Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied to them in the name of the God of Israel.
Parallel Translations
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Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied to them in the name of the God of Israel.
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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.
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Now 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 prophesied they unto them.
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Passages linked to Ezra 5:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Haggai 1:1–2:1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came by Haggai, the prophet, to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “This is what Yahweh of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for Yahweh’s house to be built.’ ” Then Yahweh’s word came by Haggai, the prophet, saying, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste? Now therefore this is what Yahweh of Armies says: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.” This is what Yahweh of Armies says: “Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh. “You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.” Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed Yahweh, their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai, the prophet, as Yahweh, their God, had sent him; and the people feared Yahweh. Then Haggai, Yahweh’s messenger, spoke Yahweh’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says Yahweh. Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of Armies, their God, in the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. In the seventh month, in the twenty-first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
- Zechariah 4:6-10 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies. Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace, to it!’ ” Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it; and you will know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you. Indeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are Yahweh’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.”
- Zechariah 1:1-21 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, “Yahweh was very displeased with your fathers. Therefore tell them: Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Return to me,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘and I will return to you,’ says Yahweh of Armies. Don’t you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Yahweh of Armies says, ‘Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;’ but they didn’t hear, nor listen to me, says Yahweh. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as Yahweh of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.’ ” On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, “I had a vision in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in a ravine; and behind him there were red, brown, and white horses. Then I asked, ‘My lord, what are these?’ ” The angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, “They are the ones Yahweh has sent to go back and forth through the earth.” They reported to Yahweh’s angel who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked back and forth through the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and in peace.” Then Yahweh’s angel replied, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?” Yahweh answered the angel who talked with me with kind and comforting words. So the angel who talked with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to the calamity.” Therefore Yahweh says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and a line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’ “Proclaim further, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and Yahweh will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ” I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns. I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Yahweh showed me four craftsmen. Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
- Micah 5:4 He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, Haggeni.
Or, Haggeni.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ezr 5:1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and…
Ezr 5:1 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.
Ver. 1. Then the prophets] He that is now called a prophet was previously called a seer, 1Sa 9:9, because his eyes were enlightened, Num 24:3, and he saw visions of God, Eze 1:1 Dan 1:17, prophets they were afterwards called, that is, interpreters of God’s will by his command: Exo 7:1, "Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet," that is, thine interpreter. By the mouth of these holy prophets God spake to his people in all ages, Luk 1:70. Yet not without some intermissions of prophecy, as the Church complaineth, Psa 74:9, till that Cathimath Chazon (as the Jews call it), the sealing up of prophecy, which they place between the prophet Malachi and John Baptist, who was more than a prophet. The original word, Nabi, signifieth one that, from the inward counsel of God, uttereth oracles.
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Haggai the prophet] Who was not an angel incarnate, as Origen and Jerome held; but a young saint (as Epiphanius describeth him), and might therefore well be an old angel, if he lived to be old: Iuvenis admodum ex Babylone profectus est Hierosolymam, &c. An exceedingly young man left from Babylon for Jerusalem. (Epiph. lib. de Proph. Vit.). See more of him, Hag 1:1. {See Trapp on "Hag 1:1"}
And Zechariah the son of Iddo] That is, of "Berechiah the son of Iddo," Zec 1:1, {See Trapp on "Zec 1:1"} These two God sent within two months of each other, in the eighteenth year of the people’s return out of Babylon; which happened to be in the second year of the reign of Darius Hystaspes, in 520 BC. according to Ussher’s Chronology. Christ usually sent his prophets and apostles by couples, for mutual comfort, and greater confirmation.
Prophesied unto the Jews] Who had brought a judgment of sore famine upon themselves by their slackness and backwardness to rebuild the house of God, Hag 1:4; Hag 1:6; {See Trapp on "Hag 1:4"} {See Trapp on "Hag 1:6"} and learn, of the heathen historian, to prefer God’s interest before thine own, or else to look for his curse, τα του Yεου πρεσβυτερα η τα των ανθρωπων (Herodot.). For he is a great King, and stands upon his seniority, Mal 1:14; he will have us first to seek his kingdom, Mat 6:33, and to give unto God the things that are God’s, or we shall hear of him, to our small comfort, Mat 22:21.
In the name of the God of Israel] Who both authorized and enabled them. God sendeth none whom he gifteth not. The apostles also were ambassadors in the same name, 2Co 5:20, and so colleagues to the prophets, Luk 10:16, see 1Pe 1:12; angels admiring the matter of their embassy, and their happy harmony.
