Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah (chapters 7–11)
Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah
continued
Chapter 7
Darius, after reading Cyrus's letters, ordered the temple to be built, which was completed in the sixth year of his reign. (I Esdras VI.) [Ezra 6:1] -- Then King Darius commanded, etc. Josephus (Antiq. XI, 3) mentioned the name of the place where these letters of Cyrus were found thus: And a book was found in Ecbatana in a constructed tower, in the region of Media. Moreover, another translation has it thus: In Ecbatana, in the safest building of the region of the Medes. Hence it seems likely that the name Media signifies nothing other than Media. What follows is:
Ezra 6:3
And as for laying the supporting foundations, etc., it is not for us to explain; because neither in the earlier building of the temple nor in the later one is any of these measurements or such work found. Hence it is inferred that Cyrus uttered this of his own accord, and noted the measurement or order of the work as seemed appropriate to him; inasmuch as the temple, as the Words of the Days recount, in the first measure, that is, within the inner walls, had sixty cubits of length, twenty cubits of width. Furthermore, as the history of Kings writes, the height was up to the upper chambers thirty cubits; then another thirty cubits up to the upper chamber, as the height of the porticoes ascended, as Josephus testifies (Antiq. VIII, 3); then another sixty up to the top of the roof; that is, altogether one hundred twenty cubits, as the Words of the Days teach. But how does he say that three courses of uncut stones are to be laid, and thus the courses of new wood, when the whole temple was lined inside with cedar? unless perhaps it was the custom of the Persians to build temples in a varied work such that there were three courses of stones along the walls, and the fourth of crafted wood: and he also thought that this should be done in the same way in the temple of Jerusalem.
Or perhaps it should be understood that he spoke of the court of the priests, which was made around the temple in a circle, had three courses of polished stones, and a fourth of cedar wood, and it was up to the chest height of those standing by; or certainly the house of the Lord, which was in front of the temple, about which the Scripture, when the palace of King Solomon was being built, thus recounts: He also made the greater court roundabout of three courses of hewn stones, and one course of hewn cedar, and likewise in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house (1 Kings VII).
Ezra 6:5
But the golden and silver vessels of the temple, etc. It states that the vessels were then placed in the temple of God, signifying the temple of the Babylonians, in which Nebuchadnezzar had placed them, as is more clearly read above, from which Cyrus had ordered them to be taken and returned to Jerusalem. So far, the letters of King Cyrus, which were found in Ecbatana; to which were suddenly added, in a new and unusual manner, from the persona and authority of King Darius: [Ezra 6:6] -- Now therefore, Thathannai, governor of the region, etc. Thus the sequence of the text is such, as if Darius himself had read the letters of Cyrus, and immediately confirmed them with his own authority upon reading them, thereby restraining all their adversaries, and ordering the temple of God to be built in its place, as it was read to them, and assisting its worshippers in all things with the most devoted mind to serve according to his will. Therefore, Artaxerxes, who forbade the building of the house or city of God above, signifies those lords who opposed the construction of the holy Church with persecutions leading to death; amidst these disturbances, the same Church flourished most especially by the victory of the martyrs. Darius signifies the pious devotion of those kings who, recognizing the will of the Christian faith, not only did not resist it but also took care to assist it with their own means. Many of these, after the prohibitions of the previous persecutions had been lifted, desired to consecrate themselves and their subjects with the sacraments of the same faith; the persons of whom fittingly correspond to what is subsequently added in the words of King Darius:
Ezra 6:8
But also it has been commanded by me, etc. For who could explain how much the Church has been aided or even enriched throughout the world by the liberality of royal gifts? Although it can also be understood allegorically, that expenses from the king's treasury are allotted to the work of the temple, when some from the family of secular princes come to the faith of Christ, with the princes themselves favoring them; who, as it were, were in the king's treasury, while they were privy to royal secrets. But they are given to the elders, that is, the senior Jews, for the expenses of the work of the temple, while to those who have preceded in the confession of Christ, entrusted to the teachers for education, and uniting to the members of the Church; such as Cassiodorus, formerly a senator, suddenly a doctor of the Church; who, while carefully considering what Ambrose, what Hilary, what Augustine, what Cyril, what John, what other brothers said in the exposition of the Psalms, which he made excellently, undoubtedly proved himself taught by the senior Jews, that is, the confessors and praisers. The subsequent statement is similar to this:
Ezra 6:9
But if it shall be necessary, also calves, etc. For who does not know that calves, lambs, and kids, which are clean animals, also grain, salt, wine, and oil, which through the law were offered to God, are often understood in the Holy Scriptures as signifying good men, or perfect works, or spiritual gifts? All of which are now, by the king's command, offered as a burnt offering to the God of heaven, while, with the favor of the powers of this world, the holy matters of the Church increase, and the peoples subject to them from all sides are gathered into the one and the same faith of truth to be consecrated to Christ, and whatever good each one has naturally heard divinely, whatever beneficial he has learned from the men of the Churches, he expends all this in the service of divine worship. Concerning which it is aptly said that according to the custom of the priests who are in Jerusalem, they should be given, because surely the vows of those offering are made acceptable to the Lord only if they are offered according to the situation of catholic peace. For whatever good things are mixed either with pagan superstition or with heretical contention ought in no way to be considered as good. But the same priests offer them for the life of the king and his sons, according to that of the Apostle: I urge therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life (I Tim. II).
Ezra 6:11
Therefore, a decree was established by me, etc. The sense of the letter is clear: because he wished to impose the most severe punishment, if anyone attempted to change the decree of his religion; that is, the loss of everything he could possess and his soul, which he would lose even confined to a cross, with the torment of prolonged suffering. The spiritual understanding is also clear, because our works are all compared to wood: good indeed to fruitful trees, but bad to barren and worthy of fire. The wood is taken from his house, who tried to oppose the Lord's burnt offerings; and it is raised, and he himself is nailed to it, when the works of those who resist the peace of the universal holy Church are manifest to all as useless and perverse; and they are shown to have sought not the joy of life in these works, but rather a snare of death. The house of such people is also made public, that is, written into public record, when even their bodies in which they remained longer in this life are handed over to the most savage exactors to be punished perpetually at the resurrection, that is, to spirits. However, Darius rightly and faithfully desires that his decree be confirmed with the help of divine power, as he abruptly adds in prayer, saying: "May the God who caused His name to dwell there scatter all kingdoms and people who stretch out their hand to oppose and destroy that house of God which is in Jerusalem."
Ezra 6:12
I, Darius, have established a decree, etc. And he himself, therefore, as a man temporarily endowed with the kingdom, for the peace of the house of God, does everything he can with public law, breaks those who contradict as much as he can: and God, since he has eternal and omnipotent power, he truly asks to accomplish the same thing, and desires with pious devotion that His name may remain perpetually in His house; and whoever dares to attack this, may they be deprived of the kingdom and life forever. Which in the same order is also conducted now in the holy Church, when earthly powers converted to the faith issue public edicts for the state of the same Church, and with the Lord’s help, and placing all enemies under His feet, desire always to have tranquil peace and quiet. [Ezra 6:13] -- Therefore, Thathannai, the governor of the region beyond the river, and his associates executed it diligently, etc. And now also, with people flocking to the faith, and sometimes even from those who are outside, favoring its peace, the elders of the Jews, that is, those who are worthy of the seat of teaching, build and prosper their Church daily either by word or by example; for even if the ancient enemy attacks occasionally, nevertheless the word of God finds some in whom it may prevail and, with the adversaries driven away, may construct the walls of truth.
