Text: Ezra 6:13-15 B. The temple is finished and dedicated. Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. a. Diligently did according to what King Darius had sent: They were diligent in supporting and funding the work of rebuilding the temple, and were diligent in punishing anyone who opposed it. i. “The political motives for this forthrightness may have been many, including a desire to show respect for the policies of Cyrus and to promote stability in a part of the empire which was important for communications with Egypt, at a time when widespread unrest had only recently been quelled.” (Kidner) b. They prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the Prophet and Zechariah: The words and personal ministry of these post-exilic prophets was an important component in the success of the work. The work and the workers were genuinely strengthened by the word of God through these prophets. i. The initial ministry of these prophets is mentioned in Ezra 5:1-2. There, the prophets had to encourage the people of God to resume the work after a significant period of inactivity. Now they had to encourage them to keep working when God had opened the doors for the work to be done. Even with the open doors, the work was still difficult and needed prophetic encouragement. God’s blessing on the work did not make the work easy to do. ii. “Work on the temple made little progress because of opposition and the preoccupation of returnees with their own homes (Haggai 1:2-3). Because they had placed their own interests first, God sent them famine as a judgment (Haggai 1:5-6, 10-11). Spurred by the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, and under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua, a new effort was begun (Haggai 1:12-15).” (Yamauchi) c. The temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year: This means that it took four years from the resumption of construction. It was such a big job that even with all doing the work diligently it was not quickly completed. i. “The mention of Artaxerxes, who belongs to the next century, takes us forward to the restoration of the city walls by Nehemiah, which this king authorized. His name, as the third royal patron of Israel’s rehabilitation, is added here to complete the picture, whether by the author or by an early scribe.” (Kidner) Enduring Word. David Guzik. 2006.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 14:24:21 +0000
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