As we see in other articles in this issue, it was the Lord Himself who had brought some of His people back from Babylon after their captivity of seventy years. Jeremiah had prophesied of this time period, and Isaiah had even been given the name of King Cyrus (see Isa. 44:28; 45:1), the Persian king who would give the command to rebuild the temple. Isaiah prophesied at least 175 years before Cyrus began to reign.
Thus we see a relatively small group of people (about 50,000) who returned in the first year of King Cyrus, with a specific command to “build the house of the Lord God of Israel ... which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3). All who were willing were encouraged to go, but only a small number responded. More than this, Cyrus “brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar has brought forth out of Jerusalem ... and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah” (Ezra 1:7-8). Cyrus ordered other things to be supplied, so that nothing would be lacking to those who wished to go. It is nice to see that among those who came back was Zerubbabel, who was in the royal line of David, and thus the king of Israel. Although, no doubt, it was very humbling for him, it seems that he recognized God’s hand upon them and quietly took his place simply as one of the people.
An Altar Built
It is instructive to see that as soon as the people arrived back in Jerusalem, they first of all “builded the altar of the God of Israel” (Ezra 3:2) and offered burnt offerings. They did not need the temple for this; the altar was enough. They could not offer burnt offerings in Babylon, but now at long last they could do so. They gave the Lord His place and offered first of all that which was due to Him. This is a most needful example for our day, for when we give the Lord His place and honor Him first of all, we find that everything else falls into its proper place.
The following year they began to rebuild the temple, no doubt with real energy, but it was not long before there was opposition. This opposition evidently continued for some years, all through the reign of Cyrus. Finally Cyrus died, and he was succeeded by Ahasuerus (Cambyses of history) in the year 529 B.C. During his reign, the adversaries of the returned remnant make an accusation against the Jews, and later, in the reign of his successor Artaxerxes (Smerdis of history, who began to reign in 522 B.C.), they succeed in getting a royal decree to stop the work. Their enemies were able to make them cease “by force and power” (Ezra 4:23).
Reasons for the Stoppage
It seemed as if they could not carry on, and it is true that for the moment, they were forbidden to do so. However, it is necessary to look behind the scenes to see the real reason for all this. Man might seem to have stopped the work, but the real problem lay in the hearts of God’s people. The details are not recorded in the Book of Ezra; the opposition of the adversaries is recorded, but nothing is said about the moral condition of the people. We must turn to the Book of Haggai for this, and here we find that while Haggai says nothing about the adversaries, he exposes the moral condition of the people. As another has aptly commented, “History has to do with events; prophecy with the moral condition that lies behind the actions of the people.” We find the former in Ezra, the latter in Haggai. Haggai, along with Zechariah and Malachi, prophesied after the captivity, and his words were particularly directed to those who came back to the land under the decree of Cyrus. It is evident that the people had lost interest in building the Lord’s house, for Haggai records, “This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built” (Hag. 1:2). After a relatively short time of building the temple, the people had not only become discouraged by the constant storm of protest from without; they had also been occupied with their own affairs and neglected the temple. All this probably went on for a period of twelve years or so. As a result, Haggai berates the people for dwelling in their own “ceiled houses” while the Lord’s house lay waste. He points out to them that God’s hand was against them, in that their crops had not been good, and their wages were not sufficient for their needs. They had “looked for much, and, lo, it came to little,” for the Lord had “called for a drought upon the land ... and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands” (Hag. 1:9,11). Concerning all this, it is recorded, “Yet ye turned not to Me, saith the Lord” (Hag. 2:17).
What happened here is a principle with God. As He had opened a door through Cyrus for the people to return to the land, so today we read that “I have set before thee an opened door, which no one can shut” (Rev. 3:8 JND). But if we fail to obey the Lord’s call and take advantage of God’s opened door, He may, in His government, allow it to be closed, in order that we may do as Haggai exhorted the people: “Consider your ways” (Hag. 1:5,7).
“I Am With You”
But Haggai’s message was not merely negative; he also encouraged the people by telling them, “I am with you, saith the Lord” (Hag. 1:13). In addition, he told them to “be strong ... and work,” saying as well, “My spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not” (Hag. 2:4-5). Finally, he prophesies of a glorious future, as a special encouragement to those who might well be somewhat cast down by the littleness of the work compared to former days.
Thankfully there was a positive result to all this, for the people listened to the word by Haggai, and especially leaders such as Zerubbabel and Joshua. The people began again to build the temple with renewed energy, although they had no command from the king again to proceed. But when the Lord is working, we find that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord” (Prov. 21:1). By this time Artaxerxes had been replaced by Darius (521-485 B.C.). The local governor and others immediately inquired of the Jews, as to who had commanded them to build the house. But here the people take the right place before God; they own their position before the authorities and the king, and also admit that they were in this position because “our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath” (Ezra 5:12). They also remind them of the decree of Cyrus, as their authority to build.
The New Order From the King
The wonderful result was that when Darius made a search, he found all that they said to be true. Darius evidently had a great respect for Cyrus and what he had done; accordingly, he threw his full support behind the Jews, even ordering the civil authorities to help them, using public funds. The building of the temple was resumed and finished “in the sixth year of Darius the king” (Ezra 6:15), about 515 B.C. The people then “kept the dedication of this house of God with joy” (Ezra 6:16).
Again, we find here a principle of God, in His ways with His people. Their bad moral state had caused them previously to cease building, and then God allowed the authorities formally to stop them. Now, when there was repentance and restoration to a good moral state, they again start to build, although without government authority to do so. But then God comes in and not only reverses the injunction against them, but in addition provides for help for which they had not asked. The reference point in each case was not the power of man, but rather the state of the people.
When we are in the pathway of the Lord’s will, all His power is behind us. This does not mean that we may not encounter difficulties in doing the will of the Lord. No, He may allow these to test us. But His will can never be thwarted; He will make a way for us, if we look to Him, and own our true position before Him.
W. J. Prost