God not only stirred the spirit of Cyrus to grant freedom Zerubbabel, and Zechariah 4:9 confirms it. It seems
Ezra 1 to the captives (1:1), but He also stirred the hearts of the Jews to give them the desire to return to Judah (v. 5). "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). The same God who ordains the end (the rebuilding of the temple) also ordains the means to the end, in this case, a people willing to go to Judah and work.
(Acts 12:20–24). King Jehoshaphat said it perfectly: "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you" (2 Chron. 20:6).
People don't have to be Christian believers for God to use them. Whether a mayor, governor, senator, prime minister, ambassador, or president, God can exercise His sovereign power to accomplish His purposes for His people. This is one reason Paul exhorts believers to pray for those in authority, not that our political agenda might be fulfilled, but that God's will might be accomplished on this earth (1 Tim. 2:1–8). "God can make a straight stroke with a crooked stick," said Puritan preacher John Watson, and that's what he did with Cyrus!
The treasure (Ezra 1:5–11). Not only did the travelers carry their own personal belongings, but they carried 5,400 gold and silver temple vessels which had been taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:8–17; Jer. 52:17–23; Dan. 1:2; 5:1–3).These items were carefully inventoried by the treasurer and delivered to Sheshbazzar, the appointed ruler of Judah. Who was Sheshbazzar? He's mentioned four times in Ezra (1:8, 11; 5:14, 16) but not once in any of the other post-exilic books. He's called "the prince of Judah" (1:8 kjv, niv), a title that can mean "leader" or "captain" and often referred to the heads of the tribes of Israel (Num. 1:16, 44; 7:2; Josh. 9:15–21). The word "Judah" in Ezra 1:8 refers to the district of Judah in the Persian Empire, not to the tribe of Judah; so Sheshbazzar was the appointed leader of "the children of the province [of Judah]" (Ezra 2:1).
The king's decree boldly acknowledged the Lord and called Him "the Lord God of heaven" (Ezra 1:2), a title that's used seventeen times in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel. The decree addressed two kinds of people: (1) those who wanted to return to their land and (2) those who preferred to remain in Babylon. The latter group was urged to give offerings to help finance the expenses of the journey and the restoration of the temple.4
Many Bible students believe that Sheshbazzar was another name for Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, who with Joshua the high priest directed the work of the remnant as they rebuilt the city and the temple. He's mentioned twenty times in the postexilic books, and according to 2 Chronicles 3:16–19 was a grandson of King Jehoiakim and therefore a descendant of David.
The Jews also accepted gifts from their Gentile neighbors (v. 6 niv). When the Jews left Egypt, they plundered the Egyptians (Ex. 12:35–36) and collected the wages the men should have received during their years of slavery. Now the Jews were making their "exodus" from captivity, so they collected wealth from their pagan neighbors and dedicated it to the Lord.5
Ezra 5:16 states that Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of the temple, while Ezra 3:8–13 attributes this to Zerubbabel, and Zechariah 4:9 confirms it. It seems
2. The return of the remnant (1:5—2:70) God not only stirred the spirit of Cyrus to grant freedom
Zerubbabel
Nehemiah
Ezra
Temple
People reformed
Wall rebuilt
rebuilt
400 silent
Neh.'s second
Captivity
70 years Gap 57 years Gap 12 years
years
return 430 (?)
Haggai
Malachi 450–430 (?)
Esther 483–473
Zechariah
520–518
Ezra 1—2 try; otherwise they couldn't serve in the temple or share in the benefits of that service, such as the tithes and offerings and the assigned portions of the sacrifices.
logical to conclude that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were the same person. It wasn't unusual in that day for people to have more than one given name, especially if you were a Jew born in a foreign land.
In verses 3–20, the names of eighteen Jewish families are listed, totaling 15,604 males. When they took a census, the Jews usually included men twenty years of age and older (Num. 1:1–4), but we aren't certain what procedure was followed here. In Ezra 1:21–35, the volunteers were listed according to twenty-one cities and villages, a total of 8,540 men. We don't know the names of all these 24,144 men, but they were important to the Lord and to the future of the nation and its ministry to the world.