Ezra 6:14
And they prospered according to the prophecy, etc. For the same prophets had foretold that if they persisted in building the temple, they would soon, with the Lord's granting, complete the work itself and also abundantly abound in all good things as a reward for their devotion. Among these is the saying of Zechariah: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall also finish it; and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you (Zech. IV). This means that when you see the temple completed by that same Zerubbabel who laid its foundation, then you will understand that I was sent by the Lord and that what I spoke, I said by His command. Also Haggai says: From the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? And do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still not yield? From this day, I will bless you (Haggai II). And the outcome of events showed that what was truly predicted had come true. Moreover, all the prophets, indeed all the sacred authors of Scripture, promise prosperity to the builders of the holy Church, that is, to the teachers, if they, not wearied by adversities, do not rest from their holy labor.
For divine help shall be present, whereby the house of the Lord, begun in the heart of the listeners by believing and living well, will be completed. To those same architects will come the blessing of the fruits of the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, that is, a more abundant supply of spiritual gifts, which will undoubtedly be granted to us more abundantly by the Lord as we more diligently strive to build the habitation of His glory, whether in ourselves or in the hearts of our neighbors. Nor should anyone consider contrary what Haggai says, that the foundation of the temple was laid under King Darius, to this sacred history we are expounding, which states that in the second year of King Cyrus the temple was founded by the masons, with the people greatly rejoicing and praising God (I Esdr. III). For then the foundation of the temple itself was described, that is, the interior house of holiness, whose measurements are especially referred to in the histories of Kings and Chronicles. But now, along with the building of the house itself, the buildings of the porticos and treasuries, which surrounded the house in a circle on every side, are narrated as founded, of which mention is made in the book of Chronicles as follows: He also made the courtyard of the priests, and the great vestibule, and the doors of the vestibule, which he covered with bronze (I Chron. IV).
In this vestibule surrounding the temple, both the people used to stand to pray and the guards and doorkeepers of the temple used to keep watch through their shifts day and night, as the book of Chronicles abundantly teaches there. Sometimes this house generally is counted with the temple itself; as in the Gospel, where the Lord, teaching in the temple, was brought a woman caught in adultery by the Pharisees and Scribes (John VIII), whom they could have brought only into some portico of the temple; at other times, separately under the name of treasuries, or chambers, or porticoes, or courtyards. Hence the Psalmist says: Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courtyards of the house of our God.
Ezra 6:14
And they built and constructed, etc. He says Artaxerxes, who reigned after Darius, during whose time Ezra ascended from Babylon to Jerusalem. However, it is questioned how it is said that, by order not only of Cyrus and Darius but also Artaxerxes, the house of God was constructed, when it is immediately stated that it was completed and dedicated during the reign of Darius. Unless it should be believed that Artaxerxes, having sent much gold and silver to Jerusalem, also ordered that anything lacking in the building or decoration of the temple, or in its vessels, be completed from the money he had sent and given. For it is written that the same king, along with his princes and counselors, sent much gold and silver and precious vessels to the temple while Ezra was hastening there. Among other things, it is mentioned in the copy of the king’s letter: But whatever else is needed for the house of your God, which you have to provide, you shall do so from the king’s treasury and finances (1 Esdras VII). The month of Adar, on the third day of which the house of the Lord was completed, is called March by us, which the Scripture usually calls the twelfth month according to the lunar cycle. It is not without mystery that the house of the Lord, which began in the seventh month with the building of the altar, was completed in the twelfth month. For it began at the start of the seventh month;
because we begin all good works with the grace of the Holy Spirit preceding us, and, with it accompanying us, we strive for perfection. It was completed in the twelfth month due to the significance of perfection contained in this number, especially due to the sum of the apostles, in whose faith and doctrine the church is perfected. Similarly, the number twelve signifies the perfection of correct faith and action because whether you multiply three by four or four by three, you will complete twelve. The number three is rightly related to faith because of the confession of the Holy Trinity; the number four to good works because of the same number of excellent virtues, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice; of which the Book of Wisdom, in praising Wisdom itself, mentions, saying: For she teaches soberness and prudence, righteousness, and courage; nothing in life is more useful than these (Wisdom VIII). Therefore, it is right that the house of the Lord, begun in the seventh month, was completed and dedicated in the twelfth month; because the mind of the elect is illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit so that it may reach the perfection of good works with faith in the holy and undivided Trinity, and thus joyfully awaits the dedication of blessed reward.
And since this same reward pertains to our future celebration at the time of the universal resurrection and in the vision of the same Trinity in which we now believe, it is rightly mentioned that the house of the Lord was completed not only in the twelfth month but also on the third day of it; because the Lord rose from the dead on the third day, our resurrection can rightly be designated by the three days’ number, of which the prophet says: He has torn us, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind us up; after two days he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up (Hosea VI). The building of the temple began in the first year of King Cyrus and was completed in the sixth year of Darius; which are, according to the Chroniclers, forty years. For Cyrus reigned for thirty years, after him, his son Cambyses reigned for eight years, who in this volume, as Josephus asserts, is called Artaxerxes; after him, the Magi, who killed him, ruled for one year, after which Darius until the temple’s completion and dedication, six years; which are, as we said, forty-five years. However, it is questioned how, with the Lord saying to the Jews under the figure of the temple about his passion and resurrection: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; they responded: It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? (John II);
when no more than sixty-five years are found from the first year of Cyrus to the sixth year of King Darius. But if we read in Josephus’ History, where he adds three years after the temple’s completion and dedication, in which the construction of the surrounding fortifications and other remaining parts were completed; we will see that the sum of forty-six years can be correctly calculated for the construction of the temple with all its prominent structures completed. However, adhering to this chapter of the Gospel, we should bear in mind that the temple built by Solomon and rebuilt by Zerubbabel and Jesus has multiple representations. It signifies each chosen soul, which, because of Christ dwelling in it, is rightly called Christ’s house and temple; and the entire church, that is, the congregation of all the elect, both angels and humans; and the Lord’s own body, which was born of the virgin, lived without sin in the world, was released from death by the impious but was resurrected by him on the third day to life. This figure is particularly fitting to that which says the temple was built in forty-six years. For physiologists report that the human body in the womb grows from conception to the complete formation of its members in this number of days.
And it was fitting that the house, which was to have the figure of the Lord’s body, should be founded in Jerusalem in the same number of years in which the Lord’s own body was to be formed in the sacred womb of the virgin, who is rightfully named Jerusalem, that is, the city of the great King and the vision of peace, of whom it is said: He is our peace, who made both one (Ephesians II). Just as what is written about the same temple: The door for the middle story was in the right side of the house; and they went up with winding stairs into the middle story, and out of the middle into the third (1 Kings VI); specifically prefigured the Lord’s body, of which it is written: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and immediately there came out blood and water (John XIX). For the door of the middle story was in the right side of the house, meaning starting from the eastern corner of the southern side to the earth, and through its inner part by a hidden way rising gradually to the higher stories; because our Lord and Savior wished to open for us the door of salvation in his body’s right side, through whose sacraments, being washed and sanctified, we might enter the higher hall of the heavenly kingdom.
We ascend through the door of the middle story into the upper room when, consecrated through the water of baptism and the cup of the Lord’s chalice, we pass from this earthly conversation to the heavenly life of souls. From the upper room, we also penetrate into the third story when we accumulate the bliss of souls with the perception of immortal bodies.
Chapter 8
The sons of the captivity dedicate the house of God and celebrate the feast of Passover.
Ezra 6:16
Now the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, etc. The sons of the captivity rightly rejoice that they are worthy to both cast off the yoke of captivity and to build the house of God, which was destroyed. They offer a great number of sacrifices in the dedication of His house as devout servants to God. They also offer sacrifices for the sin of all Israel, not only for those who could be present, but also for those who were still placed in Babylon or in other provinces, living among enemies outside the promised land. They pray to God to be merciful to them as well and to protect them from evils among the enemies or to bring them back to the desired homeland. Because the rebuilding of the house after their captivity, as often said, signifies the correction of those who have strayed from the path of truth through sin after having initially started it, the well-restored temple is rightly dedicated by the priests and Levites and the other sons of the captivity in joy. For when those who have sinned are corrected, there is great joy in heaven before the angels of God (Luke XV). There is joy also for the teachers who have labored for the salvation of the erring; and for all those who have migrated from Babylon, that is, the confusion of sins, to the height of virtues—the promised land in thought and deed.
