Ezra 5

CHAPTERS 5 AND 6THEME: Temple rebuilt, finished, and dedicatedWe have seen already that the rebuilding of the temple was stopped by the opposition of the enemy. They wrote a letter to Artaxerxes which gave a false impression of Jerusalem. They called it a rebellious and bad city. The king Artaxerxes did go back in the records and find out there had been a rebellion on the part of these people, at the very end of the kingdomthe southern kingdom of Judah. Three times they had rebelled. And finally Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the city. But they did not investigate thoroughly. Although they found the rebellion to be true, they did not look for the decree that had been made to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. This was a period of great discouragement. They not only stopped building; they were also tempted to walk away from the entire project. They felt this would be the best way to solve their problems. There are many people who feel that if they could just change their location they could solve their problems. That is not always true. You cannot run away from your problems. Fortunately, this time the people did not run away. God raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Candidly, we ought to study the Books of Haggai and Zechariah (also Daniel and Esther) in connection with Ezra and Nehemiah. They belong in the same passage, and studying them together would be very profitable.

Ezra 5:1

These two prophets were called upon by God to encourage the people to resume rebuilding the temple. They knew, of course, that there had been a decree from Cyrus, king of Persia, which granted them permission to rebuild Jerusalem. And they knew it was God’s will and God’s time to rebuild the city. Haggai called them the Lord’s messengers. These two men were not alike. The only thing they had in common was that they were both prophets of God. Haggai had his feet on the ground. He was a solid, stable individual. He was a man upon whom you could rest. He wanted the facts. He carried a measuring rod along with him and measured everything. Everything had to be all wool, a yard wide, and warranted not to rip, tear, unravel, or become run down at the heel. That was Haggai. He got right down to the nitty-gritty. He spoke, we would say today, to the conscience of the nation. His messages were ones that went deep and hurt. His type was not popularnor is it popular today. Zechariah was an entirely different type of individual. He had his head in the clouds. He had tremendous visions and a message to match. He appealed to the emotions of the people. He spoke to their hearts. These two men together, Haggai and Zechariah, spoke to the conscience and heart of Israel. Apparently Haggai was considered the leader, but both of them encouraged the people to resume their building program. It would be very profitable at this juncture to read the Books of Haggai and Zechariah.

Ezra 5:2

When work was resumed, their enemies heard about it. We are told that Tatnai was a Persian governor of Samaria, and Shethar-Boznai was probably a high official. They come and challenge the workmen. They say, “What’s the big idea? You were ordered to stop building!” Now the answer they give them is really not an answer at all. To begin with, Tatnai and his crowd are enemies. They are men of the world, and the Jews are not about to cast their pearls before swine. Would they understand if they said that God told them to build? After all, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him …” (Psa_25:14)and with no one else. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him …” (1Co_2:14). They just answered “…a fool according to his folly …” (Pro_26:4). In fact, they answered by asking a question.

Ezra 5:4

In other words, “We didn’t see your names on the list that was given to us. If you were part and parcel of this, if you were part of the building crew, we would be glad to answer you. But since your names are not on the list, we will not answer you.” I would call that a very nice way of saying, “it’s none of your business. You have no right to ask that question of us.” Now that kind of reply could put these builders in a very difficult position, but notice what happens.

Ezra 5:5

The wonderful thing is that you can depend on God to keep His eye on those who are His own. So off goes another letter to the kingby this time Darius is the king. Apparently about seven years had gone by.

Ezra 5:6

This is another letter the enemy gets off posthasteI think he sends it special delivery.

Ezra 5:8

As you can see, the thought in the letter is this: We didn’t go up there specifically to spy this outwe are really not their enemieswe just happened to be in the neighborhood and stopped by for a little visit. And this is what we found.

Ezra 5:9

They were not told the names of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah.

Ezra 5:11

They give them the history of the Captivity, which had occurred about seventy years before.

Ezra 5:12

They gave them concrete evidence that King Cyrus had commanded them to rebuild the templehe even sent the temple vessels back with them.

Ezra 5:14

The letter concludes with this request:

Ezra 5:17

These enemies did not believe that a decree had ever been made by Cyrus, but the letter is saying that the Jews’ claim of such a decree is the basis on which they are rebuilding. So they ask that a search be made. They are certain that no such decree exists, but that these people are doing this on their own.