When you add the numbers given in Ezra 1:9–10, they total 2,499, but the total given in verse 11 is 5,400. A contradiction? Not necessarily, for it was important that Zerubbabel and the leaders keep a careful inventory of the temple treasure, and it's not likely they would make that big a blunder. The statement in 1:10, "and other vessels a thousand" suggests that verses 9–10 list the larger and more valuable items, while many smaller objects weren't even listed in categories.
The priests and Levites were especially important to the nation (vv. 36–42), for without them, there would be no reason to rebuild the temple. Four groups of priests totaled 4,289 men, and they would be assisted by 341 Levites, some of whom were singers and gatekeepers. The Levites also assisted the priests in teaching the people the law of the Lord (Deut. 33:8–10; Neh. 8:5–8). The 392 "Nethinim" (Ezra 1:43–54) and "children of Solomon's servants" (vv. 55–58) were workers in the temple who were not priests or Levites. In Hebrew, "Nethinim" means "those given" and seems to refer to prisoners of war who were given to the priests to perform menial tasks in the temple. (See Josh. 9:23, 27 and Num. 31:30, 47.) "Solomon's servants" were probably a similar group of men, established during Solomon's reign. Eighty years later, Ezra would have to send for more Levites and Nethinim to help with the temple ministry (Ezra 8:15–20).
The leaders (2:1–2). From the parallel list in Nehemiah 7, we must add the name of Nahamani (Ezra 2:7), bringing the total to twelve men, one for each of the tribes. The Nehemiah in verse 2 is not the man who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, because he didn't come on the scene until 444. And the Mordecai listed isn't the Mordecai of the book of Esther. "Jeshua" is Joshua the high priest, who is mentioned twentythree times in the postexilic writings. He was an important part of the leadership of the remnant and served at the side of Zerubbabel the governor.
Geographically, the Southern Kingdom (Judah) included only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; but over the years, people from the other ten tribes had moved to Judah, so that all twelve tribes were represented in the captivity. The Bible says nothing about "ten lost tribes"; it appears that all twelve are accounted for (James 1:1; Acts 26:7).
The disqualified (Ezra 1:59–63). There were 652 people who couldn't prove their Jewish ancestry. (The towns mentioned were in Babylon, not Judah.) Zerubbabel and Joshua didn't send these people back home but allowed them the rights of "strangers and foreigners" (Ex. 22:21, 24; 23:9; Lev. 19:33–34; Deut. 10:18; 14:29). We aren't told how many priests were unable to provide adequate credentials, but we are told that they were excluded from serving in the temple. No doubt some men thought they could enter the priesthood and have a much easier time living in Jerusalem, but Zerubbabel rejected them. God had made it clear that any outsider who attempted to serve at the altar would be put to death (Num. 1:51; 3:10). These men were treated as "strangers" and allowed to make the journey, but Zerubbabel the governor6 excluded them from the priestly privileges until they could be tested by "the Urim and Thummim."7 This was the means provided for the high priest to determine God's will (Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21).
Everything in God's work rises and falls with leadership. When God wants to accomplish something, He calls dedicated men and women to challenge His people and lead the way. A decay in the quality of a nation's leaders is an indication that trouble is ahead. The British essayist Walter Savage Landor wrote, "When small men cast long shadows, it's a sign that the sun is setting."
The families and clans (Ezra 1:3–35). The long lists of names given in Scripture, including the genealogies, may not be interesting to the average reader, but they're very important to the history of God's people. Unless there's an inheritance involved, most people today are more concerned about the behavior of their descendants than the bloodline of their ancestors, but that wasn't true of the Old Testament Jews. It was necessary for them to be able to prove their ancestry for many reasons.
