“. . . God led Nehemiah to work on the walls, no less than [H]e led Ezra to work on the temple. Both the sacred and the secular were necessary to fulfill God’s plan to restore the nation of Israel.”
In Ezra 4:1-28, King Artaxerxes ceases the rebuilding of the temple of God, which the Israelites had undertaken from the direction of Cyrus king of Persia.
Ezra 4:23-24 (ESV)
“Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease.
Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia”
In Ezra 1:1-4 , we see Cyrus, under God’s direction issue a bold proclamation, a bold dream.
Ezra 1:1-4(ESV)
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, tht the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
Ezra 1:5-11 shows the Levites, priests, heads of households, and anyone whose spirit God stirred up to participate in this venture: the rebuilding of The Temple of the Lord. King Cyrus, ensured the funds to complete this venture were there.
Ezra 2:1-70, demonstrates and accounts for the participants and the items they brought with them to participate in the rebuilding.
Ezra 3:1-13 has the participants uniting as one person within Jersualem to rebuild “the altar of the God of Israel” and to appoint Levites to supervise “the work of the house of the Lord”. The people praised God with shouts & songs. The old men wept tears as the foundation was laid, the same old men that had witnessed the first Temple.
As mentioned earlier Ezra 4:1-24 chronicles the days of King Artaxerxes and the great trouble the Israelites rebuilding the Temple of the Lord faced. King Artaxerxes halted the rebuilding.
***This link is helpful to clarify the timeline of King’s and any confusion that results from subsequent Scripture.
Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the prophets of God in the area, began rebuilding the Temple of the Lord.
Certain scholars estimate the rebuilding began again anywhere from 9-15 years after the work halted in Ezra 4.
These men were met with resistance from a local governor named Tattenai who questioned their authority to rebuild. In fact, governor Tattenai wrote a letter to King Darius, which listed the names and information of those rebuilding. The letter also stated the claim in Ezra 1, that King Cyrus originally made the decree.
Ezra 6:1-22 , starts off with King Darius responding to the letter by governor Tattenai. King Darius searched the archives (storage) and found the document where King Cyrus decreed the rebuilding of the Temple of the Lord.
King Darius then commanded Governor Tattenai & his staff to stay away from the Israelites currently rebuilding the Temple. To let the men rebuild. In fact, King Darius offered resources to these men to complete the Temple.
Miraculously, King Darius command to Governor Tattenai worked. Governor Tattenai ended up providing resources, through King Darius to the Israelites. The Temple of the Lord was ultimately rebuilt.
God, swayed the enemies of the people of the Lord, by swaying the hearts of the Kings that He ultimately has authority over and places for their designated/appointed times.
Proverbs 16:7 (ESV)
“When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
However, the enemies were very much enemies, until the LORD swayed their hearts. Therefore, during the work of completing the Temple of the Lord, there was a very real struggle.
How should we react in a struggle between when the work is started & when the work is completed?
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