Reflections on Ezra 5

Ezra 05 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Then the LORD God of Israel told the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to speak in his name to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And they did.
   
2. So Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest urged the people to start working on the temple again, and God's prophets encouraged them.
   
3. Governor Tattenai of Western Province and his assistant Shethar Bozenai got together with some of their officials. Then they went to Jerusalem and said to the people, "Who told you to rebuild this temple?
   
4. Give us the names of the workers!"
   
5. But God was looking after the Jewish leaders. So the governor and his group decided not to make the people stop working on the temple until they could report to Darius and get his advice.
   
6. Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors sent a report to Darius,
   
7. which said: King Darius, we wish you the best!
   
8. We went to Judah, where the temple of the great God is being built with huge stones and wooden beams set in the walls. Everyone is working hard, and the building is going up fast.
   
9. We asked those in charge to tell us who gave them permission to rebuild the temple.
   
10. We also asked for the names of their leaders, so that we could write them down for you.
    
11. They claimed to be servants of the God who rules heaven and earth. And they said they were rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago by one of Israel's greatest kings.
    
12. We were told that their people had made God angry, and he let them be captured by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who took them away as captives to Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar tore down their temple,
    
13. took its gold and silver articles, and put them in the temple of his own god in Babylon. They also said that during the first year Cyrus was king of Babylonia, he gave orders for God's temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem where it had stood before. So Cyrus appointed Sheshbazzar governor of Judah and sent these gold and silver articles for him to put in the temple.
    
14. (SEE 5:13)
    
15. (SEE 5:13)
    
16. Sheshbazzar then went to Jerusalem and laid the foundation for the temple, and the work is still going on.
    
17. Your Majesty, please have someone look up the old records in Babylonia and find out if King Cyrus really did give orders to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem. We will do whatever you think we should.
    

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    Ezra returned to Judah with a group of Jews for the express purpose of rebuilding the temple. Soon after their return they built an altar so they could begin offering burnt offerings to the Lord. In the second year after their return, they laid the foundation of the temple. But then they began to experience opposition from those who were already living in the land and the project came to a halt. It did not resume for another 15 years. It was at the urging of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, mentioned in verse 1 of this chapter, that the Jews returned their attention to building the temple. In the books of Haggai and Zechariah we can see the messages they gave the people, telling them that the hard times they were experiencing during this period was due to their failure to rebuild the temple.
    
    Encouraged by these two prophets the people returned to building the temple. And when they did, Tattenai the governor of the region, appeared on the scene. Since there was considerable political unrest at the time, it was natural that he investigate the intentions of the Jews to be sure they were not rebelling against the empire. Having made his investigation, Tattenai sent a letter to King Darius reporting his findings. He found that "the house of the great God in the province of Judah" was indeed being built and was "being done diligently and succeeding through the people's efforts." (5:8) Tattenai asked the Jews who had ordered this rebuilding of the temple and for a listing of names of the Jewish leaders involved.
    
    The Jews told him that King Cyrus of Babylon had authorized the rebuilding of "this house of God." Furthermore, he released the gold and silver articles Nebuchnezzar had taken from the original temple for them to put in the temple when it was completed. The Jews requested that King Darius conduct a search of the royal archives to verify the decree issued by King Cyrus and in turn that "the king's decision regarding this matter be sent to us." (5:17)
    
    Beginning with King Cyrus' original decree that the temple be rebuilt, it was established that the real authorization for rebuilding the temple came from God. Cyrus stated that "The LORD, the God of heaven, . . . has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah." (1:2) The prophets Haggai and Zechariah also verified that it was "the God of Israel" who was pressing for the temple to be rebuilt. (5:1) God had already used King Cyrus to initiate the project and now He would use King Darius to restart it. God's purposes would be fulfilled and He was not opposed to using pagan kings to make them happen. The question was whether or not those who were called by His name would do their part.