Ezra 4-6: “The Opposition Is Continual But The Temple Is Finally Completed”
By
1. INTRO:
1.1. This graph depicts the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the book of Ezra is written about a period of history after the Babylonian captivity and beginning in 538 BC, even though Ezra himself doesn’t show up in Judea until around 457 BC.
1.2. In our last study we looked at the background for the book of Ezra, and then studied chapters 1-3 of the book. In that study we observed the following:
When the Israelites did not keep the covenant that they made with the Lord at Sinai, with Moses as their mediator, instead of inheriting blessings for keeping the Law, they instead inherited the curses promised for not keeping it (see Deut. 11:26-29, Deut. 27:12ff, Joshua 8:33ff). Israel worshipped other gods and as a result Assyria in campaigns in 740 BC and 722 BC took all of the tribes in the northern kingdom captive, and these were assimilated into Assyria and the surrounding nations.
After this, the southern kingdom was taken captive in spite of the warnings of the Old Testament prophets that they too were going to be taken captive because of their idolatry (see Jer. 4:20; 25:11-12; Ezek. 7:11-12; 7:20-27; Isaiah 6:11-12; 39:5-7).
Babylon originally invaded Judea, the southern kingdom of Israel, in 606 BC, and then the rest of the city and peoples were taken captive in campaigns in 597 BC and 587 BC. When Babylon deported the Jews in Judea in 587 BC, the temple was destroyed, the wall of the city knocked down, and many houses were razed.
Jeremiah wrote a letter and prophesied to the Judean captives in Babylon telling them to build houses, plant gardens and eat their produce, and even marry and have children in Babylon (live a normal life there in Babylon) and that the Lord would deliver them in 70 years: Jeremiah 29:10-13, “10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Cyrus the Great became the king of the Median Empire in 549 BC and began increasing his kingdom in every direction, eventually conquering Babylon without a shot in 539 BC. The fifth chapter of the book of Daniel tells us about this story.
When Cyrus came into control, he evidently identified with the gods of the various nations (or superstitiously wanted their blessing upon him) and immediately began a policy of returning captive peoples to their nations and even helped to restore their temples and religious practices giving them no interference in their religious practices.
In Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah prophesied about King Cyrus of Persia 100+ years before his reign, that he would be the one who would declare that Jerusalem and the Jewish temple would be rebuilt: “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’” Then, in Isaiah 45:1-7 the Lord spoke directly to Cyrus about his calling: “1 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. 3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me. 5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.” Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first century wrote that Cyrus had Isaiah’s prophesy about himself read to him and that this led him to realize that he was called fulfill the prophesy.
The “Cyrus Cylinder” which was found in an archeological dig records Cyrus’ sentiments in restoring the temples and religious practices of the nations that had been taken captive by Babylon.
Around 538 BC, Cyrus made a declaration that the Jews who desired to return to their homeland could return and rebuild their temple, and this would all be done at Persia’s expense. Zerubbabel and a company were sent out for this task. From around 538 BC to 516 BC this effort went on (minus 10 years of inactivity in there where the people out of fear had quit building and concentrated just on building their own houses). Ezra chapters 1-6 deals with this time, minus a digression from 4:6-23 that deals with an event that occurred when Ezra was in Judea. So, except for this digression the first six chapters of the book deal with a time when Ezra was not even in Israel, for he didn’t return to Israel until almost 80 years after Zerubbabel was sent out. Ezra does not appear in the book of Ezra until chapter 7. Ezra was sent out from Persia with a delegation around 457 BC to enforce the Law of Moses. Ezra was a reformer and preached and interpreted God’s word to the people.
So, to recap, all in all there were three companies sent out by Cyrus:
1) Zerubbabel was sent to rebuild the temple (538 BC).
2) Ezra took a group to begin rebuilding the city (458-457 BC).