Therefore, both the priests and Levites and all the people rejoice in the dedication of the restored house of the Lord because all orders of the holy Church must rejoice together in the reconciliation through penance of those who have sinned. They offer sacrifices in this dedication when they render thanks to God for the conversion of the erring, when many, seeing their devout life to God, also gird themselves to works of greater virtues, not wanting to be slothful in good works, in which they had remained more innocent, by sinning less. This can equally be understood of those who have recently come to faith, to receive the sacraments of Christ, that many who were advanced in the faith often emulate the more fervent zeal of the newcomers and follow their examples in good works. Not only do the priests, Levites, and the people offer sacrifices for the dedication of the house of the Lord which they had renovated, but also for the sin of all Israel. For just as it is fitting to favor the good deeds of those who are with us, and to make their good deeds our own by imitation, so it is necessary with diligent care to pray to the Lord for the state of the whole Church which is scattered throughout the world, according to the example of the Lord’s prayer;
in which no one asks for daily bread, or for the forgiveness of sins, or to be delivered from temptation and evil, only for himself, but rather for all who have the same Father in heaven. Likewise, after the temple has been built, dedication follows when the total number of the elect shall at the end of the world reach the grace of heavenly rewards. Many acceptable sacrifices to God are offered in this dedication; those, indeed, of which the same house of God, that is, the holy Church, rebuilt through the glory of immortality after the long captivity of mortal distress, sings to its Creator and Redeemer, saying: "You have broken my bonds, I will sacrifice an offering of praise to You" (Psalm 115). And since the same sacrifice of praise is to be offered to God, not only for the gifts of virtues given, but also for the purged and removed stains of vices: correctly, after bulls, rams, and lambs were offered in the dedication of the temple, goats are also said to have been slaughtered for the sin of all Israel; for the grace of God, which confers the benefits of virtues, also removes the iniquity of sins. No Pelagian has a place in the house of God, who persuades that by the freedom of his own will he can either be freed from evils or confirmed in good. Indeed, goats for sin are offered in this life when the elect of supreme piety supplicate to be freed from sins.
They are also offered in the future when the same ones give thanks because, by the grace of God, they have been freed from sins; and therefore, they will sing the mercies of the Lord forever (Psalm 100); for they will never forget that they were once miserable and have been made blessed by His gift.
Ezra 6:18
And they appointed priests in their orders, etc. The order demanded devotion, so that after the Lord’s house was built and dedicated, priests and Levites who would minister in it were immediately ordained; lest the house shine in vain if those who serve God within were lacking. This should be frequently impressed upon those who, constructing monasteries with magnificent work, do not at all place teachers in them who would encourage God’s people to the works of God, but rather serve their own pleasures and desires there. But what he says about priests in their orders and Levites in their turns being appointed signifies the shifts of weeks; in which the whole assembly of each rank was distributed into twenty-four parts, so that each order would minister its turn during its week, specifically from Sabbath to Sabbath in the temple; and then, for twenty-three weeks, free from the temple's duties, they would take care of their own household affairs, as the Words of the Days narrate. For around the inner sanctuary, they had already made the porches of the temple, at the gates of which the Levites kept watch in turns, as it is also written there. But what is said, “As it is written in the book of Moses,” does not refer to the shifts of the Levites, but to the works of God; for Moses wrote what the priests and Levites ought to do in the house of God;
but the shifts of the Levites and the orders of the priests into twenty-four lots, as we mentioned, were described not by Moses, but by King David with the prophets, priests, and Levites of that time. And now too, with Christ's Church being built and dedicated through the regeneration of new peoples to the faith, it is fitting to appoint priests and Levites in their orders and turns over the works of God; and the people are initiated not only into the sacraments of faith but are also instructed to perform the works of God by the examples and teachings of the righteous ones preceding in Christ; and this not by the capture of human ingenuity, but as it is written in the book of Moses. To which the Lord’s saying agrees: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28). Therefore, we must teach our hearers not our own precepts, but those which are the commands of the law and the Gospel, if we care to reach the rewards which the Lord promised, together with those same hearers.
Ezra 6:19
However, the sons of the exile made the Passover, etc. What was the point of recounting the celebration of the Passover after the house of the Lord was built in the historical narrative? When it had long been promised that from the first day of their arrival in Jerusalem, they would offer the legitimate sacrifices and holocausts in all the festivals of the Lord. Unless perhaps he wished to recount the Passover being celebrated particularly to remind the reader that the sons of the exile completed the building of the temple with the same devotion of spirit with which they had begun. For it was already predicted there that the people gathered as one man in Jerusalem, and Joshua the son of Jozadak rose up, and his brothers, the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it. And now, with the temple dedicated, already in the forty-sixth year, the same piety of religion is remembered to be in the hearts of all, when it is said that the priests and Levites were purified as one, all clean to sacrifice the Passover. For what greater perfection can there be in this life than the unity of a clean multitude? For there were many priests, many thousands of Levites, who were all purified and clean to sacrifice the Passover. Nor with differing intentions of souls, but, as Luke writes about the early Church of the New Testament, with one heart and one soul, which is found true in faith and love of God, nor is there a differing unity of love and chastity in the people. When it is said to sacrifice the Passover to all the sons of the exile and their brothers, the priests, and to themselves, it is immediately added:
Ezra 6:21
And the children of Israel ate, etc. Therefore, the Passover was sacrificed for all the children of the exile, all the children of Israel ate, not only those who had returned from captivity, but also all who had previously been situated elsewhere, who had at that time purified themselves from the defilements of the people of the land to come to them. This can also be rightly understood of the proselytes, who, though naturally Gentile, were converted to the people of God, having received circumcision and being purified by legal sacrifices, so that they too were worthy of participating in the saving sacrifice. And it is to be noted that he calls the people of the land those who serve the defilers; so that by contrast, he might teach that the people of heaven are those who, being separated from them, serve the Lord in unity and chastity, and celebrate his solemnities with a sincere heart. Nowhere else, unless I am mistaken, is the same people of Israel found to have existed with such devotion with the priests and Levites, their teachers that is, since they came out of Egypt through Moses; but this devotion was made by divine chastisement, for when they were delivered to be afflicted by their enemies for their sins, afflicted by adversities, they were turned away from sins by repentance; by the merit of repentance and conversion, they were freed from their enemies: and being destined to serve God better, they were called back to their own homeland.
