Opposition begins (Ezra 4)
Ezra 4:1-5 “1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.” 4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
Two parts to the opposition to the work:
- First, the enemies tried to infiltrate the Israelites so that they could destroy the work from the inside. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the other leaders saw through their efforts and continued rebuilding in spite of these attempts.
- Second, the enemies tried (and succeeded, temporarily) to stop the work by using external forces (bribery and discouragement).
Ezra 4:24 “Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
- The people lost sight of the fact that God was with them. They lost sight of the fact that the literal God of the universe was in their corner and helping them to succeed.
Chronological Timeline of events
- There are four primary kings referenced throughout the book of Ezra: Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes.
- Chronologically, Ezra 4:6 fits between Ezra 6 and 7.
- Ezra 4:7-23 refers to the events between Ezra 7 and Nehemiah 1. Basically, this was a letter to the king of Persia written to convince the king to prevent the work on rebuilding the city from happening. It worked and Artaxerxes issued a decree forcing the Israelites to stop working on the city.
- Ezra likely did this simply to highlight the consistency of the opposition to the rebuilding efforts that the people of Israel encountered.
Encouragement from the Lord (Ezra 5)
Ezra 5:1-2 “Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.”
- Haggai: Basically, the entire book of Haggai in the Bible is an account of specifically how God encouraged the people of Israel through the prophet Haggai in the rebuilding of the temple.
Haggai 2:2-5 “2 Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’”
2. Zechariah: A dense book of prophecy, spoken to encourage the Israelites that had returned from Babylon and to foretell of the Messiah (Jesus).
Zechariah 2:3-5 “3 While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’"
- Tattenai’s letter: Written to question the Israelites. Ended up having the opposite effect and uncovered the support of king Cyrus of Persia and resulted in king Darius of Persia issuing a decree.
Israel’s response:
Ezra 5:11 “This is the answer they gave us: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished.””
Darius’ response:
- Support the Israelites in their rebuilding efforts
- Supply them resources (fully pay their expenses out of the royal treasury)
- Kill anyone who opposes the rebuilding efforts
Completion of the temple (Ezra 6)
- The temple was completed in the sixth year of the reign of king Darius (515 BC).
Dedication of the temple:
Ezra 6:16-18 “16 Then the people of Israel - the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles - celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.”
This is an appropriate response to the faithfulness of God in our lives.