3) Nehemiah was sent to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem (445 BC), a task that was miraculously completed in a mere 52 days.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah lists the approx. 50,000 people’s names who returned because of their undertaking the very ardous and dangerous 4 month journey (900 miles) back to Israel, while carrying supplies, to rebuild the city, temple, and wall. Their sacrifice and dedication qualified them to be heroes before the Lord, and it is for this reason that their names are recorded for us in both books.
The people under Zerubbabel’s leadership were originally about the business of rebuilding of the Temple for about six years, but soon they ran into some very significant opposition from the people of the land and they succumbed to fear and ceased to work on the Temple in 530 BC. For about 10 years after this they built their own houses and concentrated upon nurturing their own personal lives and desires. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah then encouraged the Judeans to get back to their calling and commission to rebuild the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and so they did.
1.3. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther reveal a time when God’s people were being called to rebuild the work of God. The first thing that needed to be done was that the people needed to get their lives right with God, and thus Ezra will be a spiritual reformer. But, the people were also facing formidable opposition to restoring the work of God, in the form of powerful governors and rulers in the land they were returning to. The people had to work on rebuilding their temple, city, and city wall while also being ready for attack at any time. These books give us great encouragement in our modern day in which we in the church are seeing the work of God needing to be rebuilt as so many churches have turned away from their calling and commission. The work of God is arduous because most people resist God working in their life. We have spiritual warfare that we continually have to face as we are being true to our calling. We also must take courage from God and not be persuaded by fear to compromise or abandon our calling.
2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 4-6 of the book of Ezra.
2.1. We will see how that when the children of Israel begin to work on restoring the temple of the Lord that they begin to face major opposition to the work, and that as a result of this that they will get their eyes off of the Lord and become paralyzed by fear of their opponents. They quit working on the rebuilding of their temple.
2.2. We will talk about spiritual warfare that we as God’s people experience whenever we begin to serve the Lord.
2.3. We will see the paralyzing effect that fear can have on the servant of God.
2.4. We will discuss the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah and how the Lord used them to encourage the people to get back to the work of building the temple of the Lord.
2.5. We will see that the temple finally gets completed, and then it will be dedicated.
2.6. Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
3. VS 4:1-3 - “1 Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”” - The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who had been exiled in Babylon were now building their temple in Jerusalem and they asked Zerubbabel and the leaders if they could build with them, but Zerubbabel and Jeshua the priest and the other leaders forbid them from helping, and they declared that they had nothing in common with them
3.1. Here we run into what will be a recurring theme throughout the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, and that is opposition to the work of God. We as Christians need to learn from this that whenever we attempt to live for and serve the Lord that we will experience opposition. That opposition that we face when we begin to serve the Lord often comes in the form of people who try to thwart us and what God is doing in our lives. However, the scriptures tell us that behind our spiritual warfare that we experience is a demonic spiritual impetus and inspiration, just as Ephesians 6:12 tells us: 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
3.2. The scripture forewarns us about opposition and persecution for those who will serve God, and that saying is true that to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
3.3. We as Christians would do well to realize that when people come against us as we are serving the Lord that they are mere pawns in the hands of demonic forces, and thus they literally do not know what they are doing.
3.4. There are times though when Christians can make sinful and stupid choices in their life and that the opposition that they experience because of this is really their own fault, and shouldn’t even be blamed upon spiritual entities.
3.5. The people in question here are the people of Samaria, which existed in northern Israel where the northern tribes of Israel had once lived. In our last study, we saw that after the Assyrians had deported the northern tribes that they eventually brought deportees from elsewhere to Samaria (see 2 Kings 17) and that they intermingled with the Jews left there resulting in an amalgam of people and religion. The people of Samaria also built a temple for worship on Mt. Gerazim. But, these half-breed Jews were not worshippers of Yahweh, nor were they friends of the returnees. They are called here ‘the enemies of Judah and Benjamen,’ as these two tribes were the peoples of whom the southern kingdom of Judea were comprised.
