Ezra 6
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intro- It is difficult to come into a class when you aren’t sure what all has been taught, but I will do my best. We are supposed to be studying tonight and we will get to that in a moment.
A Brief History Lesson/Review
God leads His people out of Egyptian Slavery. He brings them to the promised land.
They turned their back on Him again
Jeremiah prophesied that if they did not repent, They would be destroyed.
They refused to repent, and they were destroyed and were in exile in Babylon
Babylon was conquered by the medo-persian empire
God used Daniel as an instrument to help communicate the everlasting kingdom
God went to work on the heart of the pagan king and allowed the Israelites to return
- they met some adversaries who halted their progress
This brings us to chapter 6, where we will begin to uncover the fact that nothing can stand in the way of God.
The Temple is completed
upon request, Darius makes a decree to search through the house of records to see if Cyrus had made a decree concerning the jews and rebuilding the temple.
Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;
This is the actual cylinder of king Cyrus that has been uncovered and is on display in the British museum
It was discovered that not only did Cyrus make the decree, but also that funds from the royal treasury should be used.
Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”
Daniel chapter 1 reveals that King Nebuchadnezzar took these vessels after conquering Jerusalem he had them stored in the house of his “gods” in many ways he viewed the feat as his gods defeating the God of Israel. In we see Belshazzar drink from the vessels right before his death and the collapse of babylon. God preserved his vessels through multiple empires, and numerous kings, and now He was restoring them to where they belonged.
Also I make a decree that if anyone alters 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.
Not only did Darius reinforce the decree made by Cyrus allowing the Jews to rebuild but he strengthened it with a threat of death to anyone who would dare change it
and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
After roughly a 15 year delay, the Temple was finally restored. A celebration erupted.
after decades of being in exile, they were finally able to return home, only to be delayed for years, and now finally, it is done. The temple is rebuilt.
It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.
Describes the passover feast being celebrated
It wasn’t just natural born jews who were part of this celebration. Many others had joined in also. However they had to separate themselves from uncleanness
this is a foreshadowing of the NT when Jew and Gentile are both welcome in Christ, but both had to separate themselves from uncleanness
How did this happen?
How did God’s people overcome these odds and rebuild the temple? I believe there are 4 reasons.
The work of the prophets
And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;
The writer of Ezra credits the preaching of the prophets for their prospering.
There are too many today who think that preaching doesn’t do any good. However, time and time again, through scripture we see that God uses preaching to stir the hearts of man and move them forward.
The Persian Kings
And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;
Not only does the book of Ezra credit preaching, but also credits Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes
We are reminded as we study the book of Daniel and Ezra that Kingdoms do not rise and fall without God’s say so. He used these kings to accomplish His will.
The Providence of God
And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;
The writer here mentions the decree of God. This list is not in any particular order, if it were, this would be number one.
Essentially, the temple was rebuilt because God wanted it to be rebuilt.
If it was God’s will for the temple to be rebuilt, why did it take so long?
from the human point of view: The jews started the work, opposition arose, they became discouraged, they became so involved in their lives, they forgot about God
From the divine standpoint
We do not know the mind of God and why He allowed the opposition to arise
However, it does appear that Darius was even more generous than Cyrus had been by not only reinforcing the decree but also paying from the treasury for supplies as well as daily sacrifices. It may be that God allowed the work to be delayed because in the end it would be better.
The effort of the Jews
I put this last on the list because often times we are too quick to give ourselves or fellow man credit for work that is done.
we enjoy patting ourselves on the back. However, the fact remains, if the Jews refused to work, the temple would not have been built.
God gets all the credit and glory for providing opportunity, working on the hearts of pagan kings and clearing the way, but His people still had a job to do.
Great application for us. Work doesn’t just get done because a sermon was preached, or because financial means are provided. Work gets done when people work.