But up to this point, we often see even those who have frequently defiled the temple of their body by sinning, and thereby have been taken captive by the devil, returning to the Lord through repentance. And rightly so, with greater diligence than they were accustomed to before, they have striven in good works to prepare again in themselves a dwelling place for their Creator. It is to be noted indeed that Solomon first completed the temple in the greatest peace of his kingdom, in a very short time, with no one contradicting in any way; but now, having been destroyed on account of sins, the children of the exile, with great contrition of heart, labored in a long work, often delayed by the enemies, and finally, divinely aided, restored it. For it is easy indeed for anyone converted to faith and recognition of the truth, to renounce the devil and confess the living and true God, to receive the sacraments of Christ; and being initiated by these, to become His temple in remission of all sins, and to keep the received innocence of life with accompanying grace. But it is of great labor for anyone who, having received the sacraments of faith, contemptuously sins, to recover their former dignity;
for to such a one, cleansing cannot easily be given again through the water of baptism, but the sin tainted must be washed out with the long labor of repentance, with copious flows of tears, with the more stringent efforts of continence, by whose cleansing the very habits of vices also resist like an enemy crowd of Samaritans; the more difficult to overcome, the longer they have possessed the land of the heart devoid of virtue. It can also be said that therefore, particularly with the house of God rebuilt and dedicated, remembrance is made of the Passover, since none would doubt that people of such religion would want to celebrate the Passover in its due time; so that it might mystically be insinuated that this is the sum of all perfection, when, having transcended all the desires and allurements of the world, we always with entire intention of mind ponder the entrance into another life. For Passover is interpreted as passing, having its name from this, that either the children of Israel in it, through the sacrifice of the lamb, passed from Egyptian slavery to the joys of freedom, or the spotless Lamb Himself, that is, the Lord Christ, sacrificed for our redemption, passed from this world to the Father. Which we also imitate, when we pass from base pleasures to seek heavenly things. Indeed, we perfectly perform this when, released from the prison of the flesh, we enter the heavenly kingdom. To which sense apt is what follows:
Ezra 6:22
And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread, etc. The Apostle teaches us how we ought to keep this feast spiritually, saying: "Let us therefore feast not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5). This is to be observed for seven days; because throughout all this world's time, which runs for as many days, we ought to lead our life in sincerity and truth, indeed in the sacrifices and holocausts of all good works. And because our Lord, at the time of the Passover, conquered death, tasted momentarily with the eternal power of resurrection; the celebration of the Passover may be referred typologically to the time of our resurrection; so that the building of the temple designates the present state of the Holy Church, the dedication signifies the future life, which happens in the exultation of the holy souls, when they leave the body. The sacrifice of the Passover hints at the glory of the resurrection, when all the elect, no longer believing in the sacrament, but seeing in reality and truth, will be refreshed by the flesh of the spotless Lamb, that is, of our God and Lord. Hence, in this Passover, it is stated that all the priests and Levites, the entire assembly of the people, all who had flocked to them from the nations, were pure, as if they had all attended as one;
for then the Lamb of God truly takes away the sins of the world. And as the Apostle John says: “The blood of Jesus, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1). Then there will be true unity when God will be all in all (1 John 1; 1 Cor. 15). Then the true feast of unleavened bread will be celebrated in joy, when no leaven of malice or wickedness remains in the elect, and all will cling to the divine vision in truth and sincerity of heart. And this not in the seven days of the passing world, but in the one day of everlasting life in the courts of the Lord, which is better than thousands in the light of the Holy Spirit, whose sevenfold grace the prophet commends to us (Ps. 84).
Ezra 6:22
They celebrated the feast of unleavened bread for seven days, etc. For this is the greatest joy of the righteous, both in this age and in the future, that the work of the Church is complete, with even the Gentiles who once resisted being converted, aiding its state and confirming peace of the Christian Church's religion throughout the entire world. Thus far, it is written about the return from Babylon to Jerusalem of the people who had been taken captive; the return of the vessels that had been taken away; the restoration and dedication of the temple that had been burned; the celebration of the festivals, and the singing of the songs of the Lord, which could not be sung in a foreign land, under the leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua. All these things contain one and the same knowledge of human salvation in Christ, both those who came into the world with the sin of the first transgression, purified by the sacraments of faith, are saved; and those who corrupted the faith they had received by sinning, repent and return to their senses, and both, through one and the same Savior, the true king and priest, celebrating as if the most blessed Passover, pass from this world to the Father, from death to life. Truly, because the temple was burned and the city of Jerusalem destroyed, the holy Scriptures that were kept there were also destroyed by the hostile calamity, and these, by the mercy of the Lord and his return to his people, had to be restored; so that, having restored the buildings that had been torn down, they would have something from which they, being admonished, might learn to be restored inwardly in the faith and love of their Creator. Hence it well follows:
Chapter 9
Ezra the priest ascended from Babylon, bearing the honorable letters of King Artaxerxes to all the keepers of the public treasury beyond the river; with which he also honored the temple of the Lord. (1 Esdras VII.)
Ezra 7:6
After these words, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, etc. Josephus (Antiq. XIII, 5) considers this Artaxerxes, under whom Ezra ascended from Babylon to Jerusalem, to be Xerxes, the son of Darius, who reigned after him. Furthermore, the books of Chronicles believe that the successor of the same Xerxes, who is also called Artaxerxes by them, is here designated. Now Darius, under whom the temple was built, reigned thirty-six years; after him Xerxes reigned twenty years; after whom Artabanus for seven months, which chronographers count as a year; after whom Artaxerxes for forty years. Ezra, a swift scribe in the law of Moses, because he restored the law which had been consumed; not only the law but also, as common tradition of the elders says, he rewrote the entire series of sacred Scripture which had been equally consumed by fire, as he saw fitting for the readers. They say in this work, he added some words which he deemed appropriate; among which is this: "And there arose not a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face," etc. Words indeed which only one who lived long after Moses could say. And in the book of Samuel: "Formerly in Israel a man going to inquire of God would say, Come and let us go to the seer. For he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer" (1 Sam. IX). Moreover, he left untouched some entire volumes, which were once held among the people of Israel;
of which now only the memory of the name remains in sacred Scripture; as it is said in the book of Numbers: "Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord" (Num. XXI). And in Joshua: "Is this not written in the book of Jashar? (Jos. X). But also in the volume of Kings and Chronicles, the historical books of the prophets Ahijah the Shilonite, and Shemaiah, Iddo, and Nathan, as well as Isaiah, and Jehu the son of Hanani are mentioned (1 Kings XVI; 2 Chron. IX); concerning whom it is said that he wrote the book of the kings of Israel; and many others, of which it is said no traces can be found today. The Hebrews also report, and there is no doubt among them about this matter, that the same Ezra invented lighter letters against the names of those they had hitherto used, by which he swiftly restored such a great amount of books that had been consumed. Therefore he is known not only as a scribe but also as a swift scribe. However, the earlier letters remained with the Samaritans, with which they used to write the five books of Moses, which they alone had received from the sacred Scripture.
Ezra 7:7
And they ascended from the children of Israel, etc. Because on the first day of the first month he began to ascend from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, he says they came to Jerusalem by anticipation. Moreover, in the following he describes more fully in order how they came, and where they assembled their army. It should be noted that at the beginning of this volume it is written that they ascended from Babylon according to the promise of Cyrus, with leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua, of the sons of Judah and Benjamin with the priests and Levites, all whose spirits God had stirred. It is also added of them that they were of the captivity which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried to Babylon. However, here under the leadership of Ezra there is no mention of Judah and Benjamin, nor of those carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, but only of the children of Israel, and of the priests and Levites who went up with him. Whence it seems likely that those who were called back to Jerusalem at that time were from Judah and Benjamin, who had been carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. But those who are now read to have been led back by Ezra were from the ten tribes, who were specially called Israel after the division; whom the kings of Assyria had long before the times of Nebuchadnezzar taken captive and made to dwell beyond the mountains of the Medes.