Even unto them] Who yet were very little amended by their seventy years’ captivity. Afflictions (God’s hammers) had but beaten upon cold iron (as it were), as appears by this history, and by the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah; whom, for his labour and love to their souls, they afterwards slew between the temple and the altar, Mat 23:35, serving him as Hercules did his tutor Linus, whom, for a few sharp words given him, he knocked on the head, Hoc ictu ceu didactro accepto Linus mortuus est (Buchol.). Or, as their ancestors did the prophet Isaiah, whom they sawed asunder (saith Jerome out of the Rabbis), because he had called them princes of Sodom and people of Gomorrah, Isa 1:10. This is the world’s wages to faithful ministers.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Zechariah the son of Iddo, i.e. Iddo’s grandchild; for…
Zechariah the son of Iddo, i.e. Iddo’s grandchild; for he was the son of Berechiah. In the name of the God of Israel; commanding them from God to return to the work of building the temple, with promise of his favour and assistance.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Some reckon that the building of the temple was…
Some reckon that the building of the temple was suspended for only nine years; I am willing to believe that fifteen years were the utmost. During this time they had an altar and a tabernacle, which no doubt they made use of. When we cannot do what we would we must do what we can in the service of God, and be sorry we can do no better. But the counsellors that were hired to hinder the work (Ezr 4:5) told them, and perhaps with a pretence to inspiration, that the time had not come for the building of the temple (Hag 1:2), urging that it was long ere the time came for the building of Solomon's temple; and thus the people were made easy in their own ceiled houses, while God's house lay waste. Now here we are told how life was put into that good cause which seemed to lie dead.
I. They had two good ministers, who, in God's name, earnestly persuaded them to put the wheel of business in motion again. Observe,
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1. Who these ministers were, namely, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who both began to prophesy in the second year of Darius, as appears, Hag 1:1; Zac 1:1. Note, (1.) The temple of God among men is to be built by prophecy, not by secular force (that often hinders it, but seldom furthers it), but by the word of God. As the weapons of our warfare, so the instruments of our building, are not carnal, but spiritual, and they are the ministers of the gospel that are the master-builders. (2.) It is the business of God's prophets to stir up God's people to that which is good, and to help them in it, to strengthen their hands, and, by suitable considerations fetched from the word of God, to quicken them to their duty and encourage them in it. (3.) It is a sign that God has mercy in store for a people when he raises up prophets among them to be their helpers in the way and work of God, their guides, overseers, and rulers.
2. To whom they were sent. They prophesied unto the Jews (for, as to them pertained the giving of the law, so also the gift of prophecy, and therefore they are called the children of the prophets, Act 3:25, because they were educated under their tuition and instruction), even unto them, upon them, even upon them (so it is in the original), as Ezekiel prophesied upon the dry bones, that they might live, Eze 37:4. They prophesied against them (so bishop Patrick), for they reproved them because they did not build the temple. The word of God, if it be not received now as a testimony to us, will be received now as a testimony to us, will be received another day as a testimony against us, and will judge us.
3. Who sent them. They prophesied in the name, or (as some read it) in the cause, or for the sake, of the God of Israel; they spoke by commission from him, and argued from his authority over them, his interest in them, and the concern of his glory among them.
II. They had two good magistrates, who were forward and active in this work. Zerubbabel their chief prince, and Jeshua their chief priest, Ezr 5:2. Those that are in places of dignity and power ought with their dignity to put honour upon and with their power to put life into every good work: thus it becomes those that preceded, and those that preside, with an exemplary care and zeal to fulfil all righteousness and to go before in a good work. These great men thought it no disparagement to them, but a happiness, to be taught and prescribed to by the prophets of the Lord, and were glad of their help in reviving this good work. Read the first chapter of the prophecy of Haggai here (for that is the best comment on these two verses) and see what great things God does by his word, which he magnifies above all his name, and by his Spirit working with it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the…
Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo,.... The grandson of Iddo; for he was the son of Berechiah, Zac 1:1,
prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel; this they both did in the second year of Darius; the one began in the sixth month, and the other in the eighth month of the year, Hag 1:1, even "unto them"; or "against them", as De Dieu; reproving them for their sloth and neglect of building the temple, when they were careful enough to raise up goodly houses for themselves to dwell in; and for being intimidated by the command of the king of Persia, which only forbid the building of the city, that is, the walls of it, but not the temple any more than their own houses; and besides, there was now a new king, from whom they had not so much to fear.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Zerubbabel encouraged by Haggai and Zechariah, sets the work…
Zerubbabel encouraged by Haggai and Zechariah, sets the work forward again, ver. 1, 2. Their adversaries oppose them again, ver. 3-5. Write to Darius, ver. 6-17.
