Artaxerxes had the search made and found that it was true that there had been rebellion in Jerusalem in times past. Therefore he gave commandment to these men who had accused the Jews that they should cause the building to cease. But it is evident from what we find in the prophet Haggai that the work of building had stopped long before this command from the king came. It was want of faith, and not the king’s authority that stopped the work. Is it not so that when blessing ceases among God’s people it is not the work of the enemy without, but want of faith and faithfulness within? And this is important for us to bear in mind for we are so apt to lay the blame on circumstances. God would have been with His people then had their faith looked up to Him, and He would have preserved them from ceasing that work. But instead of looking to God according to that good beginning when they set the altar upon its base, instead of crying to Him they listened to their adversaries, and stopped their work; and their adversaries managed to get the king’s authority to seal what had already been done.
Next we learn that when the way was opened again for them to begin to build the temple, it was not by the king’s authority but by the intervention of the power of the Spirit of God through His prophets. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were greatly exercised about their stopping the work, and it seems that soon after the command to stop building was received, they began exhorting the Jews as to their neglect, indifference and lack of faith in not going on with the work. They showed them that the Lord had been dealing with them because of their indifference, for He had called for a drought upon all their activities. This resulted in their leaders starting afresh with the work, without waiting for permission from the king.
Their enemies evidently were keeping watch on their activities and soon appeared on the scene in another attempt to stop the work again. But in the providence of God it was a different governor and a different Persian king to whom they complained this time. The usurper had gone, and another king was in power who had great admiration for Cyrus and the interest he had taken in the affairs of the kinom. We are told that the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease till the matter came before Darius.
It is nice to see the faith of the elders of the Jews in their reply to the challenge as to what authority they had in taking up the building again. They took the place of being servants of the God of heaven and earth, and they were building a house which a great king of Israel had built many years ago. But on account of the evil ways of their fathers, they had provoked the God of heaven. He had given them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar who had destroyed this house, and carried the pele to Babylon. But Cyrus had made a decree that the house was to be rebuilt; he had even given them the golden vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away. They were to take these back to Jerusalem and build the house of God there. They were acting then upon the edict of Cyrus. So Tatnai asked king Darius to have a search made and see if such a decree by Cyrus had been made.
ML 03/29/1959