Thus, for the most part, two tribes returned home and laboriously restored the temple. But the ten tribes, who had less care for the temple and religion, neglected to return to their homeland though commanded by the king, because with the empire of the Chaldeans destroyed, they lived freely under the kings of Persia, who favored their people. Yet, when they learned that the temple had been rebuilt and that the envy of the Samaritans was curbed, some of them finally consented to return home; although many remained there, whose descendants are said to still be detained in those parts today, serving the Persian nation. Just as often mentioned, Zerubbabel and Joshua designate the Lord and Savior, who by his grace releases the captivity of the human race and builds his own house in us by sanctifying and possessing us; so also Ezra, both priest and swift scribe, plainly announces the same Lord, who did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it (Matthew V). He could rightly be called a scribe of the law of God, or a swift scribe in the law of Moses, because he gave the law to Moses through an angel, he taught the holy prophets all truth by the grace of his Spirit, and as soon as he touched the minds of all the elect with his love, he kindled them to understand and do the will of God the Father. Hence, promising the grace of the New Testament, the prophet said:
"And this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days," says the Lord; "I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts" (Jeremiah XXXI, Hebrews XV). The psalmist beautifully remembers this scribe, saying: "My tongue is the pen of a swift-writing scribe" (Psalm XLIV). For the tongue of the prophet was the pen of a swift scribe; because what the Lord inwardly taught him by illuminating him without any delay, he himself declared outwardly to men in time by his tongue’s service. Ezra, whose name means helper, openly demonstrates this. He is indeed the one through whom alone the faithful people are usually introduced to be liberated from tribulations, and as if from Babylonian captivity to the freedom of Jerusalem, from the confusion of vices to the peace and serenity of virtues, advancing by the steps of merits. In the second psalm of Ascents (Anabathmon), he shouts to all who aim for the highest, showing by whom they should aim and reach: "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm CXX). Ezra also held this figure in his actions, when he led a considerable part of the people back from captivity to Jerusalem, and brought money and sacred vessels to the glory of his temple, purging the people from foreign wives with pontifical authority. All these things also indicate what has been or will be done by the Lord in the holy Church, which is clear to an educated reader;
but we too will strive to make it apparent even to simpler people. For just as Ezra ascended from Babylon, and with him the children of Israel, and the sons of priests and Levites; this signifies the pious dispensation of our Redeemer, who appearing in the flesh entered the confusion of this world, himself free from the confusion of vices, to lead us back with him, freed from all confusion, to the tranquility of heavenly peace; whose pledge of eternal peace we have received in the present Church, as the Lord says: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you” (John XIV); that is, I leave temporary peace to those traveling on earth, I give eternal peace to those reaching the heavenly homeland. It is also blessed that he began to ascend from Babylon in the first month, and came to Jerusalem in the fifth month with the sons of the captivity whom he led. For the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem is completed in four months; because through the four books of the holy Gospel, we learn the faith and sacraments of truth, by which we ought to ascend from the captivity of the ancient enemy, led by the Lord, to the freedom of the glory of the sons of God. In the same four books are contained the commandments of works, by whose as it were daily steps we can reach the promised heights.
Nor was it without the figure of mystery that on the first day of the month he began to ascend from Babylon, and again on the first day of the month he came to Jerusalem; for the beginning of the month, in which the moon is believed to borrow new light from the sun, designates the new beginning of heavenly grace. And fittingly Ezra ascended from Babylon on the first day of the first month with those he saved from captivity; because the beginning of a holy way of life, in which we renounce Satan and his kingdom, is brought about in us by the illumination of divine grace. Also, he came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for this too is not done by the freedom of our will, but by the inspiration of heavenly light, that, having heard the oracles of the Gospel, we are incorporated into the members of the holy Church. A noble and healthy custom in the Church, grown from the teaching of the fathers, is that those who are catechized should have the sacrament of the four Gospels explained to them, and their beginnings be recited. Again on the first day of the fifth month, he came with those who had been freed from their enemies, to Jerusalem;
because when we enter the heavenly kingdom, having completed the precepts of the four holy Gospels, we celebrate as it were the new beginning of the month, because we already see the joys of the new light in the Sun of righteousness, and after the four months of luminous action, as a pilgrim in the way of life, we celebrate the fifth month of perpetual reward in the light of the heavenly homeland.
Ezra 7:9
And on the first day of the fifth month, he came to Jerusalem, etc. That is to say, he was confirmed by divine grace and protection, because he was completing a successful journey. Likewise, in the mystical sense, the mediator of God and men, according to the good hand of his God upon him, that is, according to the disposition of divine power, which was in him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself (II Cor. V). Indeed, that hand was over him, according to the fact that he was made man. Hence he said: The Father is greater than I (John XIV). For greater is the divinity, not only of the Father but also of Christ Himself, and of the Holy Spirit, which is one. By that same hand of divine power, exalted in passion, he ascended to the walls of the heavenly city, showing this ascent path to his followers who humbly follow him.
Ezra 7:10
For Ezra had prepared his heart, etc. Oh, what great virtue of this saying, what sublimity of merit, for a man to prepare his heart for the obedience of the divine will, and to be able to say: "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; I will sing, and I will chant a psalm to the Lord" (Psalm LVI)! That is, I will exult in the Lord with my whole soul, and I will accomplish in the execution of works what has been commanded by Him. Therefore, he prepared his heart to investigate and rewrite the law of the Lord, which the devouring flame had consumed. He also prepared so that he himself might first fulfill this by doing, and thus open his mouth to teach others. This can similarly be understood of the Lord Jesus; for He prepared His heart to investigate the law of the Lord, as He divinely provided for Himself a man He would take up, who would not only be without sin but also full of grace and truth, because with no law of sin conflicting in Him, He would keep the law of God without any contradiction of mind or flesh. Hence, He says in the Psalm: “In the volume of the book it is written of me: I desired to do your will, O my God, and your law is in the midst of my heart” (Psalm XXXIX).
Likewise, the Lord investigated the law of God, because, setting aside the traditions of the Pharisees, He taught how the Holy Scripture was to be understood mystically, what spiritual secrets were hidden under the cover of the letter; because He showed that the decrees of the Gospel, which He brought to the world, were more perfect, more acceptable to God the Father, than those He had previously sent through Moses. Hence, He Himself says: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy': but I say to you, love your enemies; and so forth.
Ezra 7:11
This is a copy of the letter of the edict, etc. Artaxerxes, who with the most devoted mind venerates the temple and the priests of God according to his ability, and offers prompt service to him, indicates the Christian princes, just as his predecessor Darius did. And it is not surprising if we say that the successors of Cyrus, who built the temple of the Lord and the city, who loved and helped his servants and law, bear the figure of the kings of Christians, since the Lord himself through the prophet said that Cyrus comes as a figure of his son, and deigned to honor him with that name, saying: This says the Lord to my Christ Cyrus (Isa. XLV); and the rest which we have more fully set forth above about him. [Ezra 7:12] -- King of kings Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest, etc. He names him the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, because even to the king himself the fame of divine virtue had reached, through which he had renewed the Law, burned by the Chaldeans, in the same words as before, although in a different character of letters. He also names the God of heaven, to distinguish from those whom he knew that the foolish madness of wretches had instituted among dead men, or certainly some. I beseech, however, that it may not be burdensome to the reader to briefly run through the text of the letter, and to see how much it fits the persons of Christian kings.
Ezra 7:13
From me a decree has been made, etc. He grants permission to all who wish to go to Jerusalem, he compels no one to go: and Christian princes, compelling no one, lest the will of faith be uncertain or doubtful, permit all who are pleased from their kingdom to worship Christ.
Ezra 7:14
For you have been sent from the presence of the king and his seven advisors, etc. And in the book of Esther, we read that it was the custom of the Persian kings to use the counsel of seven wise men in all matters to be done or decided. The faithful use seven advisors when in all things they do, they follow the precepts and decrees of the divine Scriptures. Of which the Psalmist says: The words of the Lord are pure words, silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times (Psal. XI). This is perfected by the holy sevenfold illumination of the Spirit. But if anyone finds it incongruent that something good could be figured in the holy Church from the advisors of that Persian king by whom the people and prophet of the Lord are released from captivity and sent back to their homeland, let them read the small works of the Fathers, who figuratively said that the holy actions of our Redeemer were designed through the actions or cases of reprobate kings Saul and Jeconiah: namely, Saul anointed as king but killed due to his own crimes, interpreted as the innocent death of King Christ: and Jeconiah's translation from Judah to Bethlehem, which he held due to his sins, relating typologically to the grace of our Redeemer, by which He deemed it worthy to migrate for the salvation of nations around the world, leaving the Jews behind due to their perfidy.