The son - His grand-child; for he was the son of Baraciah. Prophesied - Commanding them from God to return to building the temple, with a promise of his favour and assistance.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Haggai and Zechariah the prophets encourage Zerubbabel and
CHAPTER V
Haggai and Zechariah the prophets encourage Zerubbabel and
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Jeshua to proceed with the building of the temple, 1, 2.
Tatnai, the governor of the provinces on this side the
Euphrates, and his companions, inquire by what authority
they do this, 3-5.
They write to Darius; a copy of the letter, 6-16.
They request to know how they are to proceed, 17.
NOTES ON CHAP. V
Verse 1. Haggai - and Zechariah] These are the same whose writings we have among the twelve minor prophets.
The son of Iddo] That is, the grandson of Iddo; for Zechariah was the son of Barachiah, the son of Iddo. See his prophecy, Zec 1:1.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ezr 5:1. Haggai and Zechariah — Concerning these prophets,…
Ezr 5:1. Haggai and Zechariah — Concerning these prophets, see the books which bear their names. They are both thought to have been born at Babylon during the captivity, and both with united zeal encouraged the people to go on with the work of the temple. Upon the accession of Darius to the throne, Haggai, in particular, by reproaching the people with their indolence and insensibility; by telling them that they were careful enough to lodge themselves very commodiously, while the house of the Lord lay buried in its ruins; and by putting them in mind that the calamities of drought and famine, wherewith God had afflicted them since their return, were owing to their neglect in repairing the temple, prevailed with them to set about the work in good earnest; so that, by virtue of these reproofs, as well as some encouragements which God occasionally authorized him to give them, they brought the whole to a conclusion in a short time. The son of Iddo — That is, the grandson; for Zechariah was the son of Barachiah. Prophesied unto the Jews — Commanding them from God to return to building the temple, with a promise of his favour and assistance.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Haggai and Zechariah stirred up Zerubbabel and Joshua Ezr…
Haggai and Zechariah stirred up Zerubbabel and Joshua Ezr 5:2; Hag 1:14, and warned the people against neglecting the building of the temple, in order to give themselves to the beautifying of their own houses (see Hag 1:4, Hag 1:9). Zechariah was the son of Berechiah, and grandson of Iddo (see the marginal reference; Mat 23:35). Compare a similar application of “son” in the case of Jehu (see the 2Ki 9:20 note).
In the name of the God of Israel, even unto them - Rather, “in the name of the God of Israel, which was upon them.” The two prophets addressed the Jews, in respect of their being God’s people, or, in Hebrew phrase (see the Jer 15:16 margin), “having God’s name called upon them.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Addo was grand-father of the prophet, whose writings are…
Addo was grand-father of the prophet, whose writings are extant. (Calmet) --- Both prophesied in the second year of Darius. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain The Resumption of the Work of Building the Temple…
THIRD SECTION
The Resumption of the Work of Building the Temple and its completion
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Ezra 5, 6
A.—THE RESUMPTION OF THE WORK AND THE REPORT OF THE OFFICIALS TO DARIUS
Ezr_5:1-17
I. The Resumption of the Work of Building the Temple. Ezr_5:1-5
1 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. 2Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua 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. 3At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? 4Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? 5But 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.
II. The Report of the officials. Ezr_5:6-17
6The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king: 7They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace. 8Be 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. 9Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? 10We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. 11And 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. 12But 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. 13But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. 14And 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; 15And 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. 16Then 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. 17Now 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.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Ezr_5:1-5. The author now narrates in the closest connection with the last verse of the previous chapter how it came to pass that the work of building, which had been interrupted, was resumed.
Ezr_5:1. Then the prophets, Haggai, the prophet and Zechariah.—We learn also from Haggai himself that the congregation at that time needed prophetic admonition. At first the most of them had, without doubt, with great reluctance allowed the building to remain unfinished, but gradually had lost the desire thereto, caring only for their own interests, such as the erection of their own houses in as beautiful a manner as possible. Notwithstanding this, however, some of them had still such devotion to the Lord and zeal for His worship, that the prophetic office was possible, and there was relatively a great susceptibility for it. נְבִיָּאה in Hebrew הַנָּבִיא, seems to have been almost a surname of Haggai, Ezr_6:14; Hag_1:1. The plural “the prophets,” which in the Hebrew text follows Zechariah son of Iddo, as if Haggai had not yet been called prophet, is in favor of this view. The preposition עַל after “prophesied,” does not denote hostility, but simply the direction of the address, “unto” (comp. 2Ch_20:37; 1Ki_12:8, etc.), as is sufficiently clear from the contents of the prophecies.—The Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem.—Thus they are designated to distinguish them from those who remained behind in Chaldea. At the same time it indicates those who had undertaken the task of building the temple. עֲלֵיהוֹן is a closer designation of the name of God, so that the relative might be supplied before it: Who was over them (comp. Ezr_3:3, etc.), which characterizes them as those who belonged to God. (Isa_4:1 and Jer_4:16), who leads them, urges them on and encourages them.1
Ezr_5:2. Then rose up Zerubbabel.—They now had an express command of God, which already in itself was an advantage; now moreover they could no longer doubt that the building would succeed.—And began to build.—Properly it should have been: They re-commenced, but we might disregard the fact that בָּנָה readily =rebuild, for the first beginning was so long before, and had had such little success, that it no longer came into consideration.