3.6. Zerubbabel has divine discernment given to him about these people from Samaria, and even though they offer to work alongside of the returnees and help, and they tell him that they ‘have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria,’ he knows their true motives is to disrupt and ruin the work. The Samaritans are disallowed from helping with the temple rebuilding.
3.6.1. We Christians ought to often pray for spiritual discernment because I see that it is a spiritual gift that often is very valuable. To be able to see through people’s bad motives would save us many times from making bad decisions and wasting our time and God’s resources on the wrong people and causes. Yet, at the same time if we had a lot of discernment we might not be as filled with grace towards people as we should.
3.6.2. If Satan cannot thwart our serving the Lord by directly attacking us, then his next tactic is to seek to join up with us. Joining with us is even more effective in deterring us from effectively completing the work God has given us to do because we least expect it and it makes us maximally vulnerable. Paul wrote about what he called “false brethren” (Ga. 2:4; 2 Cor. 11:26) that we always need to beware of because they will come in among the flock and cause problems. At that time he was thinking primarily of the Judaisers. Jesus also gave this warning in Matt. 7:15: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
3.6.3. We in the church have to always beware of looking to the world and worldly methods for building the work of God. We need to look to the Lord and follow His leading and methods for ministry in all instances.
3.7. Zerubbabel tells the Samaritans concerning their request, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord God of Israel” Zerubbabel knew that the Samaritans were not really interested in helping the Judeans out but rather that if they were allowed to join in and help that they would try to sabotage the work because they did not truly worship Yahweh.
4. VS 4:4-5 - “4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” – The people of the land discouraged and frightened the people of the land of Judea from working on the temple, and they hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all of the days of King Cyrus, and even until the reign of King Darius
4.1. God’s people had left Babylon resting upon prophetic declarations for their destiny to rebuild the temple of the Lord and re-establish their religion in the land, but suddenly they now began to take their eyes off of the Lord and put them on their circumstances. The result was that they lost their spiritual perspective and lost sight of the prophetic word regarding their destiny. They became paralyzed by ‘fear’ and could not work on the temple. For a period of ten years they worked only on building their own houses.
4.1.1. In our lives as Christians we have to be careful to keep our eyes on the Lord and not put them on our circumstances. When we put our eyes on our circumstances we are frozen to truly trusting in the Lord. Our circumstances get bigger and bigger and our God gets smaller and smaller. The exact opposite occurs when we keep our eyes on the Lord. The Lord gets bigger and bigger and our circumstances get smaller and smaller.
4.1.2. The people of the land ‘discouraged’ the children of Israel as they began to listen to their criticism and mocking of them and their work. The people of the land even hired ‘counselors’ to ‘frustrate their counsel.’ These were probably building experts who told them that their plans would not work, or legal experts who told them that what they were doing was not legal. These legal experts might have told them that they needed legal permits or special permissions to do certain types of building or whatever. The people of the land discouraged the Israelites from their building, and after 6 years of building for a full ten years they quit the work, or as it says here: ‘all the days of Cyrus king of Persia and even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.’ Cyrus reigned 18 years, or from 549 BC to 531 BC. Cyrus’ son Cambyses then ruled briefly followed by two different usurpers who falsely claimed to be heirs. King Darius I followed these usurpers as king of Persia.
4.1.3. But, it was because of the threats of the people that the Israelites became ‘frightened’ and thus they were not able to build. Fear robs a believer of the conscious presence and power of the Lord, and also the peace and joy of the Lord. Fear also renders us ineffective for the Lord. It makes the obstacle you face seem much greater than it really is. Many people do not share their faith in Christ with others because of fear of rejection or criticism, and in the process it keeps them from some of the greatest blessings they can receive.
4.1.3.1.Imagine how foolish the men of Israel must have felt for giving into their fear of facing the giant Goliath after a young lad named David stood up to this man in the name of God. Trusting in God instead of succumbing to fear made David into a great man of God.
