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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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Ezra 2:36
Comments
Over 4200 priests returned, about a tenth of total returnees. The priests were taken from one of the twelve tribes, and only from part of that tribe – the sons of Aaron – and so their number was disproportionately high. It is right that those who are dedicated to the Lord’s work should be the first to respond in any venture for the Lord.There were fewer Levites than one might have expected – only 341 (including the singers and porters). Perhaps pride caused them to fail to appreciate their role in assisting the priests.An unspecified number of people could not trace their ancestry (verse 59) but they are recorded in the total in verse 64. In view of the strict and clear requirements of the law of Moses that only those who were descendants of Aaron were allowed to service a priests, proof was necessary before they were allowed to serve, and the principle of caution was observed (verse 62).
Application
Sometimes people are unwilling to do a lowly job but are ready to do undertake something grand (verse 40).
There were those who could not prove their ancestry. There are many among the Lord’s people who can’t tell the exact time and date of conversion, and don’t use the ‘language of Zion’ to describe their conversion experience, but they truly love the Lord, and speak of what God has done for them in their own words (verse 59).
In New Testament times we must follow the qualifications for elders and deacons set out in the pastoral epistles (verse 62).
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