The Work on The Temple Progresses
April 22, 2022
Commentary
Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors sent a report to King Darius wishing him the best (vv. 6-7). They tell how they went to Judah, where the temple of the great God is being built with huge stones and wooden beams set in the walls (v. 8). Everyone is working hard, and the building is going up fast. They explain how they asked those in charge to tell them who gave permission to rebuild the temple (v. 9). They also asked for the names of their leaders, so they could write them down for them (v. 10).
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 (v. 11). They 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 (v. 12). Nebuchadnezzar tore down their temple, took its gold and silver articles, and put them in the temple of his own god in Babylon (vv. 13-15). 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.
Sheshbazzar then went to Jerusalem and laid the foundation for the temple, and since that time until now it has been in the process of being rebuilt and is not completed yet (v. 16). If it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon to see if it is true that King Cyrus really did give orders to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. He says we will do whatever you think we should (v. 17).
Application
I am thankful that God is in the business of rebuilding me into what he wants me to be.
Ezra 5:6– 17 (NET)
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues (who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates) sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent to him was written as follows:
8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands. 9 We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’ 10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders. 11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king of Israel built it and completed it. 12 But after our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. 13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God. 14 Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace of Babylon—even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor. 15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.” 16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’
17 “Now if the king is so inclined, let a search be conducted in the royal archives there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”
Illustration: We Are in a Throw Away Generation
I tend to be a tosser when something doesn’t work, I will toss it out, I will buy a replacement. So when the lawn mower stops working, I take it out to the garbage and go buy a new one. But we have a neighbor who is wonderfully skilled in repairing things. So he will come out and grab the lawn mower, putter around for a few hours, and bring back a working lawn mower. God does not toss us out – rather he is in the business of rebuilding us into what he wants us to be. (Source Unknown).