Or, To Build and Prosper Under the Eye of God
Scripture: Ezra 6:1-22
Date: November 10, 2024
Speaker: Sean Higgins
The Lord works in mysterious ways, and sometimes He works in ways that aren’t mysterious at all. He does have a lot of weapons in His providential arsenal; He made all the tools so He can choose to use whatever one He wants in His governing workshop. Sometimes He sends resistance to motivate His people into dependence that He blesses. Sometimes He sends advantages to motivate His people into diligence that He blesses.
At first the “peoples of the land” (Ezra 3:3) caused the returned exiles to get after offering burnt offerings. Their worship said, “Lord, here we are, help us.” In that state of dependence they got the foundations of the temple laid. But then, after some of the people of the land offered to help rebuild but were rejected, they began to threaten and discourage and frustrate the rebuilding (Ezra 4:4-5), and the Jews stopped.
It was around sixteen years later that God sent Haggai and Zechariah to rally the Jews to a blessed future, exhorting them to get up and get building again. They may have stopped due to anxiety/fear, but they had fallen into comfort/complacence. Haggai called them to “Consider your ways,” and word of the Lord went to work on them so that they went to work on the temple.
As the building prospered it got attention from Tattenai, the governor of the region Beyond the River. Ezra 5 records his inspection, his questions, and his report to Darius asking for confirmation. Did the Jews have approval? At least Tattenai didn’t stop them while waiting for an answer, though it’s easy to imagine the Jews feeling on edge, wondering whether they’d be stopped again.
In this case, the interference turned out for the better. The outcome of Darius’ involvement was great, actually, and it enabled them to finish the project and provoked them to praise God. Sometimes, God just gives advantages that work out.
Note: the Jews had declared allegiance to God (Ezra 5:11). And then they saw the advantages God had given them and used them. That included legal liberties from a pagan/pluralistic Persian king as well as tax dollars that resourced their worship. They weren’t too proud to take the privileges.
In chapter 6 we see Darius’ reply, the temple completed, and old worship liturgies restored.
Darius took Tattenai’s report seriously and made search for the records. The account shows that Darius didn’t have aggressive political policies against his subjects, though, as you’d expect, Darius did want them to remain his subjects. If the Jews were building unauthorized, it may have indicated an intent to revolt, which Darius was invested to stop. So he had the records department see what they could find.
A record was found in Ecbatana, a summer home for the Persian kings because its higher elevation made it cooler. Cyrus must have been in Ecbatana when he made his decree.
The record in verses 3-5 is different from the decree in Ezra 1:2-4. The record in chapter 6 is more of an internal memorandum and less of a public announcement; some “documents…were designed for dispatch rather than filing” (Williamson). The specifics also say more about the temple, namely that it was to be restored to its original dimensions (though 60 cubits/90 feet cubed is probably a copying error, since 1 Kings 6:2 has 60 cubits/90’ long, 20 cubits/30’ wide, and 30 cubits/45’ high). Since the funds for restoration were coming from the public budget, it would be important to limit expenses; in other words, there were to be no fancy, expensive additions.
Verses 6-12 give Darius’ official word: get out of their kitchen and let them cook. Do not interfere, and give them whatever they need. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay. The monies were to come from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River, meaning that it should be taken from the locals for the locals.
The specifics in verse 9 (bulls, rams, sheep, wheat, salt, wine, oil) suggest that someone familiar with Jewish sacrifices informed the decree. Darius’ purpose, like Cyrus before him, was that his subjects would pray to their God/gods for the benefit of the king and his sons (verse 10). This is political pluralism. That said, it required no compromise for the Jews. They didn’t have to pray to Darius’ gods, they prayed to Yahweh for Darius.
Darius’ decree included consequences: if anyone altars this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. This penalty was a death sentence and a public spectacle.
Tattenai followed Darius’ orders and look at what the Jews did. Tattenai was no Sanballat (Kidner).
They built and prospered, and did so till they finished. Finishing the temple was huge, in terms of actual construction and what it meant for their culture.
Two observations: First, the Lord used prophets. Verse 14 bookends the project with Haggai and Zechariah mentioned first in 5:1. The building and prospering was through the prophesying. The Lord sent His revelation and the people received it. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28)
Second, they finished by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of the Persian kings; Ezra includes Artaxerxes here, like in chapter 4, who also supported the Jewish temple, as chapter 7 will show. God stirred up hearts, turned the heart of the kings (Proverbs 21:1), and in His sovereignty gave advantages to the people.
So the people celebrated with joy. The last time the celebrated, when the foundations were laid at end of chapter 3, they almost immediately crashed. What goes up must become depressed, a cycle of glad and sad. But should they guard against joy? No! They should guard against any kind of joy that comes from disobedience; otherwise, joy in light of God’s blessings is part of obedience.
The sacrifices demonstrated both provision and identification. That said, the number of animals offered paled in compassion to the thousands offered when Solomon dedicated the temple; 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep (1 Kings 8:63). Also, while twelve goats represented all the tribes of Israel, not all the tribes had persons representated.
The service at the temple was as it is written in the Book of Moses, living by the Book.
A few weeks later they picked up the Passover, also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. More than just the exiles joined in (verse 21), commemorating the original exodus.
They feasted for the LORD had made them joyful because of political advantages and aid. The Persian kings were not perfect, but Israel could see their liberty and opportunity to rebuild under Assyrian/Persian rule.
Fearing the Lord enables theological perspective, and that ought to increase thankful worship. When our allegiance is to God above all, we can both know the times and not be conformed to this world. We can see the advantages/blessings that God gives, advantages that may make the other person more accountable for their “good” done. They might do real good that earns them more judgment.
By way of application, Paul exhorts Christians in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray for their leaders (“kings and all who are in high positions”), and while that can/should include the king’s conversion, God can still answer our prayers in other ways that are still blessings for God’s people whether or not the king/president himself “gets saved.”
I get the feeling of doubt. We are suspicious of “winning,” of success. We finish something and, if it seems good, we wonder when the other shoe will drop. And we do see with Israel the historical pattern that good times made not just soft but sinful men.
But is it better to live in the negative world? Maybe the point is, whether in times of feasting or fasting we’ve got to do both by faith. Whether the political climate pursues us for harm or protects us from it, we should pray for a sense of urgency/diligence in order to build and to prosper under the eye of God.
We’ve reached the end of Zerubabbel and Jeshua’s administration, with the beginning of chapter 7 we’ll move 58 years later to the work of Ezra and Nehemiah. There’s more work to do.
Christian, you are double-sided blessed. You get the advantages, from God, of some national movement toward sanity, so take advantage and work it. You also still get to battle against crazy-makers in western WA, so take advantage, and let your light shine. Thanks be to God!
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:57–58 ESV)