God's Arithmetic: The Importance of Being Counted Text: Ezra 2:43-58
Introduction: The Divine Roll Call
We come now to a portion of Scripture that many, in our age of skimming and spiritual shortcuts, are tempted to glide right over. We get to these long lists of names, these "begats" and census reports, and our eyes glaze over. We think it is the biblical equivalent of the phone book, a dry and dusty record of people long dead, with names we can hardly pronounce. We treat it like the packing peanuts of Scripture, necessary to get to the good stuff, but ultimately disposable.
But this is a profound error, and it reveals more about our spiritual condition than it does about the text. We live in an impersonal age of mass movements, of statistics and demographics, where individuals are reduced to data points. We are taught to think in terms of abstract forces and broad trends. But the God of the Bible is not the god of the sociologists. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God who knows His sheep by name. He is the God who has the very hairs of your head numbered. And so, when the Holy Spirit inspires a chapter like this, a meticulous, detailed, and, to our minds, tedious list of names, He is teaching us something fundamental about His character and the nature of His covenant.
Ezra 2 is a roll call. It is the muster list of the army of God returning from a long and bitter exile to reclaim their inheritance and rebuild the ruins. This is not just a historical document; it is a theological declaration. God is showing us that His promises are not vague generalities. He promised to preserve a remnant, and here they are, every last one of them, accounted for. He is demonstrating that His covenant is not with an abstract idea of "Israel," but with these specific people, these families, these individuals. Their names are recorded in the archives of Persia, yes, but more importantly, they are recorded in the book of God. This list is a tangible expression of God's faithfulness. He remembers His people. He knows who they are. And in the great work of reformation and restoration, every single one of them counts.
In this section of the list, we encounter two specific groups: the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants. These are not the high priests or the royal princes. They are, in the world's eyes, the supporting cast. But in God's kingdom, there is no supporting cast. Everyone has a part to play in the great drama of redemption. And by recording their names with such care, God is teaching us that the work of rebuilding His house requires all hands on deck, from the greatest to the least.
The Text
The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim, the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha. The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Ami. All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.
(Ezra 2:43-58 LSB)
The Nethinim: Set Apart for Service (vv. 43-54)
First, we have this long list of the "temple servants," or in Hebrew, the Nethinim.
"The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth..." (Ezra 2:43)
Who were these people? The word Nethinim means "given ones" or "those set apart." Tradition, going back to the book of Joshua, identifies their origins with the Gibeonites. You remember the story. The Gibeonites were a Canaanite people who deceived Joshua into making a covenant with them. When the deception was discovered, Israel could not break their oath, so Joshua assigned them a permanent role: "hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD" (Joshua 9:27). They were Gentiles, brought into the covenant community through a strange and crooked path, and dedicated to the manual labor of the sanctuary.
Over the centuries, this group grew, likely including other captives of war and foreigners who were dedicated to the service of the Temple. They performed the essential, unglamorous, behind-the-scenes work that made the glorious worship of the Temple possible. They chopped the wood for the altar fires. They hauled the water for the ritual cleansings. They were the custodians, the maintenance crew, the stagehands of the divine liturgy.
And here is the remarkable thing. After seventy years in Babylon, when the call goes out to return to Jerusalem, these descendants of Gentiles, these families dedicated to humble service, they come back. Their connection to the land was not by blood in the same way as the tribe of Judah. Their role was one of labor. But their identity was so wrapped up in the worship of the God of Israel that when the Temple was to be rebuilt, they knew they had a place. Their hearts were in Jerusalem. Their names are listed here with the same gravity and care as the priests and the Levites. Why? Because in God's economy, faithful service in a "lowly" role is just as crucial as faithful service in a "high" one. God sees the heart, and He honors the cheerful giver, whether he is giving a thousand talents or two mites, whether he is leading the singing or sweeping the floor afterward.
This is a permanent rebuke to all forms of spiritual snobbery. The church is a body, and the apostle Paul tells us that the parts we think are less honorable, we are to bestow more abundant honor upon them (1 Cor. 12:23). God does this right here. He puts the names of the sons of Bakbuk and Harhur in His permanent, inerrant Word. He wants us to know that the work of His kingdom depends on the faithful, often unseen, labor of the Nethinim. Without them, the fires on the altar would go out.