They taught that the actions or deeds of Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar should be understood typologically in relation to the enemies of the Church. For example, Pharaoh commanded the male infants of God's people to be killed in the river, but to spare the females; because the devil desires to extinguish strength in us and nurture what is frail and weak. Likewise, Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the peoples subject to him to bow down and worship his statue upon hearing the sound of symphony and music. And the devil strives to bend the hearts of mankind away from righteousness through the allure of earthly pomp and toward following desire, which is the servitude of idols, deceiving their hearts. Therefore, if the evil deeds of the reprobate happened as a figure not only of evil but also of good, why could not the good deeds or words of the good, contained in the prophetic volume, prefigure the good acts of their followers? Also, let us consider the works of Saint Augustine, who said that even the seven men of one woman who died without children, about whom the Sadducees, denying the resurrection, tempted the Lord, have a certain figure of ecclesiastical sacrament, as well as the woman, her sterility, and death. He also taught that the deaths of those same men were figures of memorable things since neither the Lord Himself nor any of the evangelists narrated this story from their own perspective;
but the evangelists included in their writings what the impious had spoken against the Lord with blasphemous lips because of the most sacred response of the Lord. Thus, Ezra is sent from the presence of the king and his seven advisors to visit Judea and Jerusalem. And since the leaders of the world have been converted to faith and are also strengthened by the exhortations of the holy Scriptures, they desire Christ the Lord to come to save His Church and to gather from the nations through daily aid, which the name Ezra signifies, shouting earnestly: O Lord God of hosts, come back, look down from heaven, and see and visit this vine (Psal. LXXIX). That You may visit, he says, Judea and Jerusalem in the law of Your God, which is in your hand. For the law of God was in Ezra's hand; since he not only preached it with his tongue but fulfilled it in action. Likewise, our Lord, appearing in the flesh, had the law in His hand, not only because He followed the precepts of the law in all things but also because He had the decrees of the law in power; and truly He once established it through Moses as He willed, and now He changes it as He wills and transfers it to more perfect things. Hence He said: You have heard that it was said to the ancients, but I say to you.
And it is remarkable how the word, which the prophets used, is found in the letter of Artaxerxes, stating that the law of God is in the hand of His servant. For it is written: The word of the Lord came through the hand of Haggai the prophet; and the Lord did what He spoke through the hand of His servant Elijah; and, The Lord bore witness in Israel and in Judah through the hand of all the prophets (Haggai I). For indeed the prophets not only preached the things of God by speaking but also by acting.
Ezra 7:15
And to bring silver and gold, etc. Note the faith and wisdom of the king and his counselors, who understood that the gifts they wished to offer to the Lord should be offered through him who had the law of God in his hand, that is, fulfilled it in deeds. It is wondrous to say, how faithfully and learnedly the king declares that he has a tabernacle in Jerusalem, whom he previously called the God of heaven; for we are accustomed to use a tabernacle on a journey, and the God of heaven has a tabernacle in Jerusalem; because he who has an eternal seat in the heavens deigns to dwell for a time with the saints who are on pilgrimage in this Church. Hence that passage of Revelation, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men" (Rev. 21). Indeed, because the blessed Ezra represented not only the preachers of the holy Church, among whom he was one, but also the Lord Savior, to whose members he belonged, it is as if we offer our gifts through him, whose help we need in all things, so that the good works we do may be acceptable to God the Father. For no one, he says, comes to the Father except through me (John 6). And concerning him, John says, "He is the atonement for our sins" (1 John 2).
Ezra 7:19
And all the silver and gold whatsoever you find, etc. The story is clear, that for this reason the king and his counselors gave money to Ezra to be carried to the temple of the Lord, and they also desired others to give, so that sacrifices, and offerings, and libations might be bought from this money, which would be offered upon the altar of God: and if any money remained, it would be distributed not otherwise than according to the will of God. And it should also be noted here, when he mentions the priests offering in the house of their God, he clearly teaches that even if some of the priests and Levites had ascended to Jerusalem with Ezra, nevertheless some still remained in Babylon with the rest of their people. The allegorical sense is also clear, because the faithful desire their good works to shine in the holy Church for this reason, so that through these they may also merit to have a part with the saints, and others may be edified by their examples. For just as our sacrifices, libations, and offerings of silver and gold are made to offer to the Lord, so too, by the shining example of our works, our neighbors are converted to the duty of piety, by which they too, living well, may be consecrated to the Lord. But if any silver and gold were left over, from which offerings could not be bought, this too was ordered to be arranged according to the will and pleasure of God.
For there are certain magnificent virtues of the saints which cannot be shown to everyone as an example of work, but are only recited to glorify the grace of God; as is the case where Daniel and Jeremiah prophesied as children, that John was not yet born, that Cornelius with his household, not yet baptized, received the Holy Spirit, and numerous miracles of the saints shine like silver and gold in the house of the Lord; yet from the same silver or gold, offerings to be placed upon the altar cannot be bought; because when we hear of such things, we ought indeed to marvel at them as divine, but we are not able to imitate them as if they were possible. Sacrifices, however, were properly called those which were offered from the fruits of the earth, such as bread, fine flour, ears of corn; libations, however, were those which were made from wine and liquid things.
Ezra 7:19
The vessels also which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, etc. Not only silver and gold of various weights, but also vessels are given to Ezra to be carried to Jerusalem. But our Lord in a figurative sense, namely Ezra, entrusted the vessels which are given to him by men, such as the vessel of election Paul, and of which he speaks, the vessels of mercy, he has delivered all in the sight of God the Father in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rom. IX). Regarding these vessels, he speaks in the Gospel: "Or how can anyone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house" (Mark III). For the king of Babylon was strong, that is, the devil dominantly ruling over the wicked; but defeated and bound by the Lord, he lost the vessels, that is, the hearts of the elect, which he unjustly possessed. Neither could he contradict the one who took these away and brought them back to the heavenly city, to which they originally belonged.
Ezra 7:21
And by me, I, King Artaxerxes, have ordained and decreed, etc. And Christian rulers command all who are subject to them to promptly give whatever the Lord and our high priest asks of them, without any delay or reservation, but swiftly fulfill the commands of the divine will. Let them give gold in the confession of true faith, wheat in the demonstration of good works, wine in the fervor of love, oil in the exhibition and cheerfulness of mercy. And all these are commanded to be given to the great priest and the scribe of the law of the God of heaven under a number of one hundred; that is, to the Lord Jesus Christ, who bringing the heavenly mandates from the Father to us, has promised rewards in the Father's house to those who follow heavenly pursuits; and we ought to insist on no other actions than those of good works rewarded by the grace of heaven. For the number one hundred, which in the counting of fingers moves from the left to the right hand, usually signifies the joys that are in the right hand, that is, in eternal life. Moreover, it is said that the talent has a measure of three kinds: the least being fifty pounds; the medium seventy-two pounds; the highest one hundred twenty pounds; a chorus being thirty measures, and a bath, which is also an ephah, being a tenth part of a chorus, that is, three measures.
Ezra 7:22
But salt without measure. Everything that pertains to the rite, etc. It is agreed by all that salt signifies wisdom, whence in common speech dull-witted people are called tasteless; but it matters what kind of salt it is. For the Lord also commanded that in every sacrifice salt be offered (Levit. II), and in the Gospel He says: Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another (Mark IX). Nor is it in vain that David is read to have struck the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, because surely we are commanded to offer the salt of heavenly wisdom, by which catechumens are initiated, in all our works' sacrifices. David indeed strikes the Salt Pans of the valleys with their inhabitants, as Christ destroys weak and worldly wisdom along with its followers. Hence it is well ordered now that salt be given diligently without measure in the house of the God of heaven; because it is surely necessary that whatever wisdom anyone has, they should exhibit it all in service to their Creator. And it is to be recalled that the Samaritans, writing to another Artaxerxes, were said to have mentioned the salt they had eaten in the palace, and therefore could not tolerate that the temple and the city of God be built against his interests. But now here Artaxerxes commands all the guardians of the public treasury, among other donations, to give their salt to the house of the God of heaven as much as is needed. For it is recognized there that heretics sometimes are emboldened to attack the Church with the deceitful taste of human wisdom. But here it is implied that those converted to the faith at the same time as wisdom often assist that very faith through the discipline of the same secular wisdom, as they more powerfully conquer its adversaries through it.