Ezr_5:3. At the same time.—Now again they were threatened with interruption. בֵּהּ זִמְנָא, at it, the time, = at the same time. Comp. Dan_3:7; Dan_3:9; Dan_4:33.2 Again Persian officials arrive, but at this time only do their duty.—Tatnai, governor on this side the river, of the entire province to the west of the Euphrates, outranked Zerubbabel, whom Cyrus had appointed governor of Judah (comp. Ezr_5:14). He was perhaps unacquainted with the mission of Zerubbabel, because he had come into his office at a subsequent period to him.—Shethar Boznai who accompanied him, is not designated indeed as Shimshai (chap.Ezr_4:8 sq.), e. g., as scribe or chancellor, but the entire appearance is in favor of his being likewise a magistrate.—Their companions, however, who in Ezr_5:6 are especially called his companions, that is, Shethar-Boznai’s companions, and are named the Apharsachites, are according to Ezr_5:6 likewise government officials, probably of a lower grade. At this time also the Samaritans may have been at work in that they had called attention to the building of the temple in Jerusalem, but now they were no longer able to fill the officials with hostile sentiments. They simply inquire who hath commanded you to build this house?—לִבְנֵא here and in Ezr_5:13 is a singular form, since the infin. in Chald. is מִבְנֵא (comp. Ezr_5:2; Ezr_5:17; Ezr_6:8), or מִבְנְיָה, comp. chapter Ezr_5:9. R. Norzi has here and in Ezr_5:13 a dagesh in the ב, but there cannot be an assimilation of the מ because it has a vowel. It may be that the language was not entirely fixed in its usage of מ in the infin., as it is here absent from the infin. in Peal., to which elsewhere it is peculiar, so it has been at times prefixed to the Pael and Aphel, before which it is usually absent, and always to the infinitive of the passive conjugations in the later Targums. Comp. Winer, Gram., § 12. [Luzzatto Gram., § 88.—Tr.]. [Rawlinson, in loco. “There was no doubt a formal illegality in the conduct of Zerubbabel and Jeshua; since all edicts of Persian kings continued in force unless revoked by their successors. But they felt justified in disobeying the decree of the Pseudo-Smerdis, because the opposition between his religious views and those of his successors was a matter of notoriety. (See Ancient Monarchies, IV. p. 405).”—Tr.]. אֻשַּׁרְנָא, a word of doubtful etymology, is in Esdras rendered by τήν στέγην ταύτην κὰι τὰ ἄλλα πάντα (the beams and all the rest), in the Sept. on the other hand by τήν χορηγίαν ταύτην (this sacred service = this building). These derivations in the versions makes it probable that there was no fixed tradition respecting the meaning; the one rendering being as much guess work as the other. The Vulg., Syriac and the Rabbins have explained it as “walls,” which might well be the most suitable and correct, having as its root not אשׁר (Gesen.), but אשׁן more properly אָשׁוּן (firm, strong).
Ezr_5:4. Then said we unto them.—Here the Masoretic text gives at once the answer of the Jews. But this text is in more than one respect singular. The first person might be explained, it is true, very well as having come from the use of an ancient document, whose author had taken part in the building. But אמר should be followed by the direct discourse, whilst the indirect is used, so that we must translate, not, then we said, but then said we to them, what the names of the men were. Besides, if the Jews here spake, that is, answered to the question in Ezr_5:3, instead of referring to the names of the men, we should expect another answer. It is natural therefore with Bertheau to conjecture that the text has been corrupted in some way, that is to say that the first person is incorrect, as it were, has come over from Ezr_5:9, instead of which we must read here the third person, so that the Persian officials still continue: then said they to them, what are the names of the men, etc., as from the start we might expect, according to Ezr_5:9-10. It is possible then that likewise אֱדַיִן, which would separate almost too much the second part of the address from the first in Ezr_5:3, is a mistake likewise. The Sept. and Esdras already have regarded the verse as a question of the Persian officials, the former translating: τότε ταῦταἔιποσαν, the latter, in that it passes over entirely the first four words. It is true that the objection might be raised, that then there is no answer on the part of the Jews. But this might have been omitted with reference to Ezr_5:11. The names of the men were important to the officials, for they had to know whom the king was to hold responsible. Instead of שְׁמָהַת the more accurate editions have שְׁמָהָת.
