A month ago we held our Comeford College Convocation. Some good things were said, some good Psalms were sung. But within 15 seconds of the benediction’s amen, someone said to me, “Hey, how come we didn’t get to sign the book?”

In the first couple years of the college—those glory days of 2020 and following—we had (and, still have) a fancy, leather-bound book, and as part of the start-of-year ceremony we had all the full-time students, the professors, and the board sign a dated page.

When the first person asked me about not signing this time, one of my kids said to me, “Fail.” A couple minutes later another student came over and asked why we didn’t make the convocation more formal. I asked, “Like doing what?” The person said, “Like signing the book.” Cue my kid who said, “Fail again.” Since the convocation we’ve had a college board meeting, and we spent over half hour discussing the book, should we pull it out for Signers and who should such “privileged” signers be?

If Christ does not return for another thousand years, I’m not suggesting that future generations will gather their kids for a dinner time devotional reading of the names of students who signed up for coursework. But people do care about names. We do care about recognizing the committed. We still make lists to remember individuals who took risks and joined the work.

Ezra 2 is such a list. It’s not a genealogy listing fathers and sons for some number of generations, but it does name some heads of families along with some key temple workers. Each one of these persons mentioned didn’t sign a roll, but they were identified as those whose hearts the Lord stirred up to leave the life they’d built in Babylon and rebuild their homeland (Ezra 1:5). The list would be significant if it had been found in an archeological dig under the temple in Jerusalem. But this list gets inspired attention; it is divine revelation. It was included in Ezra’s record of the Second Exodus, and the same list with a few tweaks is found again in Nehemiah 7:6-43. God wanted and wants this list preserved and considered.

Should it be a sermon? That is a different and reasonable consideration. We can appreciate all the inspired Word of God without all the parts being equally accessible or profitable. But there is a liturgy lesson to skip no Scripture. And, even among people who value their own copy of God’s Word, some of us might never attend to these verses on our own.

So to do it well, a preacher would probably want to provide a relevant introduction, that included a number of good reasons for such a sermon, and then he should avoid getting too detailed working through it, and finish with a couple take-aways. Look at us, we’re halfway through already.

On the human level, someone(s) took a lot of time tracking down this information. Who knows how many scribes have made handwritten copies, and how many printers with a letterpress argued to keep it in, let alone the typists making digital copies and the readers for our audio Bibles and the OT scholars and commentators trying to figure it out.

After a brief introduction, there are seven divisions, and then a few final summaries.

• Heading (1-2a). Zerubbabel leads the list (his name means “seed of Babel” so he was probably born in Babel), as he does in Nehemiah 7:6, where there are a full twelve, reminiscent of the twelve tribes in the first exodus. This Nehemiah and this Mordecai are not those from later in the Ezra-Nehemiah-Esther narrative.

• By Family Name (2b-20). The lay people were first.
• By Place Name (21-35). The order starts with cities in the south then to north, with a few more further west then to the east to finish.
• Priests (36-39). Here are four families of the twenty-four divided by David for temple duties in 1 Chronicles 24.
• Levites, Singers, Gatekeepers (40-42).
• Temple Servants (43-54). No numbers per family, but a total in verse 58. They are the “dedicated ones,” given to assist the Levites. They answered the phones, so to speak.
• Servants of Solomon (55-58). Connected to the temple servants, as counted together, though their work isn’t explicitly described.
• No Proven Ancestry (59-63). Both priests and non-priests, and this shows how seriously lineage was taken. It mattered for property, but even more for the continuity of the covenant community. Urim and Thummim would give an answer from the Lord later.

• Total Returnees (64-67). 42,368 . The numbers from verse 2 to 63 add up to just under 30k, but the same total is giving in Nehemiah 7. It’s not obvious that the solution is that women and children weren’t numbered by family but were included in the total; it’s more likely copyist error. The additional servants and singers , plus the kind of animals that could carry things.
• Temple Contributions (68-69).
• Conclusion (70).

The mess and variety of the list argues for its authenticity. And even though we don’t know recognize all the names of the players, let alone have all their background, there’s less likelihood that they were all made up. There’s good reason to trust the rest of the story—the parts that maybe feel more relevant—because of the care given to record these details.

The list sets us up for the altar and temple to be set up in chapter 3.

Conclusion

Making this list establishes continuity between pre- and post-captivity. The Lord didn’t start over, He fulfilled His promise to the next generation 70 years later (see Ezra 1:1). The Lord was faithful, and we see it name by name. The Lord was faithful, and we see it city by city. To think that the Lord cares any less about the particulars of His promises now is to miss the pattern of His providence.

And it’s more than establishing legitimacy. The names of persons are included because of they were stirred up to sacrifice. The names of places are included because God gave them land. The act of being listed is historic and symbolic. It’s not only about physical return but also about restoring the spiritual and covenant identity of Israel. They weren’t the first to run through the wall, but they did go back to rebuild the walls.

This documents a new chapter in the story. And it is a turning point that provokes praise.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad. (Psalm 126:2–3 ESV)

Let our names be recorded as those building in Jesus’ name.

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Charge

Who doesn’t love a good numbered list? (Some of you get some of your best lists made during sermons.) Here’s one for the week: 1. Make a list of how the Lord has blessed you. 2. Make a list of how you can bless others. 3. Pray, sow, wait, and expect to reap without giving up.

Benediction:

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7–8 ESV)