The queen sitting by him

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Nehemiah 2:1–8, “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”

Nehemiah was a very important man in the Persian kingdom. He was, officially, called the king’s cupbearer. This involved tasting all the food and drink that the king consumed just before the king took it so that the king could not be poisoned. Consequently he was with the king all the time, even if the king wanted to have a drink of water during the night. After a while, he would develop a close and trusted relationship with the king because they were together all the time. The king would often discuss important issues with him as well. There was also a rule that everyone had to be happy when they were with the king so that the king could be happy himself. Nehemiah, of course, was making a great effort not to burden the king with his own problems. One day the king asked Nehemiah why he was sad, Nehemiah was surprised and, perhaps, afraid. However, he prayed to the Lord and told the king that he was sad because the city that where his ancestors  had lived, died and been buried for hundreds of years was lying in ruins. When the king heard him, he asked Nehemiah what he wanted to do about this. It is interesting to note that the historical record also notes that the queen was sitting beside him. This queen was, probably, Esther whose history is recorded in the next book. Nehemiah asked the king to give him permission and the required permits and authority to return to his ancient homeland and rebuild the city of his ancestors.

I beseech thee O Lord

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Nehemiah 1:5–11, “And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.”

Nehemiah knew that the Lord had chosen Jerusalem as the city where He would place His name. However the city was in bad shape. It hadn’t been destroyed because the Lord was incapable of defending the city but because His people didn’t remain faithful to the contract that they had made with the Lord. If the city was to be restored then the people’s sins had to be confessed and they had to repent and fast for these sins. He started to pray and confess the sins of his nation. He asked the Lord to forgive the sins of the people and to be merciful to Israel so that they could, once again be free and at peace in their ancient homeland.

Nehemiah

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Nehemiah 1:1–4, “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,”

Once the Temple was rebuilt, the city needed to be restored as well. This meant that the Temple was kept in a secure place and all the people involved in serving the Lord through the Temple ceremonies could live in comfort and security. The Samaritans wanted to come and join the Jews thus leading the Jews into an impure religion that was a combination of the true religion and false religions. In order to keep order, dignity and sanctity about the Temple and its procedures, it had to be set apart. Nehemiah, was a senior man in the Persian government and he worked in the palace, in the Persian capital. He heard from some of his fellow Jews that the Jews in Jerusalem were in deep trouble. He prayed to the Lord God to save his people because he was deeply sad about the state of the Jews in their ancient homeland.

Were employed about this matter

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Ezra 10:15–44, “Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month. And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.”

Some priests, and other leaders, who hadn’t married strange wives were given the task of dealing with this problem. They began to examine the people and found that there were priests, who promised to put their wives away and shook hands to show their intention. As well as the priests, there were singers and other Temple servants who had followed this pathway as well. These men were keeping the Law of the Lord, which also commanded that the Israelis were to treat strangers with compassion because they had been strangers in Egypt and they were to treat the widow and the orphan with care because the Lord cared for the widow and the orphan. (Ex 22: 21-24) These people were to put their foreign wives away from their homes so that they would not be led into idolatry again but these wives and children had to be fed, housed and cared for in every way

A time of much rain

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Ezra 10:6–14, “Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.”

Ezra had prayed and confessed the sin of Israel then he went inside one of the rooms belonging to a Priest’s father. He prayed and then fasted and mourned the sin that had occurred in Jerusalem at that time. After that, he called all the people together and promised to punish any that wouldn’t come to the meeting. Everyone gathered together outside the Temple. They were cold and uncomfortable because there was heavy rain. Ezra castigated the returnees for the fact that they hadn’t remained separate from the surrounding people, as the Lord commanded. He told the people to confess. They promised Ezra that they would but they wanted to wait until the rain had finished.

There assembled unto him

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Ezra 10:1–5, “Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.”

After Ezra had gone through his confession before the Lord, he called the people together and reminded that they had done wrong. He asked them to confess their sin as well and to promise before the Lord that they would deal with sin and separate themselves to serve the Lord alone.

I fell on my knees

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Ezra 9:5–15, “And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.”

Before Ezra led his company, with the treasure, back to Jerusalem, he fasted and prayed, asking the Lord for safety as they travelled. When he discovered that they were not keeping the Law and following the commandments, he prayed and confessed the sin of the nation before the Lord. It was important to confess the sin before it became established and could only be solved by another episode of exile.

Not separated

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Ezra 9:1–4, “Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.”

