Ezra 9:1-15 - Trembling at God’s Word in Purity

Ezra 9:1-15

Intermarriage with Pagans

1 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.” 3 So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.

5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. 12 Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, 14 should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? 15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

The people of Israel who had returned from bondage returned also to their ancestors’ previous sins of idolatry instead of separating themselves from the world’s evil pursuits around them.  Because they were unequally yoked with pagan women, they began sharing in the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites they married.  Their holy seed was mixed with the unholy and it dragged them downward.  We are reminded of this in Christ as God’s people today as we read 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 because we then defile the temples of God which we are (2 Corinthians 6:16) as we bring lifeless idols into these places meant only for holy worship of the Living God!  This account in Ezra is our warning not to take this lightly and marry unbelievers who will drag us downwards into their abominations which are rejections of God’s word that is given to be followed and not spurned by putting others (Exodus 20:3, Jeremiah 25:6) before Him.  Those we put ahead of holiness of sole worship to the Lord become our idols and by so doing we desecrate our temples.  How can we who are in Christ then choose a wife or husband who is unholy and set up their idols in our temples (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) contrary to His teachings and devotion to Him?  Ezra fasted and prayed without ceasing in his grief over what the people had done and felt the shame and humiliation of the returning sins which had led to their seventy years of exile in a godless land only to return to the land of promise and have them break their promise all over again.  The inner sin nature is our greatest enemy that pulls us from holiness in living and choosing to honor our Savior Lord.  Such disobedience leads us to repentance as Ezra demonstrated on behalf of the people to seek forgiveness from His consuming wrath in their guilt.  Then the answer to such unholy unions in the time under the old covenant of works was to put away the unbelieving wife, whereas the grace in Christ’s covenant of grace now calls for something different as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13, with the understanding that our witness to the unbelieving spouse is no reason to marry them knowing this, but that we are powerless to effect change (1 Corinthians 7:16) in them.  The lesson then is not to marry an unbeliever and corrupt our temples with their unholy pursuits, but also not to automatically divorce them later as long as they consent to remain married and we see that we fail to influence them to repentance and faith to salvation.  No one can stand before the Lord to dispute these things and still worship as we ought to do.  May we then choose rather to be holy as He is and because He is righteous and merciful, and seek forgiveness through repentance if we have failed in this.  May we seek godly offspring (Malachi 2:15, 1 Corinthians 7:14) through righteous choices instead as we tremble at God’s word in purity of body and soul.

Ezra 8:24-36 - You are Holy to the LORD!

Ezra 8:24-36

Gifts for the Temple

24 And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them— 25 and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. 26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30 So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

The Return to Jerusalem

31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. 32 So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

33 Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, 34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.

35 The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

36 And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God.

Offerings to the LORD were collected for the temple house of God and Ezra told the leaders of the priests, “You are holy to the LORD.”  He also told them that the vessels and articles of the house were also holy (1 Samuel 21:5, 2 Timothy 2:20, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, 7, 5:21-22) as they gave freewill offerings to the LORD God there.  We also are priests to our Lord God in Christ (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10) and are called to be holy first of all in our position and standing in the righteousness imputed to we who are in Christ, and secondly as how we live our lives in holy response as we keep these vessels of worship clean and holy to worship Him as well-pleasing (Hebrews 13:21, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:9, 1 John 2.15-16, 17) priests who serve God in these temples.  Therefore we listen to Ezra and the pattern set for us to honor God as holy servants with all we are and own put to good and righteous use to worship Him in these temples in the beauty of (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 29:1-2, 96:9) personal priestly holiness.  Therefore hand of God is on such who live lives set apart for Him in body and soul with all we have been given as stewards to deliver from the hand of the enemy at times in this life and most certainly in the next.  Remember, you are holy to the Lord! 