To begin with, unless you could prove your ancestry, you couldn't enter into the rights and privileges of the Jewish nation, of which there were many. The Israelites were a covenant people with an important God-given task to fulfill on earth, and they couldn't allow outsiders to corrupt them. Furthermore, the Jews returning to Judah couldn't reclaim their family property unless they could prove their lineage. Of course, it was especially important that the priests and Levites certify their ances-
The totals (Ezra 1:64–67). The total that Ezra gives (42,360) is 12,542 more than the total you get when you add up the individual figures given in the chapter. Nehemiah also gives 42,360 (Neh. 7:66). However, in giving this list, Ezra didn't say that these several groups represented all the men who left
Ezra 2—3 by the law, which would include a burnt offering each morning and evening and extra offerings for special days. It wasn't necessary to wait until the temple was completed before offering sacrifices to God. As long as there was a sanctified altar and a qualified priest, sacrifices could be given to the Lord. After all, it's not the external furnishings but what's in the heart that concerns God the most (1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 51:16–17; Hos. 6:6; Mark 12:28–34). Laying the foundation (Ezra 3:7–13). The work didn't begin until the second month of the next year, which means they spent nearly seven months gathering materials and preparing to build. It was in the second month that Solomon started building the original temple (1 Kings 6:1), and he gathered his materials in much the same way (Ezra 3:7; 1 Kings 5:6–12). Joshua and Zerubbabel were in charge of the project, assisted by the Levites. "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" asked David (Ps. 11:3), and there's only one answer: lay the foundations again! That's what spiritual revival is all about, getting back to the foundations of the Christian life and making sure they're solid: repentance, confession, prayer, the Word of God, obedience, and faith.
Babylon, nor do we know how many more joined after the list was completed. It's possible that he counted men only from Judah and Benjamin, so that pilgrims from the other ten tribes make up the difference.
We do know that an additional 7,337 servants, both men and women, went along, which speaks well of their Jewish masters and mistresses, for these servants (slaves?) might have been sold in Babylon and remained there. Apparently, they preferred to be with the Jews. This many servants (one-sixth of the total) also suggests that some of the Jews had become wealthy in Babylon.
The 200 singers (Ezra 1:65) were not a part of the temple ministry but were "secular singers" who performed for Jewish festive occasions such as weddings (see 2 Chron. 35:25). From the time of the exodus (Ex. 15), the Jews composed songs to honor God and celebrate the blessings of life. Over a dozen different musical instruments are named in Scripture. The captivity in Babylon hadn't been a time for singing (Ps. 137:1–4), but now that the Jews were "heading home," they had a song to sing.
B.The temple is rebuilt—3—6 1. The work begins—3
The rebuilding of the temple (2:68—3:13) Ezra wrote nothing about the long trip (900 miles) or what the Jews experienced during those four difficult months. It reminds us of Moses' description of Abraham and Sarah's journey to Canaan: "and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came" (Gen. 12:5). "It is a strange narrative of a journey," said Alexander Maclaren, "which omits the journey altogether … and notes but its beginning and its end. Are these not the main points in every life, its direction and its attainment?"8
Note the emphasis on unity. The people gathered together (Ezra 3:1); the workers stood together (v. 9); the Levites sang together (v. 11); and all the while, the people were working together to get the foundation laid. Their tasks were varied, but they all had one goal before them: to glorify the Lord by rebuilding His temple. This is what Paul had in mind when he wrote "make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose" (Phil. 2:2). Following the example of David, when he brought up the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 16), and Solomon, when he dedicated the temple (2 Chron. 7:1–3), the priests and Levites sang praise to the Lord, accompanied by trumpets and cymbals; and the people responded with a great shout that was heard afar off. (See Ps. 47:1; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1–4; 135:3; 136; and 145:1–11.) The people united their hearts and voices in praise to the Lord for His goodness to them.
Investing in the work (Ezra 2:68–70). This was undoubtedly a thank offering to the Lord for giving them a safe journey. The people gave their offerings willingly and according to their ability, which is the way God's people are supposed to give today (2 Cor. 8:8–15; 9:6–15). According to Nehemiah 7:70–72, both the tribal leaders and Zerubbabel the governor gave generously, and the common people followed their good example.