4.1.3.2.Imagine how foolish the disciples felt when Jesus rebuked them for being fearful when they were trying to cross the Sea of Galilee and the wind and waves came up, and then when they cried out to Jesus asking if He cared that they were perishing, and this was followed by Him rebuking the wind and waves by His word and they immediately calmed down.
5. VS 4:6-24 - “6 Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic. 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows— 9 then wrote Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their colleagues, the judges and the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the River. Now 11 this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: “To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now 12 let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 “Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings. 14 “Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore that city was laid waste. 16 “We inform the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, as a result you will have no possession in the province beyond the River.” 17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the River: “Peace. And now 18 the document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me. 19 “A decree has been issued by me, and a search has been made and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it, 20 that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces beyond the River, and that tribute, custom and toll were paid to them. 21 “So, now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. 22 “Beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?” 23 Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ document was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms.” – During the reign of Ahasuerus, the people of the land wrote a letter of accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem who were building the temple of the Lord, accusing the people of being a rebellious people and stating that if they were to complete this temple that they would not pay tribute to the king, custom, or toll, and that they would damage the income of the king, and when the king was convinced by these men to search the archives he discovered that the Jews had indeed been rebellious, and so the king wrote a decree that stopped the working on the temple
5.1. As was mentioned, King Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses. King Darius I followed Cambyses as king, after a couple usurpers who claimed to be heirs to the throne. Darius I is not to be confused with Darius the Mede from the book of Daniel. Darius I reigned from 521–486 bc, and he enabled the returned Jews to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem with Jeshua and Zerubbabel (Ezr. 4:5; Hg. 1:1; Zc. 1:1). These verses though are out of sequence and deal with events that occurred after the temple had been completed and much closer to that time when Ezra had actually been sent to Judea to enforce the Law of the Lord. These events occurred during the reign of Ahasueres and Artaxerxes, when the Jews in Jerusalem were seeking to build the city itself. Xerxes (or Ahasueres) reigned from 486 BC – 465 BC, and Artaxerxes reigned from 464 BC – 423 BC.
5.2. This section is probably included here because it deals with the same theme that we had read about with the building of the temple. At that time the people in Judea quit building their temple because they were fearful of the people of the land. The people had long before this event had been encouraged by Haggai and Zechariah and recommitted the building of the temple, and, they had actually completed it. Here, some powerful men write a letter to the king of Persia warning him that if these Judeans rebuild their temple they will rebel, dishonor the king, and refuse to pay him tribute.
5.3. Harper’s Bible Dictionary identifies ‘Ahasuerus’ as being the king with the same name found in the book of Ruth.
Ahasuerus (ah-hahz-yo̅o̅-ayʹruhs), king generally identified as Xerxes I (485-464 b.c.) and described in the book of Esther as ruling from India to Ethiopia (Esther 1:1). After banishing his queen, Vashti, he sought a replacement, selecting Esther. In the story of Esther and Mordecai, Ahasuerus appears as malleable and prone to extreme actions, first manipulated by Haman to allow the destruction of all Jews and then later by Esther and Mordecai to permit the Jews to defend themselves at the cost of many Gentile lives.
5.4. The letter that is found in this chapter is like all of the other letters in this book and the book of Nehemiah in that it was written in Aramaic, as that was the official language for legal documentation.
5.5. The ones that caused the Judeans the difficulty here are named: ‘Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues.’ In their attempt to subvert the Jews from building their city they wrote a letter to ‘Artaxerxes’ who was the son of ‘Ahasauerus’ (same as Xerxes I) in which they tell the king that the Jews are rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and rebuilding its walls, and they accuse the Jews saying that if they finish rebuilding the city and its walls that: ‘they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings.’ This again is opposition by men that is inspired by the Devil and his demonic hordes. The Devil knew that if he could keep the Jews from building their city and its wall that he could also keep the Messiah from coming, the One who was prophesied in Genesis 3 as the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the seed of the serpent one day. In the letter, they feign being concerned about the king’s ‘honor’ and this being their motive for writing.
