Ezra 2 Devotional

Every Family Counted Home

“When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings to rebuild the house of God on its original site.”Ezra 2:68 (BSB)

Ezra 2 is a long register of those who made the journey back: families named by ancestor or hometown, then priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, down to the camels and donkeys (2:1-67). It is easy to skim, yet it answers the first chapter. God had promised to bring his people home, and here they are, counted family by family. The exile had not dissolved them into the nations.

The list is honest, too. Some families could not prove their descent from Israel (2:59-60), and priests whose records were lost were kept from serving until a priest could seek God's answer through the Urim and Thummim (2:61-63). The question was left with God rather than settled by guesswork. Then, at the house of the LORD, family heads gave freewill offerings as they were able, to rebuild it (2:68-69). Jesus told his disciples to rejoice most of all that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Before the God who counts his people, your name is not lost in the crowd.

To think about: What difference does it make to you today that God knows your name and counts you among his people?