But at this point, their "togetherness" was interrupted as the young men shouted for joy and the old men wept "with a loud voice." Why were they weeping on such a joyful occasion? Because they had seen the original temple before it was destroyed over fifty years before, and the new edifice was nothing in comparison. (Haggai would later preach a sermon about this. See Hag. 2:1–9.) These godly old men longed for "the good old days," but it was the sins of their generation that had caused the fall of the kingdom to begin with! Had their generation listened to the prophet Jeremiah and obeyed God's Word, Jerusalem and the temple would still be standing.
Setting up the altar (Ezra 3:1–3). The seventh month would be Tishri, our September–October, a month very sacred to the Jews (Lev. 23:23–44). It opened with the Feast of Trumpets; the day of Atonement was on the tenth day; and from the fifteenth to the twenty-first days, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. But the first thing Joshua the high priest did was restore the altar so he could offer sacrifices for the people. The people were afraid of the strong nations around them who resented the return of the Jews, and they wanted to be sure they were pleasing to the Lord. Again, we see a parallel with Abraham, who built an altar when he first came into the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:7). This is an Old Testament picture of Matthew 6:33.
It's unfortunate when the unity of God's people is shattered because generations look in opposite directions. The older men were looking back with longing
Joshua also restored the various sacrifices commanded
Ezra 3—4 while the younger men were looking around with joy. Both of them should have been looking up and praising the Lord for what He had accomplished. We certainly can't ignore the past, but the past must be a rudder to guide us and not an anchor to hold us back. God's people are a family, not a family album filled with old pictures; they're a garden, not a graveyard covered with monuments to past successes.
their homes and temple. In fact, the prophet Jeremiah had instructed them to be the best citizens possible (Jer. 29:1–7). Lacking a temple and priesthood, the Jews developed synagogue worship during their captivity, and with the synagogue appeared the body of teachers we know as the scribes and Pharisees. Life in captivity was neither dangerous nor unbearable, and for many of the Jews, the long journey back to Judah was an impossible challenge. The book of Esther and the book of Daniel prove that God had work in Babylon for some of the Jews to do. 5 Is it right for God's people to accept and use for God's work wealth that comes from unbelievers? In one sense, the Babylonians owed this money to the Jews whom they plundered so ruthlessly during their invasion of Judah. The prophet Haggai (2:8) makes it clear that all wealth belongs to God and He can distribute it as He sees fit. However, we need to follow the example of Abraham and refuse wealth that would compromise our testimony or put us under obligation to unbelievers (Gen. 14:18–24). Deuteronomy 23:17–18 warns us that money earned from sinful activities is not welcomed by God. 6 "Tirshatha" in the KJV, a Persian word translated "governor" in the NIV and NASB. The same title was given to Nehemiah (Neh. 7:65, 70; 8:9; 10:1). It means "the feared one" and is the equivalent of "Your Excellency" or "Your Reverence" in English. Charles Spurgeon's wife used to call him "the Tirshatha." 7 We aren't told why Joshua the high priest didn't have the Urim and Thummim, as they were an important part of his glorious vestments. During the Babylonian captivity, the Jews didn't seem to have the special miracles from God that had often accompanied them (Ps. 74:9), although the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel had wonderful revelations from God. There is no biblical evidence that the use of the Urim and Thummim was restored after the captivity. 8 Maclaren, Alexander. Expositions of Holy Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974), vol. 1, 77. 9 Ibid., vol. 3, 290.
