey and Yahweh listened.  Then he divided the treasures between 24 men and recorded each one's portion (vs.24-30,34).  Each man was responsible for just over one ton of material. 

Dividing the material among 24 men was, of course, to share the burden.  But it was also precautionary to divide the goods on such a perilous journey given that they were unguarded and going through bandit territory. 

There appears to be a lesson here.  Although we put our trust in Yahweh and ask Him for help, we have the obligation to do everything reasonable to prepare ourselves for an event (Prov 16:3,9).

8:18  Ezra is ready to acknowledge that the things that benefited them were ‘of God’ saying ‘by the good hand of our God …’. How often do we think that when things work out well for us that the event is a consequence of our own skill?

8:23  Having declined support from ‘the world’ Ezra does not presume support from his God. So he and those with him prayed and fasted before leaving on their four month journey.

8:21 Ezra saw the whole of his ambitions towards going to the land of Israel was of God – so he did not feel it appropriate to ask for a military escort. However he does not just leave it at that. He involves those who are to go with him in supplication to God for a safe journey.

8:23 So the journey prospered and they arrived safely in the land. So Ezra now recognises that God had delivered them. It is so easy, when a prayer has been answered, to forget that we asked the prayer and that God has been entreated of us.

8:15 It might have been thought that it did not matter who returned to help in a building project. However this was no ordinary building project. It was the house of God. Therefore people skilled in the Law of Moses had to be involved. Likewise in our building the house of God it has to be built according to the Divine instructions given in His word. If we ignore His instructions or seek advice from others not ‘in Christ’ we run the risk of building inappropriately

Ezra 8:15 - "abode we in tents" [Heb. "chanah" (2583) means "to decline, to incline, encamp, bend down, lie, rest in a tent, grow to an end"] three days;  Ezra 8:32 - "...came to Jerusalem and abode there three days..." (could these two verses be echos of Christ's being in the tomb three days?).

Ezra 8:28 - "...the vessels" [Heb. "keliy" (3627) means "something prepared, any apparatus, vessel, etc."]  are holy also; and the silver and gold are a free will offering..." [is the vessel not unlike how Christ and/or his followers were prepared as saints and how Christ was redeemed from sin (i.e. silver) and refined his faith to perfection (i.e. gold) before freely offering his life?].

Ezra 8:31 - "...he delivered us from the hand of the enemy..." (is this possibly an echo of the sacrificial provision of deliverance from sin and death?).

Ezra 8:35 - "...the children...which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings..." (perhaps an echo of coming out of captivity to sin and death through Christ's sacrificial offering).

Ezra 8:33 - "...was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth..." ["weighed" Heb. "shaqal" (8254) means "suspend, pay, receive, weigh", etc.], ["Meremoth" (4822) means "heights, elevations" and is derived from Heb. "rum" (7311) meaning "to be high, to rise or raise (literally or figuratively), to exalt, holdup, lift", etc.].

9:7 visitation Luke 21:22
9:9 as in the day of Gibeah Judges 19:22
9:10 went to Baal-Peor Numbers 25:3
9:12 Though they bring ... bereave them Deuteronomy 28:41
9:17 wanderers among the nations Deuteronomy 28:64
9:3 'eat unclean things in Assyria' 2 Kings 17:3 - 6 Hoshea was taken to Assyria.

9:10 - 15 Baal-Peor refers to the events of Baalam in Numbers 25. These events took place in the plains of Moab at Shittim before Israel passed over Jordan to Gilgal. The mention of Baal-Peor in v10 and Gilgal in v15 catches the events of the time. Like 'remember from Shittim to Gilgal' Micah 6:5 where Micah who was a contemporary prophet with Hosea makes the same point.

Hos 9:1. Here the Children of Israel are told to rejoice not, but in the law rejoicing was a part of their activities, at the times of the feasts. (DEUT.16) At this point of time they have fallen to such a degree that there was nothing to rejoice about, nothing to be happy about, they have left their God, and they shall not at this time dwell in the Lord’s land. 

Hos 9:7. It is interesting to note that prophets are now added to the people, priests and the king, which we read the other day in 5:1. 