It is important to remember that Israel’s major problem, throughout the entire time of the Judges and Kings, was founded on the fact that they didn’t drive out all the inhabitants of the Promised Land. In time, as the Lord well knew, these people led Israel into idolatry. The great fundamental of their faith was found in the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Ex 20: 3) They had trouble with the other people because the others didn’t believe in One God but in many gods. These people worshipped their many gods in their own way with their own idols and other cultic symbols. The Israelis were led astray as they saw these strangers worshipping their other gods. Their children were tempted to experiment with those gods as well. King Solomon suffered because he married many foreign wives and, after a while, they tempted him to worship their strange gods as well. Ezra knew that Israel, and then Judah, were sent into Exile because they followed strange gods in the Land that the True God of Heaven and Earth, the Lord their God, had given them. He was devastated to hear that the returnees were starting to go down the same pathway again by refusing to remain separate from strange gods and being seduced away from their True God.

Then we departed

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Ezra 8:31–36, “Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels 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; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time. Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD. And they delivered the king’s commissions unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.”

After considerable preparation, accompanied by prayer and fasting, Ezra and his company set out from the Ahava River in Babylon. Many Jews had settled in Babylon during the Exile and this city became a leading centre of Jewish study for many centuries after that. Many of the most gifted Jewish teachers and scholars lived there so they collected their company in that place before they left to return to Jerusalem. They eventually arrived in Jerusalem then rested for three days. After that they began to distribute the treasure they had brought with them so that the work of rebuilding the Temple in David’s ancient city could continue. They also offered sacrifices of thanksgiving, praise and worship to the Lord God, Who had brought them safely home.

And weighed unto them

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Ezra 8:24–30, “Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents; Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.”

In the normal course of events a person who was transporting treasure, like the Jews had with them at that time, would expect to take some kind of commission for doing the job. However, Ezra was dedicated to teaching the Law of the Lord to Israel. He didn’t want to enrich himself by taking any commission so he handed the treasure over to the leading priests before they left so that there would be no question about who the treasure belonged to when they reached the other end. Ezra was an honourable and godly man dedicated to serving the Lord alone.

I was ashamed to require

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Ezra 8:21–23, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.”

Ezra took quite a large company of people along with him as he travelled from Babylon to Jerusalem. He was accompanied by scholars and Temple servants rather than a great troop of seasoned warriors. On the other hand they were also carrying considerable treasure to bring to the Temple in Jerusalem. Ezra had told the king that the Lord would go with them so he was ashamed to ask the king for guards to travel with them and protect them. Even though the entire route was under Persian control, there were still many bandits and highway robbers along the way looking to take plunder from a rich company like this one. Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for troops because he had told the king that the Lord would be with them as they traveled. If the Lord is Sovereign, and He is, then the Lord would keep them and their treasures until they arrived in Jerusalem and completed the Temple. Ezra and his company decided to fast and pray before they left so that the Lord would receive the credit when they arrived safely in their ancient homeland.

That went up with me

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Ezra 8:1–20, “These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males. Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males. And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males. And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males. And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. And 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; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.”

The Lord sent many priests and Levites back to Jerusalem as the Temple was rebuilt and it was have to be properly staffed so that the people could resume worshipping the Lord. As long as they obeyed the Law and honoured the Lord with their whole hearts they could expect to remain in the Land. They had still not reached the stage where the peace of Jerusalem was restored. (Psalm 122: 6) However, they were back in their ancient homeland, the Land that the Lord had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) forever.

Blessed be the Lord

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Ezra 7:27–28, “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.”

The Jews should never, according to normal human circumstances, have returned to their ancient homeland. They had been taken away into Exile and, seventy years later, been sent back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple with the same vessels that had been looted from the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar. Cyrus owed nothing to the Jews but he sent them back anyway. The returnees knew Who was responsible for all these things, the God of all the earth, so they gave thanks to their God for all that He had done.

A copy of the letter

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Ezra 7:11–26, “Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand; And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem: That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God. The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house. And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them. And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.”

Ezra was not just a man who decided to return to the homeland of the Jews, he was sent by the king to ensure that the decree made by Cyrus was kept in every possible was. The Persian king gave Ezra authority to command everyone in the region to help him as much as they could. He was given extra money and the right to take more money from the taxes of the people in that region, as required. The king also commanded that anyone who tried to prevent or delay Ezra in his work would be severely punished.

Ezra

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Ezra 7:1–10, “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, The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”

Not long after the Passover was celebrated, less than a year, in fact, the Lord sent a man to teach Judah how to keep the Law and serve the Lord, as He required. This man was called Ezra, he had dedicated his life to understanding the Law so that he could teach others how to follow the Lord as well. Ezra was descended from Aaron so he was qualified to teach others about the Law.

Strengthen their hands

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Ezra 6:13–22, “Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat, And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.”