We have similar generational disagreements in the church today, especially when it comes to styles of worship. Older saints enjoy singing the traditional hymns with their doctrinal substance, but younger members of the church want worship that has a more contemporary approach. But it isn't a question of accepting the one and rejecting the other, unless you want to divide families and split the church. It's a matter of balance: the old must learn from the young and the young from the old, in a spirit of love and submission (1 Peter 5:1–11). When they were new, many of our traditional hymns were rejected for the same reasons some people reject contemporary praise choruses today. "But each class [the young and the old] should try to understand the other's feelings," said Alexander Maclaren. "The seniors think the juniors revolutionary and irreverent; the juniors think the seniors fossils. It is possible to unite the shout of joy and the weeping. Unless a spirit of reverent regard for the past presides over the progressive movements of this or any day, they will not lay a solid foundation for the temple of the future. We want the old and the young to work side by side, if the work is to last and the sanctuary is to be ample enough to embrace all shades of character and tendencies of thought."9
Every local church is but one generation short of extinction. If the older believers don't challenge and equip the younger Christians and set a godly example before them (Titus 2:1–8; 1 Tim. 5:1–2), the future of the congregation is in jeopardy. The church is a family, and as a family grows and matures, some things have to fall away and other things take their place. This happens in our homes and it must happen in the house of God. To some people, "change" is a synonym for "compromise," but where there's love, "change" becomes a synonym for "cooperation with one another and concern for one another."
CHAPTER TWO Ezra 4—6 THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD T
2. The work opposed—4 herefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God" (Deut. 7:9 nkjv). Moses said that to the new generation of Israelites before they entered Canaan, a truth they would need as they faced the enemy and claimed their inheritance. New generations and old generations both need to be reminded that God is faithful.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1).
Notes 1 My Utmost for His Highest, July 7. 2 Boorstin, Daniel J. The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1964), 61. 3 If we calculate from the fall of Jerusalem (587–586) to when the first group of exiles returned (538), we have about fifty years. Perhaps we should see this as another evidence of God's mercy, for He shortened the time of their exile. 4 It may seem strange that not all the Jews elected to go back home, but they had been in Babylon several decades and had settled down to as normal a life as they could have away from
"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24 nkjv). Paul wrote that to some young Christians in Thessalonica, people who were being persecuted for their faith. They needed to be reminded that God's commandments are God's enablements.
"God being who He is," said A. W. Tozer, "cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot act out of character with Himself. He is at once
Ezra 4
(Gen. 12:1–3). If in any way the people of Israel were corrupted, the success of their God-given ministry would be jeopardized.
faithful and immutable, so all His words and acts must be and must remain faithful."1
J. Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to inland China, described the successful Christian life as "not a striving to have faith … but a looking off to the Faithful One …"2 He knew the words of Paul: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13 nkjv).
God's people today must maintain a separated position and not get involved with anything that will compromise their testimony and hinder God's work (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1;2 Tim. 2:3–5).
However, separation must never become isolation (1 Cor. 5:9–10) because God has a work for believers to do in this world (Matt. 5:13–16; John 17:14–18). Jesus was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb. 7:26), and yet He was the friend of sinners and sought to win them (Luke 15:1–2; Matt. 9:10–11; 11:19). God's people separate from the world so they can be a witness to the world.
The Jewish remnant that returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple was depending on God's faithfulness to see them through. If God wasn't faithful to His covenant and His promises, then there was no hope. But the God who called them would be faithful to help them finish His work (Phil. 1:6), as long as they trusted Him and obeyed His Word.
Accusation leading to fear (Ezra 4:4–5, 24). Satan had come as the serpent to deceive (2 Cor. 11:3) and had failed, and now he came as the lion to devour (1 Peter 5:8), and he succeeded. The enemy told lies about the Jews and encouraged the people of the land to do everything possible to discourage the workers and hinder the work. They even hired counselors to influence the local officials to stop the project, and they succeeded.
In these three chapters, we see how God was faithful to His people in every stage of their work for Him.
Stage one: the work opposed (4:1–24) From the beginning, the remnant faced opposition from the mixed population of the land who really didn't want the Jews inhabiting Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple. Opportunity and opposition usually go together; and the greater the opportunity, the greater the opposition. "For a great and effective door has opened to me," wrote Paul, "and there are many adversaries" (1 Cor. 16:9).
"Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem" (Ezra 4:24). This was during the reign of Cyrus (559–530) who had given the Jews the right to return to their land and rebuild their temple. From 536 to 530, the work had progressed, but in 530, it stopped and didn't resume until the year 520, when Darius was king. This defeat wasn't because the king had issued a decree against them, but because the Jewish remnant feared the people of the land. The Jews had begun to get more interested in their own houses than in the house of God (Hag. 1:1–11).
Cooperation leading to compromise (Ezra 4:1–3). The first attack of the enemy was very subtle: the people of Samaria, the former northern kingdom, offered to work with the Jews to help them build the temple. These people claimed to worship the same God the Jews worshipped, so it seemed logical that they should be allowed to share in the work. On the surface, the Samaritans seemed to be acting like good neighbors, but their offer was insidious and dangerous.
Other opposition to God's work (Ezra 4:6–23). At this point in the narrative (vv. 6–23), Ezra cited other instances of the work being attacked, including the events that occurred during the times of Darius, who reigned from 522 to 486 (vv. 5, 24); Xerxes (v. 6), who was the Ahasuerus in the book of Esther and reigned from 486 to 465; and Artaxerxes I (vv. 7–23), ruler from 465 to 424. Ancient writers often summarized historical events in this manner before moving on to finish their account. Ezra's main interest, of course, was in the opposition that came while the temple was being rebuilt during the reigns of Cyrus and Darius. The long parenthesis in vv. 6–23 deals with the rebuilding of the city (v. 12) and not the rebuilding of the temple. It's additional evidence of the fact that whenever God's people try to serve the Lord, somebody will oppose them.3
The Samaritan people, being a mixture of many races, weren't true Jews at all. When the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, they deliberately mingled the nations they had defeated; and this led to racial and religious confusion (2 Kings 17:24–41). The Samaritans didn't worship the true and living God, for they "feared the Lord, yet served their own gods" (2 Kings 17:33; see John 4:22). The Jewish leaders had already rejected the professed Jews who had been in exile in Babylon (Ezra 2:59–63), so they weren't about to accept the people of the land who obviously didn't belong to the covenant nation and couldn't prove their Jewish lineage.
Why was the Samaritan offer so dangerous? Because if these outsiders had begun to mingle with the Jewish remnant while helping to build the temple, it wouldn't have taken long for the two groups to start socializing and intermarrying, and that was contrary to the law of Moses (Ex. 34:10–17; Deut. 7:1–11; 12:1–3). Israel was a nation set apart from the other nations (Num. 23:9), because God had given them a special task to perform in the world
In the seventh year of Artaxerxes I (458–457), Ezra the scribe took a group of liberated Jewish exiles to Jerusalem to start rebuilding the city (7:1). Eastern rulers depended on their local officials to act as spies and report anything suspicious. Rehum, the officer in charge, conferred with the other officials and decided that the rebuilding of the city was a threat to the peace
Ezra 4—5
Never underestimate the power of the faithful preaching of God's Word. Charles Spurgeon, the famed British Baptist preacher, said, "I cannot help feeling that the man who preaches the Word of God is standing, not on a mere platform, but on a throne."6 of the empire. So he dictated a letter to Shimshai the scribe and had it sent to the king.
Rehum gave four reasons why the king must order the Jews to stop rebuilding Jerusalem. First, history showed that Jerusalem was indeed a "rebellious and wicked city"; unfortunately, this was a fact that even the Jews couldn't deny. If Jerusalem were restored, Rehum argued, it would rebel against the king and declare its independence (4:12).4 As long as Jerusalem was in ruins, it was defenseless against the king's forces.
Haggai began his ministry of the word on August 29, 520 (Hag. 1:1), and five of his messages are recorded in the book that bears his name. A month or two later, he was joined by a young man named Zechariah, a priest whom God had called to be a prophet (Zech. 1:1). These two men delivered God's word to the leaders and the remnant, "and they [the Jews] prospered through the prophesying [preaching] of Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah" (Ezra 6:14).