 God rejoiced in Israel. They were His people. He describes them in today’s chapter as “Grapes in the wilderness” (Hos 9:10). You don’t find grapes in the wilderness – so unusual and welcome were Israel to God.  The rest of the nations were not interested in the Lord God, and so He looked to His people to give Him love and honour. But His people turned their back on Him. It hurt the Lord, greatly.
 

9:9 ‘The day of Gibeah’ refers to the events of Judg 19 when the Benjamites of Gibeah behaved abominably to the Levite’s concubine and then were unrepentant.

9:3 The prophet is speaking of the captivity of Samaria which took place in the end of Hoshea’s reign – hence the mention of Assyria. The use of ‘Egypt’ is to remind them of the words of the curse in Deut 28:68

9:15 In saying ‘I will drive them out of mine house’ the prophet is firstly speaking of the Babylonian captivity of Judah and then of the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

IF TRUTH HURTS...

Truth often hurts. It makes us feel uncomfortable, inadequate and guilty. We want to live our own comfortable, non-confrontational lives, doing our own thing in the way we want to do it, but when the honest truth is pointed out, we are not really as strong or as good as we think we are.

God always sent messengers to his people to tell them the truth. Most often they were needed to tell the people to change their ways and to turn back to God, but of course this message didn't always go down too well. We read of Israel's reactions to those that brought the messages in these words: "Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac. The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God." (Hos 9:7-8)

The people of Israel hated the message so much that they insisted the prophets were out of their minds (that way they wouldn't have to listen to them). As well as labeling these men as mentally unstable, they constantly tried to trap them, trip them up, and make life a difficult as possible for them.

Let us by no means do the same to those who speak the truith to us - even if we feel uncomfortable, inadequate or guilty because of what they say. If those feelings come, it is us that needs to change.

V.4 The bread of mourners is an allusion to uncleanness under the Law (Deut 26:14; Eze 24:17). Israel was spiritually dead and therefore unclean.

V.6 Some people from Israel fled from the Assyrians to Egypt. But, Egypt would not be a safe haven for them.

V.8 The watchman is Yahweh’s true prophet; but the prophet (KJV) represents the false prophet who trapped Israel into idolatry.

V.9 Gibeah is a reference to the incidence in Judges where the sons of Belial tried to force their illicit sexual acts on the visiting stranger (Judg 19:16 etc.).

V.10 Baal-peor (ESV) was the god of Moab. Sexual acts were performed in the worship of this god.

V.13 Tyre held the admiration of all in the region for its beauty, wealth, and power. Israel is likened to Tyre, but destruction would be its end.

V.15 Saul was made king in Gilgal (1Sam 11:14,15). This act was a rejection of Yahweh as Israel’s God (1Sam 8:7).

28:1 The island of 'Melita' is actually now called Malta. There is no New Testament indication of an ecclesia being formed there as a consequence of Paul's short stay there.

28:21-22 It may seem surprising that the Jews in Rome had heard about the Christians but had not heard about Paul's position, even though he was on hi way to Rome as a consequence of arguments with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Maybe those in Jerusalem did not think that Paul was going to be a problem again after he had been taken as a Roman prisoner and so did not bother to send messages to them in Rome.

28:4-9 We are shown a contrast between the two ways people could have viewed Paul On the one had there was superstition and on the other hand faith in God. The outcome of the healing was that others came to be healed showing that the gospel prevailed over superstition.

28:20‘The hope of Israel’ is one major strand of the gospel message. So in verse :23 he speaks of Jesus and the kingdom using the Old Testament highlighting that the hope of Israel is central to the gospel message.

28:15 Notice the ‘brethren’, not being deterred by the fact that Paul was a prisoner, went to meet with him. Probably not even knowing whether the centurion would allow the visit. Heir concern was fellowship. How often do we put ourselves out to seek fellowship?

V.11 Castor and Pollux (KJV) were heroes in Greek and Roman Mythology.  They were the twin sons of Jupiter.  The constellation Gemini was the heavenly representation of them.  They were either painted, or were carved as figures, on the prow of ships because they were considered as divine agents for the protection of sailors.

28:6 The way men think! God had been at work in the saving of Paul from the venomous best but the people would rather ascribe the work to a false god. Such is human nature. It is unwilling to see the clear evidence of the existence of God and His work.

28:8 The healing of Publius’ father by Paul is the second witness that God was working through him. The first being his deliverance from the poisonous beast.