Ezr_5:5. The eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews.—This is the prelimiminary result, producing for them mildness on the part of the officials, and securing them from interruption. The eye is used instead of the hand, because the Providence and Wisdom of God above all came into consideration. Comp. Psa_34:16; Zec_4:10; 1Pe_3:2. The שָׂבִין, corresponding with the זְקֵנִים in Hebrew, are at the same time the שָׂרִים Ezr_10:8.—Until the report came to Darius, and they then brought back a letter concerning the matter.—Bertheau understood it as: Until a command arrived from Darius, etc. But מְעֵם need not be the royal decree. Although this word does not assume the wider sense of causa (Keil), it yet has the meaning of ratio, and indeed also in the sense of account (or likewise of consideration) יְהַב טַעֲמָאDan_6:3 = give account. Thus it may be used here for a report, by which officers would give their king an account of an important occurrence, and their observation of it. The לְ before Darius cannot be a circumlocution of the genitive—it is thus used only in designations of time. On the other hand its use with הֲלַךְ to give the end, is entirely assured. Comp. Ezr_7:13, etc. Finally, if it did not mean “to Darius,” the הֲלַךְ alone would be too indefinite. As well Esdras as the Septuagint also has, therefore, although rendering freely, properly understood it as a report to Darius. Naturally, however, these words are only preparatory for the following clause: “Until they bring back a letter, etc.”, which really for the first expresses the limit of time meant.יְהַךְ imperf. of הלך (comp. Ezr_6:5; Ezr_7:13) is referred by Winer, § 25, to a special root ההךְ. It is possible, however, that as usually the ה is absorbed at the beginning, so here the ל of הלך and thus we have יְהַךְ for יִהְלַךְ.3 The letter to be brought back, was certainly to come from Darius, there is no occasion to think of one from Tatnai, etc., unless it is already supposed that there is a royal command in טְעֵם. The subject of יְתִיבוּן is indefinite “they.”
Ezr_5:6-17. The report of the officers to Cyrus in Ezr_5:6-7, at first, precisely like Ezr_4:8-11, has the superscription which this letter probably received already in the collection of documents at Jerusalem.—These are the contents of the letter that Tatnai.—Shethar-boznai and his companions the Apharsachites.—We must leave in doubt the question why the Apharsachites (comp. Ezr_4:9) are especially mentioned as the companions of Shethar-boznai, which here means either lower officials or as it were men of the same race, or else people especially attached to him.4
Ezr_5:7. They sent a report.—פִּתְגָּמָא according to its etymology (comp. Ezr_4:17) is used in the same sense as טְעֵם in Ezr_5:5, e.g., report, message. כֹּלָּא is loosely connected with שְׁלָמָא = peace, hence peace universally = peace in its fulness.
Ezr_5:8. Be it known unto the king.—The letter in Ezr_4:12 began in the same way. The present letter however is distinguished by the fact that it gives first of all a simple objective report. Judah is called a מְרִינָה (see Ezr_2:1), the god of the Jews, the great God.—It is not probable however that they, like the Samaritans (Ezr_4:1) actually paid a certain degree of reverence to him, rather the deep reverence of the Jews made such an impression upon them that they supposed He must be an especially great God (namely, for His worshippers). What they say respecting the building, is manifestly to show that the work was welldone, in a strong, stately manner.—Of great stones.—אֶבֶן נְּלָל here the accusative of material is the stone which was too heavy to lift, and which could only be rolled along; thus very heavy and large stones (as Ezr_4:4), which were only taken for great buildings, designed to last a very long time. The Sept. emphasizes by its translation λίθοι ἐκλεκτοί, the excellence of the material; Ezr_4:9, by its translation λίθοι ξεστὸι πολυτελεῖς at the same time the labor applied to them, as well as their costliness.—And timber is laid in the walls.—Berth. understands by this the placing of beams in the walls, that is, in the partitions, [Rawlinson, in loco, “party walls”], or likewise the erection of the scaffolding on the outer walls. But the expressions indicate rather the inlaying of the walls with wood work artistically finished (comp. פְּתוּחֶיהָPsa_74:6), thus according to the view of the writer represent the building as one erected with great care. It is true the work had not made such progress, in fact that the walls, which themselves were first built of the great stones, could have been already inlaid. But it is probable that the zeal, which is clearly enough attested by Haggai, manifested itself likewise in this way, that those skilled in wainscoting went at once to work, since moreover it was necessary to make as great haste as possible on account of the threatened interruption. The haste is expressly referred to by the officials in the last words—and this work goeth fast on—אָסְפַּרְנָה (comp. Ezr_6:8; Ezr_6:13; Ezr_7:17; Ezr_7:21; Ezr_7:26) is explained from the Persian, and means properly, very active. אֹם is probably the ancient Persian us or os, Sanscrit ut, which expresses intensity; as our “very” and parna is an adjective from the ancient Persian par, Zend pere = do, complete. Comp. Haug. a. a. O. The subject of מַצְלַה, it prospereth is not the form עֲבִידְתָּה (comp. Ezr_4:14; Dan_6:28), but “it.”