Ezra 8:1-23 - Answered Prayer along Life’s Perilous Way

Ezra 8:1-23

Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra

1 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; 4 of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; 5 of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; 6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; 10 of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; 11 of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; 13 of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; 14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

Servants for the Temple

15 Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. 17 And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. 18 Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Ezra continues the account of those who returned from the bondage of seventy years of Babylonian exile by first naming the families who went with him into exile and now returned with him.  Each one mattered, so God had the account name them all by genealogy and their numbers.  He accounted for their stops along the way on the long journey home to Jerusalem and the surrounding cities.  One stop at the river of Ahava identified the lack of Levites to serve in the temple and Ezra had some servants brought them and designated their duties as king David had identified.  He assigned them by name since each was important and needed to show who they were descended from in the Levitical order.  There they fasted and prayed in humility before God to ask for guidance, the right way for them all to go with their children and possessions due to the amount of robbers known to be along that well-traveled route.  They had to;d the king of Babylon that they needed no armed escort for protection because they trusted in the LORD to keep them safe.  He did.  The witness to the king was that God’s hand was for those who were His and were seeking Him, but that His hand of powerful wrath was against all who rejected Him and His word of the Law.  They exercised their spoken faith for protection by fasting for spiritual focus on Hi promises and praying to entreat His Grace to keep them safe along the way.  This is our focus in prayer as well, to seek to please Him for the grace we have in His Son for deliverance from the bondage of sin and to guide our steps in the way of our sanctification in this life until we reach the Celestial City brought down (Revelation 21:10-11) from heaven to earth to live before His face (Revelation 22:4-5) forever in absolute safety and unending worship.  We will have arrived then at the city which Abraham also awaited by faith, whose builder and maker (Hebrews 11:10) is God Himself!  We have peace with God and peace in trials and tribulations as He builds His house (Ephesians 2:21-22, Hebrews 3:4-5, 6, 1 Peter 2:4-5, ) of worship with we who are His to worship forever in His presence.  This is our answered prayer as we face fears along life’s perilous (2 Timothy 3:1) and narrow way that we walk by faith that trusts the Lord will keep us to the end. 

Ezra 7:11-28 - Encouragement from the King

Ezra 7:11-28

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel:

12 Artaxerxes, king of kings,

To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:

Perfect peace, and so forth.

13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; 15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; 16 and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem— 17 now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

18 And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19 Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.

21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. 26 Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

27 Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, 28 and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.

So I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

King Artaxerxes sent this encouraging letter of royal backing to Ezra in the work of rebuilding the temple house of God and addressed him as the priest, the scribe, and expert in the words of the commandments and statutes of the LORD.  How this must have given great joy and peace after so much opposition from the people who had taken over the land around Jerusalem after the inhabitants had been exiled to Babylon for seventy years, a full generation given the chance to learn from their parents who had not repented of their idolatry that led to their bondage of sin and enslavement in a foreign land after they had been warned by the messengers of God sent to them!  This foreign king recognized him and the LORD as he opened the letter with, “To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven,” acknowledging God as the King over all who Ezra served faithfully and blessing him with perfect peace as well.  Ezra was given a free hand to spend all he had been given for the work as seemed necessary “according to the will of your God” to complete the task at hand and offer all sacrifices to God there on the new altar to honor God as the LORD of heaven.  Whatever the God of heaven required to do these things, the king of Babylon authorized Ezra to pull from the local treasuries as well to fully fund the work of the LORD.  The king also issued an edict to make them tax-free, just as we see now based on this principle in the law applied to our churches in this land; the king feared divine retribution if they taxed or hindered God’s work a principle which was lost in our country in this present day.  The king went so far in his fear of the LORD as to make it a serious crime to not follow God’s laws in the land of God’s people there, however, a step we do not want to follow today!  Ezra counted himself blessed to have the king moved by God and Ezra’s request to build the house of God and worship Him there.  He was so encouraged to know the hand of God on him and the work he was leading to build (1 Corinthians 3:10, Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Peter 5:2-3) the house of God, a feeling every pastor and church leader needs to humbly move his hand to build the house of the living God (1 Timothy 3:15), which is the church, today.   We do this even without the blessing and support of the king of the country we live and serve in, to honor our Lord and King of kings in heaven with lives lived crucified (Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:1) as living sacrifices.  Our letters of encouragement from the King are found in the scriptures to encourage us now. 