Solomon's Servants: The Royal Workforce (vv. 55-57)
Next, we find another distinct group listed.
"The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda..." (Ezra 2:55)
This group is similar to the Nethinim, but their origin is tied to the monarchy, specifically to King Solomon. When Solomon built the first Temple, and undertook his other massive building projects, he conscripted a great labor force from the foreigners living in the land (1 Kings 9:20-21). These were the descendants of the Canaanites whom Israel had not driven out. Like the Nethinim, they were outsiders who were integrated into the life of Israel through service. Their work was originally for the king, but because the king's greatest work was the Temple, their service was ultimately tied to the house of God.
Centuries have now passed. The monarchy is gone. The glorious kingdom of Solomon is a distant memory. But the identity of these families remains. They are the "sons of Solomon's servants." And like the Nethinim, when the call comes to rebuild, they answer. They see their purpose not in serving a human king who is long dead, but in serving the Divine King whose throne is forever. Their loyalty has been transferred from the son of David to the Lord of David.
This is a beautiful picture of the gospel's trajectory. Both of these groups, the Nethinim and the sons of Solomon's servants, were largely of Gentile origin. They were brought into the orbit of God's people as servants, as outsiders. Yet through generations of faithfulness, they have become an integral part of the covenant community. Their names are now enrolled with the children of Abraham. It is a preview of what God would do in Christ, breaking down the dividing wall of hostility and making one new man from the two, incorporating Gentiles from every tribe and tongue and nation into the household of God (Ephesians 2:14-19).
The Grand Total: Every One Counts (v. 58)
The section concludes with a simple, powerful summary.
"All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392." (Ezra 2:58)
After listing all those unpronounceable names, the scribe gives us the total. Three hundred and ninety-two. This is not just bureaucratic bookkeeping. This is God's arithmetic. In the midst of a project as daunting as rebuilding a city and a temple from ruins, surrounded by hostile enemies, every single person mattered. This group of 392 men, plus their families, was a significant portion of the returning remnant. Their willingness to come back and take up their old, humble tasks was essential to the success of the whole enterprise.
God deals in specifics. He doesn't just save a crowd; He saves individuals. He doesn't just build a church; He builds it with living stones, each one known and named by Him (1 Peter 2:5). This list is a reminder that you are not just a face in the crowd to God. He knows your name. He knows your family line. He knows the service to which He has called you, no matter how humble it may seem. And He has counted you among His people. Your presence in the assembly, your work for the kingdom, it matters. You are part of His grand total.
Conclusion: Finding Your Name on the List
So what do we do with a passage like this? We must resist the urge to see it as mere historical filler. This is living and active Scripture, and it has at least three direct applications for us.
First, it teaches us to value every member of the church. The work of God's house today, the local church, requires all sorts of people doing all sorts of jobs. It requires preachers and elders, yes, but it also requires those who set up chairs, who watch the nursery, who manage the finances, who clean the bathrooms, who greet at the door. These are our modern Nethinim. Their work is not peripheral; it is essential. Without their faithful service, the ministry of the Word and sacrament would grind to a halt. We must honor them and recognize that their reward in heaven will be great.
Second, it reminds us that our identity is found in our service to the King. The sons of Solomon's servants kept that identity for centuries. Our identity is not in our job, our social status, or our accomplishments. We are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our primary calling. Whatever else we do, whether we are a plumber or a professor, we do it as unto the Lord. Our work is an act of worship, a contribution to the building of His spiritual house.
Finally, this passage points us to the Lamb's Book of Life. This roll call in Ezra 2 is a temporary, earthly list. But it is a type, a shadow, of a greater and permanent roll call. The book of Revelation tells us that only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life will enter the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27). How do you get your name on that list? Not by being born into the right family, and not by doing enough manual labor for the church. You get your name on that list by grace, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. He is the one who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). When you trust in Him, your name is inscribed in heaven. You are counted in the final, glorious remnant that God is gathering from every nation. You are given a new name, and a place in His house forever. This list in Ezra is a list of those returning to the earthly Jerusalem to build a temple made with hands. The list that matters for eternity is the list of those who belong to the heavenly Jerusalem, whose temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.