5.6. In the letter, the next thing that they accused the Judeans of was actually based upon fact: ‘we have sent and informed the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore that city was laid waste.’ The Jews had in fact being a rebellious city and had caused a lot of problems to the rulers over them.
5.7. Next, the tell the king in the letter that: ‘if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, as a result you will have no possession in the province beyond the River.’ This is just slander here.
5.8. Based upon this letter, the king does a search and finds incriminating evidence about the Jews, which results in him issuing a decree: ‘A decree has been issued by me, and a search has been made and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it, 20 that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces beyond the River, and that tribute, custom and toll were paid to them. 21 “So, now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. 22 “Beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?’
5.9. Fortunately, this decree is stated as being sort of a temporary decree because he says they must quit the work until he issues another decree.
5.10. The result of the decree that was made by King Darius was that when it was read the work on the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was forcibly stopped, it: ‘was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms. 24 Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased.’
5.11. The work of building the city of Jerusalem as well as the putting on of the finishing touches on the temple, ‘was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.’ We aren’t told here what transpired to cause the Judeans to continue rebuilding their city only that they did later contine.
6. VS 4:24-5:17 - “24 Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. 1 When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, 2 then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them supporting them. 3 At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus, “Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?” 4 Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until a report could come to Darius, and then a written reply be returned concerning it. 6 This is the copy of the letter which Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent a report to him in which it was written thus: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 “Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with huge stones, and beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is going on with great care and is succeeding in their hands. 9 “Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ 10 “We also asked them their names so as to inform you, and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head. 11 “Thus they answered us, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 ‘But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. 13 ‘However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 ‘Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, and brought them to the temple of Babylon, these King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. 15 ‘He said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.” 16 ‘Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is not yet completed.’ 17 “Now if it pleases the king, let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, if it be that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”” – After the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem to get back to rebuilding the temple of God, the governor of the land, Tattenai, discovered they were working again and asked them where they got a decree to rebuild the temple and the people of Judea told them about how they had disobeyed their God which had caused them to be taken captive to Babylon, but that when Cyrus had been made king in Persia he issued a decree that they were to return to their land and rebuild their temple, and when they asked him to verify that this decree had been made Tattenai sent a letter to Darius the king asking him what he should do and if this decree had been made
6.1. We are now flashed back in time to the era of the building of the house of the Lord under Zerubbabel.
6.2. Here we see the result of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah on the Judeans after ten years of not building their temple. The people were encouraged to continue the work. They hadn’t at this point been forbidden by the king of Persia to rebuild the temple, they had quit because they gave into their fears. They had begun initially based upon a decree from King Cyrus and so encouraged by the word of God they began again the rebuilding work based up that original decree.
6.3. We are told here that the elders of the Jews were successful in their building of the temple as a result of the prophesying of Haggai and Zachariah. The prophets used two different methods for encouraging the Judeans in their work:
6.3.1. The prophet Haggai received a word from the Lord that the reason why the people’s crops failed and their resources constantly dwindled was because they had abandoned the work that the Lord had given them to do. They had been commissioned before the Lord to rebuild the temple and had left depending upon God’s promises that they would return and successfully rebuild the city and temple. But, they had given up. Now, they needed to repent and get back to their original calling and commission, and Haggai is told that the Lord will be with them and give them success in their endeavor. However, they must take courage in this word from God and have no fear, in order to see it fulfilled. The people heeded his word in 520 BC and began the work again and the temple was completed in 515 BC.
6.3.2. Warren Wiersbe writes the following about how that Zechariah prophesied to Judea to get them to continue their work in rebuilding the temple by speaking to them about far future events coming for Israel and her Messiah when He comes for He will keep Jerusalem from being destroyed and though all the nations will come against Jerusalem, He will slay all over her enemies and establish her as king over all of the nations: “But Zechariah did not see a weak nation in a ruined city; he looked down the centuries and saw the future of the city and the coming of Jerusalem’s King, the Messiah. He knew the temple would be rebuilt (1:16; 4:9; 6:12–14; 8:9). Trace in Zechariah the great events related to the city of Jerusalem.”