Ezra 7:1-10 - A Heart Prepared to Seek, Act, and Teach

Ezra 7:1-10

The Arrival of Ezra

1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. 7 Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 

8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. 

10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Finally we see who Ezra is who wrote this account of God’s word to us.  In Hebrew, the name Ezra means “help” or “helper” and may be an abbreviation for “God helps” or “God is helper.”  He was a descendant of Aaron the chief priest and we can trace his lineage back to him from this detailed account given to us to consider who he really was, a priest of the Most High God by familial inheritance.  He came out of the exiled bondage in Babylon to build the house of God and its surrounding city of Jerusalem by the leading and decree of God Himself.  He was a scribe who studied and knew the word of God called the Law of Moses then, and is described as skilled in the word given by the LORD to His people.  We read of when he began his journey and when he arrived at last after five months on the road in the city of David as God’s good hand was on him to protect, lead, and guide him to do God’s will.  Ezra first of all had prepared his heart to seek the Law of God, to know what the scriptures say and mean in understanding and practice.  Then this skilled scribe looked for how to put these commands, examples, and principles into hands and feet and lips to please the LORD and communicate these truths to others to live by (2 Timothy 2:2) as well.  He taught the statutes and ordinances to the people of God (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) who came out of bondage with him to build God’s house and worship Him in spirit and truth, instructing them to do so with all (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37) their hearts, minds, lives, and strength.  Do we likewise learn from this example written for our instruction (Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11) to seek God’s word (Matthew 4:4, Job 23:11-12), what it means (Joshua 1:8), how to live accordingly (Colossians 1:10, 2 Peter 1:5-6, 7-8), and pass it on to others as we pour our lives into others (2 Timothy 3:16-17) as He does with us?  It all starts with the heart set on knowing Him and manifests this truth of worship and honor by making Him known as we follow our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1), Jesus Christ.  We are to seek, act, and teach His word as skilled scribes (Matthew 13:52) of His gospel of deliverance from sin to follow and honor Him. 

Ezra 6:1-22 - Cleansed Hands Strengthened for Worship

Ezra 6:1-22

The Decree of Darius

1 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—

6 Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

8 Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

11 Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. 12 And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

13 Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. 14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Celebrated (cf. Deuteronomy 16:1–8)

19 And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. 21 Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

After all the opposition and delays, the LORD intervened to protect His own and give them strength for their work as King Darius issued a decree to make it possible to do so.  Because of the divinely inspired letter from Jerusalem (Ezra 5:17), the king of Babylon ordered a search for the previous order of king Cyrus to support and defend the building of the house of God and the city of David surrounding it.  They uncovered the buried letter in the royal archives that verified the story of those leaders in Jerusalem with all the expenses to be paid and holy treasures to be returned once the temple was built.  An edict was given to Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and the others in charge to stand down from their opposition and allow the work to proceed.  Not only that, but the costs to continue the daily sacrifices was also spelled out in writing!  Anyone ignoring this decree and continuing their interference would be hung with a timber from their own house which would then be torn down.  Darius then invoked the name of the LORD as the one whose name dwelt there and called on Him to utterly destroy anyone stopping the work for the house of God.  He urged the work to continue diligently since it had been delayed through unlawful interference for so long.  Thus they built and finished it according to the commandment of the God of Israel and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.  The descendants of God’s people returned from exiled captivity then offered many sacrifices of praise to dedicate the new house to the LORD.  Their God made them full of ceaseless joy as their hands were cleansed through humble repentance and God strengthened them for worship once more as in days of old.  The Lord Jesus Christ likewise strengthens our hands applied to His work of the gospel as we joyfully worship Him who released us from the captivity of sin to serve and worship Him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) in the house of the Lord which is the church (1 Timothy 3:15) of the living God.  May we continue to cleanse and strengthen (Psalm 27:14, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Timothy 2:21, 1 Peter 5:10, James 4:8, 1 John 1:9, 3:2-3) our own hands for the work of worship in building the house of God which we are! 

Ezra 5:1-17 - Bondage Under Wrath of God to Restoration

Ezra 5:1-17

Restoration of the Temple Resumed (Habakkuk 1:1; Zechariah 1:1)

1 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?” 4 Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter. 6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:

The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king.

