‘Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and those who lie-in-wait by the way.'
They left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the month. The intention to leave earlier was possibly because of the approaching Passover, which they would celebrate as a family festival en route. The first month may well have been chosen in order to parallel the flight from Egypt. And during their journey, which would be almost a thousand miles, they were aware that the hand of God was upon them. Given that their journey took around four months, they would have had to travel at about nine miles a day which was good going for such a mixed caravan. But the Persian network of roads made it quite feasible.
‘The hand of our God was on us.' In Ezra 8:22 Ezra had informed the king that ‘the hand of Israel's God was upon all who those who seek Him'. In Ezra 8:17 he had declared that they had obtained a response from the Levites as a result of the fact that ‘the hand of Israel's God was upon them'. Now he reveals that they had a safe journey because ‘the hand of Israel's God was upon them'. This would again tie in with the idea that this passage was written as a report to the king.
‘He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and those who lie-in-wait by the way.' We do not know whether the deliverance came as a result of beating off attacks, or by way of no attacks. But either way God was triumphant. For ‘the enemy' compare ‘the enemy in the way' (Ezra 8:22). We have here a reminder of the dangers of travel in those days. There were those who lay in wait, ever ready to take advantage of a weak moment, and as we know the caravan was a rich prize.