The Temple Rebuilt. Ezra 5 & 6

 

Ezra 5-6 The Temple Rebuilt

 

 

The rebuilding of the temple was stopped by the opposition of the enemy. Although they found the rebellion of the Israelites true, they did not look for the decree that had been made to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

God raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. These two prophets were called upon by God to encourage the people to resume building the temple. They knew there had been a decree from Cyrus, King of Persia, which granted them permission to rebuild Jerusalem. They knew it was God’s will and God’s time to rebuild the city.

Haggai carried a measuring rod along with him and measured everything. He got down to the nitty-gritty and was precise.

Zechariah had tremendous visions and appealed to the emotions of the people. He spoke to their hearts. Both encouraged the people to resume their building program. When work was resumed, the enemies heard about it. They said, “You were ordered to stop building!” The answer given to them was “if you were part of the building crew, we would be glad to answer you, but since your names are not on the list, we will not answer you.” So, another letter was sent to the king. This time Darius is king. It has been about seven years that had gone by. The letter gave the history of the Captivity which had occurred about seventy years before. They gave the concrete evidence that King Cyrus had commanded them to rebuild the temple. The enemies did no believe that a decree had ever been made by King Cyrus, but the letter is saying the Jews’ claim of such decree. They ask that a search be made.

God is with His people and His will is going to be done. During the search, King Darius unearthed some archives, and he then returns a letter to Tatnai, the governor with an important job. King Darius realizes that it was a law of the Medes and Persians, and it could not be altered or changed. So, he makes a further decree. “Not only are you to stop hindering the work, you are to help it along. You are to give these people the money to rebuild the temple.

“Whoever alters this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged on it.” Ezra 6:11. The temple is rebuilt.

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

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