Ezra 7:24
And we make known to you concerning all the priests, etc. This privilege, by which priests, Levites, and the other ministers of the house of God are rendered free from taxes, is clearly shown, in that the rest of the people of the children of Israel, upon arriving in the homeland, paid tribute to the king. This is known to be done by the king with well-considered provision, so that those who were always occupied in divine service might be free from their servitude; and those who possessed nothing of their own on earth, but lived from the tithes of the people, from these no one should demand the payment of tributes. From all these things, it is most clearly proven that the king not only loved, but also very well learned what the worship of divine service required.
Ezra 7:25
But you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, etc. The king repeats the word he had spoken and confirms the truth he had recognized with a repeated statement. For previously, he had said that the law of that very God was in the hand of Ezra. Now, however, he says, the wisdom of his God is in his hand. Because, indeed, the wisdom is the law of God, as the Psalmist says: "The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak of judgment. The law of his God is in his heart" (Psalm 36). And the righteous has the law of God and wisdom in his hand, while in all that he does and speaks, he shows himself to be mindful of the divine will. Therefore, the sense of the letter is clear, and the spiritual understanding is clear, that evidently our Lord and Savior has the wisdom of God in his hand. For He is the power of God and the wisdom of God, by whose sole authority it is to appoint judges and overseers of the Churches, who judge all things according to His will and preach His faith to the unlearned throughout the world. And everyone who despises the decrees of His law will be punished according to their own error, either by present punishment or future justice.
Therefore, Artaxerxes, writing to Ezra and expressing in writing the love he had for religious worship, clearly manifested what Christian kings, devoted in future times, would do concerning the faith of the truth. Hence, we have briefly taken care to recall his letter, leaving out certain parts, so that the reader might understand how much it concords with the deeds which Christian princes have done for the peace of the holy Church with the revealed grace of the Gospel. Indeed, we can figuratively refer the person of Ezra not only to the Lord Christ but also to any overseer or teacher of the Church; to whom often kings and princes have sent letters for the status of the faithful. And fittingly Ezra himself, to whom this letter was given, subsequently bursts forth in praise of God, saying:
Ezra 7:27
Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, etc. And who would doubt to confess His holy and mystical words, which the prophet, divinely inspired, recounts, by whom he also affirms the house of the Lord to be glorified?
Chapter 10
The number of those who went up with Ezra, and how they obtained the aid of the Lord for their journey by fasting and praying. [Ezra 7:28] -- And I, strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God, etc. He calls the hand of God the power of God, which works all things. Rightly does he gather those whom he will lead from Babylon to Jerusalem, who themselves are known to have the hand of God, by which they are strengthened. Because indeed, thus anyone becomes fit to bring others to God through his teaching, while first he himself is inwardly strengthened in his mind by God's grace against all things that impede the holy work. [Ezra 8:1] -- These are therefore the chiefs of the families, etc. Until the end of the genealogy, he carefully enumerates the chiefs who went up with him from Babylon and explains their genealogy. He also endeavors to add the number of those, which reaches one thousand four hundred and forty, so that he may thus suggest that the names of those who ascend from the confusion of this world are written in the book of life of the Lamb. But also, each of the teachers, namely the chiefs of the families of God's people, receives eternal rewards to the extent of the number of souls they have brought to the Lord, according to that parable in the Gospel, where, with the good and prudent servant saying: Lord, your pound has gained ten pounds (Luke XIX), the master responds to him, saying: And you will be over ten cities; that is, you will appear more glorious in the heavenly kingdom from the lives of those whom you have taught.
Ezra 8:15
But I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava. I do not remember reading this name of the place anywhere else. However, when it is later written, And I proclaimed there a fast by the river Ahava; and after some further writing, We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month; it seems probable that Ahava is both a river and that another river flows into it, at the confluence of which Ezra gathered those who went up with him. Moreover, Josephus substitutes the Euphrates for this name. Whence Ahava can not incongruously be understood as some tributary of the river Euphrates. [Ezra 8:15] -- And we stayed there three days, etc. Ezra acted prudently, so that before beginning such a journey, he carefully ensured he had a supply of ministers of the house of God, through whom, upon arriving in Jerusalem, he could complete what was necessary for the temple's use.
Ezra 8:17
And I sent them to Iddo, etc. The Caspian Sea, as Orosius writes, rises from the northern region of the ocean, whose shores and deserted places around the ocean are uninhabited and uncultivated. From there, it extends southwards through long narrow passages, until, expanded over great distances, it is bordered by the roots of Mount Caucasus. It has many Hyrcanian and Scythian tribes from the east to the ocean, wandering widely due to the unfruitful spread of the lands. To the west, it has many tribes. But in general, the region far beyond Albania under the Caspian Sea and mountain is called by the name of the Amazons. It should be noted here that while historians write "Caspium," Ezra in this passage calls it "Casphiae." For the Hebrews, not having the letter P, use the letter Ph in Greek or barbarian names, such as Phetrus, Philatus. Therefore, it is also proven that the sons of Israel reached the places of Casphiae through the captivity by the Assyrians or Chaldeans, as Ezra sends there to bring ministers of the house of the Lord, namely Levites and Nethinim, whom Josephus calls sacred servants. It should be noted that they lived very freely in peace, even though they were among foreigners, who immediately at the command or request of Ezra could send such a large group of soldiers. For two hundred and fifty-eight chosen men were on that expedition, as their following catalog shows; to which Ezra being added, it is found that his army almost had the total of seventeen hundred men.
Ezra 8:21
And I proclaimed there a fast, etc. An example of fasting and praying, when we want to commence something of great virtue: and because the faithful hope in the Lord never fails, nor can it happen that we do not obtain what we justly seek from a pious and just helper through abstinence and prayers with faith. But we must carefully observe that fasting is prescribed first, and thus prayer is subsequently instructed. For first he says, And I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before the Lord. And then he adds: And we asked for a straight way for us and our children, etc., up to the conclusion of the sentence: But we fasted, and we prayed to our Lord for this, and it turned out well for us. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that whoever enters to beseech the mercy of the Lord should first live more abstinently, to show themselves worthy to be heard; and thus, praying to the Lord, they should not doubt that what they request will turn out well for them.
Chapter 11
Ezra weighed out the offerings of the king and his counselors, to be carried to Jerusalem by the chief priests, who upon arrival there would offer burnt offerings to the Lord. [Ezra 8:24] -- And I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, etc. It has been frequently said that the silver and gold and vessels sent from Babylon to Jerusalem signify souls, which are converted to the Lord from the confusion and errors of this world. Hence, Ezra appropriately entrusts such vessels to the priests, who are to carry them to Jerusalem; for it is necessary that through the hands of the priests, those who desire to reach the companionship of the holy Church are washed in baptism and consecrated to the Lord. Likewise, those who have separated themselves from the society of the Church through sin, and have fallen into the service of the devil, into the captivity of the Babylonian king by persevering in sins, must be reconciled to the holy Church through repentance by the ministry of the priests. And fittingly, there are twelve priests to whom this duty is assigned, on account of the twelve apostles, through whose teaching the Church was initially founded throughout the world, and who continue to build it up through their successors until the end of the age. To whom applies the statement that Ezra made to those same priests:
Ezra 8:28
You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, etc. For it is fitting that the teachers of the Church should never forget the holiness by which they themselves are consecrated to the Lord through the Holy Spirit, in the day of redemption, for which they also prepare their hearers to receive; so that those who have already been offered to the Lord through the rudiments of faith are further confirmed by the examples and admonitions of those who have preceded them in faith, and become worthy of entrance into the heavenly city. They must be watchful in all things and ensure that none of the souls, namely the vessels of the Lord, entrusted to them is lost, but that they bring them in their entirety to the gates of the holy city.