Second, an independent Judah would mean loss of revenue and tribute to the empire (v. 13),5 but, third, a successful rebellion would also bring dishonor to the king. What king wants to have one of his provinces successfully rebel against him? This might encourage other provinces to follow their example. Finally, if the Jews succeeded in rebuilding and rebelling, they would no doubt conquer the entire territory across the Euphrates (v. 16), and this would really hurt the king and his empire.
Any work of God that isn't built on the Word of God will never prosper. Moses' success as the leader of Israel came from his faith in and obedience to God's word (Deut. 4:10). Joshua's success in conquering the enemy in Canaan was based on his devotion to the word of God (Josh. 1:8). When we obey God's Word, we can expect "great reward" (Ps. 19:11). If we want to know the power of God, we must also know the Word of God (Matt. 22:29).
The king's officers searched the archives and found proof that the Jews had indeed been ruled by mighty kings (David, Solomon, Josiah, Hezekiah) and also by rebellious kings, so Rehum's accusations were correct. During the declining years of Judah, their kings had made and broken treaties with Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon and had refused to pay tribute to Assyria and to Babylon. Their own record indicted them.
3. The work resumed—5
God used local officials (Ezra 5:3–17). As governor of the province of Judah, Tattenai (Tatnai) was concerned about what the Jews were doing in Jerusalem, and rightly so. It was his responsibility to protect the interests of King Darius and the welfare of the empire and to see to it that peace and security were maintained. So, when the project was resumed, Tattenai investigated and asked two questions: (1) "Who gave you the authority to do this?" and (2) "What are the names of the men working on the building?"
The king ordered the Jews to stop rebuilding the city. In fact, it's likely that the Persians wrecked the work the Jews had already completed, and the report that Nehemiah received from his brother described what the Persians had done, not what the Babylonians had done (Neh. 1:1–3). It wasn't until the arrival of Nehemiah in 445 that the work was resumed and the walls were finished and the gates restored.
The Jews didn't look upon the Persian officer as a troublemaker, but graciously answered his questions. After all, they had nothing to hide, and the eye of the Lord was upon them. God saw to it that the work was allowed to go on while Tattenai contacted the king to find out what to do.
Stage two: the work resumed (5:1—6:12) From 530 to 520, the Jews concentrated on building their own houses and neglected the house of the Lord. The Lord chastened His people to encourage them to obey His commands (Hag. 1:6), but they refused to listen. What means did God use to get the work going again?
God's people must "walk in wisdom toward those who are outside" (Col. 4:5 nkjv) and "walk honestly toward them that are outside" (1 Thess. 4:12), otherwise we have no effective witness where a witness is greatly needed. "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established" (Rom. 13:1 niv; and see 1 Peter 2:11–17). When it comes to the believers' relationship to civil authorities, there's no place for arrogance, accusation, or carnal anger masquerading as zeal for the Lord. Even where we disagree with officials, we can do it graciously (Dan. 1; 3; 6; Acts 4:19–20; 5:29; 1 Peter 2:13–25). One of the things that worried Tattenai was the structure of the temple, with its large stones and timbered walls. It looked more like a fortress than a sanctuary! And the work was progressing so rapidly that he wondered if the Jews were planning to revolt.
God used preachers of the Word (Ezra 5:1–2). It was by the Word of the Lord that the world was created (Ps. 33:6–9), and by that same Word the Lord governs His creation and His people (Ps. 33:10–11). Church history shows that when God wants to arouse His people to do His will, He calls people to proclaim the Word of the Lord. The preaching of Martin Luther brought about what we call "the Reformation," a movement that transformed not only Germany but the entire Christian world. The preaching of John Wesley produced a spiritual awakening in Great Britain that swept many into the kingdom of God. Historians tell us that the Wesleyan Revival helped to rescue England from the kind of blood bath that France experienced during the French Revolution.
The Jews knew their history and told Tattenai how