6.3.2.1.Protected by the Lord (9:8).
6.3.2.2.Visited by the Messiah (9:9).
6.3.2.3.Destroyed by Rome (11:1–14).
6.3.2.4.Protected by Antichrist (11:15–17).
6.3.2.5.Attacked by the Gentiles (12:1–8; 14:1–3).
6.3.2.6.Delivered by Jesus Christ (12:9–14:11).
6.3.2.7.Cleansed and Glorified by the Lord (12:10–13:1; 14:9–21).
6.4. When ‘Tattenai,’ the governor of the land of Judea saw that the Judeans had resumed the building of their temple, he came and asked them who had issued a decree for them to start their building. The Judeans acted respectfully to the governor and gave him all of the information that he desired, including even the names of the men who were rebuilding the temple. They told the governor that a great king in Israel had built their temple but that the Judeans had provoked the Lord their God and that as a result He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The Judeans had spent 70 in captivity in Babylon. But, when Cyrus was made king of Persia and then conquered Babylon, that he made a decree to rebuild the house of God, giving them even all of the gold and the silver utensils from the house of God which had been taken and stored by Nebuchadnezzar. Then, they told the governor about how that they had previously build the foundations of the temple under ‘Sheshbazzar’ (probably Zerubbabel). They told him also that if the king were to search the national archives that he could find Cyrus’ decree.
6.5. So, because the Judeans had laid their case out plainly and clearly to Tattenai, he wrote a letter to the king and included their whole story to him. Then, he ended his letter saying that if in fact this decree was able to be found, and its contents verfied, then would he please issue a verdict about whether the people could continue their building of the house of God
6.6. This story illustrates why it is so important for us as Christians to give a gentle answer to people when they question and interrogate us about our faith. If we will trust the Lord and be restful of people, God will use us in their lives and give us favor in many people’s lives, just as happened with the Judeans.
7. VS 6:1-13 - “1 Then King Darius issued a decree, and search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 In Ecbatana in the fortress, which is in the province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows: “Memorandum— 3 “In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; 4 with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 ‘Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’ 6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, keep away from there. 7 “Leave this work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 “Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without delay. 9 “Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, 10 that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 “And I issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this. 12 “May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!” 13 Then Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent.” – King Darius had a search made for a decree from King Cyrus that the house of the Lord be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and when this was found he issued a memo stating that the people of Judea should be unhindered, but more so that the treasury in Persia was to foot all of the costs, and that this should be done immediately, and then, he issued a warning of impalement to anyone who violated this edict
7.1. King Darius issued a decree to search the nation’s archives, the treasures stored in Babylon, and lo and behold in ‘ecbatana in the fortress,’ in Media, a scroll was found with King Cyrus’ original decree to have the house of the Lord in Jerusalem rebuilt.
7.2. Specific dimensions for the building of the temple were even specified by Cyrus including a height of 60 cubits and a width of 60 cubits for the foundation of the temple. Also, the foundation was to have ‘three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers.’
7.3. Cyrus’ decree also specified that the cost of the building was to come from the royal treasury. Likewise, it was found that the utensils from the temple that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar were to be restored to the temple.
7.4. After Cyrus’ decree was read to King Darius, he told Tattenai the governor to leave the Judeans alone in their enterprise.
7.5. King Darius then made a decree in which he commanded that the full cost of the rebuilding of the temple was to come out of the royal treasure. This including animals to sacrifice of young bulls, rams, and lambs, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil to be given daily to the priests as Jerusalem requested them.
7.6. It is almost comical the fact that Tattenai, the man who had originally sought to have the work on the temple stopped, now was commanded by the king to daily supply all of the needs that the priests had for making their incense and anointing oil. God worked through the opposition that God’s people faced to not only get the work paid for by Persia but also to caused the one who persecuted them to now have to serve them. God works in mysterious and wonderful ways!