7 (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus.)

To Darius the king:

All peace.

8 Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.

9 Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: “Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?” 10 We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them.

11 And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed. 12 But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon. 13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God. 14 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15 And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ 16 Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and it is not finished.”

17 Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.

The account given by Ezra lays bare how these things came to pass.  Because the people of the LORD in Judah and Jerusalem continued in sin, they fell under God’s wrath (Romans 3:5, 9, 23-24, 5:9, Ephesians 2:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:10) and were carried into the bondage (Romans 8:21, Galatians 4:3-4, 24-26) of their sin into captivity in both a physical and spiritual sense for their rebellion of idolatry and accompanying immorality as well as their inheritance of sin from Adam as is true today for us all from birth.  These Jews then began to rebuild the house of God even under opposition after the prophets Haggai and Zechariah gave them God’s word to begin the work.  The local leaders tried to stop them, but God delayed them long enough for a letter to be sent to the new king of Babylon, Darius, outlining the background of the order of the former king Cyrus who commanded the temple be rebuilt with his and his nation’s blessing with restored temple articles of precious metals sent back.  The letter of Zerubbabel and the elders was read by king Darius with their plea to examine the historical records of Babylon to validate their claim of the decree and allow the work to continue to restore what God’s wrath had brought upon them in the temple’s destruction and their exile into deserved captivity.  They just wanted to rightly honor and worship the LORD whom they had abandoned along the way by restoring the place for restored worship from broken (Psalm 51:17) hearts turned back to Him in heartfelt repentance.  We see this brokenness fulfilled for us now in Christ as foretold and foreshadowed then in Isaiah 61:1, 42:6-7 and Luke 4:18-19, 21 for our deliverance from our brokenness of sin’s corruption that we may also worship in restored and reconciled lives.  We who have come to see and receive Jesus Christ the promised Messiah were under bondage to sin in our brokenness and captivity until He set us free to build the temple house of God in our individual and corporate lives as His church that is not made by hands of man (Acts 7:49-50, 17:24, 2 Corinthians 5:1, Hebrews 9:11-12) but of God Himself.  May we see that the letters sent by the apostles to us demonstrate God’s grace in our redemption from His wrath on our sin, both inherited and ongoing, and His deliverance in His Son by that grace to rebuild this house of God (Ephesians 2:19-20, 21-22, 1 Timothy 3:15, 1 Peter 2:4-5) to worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Ezra 4:1-24 - Adversarial Resistance to Restored Worship

Ezra 4:1-24

Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple

1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed

6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion:

9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River—and so forth.

11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent him.)

To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and so forth:

12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished. 14 Now because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15 that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed.

16 We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion beyond the River.

17 The king sent an answer:

To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River:

Peace, and so forth.

18 The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me. 19 And I gave the command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it. 20 There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the region beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them. 21 Now give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the command is given by me.

22 Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?