Finally, the last political obstruction was removed. The local government administrators knew that they had to obey the king so they did everything in their power to make sure that the work was completed quickly. The Lord continued to encourage the Jews through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Before long the Temple was rebuilt and the Jews celebrated with a feast and time of sacrifice. After this they kept the Passover as the Lord commanded Moses, the first great Israeli leader.

A search was made

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Ezra 6:1–12, “Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house: And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God. Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: 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 in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.”

The Persians believed in the Rule of Law, as opposed to the Babylonians. The king of Babylon could change his mind from day to day and be as inconsistent as he wanted to be. (Dan 5:18–19, “O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.”) On the other hand, the Persian kings had to obey the law of the land themselves, they couldn’t change their minds from day to day. (Daniel 6:8, “Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.”) Darius, the current king of the Persians, commanded this his servants search the archives to see what was written. They discovered the decree that Cyrus had made when he first sent the Jews back to Jerusalem, their home city. He promised that the command must be kept and anyone who tried to prevent the Temple from being rebuilt would be punished severely. In fact, he told the local administrators to make every effort to help those rebuilding the Temple, even using their tax revenue to help with the task.

They sent a letter

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Ezra 5:3–17, “At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter. The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king: They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace. Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished. Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.”

The work of the Lord was continuing but the Jews' enemies did everything in their power to stop the work. Some of the local leaders tried to stop the Jews but the Jews told them that they had permission from Cyrus and refused to stop their work. Their enemies sent a letter back to Persia to ask the king to stop their work. However, the Temple reconstruction continued while the messages went back. The king ordered that the archives be searched to see if there were any supporting documents. While this happened the Temple work progressed.

Prophets

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Ezra 5:1–2, “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.”

Even though the returnees suffered considerable political interference, the Lord was always with them and sent them prophets to encourage them and to teach them that the Lord is still in control of their circumstances. They were able to take encouragement from these prophets and continue their work.

Then ceased the work

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Ezra 4:17–24, “Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

The Persian king did a quick search of the archives and discovered something about the Jews and Jerusalem. He sent a message back letting the Samaritans know that they should make sure that the Jews stopped their rebuilding until the matter had been examined properly. The Samaritans quickly came to the Jews and stopped them rebuilding the Temple.

No portion on this side of the River

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Ezra 4:6–16, “And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time. This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time. Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings. Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king; That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed. We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.”

The Samaritans wrote to a different king of Persia. Cyrus had sent the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple but Ahasuerus  was king when the letter came from the Samaritans, complaining about the Jews. Even later, in the reign of Artaxerxes, the leaders of the Samaritans sent another letter suggesting that the Jews in Jerusalem were planning to rebel against the Persian king. They talked about the ancient Assyrian king who sent Israel into exile and sent them into the Land to take their place. Answer was the Assyrian noble who actually resettled the Israelis under Esarhaddon. They tried to destabilise the Jewish position and prevent them from rebuilding the Temple. They also suggested that these Jews would become rebellious and refuse to pay their taxes to the king. After that, the suggested that these Jews, all 50,000 of them, would soon refuse to accept that the Persians were overlords and that the Persians would lose all their territories to the west of the Euphrates River.

The adversaries

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Ezra 4:1–5, “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

The people who were sent to Israel to replace the original people from the northern kingdom, that is the Samaritans, heard what was going on in Judah. (2 Kings 17: 24-41) They believed that they worshipped the true God of Heaven but they just worshipped a syncretism of their old gods and the God of Israel. They wanted to join with Judah in rebuilding the Temple but the leaders of the returnees refused them. These leaders knew that it was very easy to be seduced away from the True God of Heaven into worshipping other gods. They also knew that Israel’s major problem, to that time, had been worshipping strange gods. If Judah joined in with the other people it wouldn’t be very long before Judah started worshipping strange gods again and they would have to go into another Exile. On the other hand, the people from Samaria were upset because they wanted to be part of the Lord’s true people. When they were rejected, the Samaritans did everything they could to stop the Jews from rebuilding the Temple. They even hired lobbyists to pursue their case in the Persian capital.

The foundation of the House

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Ezra 3:8–13, “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 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 noise was heard afar off.”

After the returnees had time to settle back into their ancient homeland, they began to establish the proper order of Temple services. They made sure that the rosters were established and the correct people began to serve at the correct time, according to the rules established by the Lord during the time of King David. They, then, laid the foundations for the Temple; Cyrus had sent them back to complete that task. When the foundations were laid, the people who hadn’t seen the old Temple were happy and rejoiced to see the work started. However, the older people who had seen the old Temple were disappointed because they knew the glory of the old days. The younger people were very happy while the older people were sad.