Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Ezra 8 Bible study: The hand of our God on us
Ezra 8 turns on something Ezra had already said: having told the king, "The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good" (8:22), he was ashamed to ask for soldiers, so the company fasted at the river Ahava and God "granted our request" (8:23). Then every gift was weighed out, kept on the road, and weighed again in God's house.
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“So we fasted and begged our God for this, and he granted our request.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“At the river, Ezra at first found none of the sons of Levi among those gathered.”
Is that in Ezra 8, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Ashamed to ask
The fast at the river grows out of something they had already said to the king. "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions" (8:21). The next verse gives the reason: "For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way" (8:22), because they had told the king, "The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him" (8:22). Having said that to the king, they ask God instead. "So we fasted and begged our God for this, and he granted our request" (8:23). In Hebrew one verb, baqash (tap seek), stands behind "seek" in 8:21, "seek" in 8:22 and "begged" in 8:23: they seek God with the same verb they had used to the king, "all those who seek him" (8:22). It is a different verb from 7:10's "seek the LORD’s law" (7:10).
Where it leads to Jesus
When you fast
Ezra 8:21leads toMatthew 6:16-18
Ezra "proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God" (8:21), and says, "So we fasted and begged our God for this, and he granted our request" (8:23). Jesus said of fasting, "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret" (Matthew 6:17-18). Jesus doesn't cite Ezra 8, so setting the two side by side is a reading, resting on a shared subject: a fast kept before God rather than before people. Some read them together because Ezra's company fasted "before our God" (8:21) and asked him, not the king (8:22), and Jesus says a fast is to be seen "by your Father who is in secret" (Matthew 6:18). Others keep the two apart: Ezra proclaimed a fast for a whole company, asking for a safe road (8:21), while Jesus speaks to each one who fasts and warns against fasting "that they may be seen by men" (Matthew 6:16).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Ezra 8
That was a taste
The rest of Ezra 8 is waiting in Favor
- Weighed out, and weighed in again
- God's hand, and the hands that carried
- Given, and given again
- A second list, and names you've met
- Twelve for all Israel
- 11 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Ezra 8 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
יָדyadsay YAD
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "hand", and "Fig. = strength, power". Strong's: "a hand". This chapter speaks three times of the hand of our God on people: "According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion" (8:18); "The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good" (8:22); "The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the bandits by the way" (8:31). The same word is used of the treasure put into men's hands: "I weighed into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver" (8:26), and it was weighed again "into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest" (8:33). In 8:31 the WEB has hand twice, but only God's hand is yad; "the hand of the enemy" is another word, kaf (H3709), which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "hollow, or flat of the hand, palm". Chapter 7 had God's hand on Ezra three times (7:6, 7:9, 7:28).
For your group
Ezra 8 Bible study questions
- 1Ezra had told the king, "The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good" (8:22), and then was ashamed to ask for soldiers. When have your own words about God been put to the test by what came next?
- 2They fasted to humble themselves and ask "a straight way for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions" (8:21). What road ahead of you, or of people you love, would you bring to God like that?
- 3Ezra weighed the gifts into the priests' hands and said, "Watch and keep them until you weigh them" (8:29). What has been put into your hands to keep for God? Who checks it with you?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Ezra 8 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Ezra 8 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Ezra 8 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Ezra 8
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home