Day 262 - Ezra 7-10

“These are their family heads, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom,” and so on until the end of the genealogy. He carefully enumerates the leaders who came up with him from Babylon and unfolds their genealogy. He takes pains, too, to add their total, which reached 1,440, to suggest that the names of those who come up from the “confusion” of this world are contained in the book of life of the Lamb. [See Rev 21:27.] But also all teachers [i.e., the heads of the families] of God’s people receive increases in their eternal reward commensurate with the number of souls they have acquired for the Lord, according to that parable in the Gospel wherein the good and wise servant said, “Master, your pound has earned ten pounds,” and the master replied, “Take charge of ten cities,” [Luk 19:16-17.] which is to say, “appear more glorious in the heavenly kingdom because of the life of those whom you have taught.”—The Venerable Bede