Ezr_5:9-10 then give an account at first of their question.—Then asked we those elders.—אִלֶּךְ, those who, as a matter of course, were in Jerusalem at the head, Ezr_5:10, at their head.—בְּרָאשֵׁהֹם is more naturally explained as at their head (comp. 2Ch_20:2), than: in their capacity as their heads (Berth., Keil). [A. V., “that were the chief of them”]. The latter interpretation of בְּ is in itself doubtful, especially moreover, since no verb is given with it. The plural, expressed by the vowels, may be explained by the fact that they worked in different groups, namely, by families (comp. Nehemiah 3.)
Ezr_5:11 sq. gives the answer of the heads of the Jews.—And thus they made us the report, namely, the one required. לֵאמֹר = לְמֵמַר—We are the servants of the God of heaven.—The pleonastic suffix of עַבְדוֹהִי emphasizes very strongly the fact, not that they above all others and alone are servants of God (Berth.) but that they above all others are servants of the God of heaven, and not of any lower being. They therefore expressly designate God as the God of heaven and earth, that is, the highest; yea, properly the only true God. They would without doubt show the officers that they had good grounds and were very well entitled to build their temple, and that those would do wrong who should oppose their undertaking. On this account therefore they add that their God had had this house long ago, and in it had long ago possessed a worthy place of worship.—And we build the house that was built.—not הִתְבְּנֵא, it was once built, but הְוָא בְנֵא, it was built and continued to be a place of worship—these many years ago.—מִקַּדְמַת דְּנָה =before this (present) time.—A great king of Israel built and completed it.—It would have been an evidence against their God if He had not provided Himself with a worthy place of worship in ancient times, and had not made the king of his people great and mighty. They say intentionally not the great king Solomon, but a great king (the genitive relation being expressed by לְ); they thus emphasize better the idea itself, that the king was a great one.
Ezr_5:12. It is true the temple has been destroyed, but this does not show any weakness in their God, but rather His holiness.—On this account, because our fathers provoked.—לָהֵן does not refer to that which precedes, but to what follows, for it is used in its usual sense of “on this account,” and is here really = only on this account. It does not follow from the fact that it sometimes has the sense of “but” after negative expressions, that it may also be an adversative particle, and mean “nevertheless,” “however,” “yet.” מִן־דִּי however, is here not in the temporal sense, [A. V.after that], for then it would express very vaguely the idea: since that the fathers had already provoked God long before He abandoned His temple; but it is here in its usual causal sense “because.” מִן may be very properly used in this sense, comp. Hebrew מֵאְשֶׁר, Isa_43:4. סַתֵּר, = to conceal, then like the Hebrew הִכְחִיד, to destroy. It is true it is only used here in the Bible in this sense, but in the Targums occurs quite frequently. עַמָּה might, if it had the suffix, that is, if the ה were pointed with mappiq, mean simply, “the people of the land;” ארע is often to be supplied. Yet the Massora remarks, that mappiq is not to be written, and R. Norzai and J. H. Mich. have left it out, so that the הis to be taken as a representative of the א, as is often the case in this book.
Ezr_5:13. But in the first year of Cyrus.—When the predestined time of chastisement had passed the Lord Himself was able to gain recognition from Cyrus, so that now the restoration of His temple has a good and assured foundation. Comp. chaps. Ezr_1:2; Ezr_6:3.לִבְּנֵא, as Ezr_5:3.