7.7. Further, the King Darius’ decree came with a warning that any man who violated the decree should be impaled on a timber from his house, and his house should be made a refuse heap.
7.8. Further, King Darius asks that prayers be made by the Judeans on behalf of the life of the king and also for his sons.
7.9. We see here the fact that though the Lord allows opposition and persecution to happen in the life of a Christian, that He uses it for their good and to further the real work that He wants to do through us. The Jews were opposed and the resolve of their faith and commitment tested, however after they gave an honest and forthright account of themselves and their mission to the governor the results was that the Persian emperor now committed to financing the work of the rebuilding of the temple.
7.9.1. We Christians must not lose heart or give up when we encounter opposition but continue to trust God to work it for good just as He did in this story.
7.9.2. Opposition and persecution of us as Christians wakes us up to the fact that we are in a spiritual warfare and have a real adversary. They show us our need to trust the Lord by faith, and trusting Him in this way causes us to be able to see Him do great and mighty works on our behalf. The end result is that God’s work and will is completed through our lives and He uses us greatly. Then, after all is said and done it is God who gets the glory for what we have done.
8. VS 6:14-17 - “14 And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 This temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel.” – Because of the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah, the Jews finished building the temple of God according to the decree of kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes of Persian, then then they dedicated the temple with sacrifices similar but smaller in number to what was sacrificed under Solomon when the temple had originally been dedicated
8.1. The prophetic work of Haggai and Zechariah had performed its desired work, the people completed the building of the temple.
8.2. The temple was completed being built on third day of the month Adar, the sixth year of the reign of King Darius, or around 515 BC. I mentioned earlier that it is difficult to come up with the 70 years of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah in Jer. 29:10 from the dates of the Babylonian captivity until the return of the exiles. But, if you take the captivity of Judea and destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 587 BC as the beginning of the 70 years of captivity, and this date of 515 BC when the temple was completed as the end of that period, then you have roughly 70 years of captivity.
8.3. After being completed, the temple was then dedicated, and the sacrifices that were made were similar in nature to those that were made by Solomon when the temple was originally completed. However, they were much smaller in number.
9. VS 6:18-22 - “18 Then they appointed the priests to their divisions and the Levites in their orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses. 19 The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month. 20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 The sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. 22 And they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.” – Then the children of Israel appointed the priests to their divisions and the Levites in their orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, and next the observed the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month
9.1. Now that the temple was completed the Judeans appointed priests according to their divisions and Levites in their orders, just as it was written in the book of Moses.
9.2. The Judeans next observed the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month.
9.3. The priests and the Levites then purified themselves with water, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all of the exiles in the land. All those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations to seek the Lord God of Israel in Judea, ate the Passover.
9.4. They also observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for the seven days of the feast.
9.5. The point of the story is given in verse 22 as it says that as a result of these circumstances and how the Judeans had acted towards Tattenai, the governor. It says that as a result of these things that the Lord ‘turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God.’
10. CONCLUSIONS:
10.1. Keep in mind that whenever you serve the Lord you are going to encounter opposition. That opposition will likely be in the form of people who unwittingly are used by demonic forces to discourage and hinder what God is using your life. Expect it and be prepared to do spiritual warfare.
10.2. Keep focused on the Lord and the work that He has for you and don’t let your circumstances hinder you from completing that which the Lord has for you to do, and don’t give into fear because it will render you ineffective and rob you of your joy.
10.3. When people try to hinder you be straight forward with them and honest, don’t deceive and don’t try to manipulate the situation. Trust the Lord and pray for those who are trying to hinder you. Leave the situation in God’s hands.
10.4. Realize that the Lord is going to use that opposition to cause you to realize you are in a warfare so you seek the Lord’s resources not the arm of the flesh. God will work through you and use that warfare to mature you and strengthen your faith in the Lord. We need to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials knowing that the testing of our faith will produce perseverance in your life. But, you need to let perseverance have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete in all things.