23 Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. 24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The people of the land approached Zerubbabel to pretend to join them in rebuilding the house of the LORD, but it was a pretense to frustrate the effort and stop them from finishing it.  These ungodly men brought in to take the place of God’s people when they were exiled (2 Kings 17:24) lied about seeking God in their attempt to stop them that their lifeless idols would presumably prevail over the living God.  It is a pattern we later see Paul (Acts 20:29-30) warn us of, where those not knowing or seeking the Lord rise up or infiltrate the church to disrupt the children of God and keep us from worshipping in spirit and truth.  They seek to promote their own gods and ends under the cloak of ecumenicism while corrupting core doctrines and injecting others of their own making to stop the building of God’s kingdom on the foundation of Jesus Christ alone.  Such add requirements not given in scripture and then subtly and subsequently move the focus from grace in Christ alone to checklists and human efforts to win God’s favor.  In the time of Zerubbabel these outsiders attempted to infiltrate the kingdom and disrupt it, keeping the foundation from being built upon through lies and intrigue of ulterior motives while appearing helpful and portraying themselves as seekers or even worshippers of the same God, when they clearly were not.  Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel stood against them firmly to keep the, from corrupting the house and God and its construction, a lesson for us to be valiant for the truth and honor of God in Christ as scripture tells and instructs us to build this house of God in the hearts and minds and souls of the building blocks which we individually are, in truth and love and not as the world would have us do to keep us from the gospel work we have been called together to build with.  Back then, accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem were leveled to stop the work of God, often seen today in similar manner by accusing us of being “haters” for opposing unrighteousness and not supporting abominations as society has come to see as acceptable.  They wrote to King Artaxerxes in authority to stop the work of God in building His house by using slander and lies about how they would not pay taxes or support the government as loyal citizens, moving the government to rule against the people of God and their work for Him as rebels and disloyal enemies of the state.  They falsely claimed if the house of God was built that the government would lose all control of the people and the city with its surrounding territory, just as Christians throughout history also have been maligned to force laws to limit or stop the work of the Lord.  King Artaxerxes agreed by misreading history and have the order to shut down the work of building the house of God until years later when the Persian king Darius king assumed the throne and the truth came out of how the Babylonian emperor had specifically authorized the effort to rebuild God’s house without fear of rebellion or any other objections.  This battle against the people of the Book and its culmination in the gospel continues (Revelation 12:17) until the return of the Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16) and King of kings who rules over the nations who are opposed to Him and His house which we who are in Christ (Ephesians 2:21-22, 1 Peter 2:4-5) are.  There will always be adversarial opposition and resistance to restored worship as in the days of the Reformation and even ongoing today, but we must be valiant for the truth in love and devotion to building the kingdom on the foundation of Christ alone in His Grace alone without added and destructive teachings (Colossians 2:8, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5) and philosophies of the world opposed to Him and us, whether they come from without or within.  Stand firm and build, even if delays slow the progress.  That is the lesson from this passage. 

Ezra 3:1-13 - Praise the Lord for His Foundation!

Ezra 3:1-13

Worship Restored at Jerusalem

1 And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings. 4 They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. 5 Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Restoration of the Temple Begins

8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:

“For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

After the people returned from Babylonian captivity to Judah, Jerusalem, and the surrounding cities of their family origins, they first gathered together before the house of God to lay the foundation of the house.  They did this by rebuilding the altar for once again offering sacrifices of daily burnt offerings as required by the Law given to Moses long before but long for due to their wandering idolatry that led to the destruction of the house of God and subsequent captivity in a foreign country.  They also fought off their fear of the opposing nations hostile to the LORD and them as His people who had returned, and once more kept the Feast of Tabernacles to remember their previous wandering in the wilderness before first entering their land promised to Abraham that they now had been returned to.  Their thankfulness led to everyone willingly offering a freewill offering to the LORD from their meager possessions, yet they realized that the foundation of the house of God was not yet laid.  Zerubbabel ("sown in Babylon") led the effort to use masons and carpenters to lay the foundation of the temple, the house of the LORD, as the priests and Levites praised Him with trumpets and cymbals according to the ordinance of king David of Israel (Ezra 3:10 1 Chronicles 6:31; 16:4; 25:1) as they sang praises to Him while the foundation of the house was laid once more.  They sang this responsive psalm (Psalm 136:1, 1 Chronicles 16:34-35, 36) in thanksgiving for their deliverance from their captivity and pro from surrounding enemies, “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”  They praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of God was laid, though some wept who remembered the first temple that had been destroyed before their captivity.  Their shouts of praise and weeping met together in an indiscernible sound heard far and wide.  We who have been redeemed from sin’s captivity of our soul’s bondage likewise shout out praises to the Lord for the foundation which He laid (1 Corinthians 3:11, Isaiah 28:16, Acts 4:11-12) that is the house of God composed of each of us (Ephesians 2:20-21, 1 Peter 2:4-5, 6-7) as priests to serve our God (1 Peter 2:9-10, Revelation 1:6, 5:10) with lament for the first foundation of creation lost in Eden and rebuilt by and on Jesus Christ, our Rock on whom we stand by faith in joyful grace.  Praise the Lord for His foundation!