Ezr_5:14. And the vessels also—did Cyrus the king take.—So great was the recognition that Cyrus gave to the true God, that he not only allowed His veneration, but furthered it with offerings, so that the building of the temple, unless the vessels were to remain without a suitable place, became so much the more necessary. הֵיכְלָא is here used as at the first, so naturally also the second and third time in the sense of temple. Comp. בֵּית אֱלֹהָיו, Ezr_2:7. וִיהִיבוּ is probably the conjugated passive participle = and they were given, not the active preterite = they gave, for the indefin. subject with sing. (against Berth.). In the last case we would expect הִמּוֹ after the object, which is not elsewhere in such cases omitted: moreover, the yod in the second syllable has usually only an intrans. or passive signification.—Whose name is Sheshbazzar—thus indefinitely, as we would say, to Sheshbazzar, as he is called. For this name see Ezr_1:8. As in Hag_1:1, etc., so here Zerubbabel is designated as Pechah, whilst in Ezr_1:8 as prince of Judah, נָשִׂיא.
Ezr_5:15. And he said unto him, Take these vessels.—In connection with giving out the vessels Cyrus expressly ordained the building of the temple. Instead of אֵלֶּה, the Qeri is here as in 1Ch_20:8, אֵל. The three unconnected imperatives, “take, go forth, lay down,” comprehend the three acts, to a certain extent, in one, thus expressing likewise the zeal of Cyrus, and the zeal that Sheshbazzar was expected to exhibit. אֲחֵת, notwithstanding the Chateph Pathah, may be merely the imper. Aphel of נחת, of which we have the part. in Ezr_6:1, and the imperf. in Ezr_6:5.—And let the house of God be built.—These words are connected with the words lay them down in the temple as a necessary complement, by the copula וְ.
Ezr_5:16. Then came this Sheshbazzar, namely from Babylon to Jerusalem, and laid the foundations,etc.—The copula is also lacking before יְהַב, because the two acts are connected together in the closest way. אֻשַּׁיָּא, as in Ezr_4:12. Here it can only mean the laying of the foundations in Ezr_3:8-10.—Since that time even until now hath it been in building, and is not yet finished.—These words were probably designed to let the present activity appear as a simple continuation of the building, ordained by Cyrus, thus also as something entirely justified. At any rate it was entirely in the interest of the Jews to be silent respecting the fact that Cyrus had allowed an interruption to take place, and there is nothing in our representation of the subject opposed to its reality. But had the express prohibition of the Artaxerxes in Ezr_4:17 sq. already preceded, yet the Jews might well have said that it had been occasioned only by the entirely groundless slanders of the Samaritans. Hence they must regard it as their absolute duty to contradict these slanders. שְׁלֵם occurs only here in Bib. Chaldee, yet often enough in the Targums and Syriac, and indeed in the sense of “complete and ready.”
Ezr_5:17. And now, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the treasure-house.—טָבֲעל, comp. Ezr_7:18; Dan_6:24, as in later Hebrew, טוֹב עַל, Est_1:19, good according to any one’s judgment. גִּנְזַיָּא, Heb. נְּנָזִים (Est_3:9; Est_4:7), are the treasures, probably from כנס = גּנז, collect, and dshanasa, conceal, but at the same time in accordance with the Arian gaza, comp. גִּזְבַר, Ezr_1:8; on the other hand, גַּנְזַךְ1Ch_28:11. It is clear from this passage and Ezr_6:1, that written documents were likewise preserved in the treasure-house.—Whether a command was given by king Cyrus.—הֵן = whether, as likewise Jer_2:10. For שֵׂים, vid. Ezr_4:19. רְעוּת, comp. Ezr_7:18, from רעח = רעה, voluntas, opinion.
THOUGHTS UPON THE HISTORY OF REDEMPTION
Ezr_5:1. Notwithstanding the great readiness which distinguished the new congregation at first (comp. notes upon chap. 3.), they yet fell into indolence and worldliness as soon as difficulties were placed in the way of their work, comp. Haggai’s prophecy. It was even necessary that again God’s word should arouse, encourage, strengthen them, and fill them with joy. And indeed the Lord does not fail on His part: wherever any powers whatever are present; if slumbering, He awakens them. The more we need His all-awakening call, and the more that is the result of undeserved grace and faithfulness that shames us, the more willing should we be to hear and follow Him.
