The Time Ezra Almost Forgot the Levites

Road trips make for great stories. It never fails. If you want memories, take a trip with some friends. Here in Ezra 8:15-20, the Big E looks back on one of the critical moments in the resettling of the Promised Land. He backs up and tells us the story of how they almost forgot some of the most critical members of their returning team. You can almost hear him tell the story of the day he almost forgot the Levites and their temple assistants. A huge part of this return focuses on worship at the temple. Zerubbabel and the boys have rebuilt the house of God in Jerusalem. As a high priest, Ezra understands the importance of the worship of God to the people of God. To leave for Judah without the Levites and their assistants would be a bonehead maneuver. It’s funny now, but it certainly wasn’t that day in Babylon. You see, road trips make for great stories.

Earlier in the book, Ezra runs down the roster of those making the trip back to Jerusalem (Ez 7:7). Israelite citizens? Check. Priests? Check. Levites? Check. Singers? Check. Gatekeepers? Check. Temple servants? Check. But there’s a crazy story about how the Levites and temple servants eventually made the trip. What the author seems to do here in chapter 8 is flashback to the time they almost left without the Levites and temple servants. Have you ever forgotten your plane ticket when you showed up at the airport? Have your ever left your suitcase sitting at the house? Have you ever left a member of the family behind when heading out on vacation? If you have, you’re not alone. Even Jesus’ earthly parents gave the Savior of the world the “Home Alone” treatment once (Lk 2:41-51). Ezra may have mad skills when it comes to the Bible (Ez 7:6, 10-11, 25), but apparently isn’t the most organized of leaders. And I feel a little better in knowing that. 

We flashback to before the Israelites ever leave Babylon. Remember, Yahweh put them in the penalty box for 70 years for choosing to worship other gods. About 150 years ago, God moves the king of Persia to let Zerbbabel and a team of almost 50,000 Jews head back home to Jerusalem (Ez 1). After the Z Man and his boys rebuild the temple, the LORD taps another pagan dictator to let another group of Hebrews return under the leadership of Ezra (Ez 7:6, 11-26). Just before they hit the road, Ezra sets up base camp to double check everything. “I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped for three days” (v15). This is still in Babylon. The Ahava River is probably a tributary of the mighty Euphrates. This is a place where returning Israelites could get themselves spiritually prepared for going home to the Promised Land.

This Babylonian base camp is also a place where Ezra can check his list and see if they have everything and everyone they need. “As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi” (v15). He had priests. That’s a good thing. But where are the Levites? Where are the people has set aside to assist the priests in the various sacrifices and kinds of worship at the temple? Oops. It’s as if Ezra realizes what he’s done and says, “My bad.” Praise and worship is a huge part of why they’re headed to Jerusalem. They can’t hit the trail without these folks.

At this point, the Big E and the boys scramble to find some Levites. He assembles a team of the best and brightest from his roster, “men of insight” (v16). He points them in the direction of “Iddo, the leading man at the Casiphia” (v17). Iddo is apparently the top dog of the temple servants, the men who assist the Levites and priests in worshiping God. We don’t have a clue who this dude is or where this place is. But chances are this is the site of the temple servant training camp. They make their request “to send us ministers for the house of our God” (v17).

These temple servants aren’t Jewish. They are actually descendants of the Gibeonites. Other translations refer to them as Nethinim (KJV, NKJV, YLT). Earlier in the Old Testament, God included these Gentiles in worship by allowing them to serve the priests and Levites at the temple. A good sized crew of these temple servants made the original trip back with Zerubbabel in 538 BC (Ez 2:43). But that’s been almost 150 years ago. And when Ezra ran down his roster for the return, he had exactly a big fat zero when it came to these temple servants.

Not surprisingly, God comes through once again. “And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen” (v18). Iddo comes through with descendants of Levi! Ezra certainly appreciates all the help he gets from Iddo, but he totally understands that this is all because of God. Yahweh’s got a firm grip on this entire project. This is the third of five times that the Big E uses this picture of being in the good hands of our great God (Ez 7:7, 9; 8:22, 31). There’s clearly an element of Ezra’s faith in  the LORD to provide everything they will need for their trip. Not only does God deliver Levites to Ezra’s team, He also supplies “220 of the temple servants whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites” (v20). And this is just one more example that God’s hand is on His people as they resettle the Promised Land. This team is small in number but critical to the worship of God at the temple in Jerusalem.

That was a close one. It’s just one of those crazy stories from a road trip. This one just happens to be of biblical proportions. Remember the time Ezra almost forgot the Levites?