Ezra 8:29
Be watchful and guard, until you weigh, etc. We weigh the silver and gold, and the vessels which we received from Ezra, before the leaders of the priests and Levites, and the heads of the families of Israel in Jerusalem, and into the treasury of the house of the Lord, when by teaching and instructing those whom the divine order has entrusted to us, we present them such that they may be found blameless and fit for the treasury of the heavenly court, that is, the seats of internal peace and light; and this not by the judgment of any men who may easily be deceived, but by the scrutiny of the blessed apostles, and other exalted men, who are with the Lord and are to judge our actions. These are indeed rightly understood to be the leaders of the priests and Levites, and the heads of the families of Israel, that is, the men or souls who see God. Concerning whom the Psalmist says to the Lord: "You will appoint them leaders over all the earth" (Psalm 45). And about whom Solomon, in the praises of the Church, says: "Her husband is noble at the gates, when he sits with the elders of the land" (Proverbs 31). At the gates, he speaks, in the context of the final examination.
Ezra 8:31
We therefore moved from the river Ahava on the twelfth, and all the rest full of mysteries. For it is read above that on the first day of the first month they began to go up from Babylon; and now it is said that on the twelfth day of the same month they moved from the river Ahava. Therefore, on the first day of the month, they went out from the gates of Babylon, but until the twelfth day, they waited by the mentioned river until they called Levites and Nathinneos from the region of Caspia to themselves and commended themselves to the Lord more diligently through fasting and praying due to the dangers of the long journey. So, when we teach the new people of the Church to renounce the devil and believe and confess the true God, it is as if we depart from Babylon at the beginning of the first month with money to be consecrated to the Lord; because we show them the beginning of a new conversation, which leads those who are snatched from the devil to the heavenly kingdom. Hence, the same month is usually called the month of new or new fruits in the Holy Scripture. For in the same month, under the same signification of new conversation, the fathers were brought out of Egypt by Moses.
But when we give the symbol of faith to these same listeners of the new life, which was arranged by the twelve apostles and is comprehended by as many sentences, it is as if we stay twelve days in the first resting place; and so, we undertake the journey begun to the promised land, which by the acceptance of the knowledge of faith, we show them that a path of virtues must be entered upon to reach life. In these days, Ezra was occupied with fasting, prayers, and gathering Levites and Nathinneos with the children of the migration, because it is necessary that when we propose to acquire new people for faith, then we ourselves must especially give our attention to diligence in virtues, by which we commend ourselves more familiarly to the Lord, and offer an example of good action to those we instruct: we also call in a religious cohort of brethren to assist us, so that helped by them, we may more effectively transfer the souls of the faithful to the fellowship of the elect and to the summit of a more perfect life, as holy vessels to the temple of the Lord. It is aptly subjoined that those who came to Jerusalem from Babylon stayed there for three days, and then the silver, gold, and vessels they had brought were offered and weighed in the house of the Lord. Indeed, the three days of stay in Jerusalem represent the virtues that should be held by all the faithful, faith, hope, and charity.
Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to show these virtues first in themselves, and then to offer those they have taught and instructed in these same virtues to be tested by the foremost fathers in Christ. For when the holy Church finds those we catechize to be proven in faith and action, as the vessels we offer in the temple, by the hands of the priests, it will find them to be of pure metal and perfect weight. This is also done daily in this Church through the chosen ones in the examination of the life of believers, and in the heavenly Jerusalem, it is more perfectly fulfilled in those who have merited to enter it, as we have said above. In this life, holy teachers, staying as it were for three days in Jerusalem, on the fourth day offer the silver and gold they have brought to be weighed by the priests, when they show themselves to be strong in faith, sublime in hope, fervent in love, and also demonstrate that their listeners shine like tested silver by the confession of true faith, gleam like pure gold through the purity of inviolate sense, and excel like vessels consecrated to God by accepting spiritual gifts. In the heavenly homeland, these same teachers first receive the grace of reward for their faith, hope, and love, and then also for those they have taught, as they are honored more for the precious and worthy vessels they have brought, as after the joy of a three-day stay in Jerusalem.
But there is a difference between the vessels that Ezra offers with the priests in Jerusalem and those that above Zerubbabel and Joshua are said to have offered; because those were transported from the temple of the Lord to Babylon and afterward brought back to Jerusalem; but these were made in Babylon itself, but in devotion were sent to Jerusalem by the king or princes of Persia, or even by the people of Israel who lived in those parts. Therefore, those vessels signify those who, after receiving the knowledge and sacraments of faith, and after beginning virtuous works, are deceived by the ancient enemy and taken into the confusion of errors; but by the mercy of Christ’s grace, they are called back to salvation. However, these signify those who were born subject to the death of the first transgression by sin, but through the washing of regeneration by the ministry of priests, they were cleansed and gathered as children of the holy Church. Those represent penitents from their errors, these persevering nations in the beginning virtue. Concerning which it is well subjoined:
Ezra 8:34
And every weight was recorded in that time. For the priests in the temple record all the weight of silver and gold, and of the vessels offered to the Lord, just as diligent teachers examine the lives of those under them, and discern by careful inquiry how much each one has progressed in faith or work, and according to the measure of their capacity, they arrange each in the house of God by their fitting steps. But even if now the laziness of overseers lies dormant and either ignores the lives of those entrusted to them or pretends not to know them, the internal judge is present, who keeps intact the number of believers and the weight of each one’s soul in the balance of His examination, so that He may render to each according to his work. It can also be said; because when holy preachers reach the heavenly Jerusalem with those whom they have instructed, all the weight of their good action is recorded at that time in the book of life and they are rewarded in heaven with deserving retribution.
Ezra 8:35
But also those who came from the captivity, the sons of the exile, etc. A great devotion and religiosity is shown by those who, when they came from captivity, arriving at the temple and altar of the Lord, first of all offered burnt offerings, not only for themselves but also for all Israel, that is, both for those who had already returned home and for those who were still enduring exile from their homeland, so that the mercy of their creator might protect them all. The spiritual meaning is also evident, that those who truly and perfectly escaped the captivity of the ancient enemy, by sinning they were held, but by repenting they freed themselves, who with firm intention submit to divine service, who wholly detach themselves from low desires, and are inflamed by the flame of heavenly desire to ascend to the heights. This is to offer burnt offerings, that is, wholly burned sacrifices or victims to the Lord, thinking or doing nothing but His will in all things. It is also a sign of a perfect mind when someone sacrifices for all Israel, that is, for the general well-being of all the faithful, as if mindful of unity and brotherhood in all, he supplicates the heavenly piety.
Ezra 8:36
They also delivered the king's edicts to the satraps, etc. Another edition has: And they glorified the people and the house of God. Therefore, they uplifted the people by making royal authority, with which Ezra was exalted, honorable to all. They also uplifted the house of God by adorning it more splendidly with vessels and gifts which the king, his counselors, and his princes sent to it; and by freeing its ministers and priests from tributes and taxes, except to the Lord alone. Mystically, however, the people and the temple of God held one and the same figure of the holy Church; which Ezra and the sons of the exile uplift, by bringing from Babylon the vessels sacred to God, when holy preachers, gathering to it, by the Lord's gift, the assemblies of believers, make it honorable to all even strangers and show it as awe-inspiring. Likewise, the same preachers, when they elevate those whom they instruct either by their examples in good conduct or by words towards the perception of the heavenly rewards, they now uplift the people and the house of God, because they indeed bring great joy both to those dwelling in the heavenly homeland and to those still journeying on earth.