Ezr_5:1-5. Although the new congregation, when they were called upon by the prophets and strengthened by their prophecies, might have readily supposed that the building of the temple would now be finished without stumbling upon difficulties, they were yet obliged presently to submit to an inquiry on the part of the Persian officials, that might again easily result in an interruption. Such trials the Lord Himself sends at the time,—and then often very properly,—when His own word has given the impulse to an undertaking or action. Even then, and then particularly, faith must be strengthened by trials. The congregation at this time did not allow the interference of the Persian officials to surprise them too much; they were not faint-hearted on this account, and did not allow themselves to be deterred thereby from building; in the careful hesitancy of the officials they saw rather the influence and protection of God. Thus is it ever for the church, so long as it is in covenant with the Lord, to regard the hinderances, even if they seem threatening, and easily might be destructive, as yet trifling; and things favorable, even, if they seem at first insignificant, as great and important. We must be inclined thereto by the contentment with which one feels impelled to thankfulness for the little, and the faith in Him who has all things in His hand. It is the very reverse with the world.
Ezr_5:6-17. The magistracy often, as is clear from chap. 4, allows itself to use calumniators as its instruments. But without regard to the fact that they are obliged to help in realizing the design of God even in such a case, they are easily preserved by their office and their duties from such errors, even if they are worldly and heathen in their character. In our present chapter they act as true magistrates; they quietly listen to the report of the Jews, and bring it without misrepresentation before the king. Brentius rightly remarks: “vides differentiam inter calumniatores et bonos ac probos viros. Una eademque causa erat ædificii templi, unus idemque populus Judæorum: attamen hujus populi causa aliter refertur ab impiis calumniatoribus aliter a bonis viris. How much worse off the Jewish congregation would have been, if the Samaritans had had to do with them without the Persian officials! Hence the church should never forget, even if at times it has had to suffer injustice from worldly authorities, to be thankful from the heart to God that there are magistrates after all, comp. Rom_13:1 sq., etc.
Ezr_5:11-12. The congregation did not keep back their faith, when it came to the point of rendering account of their designs before the magistrates, rather did they lay down an open confession, even before the heathen, without fearing to be laughed at for their assertion that they served the only true God. In order to ward off the objection that their Lord had been without power, they confessed the sinfulness of their fathers, and praised the holiness of God. God’s honor was for them more important than the honor of their fathers or of the nation. Well for the church, when the world itself is obliged to give testimony to it, as it here gives to the Jewish congregation, that it has made such a good confession as this. If with such a confession heart and hand accord, it has the power that overcomes the world.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Ezr_5:1-5. How does the Lord prevent our being conformed to the world? 1) By His warning word.—Starke: It is the office of faithful teachers to strengthen the faint hands and feeble knees (Isa_35:3). 2) By the trials that He sends, especially by making the accomplishment of His own word difficult. 3) By providential care and preservation (Ezr_5:5).—Brentius: Multa hic notanda. Primum, quod Deus sæpenumero nos a bono proposito impedit, non ut non exequamur, sed ut clarius et illustrius exequamur. Deinde, quod sit ingenium vulgi: mox enim putat, numquam fore, ut promoveat (sc. Deus opus suum, si aliquamdiu intermittatur).—The movements that the development and advance of the kingdom of God call forth: 1) The congregation is agitated by the overwhelming voice of God; it gives new courage, and lays hold of the work of building obligatory upon it with new joy.—Starke: Although it involves not a little danger for awhile to accomplish with obedience that which God commands in His word, yet we should obey not withstanding, and not allow ourselves to be frightened off by any danger. 2) The world is agitated, for it cannot quietly see the events in the kingdom of God, especially when the congregation is subordinated to its civil authority, but it is obliged to assist in furthering the cause of God in its own way. 3) God Himself is agitated. He directs His eye with especial care and wisdom upon the leaders of the congregation, and stretches forth His hand to give protection and help.
Ezr_5:11-12. The true confession. 1) The occasion of it—the magistrates call to account,—2) its contents, God’s grace and truth and our own sins,—3) its aim, the establishment of a tabernacle of God among men. The true contents of a believing confession. 1) God’s gracious acts—He has by them from the most ancient times obtained worship. Starke: If we purify the doctrines with which Christ and His apostles have erected a spiritual temple to God, from human ordinances, we start no new doctrine, but erect again the marred temple of God. 2) Exhibition of the divine holiness. He has imposed upon His church dependence and deficiencies on account of its sins.—Starke: Even the sins of our forefathers we should not cloak, but where they have erred, confess it. 3) God’s assertions of power.—He has wrung a recognition from even a Cyrus, even the mightiest worldly power, and made them serviceable for the re-establishment of His worship.
[Scott: Whilst we continue in this world, we shall always have to confess that our sins have provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, and that all our sufferings spring from this source, and all our comforts from His unmerited mercy.—Henry: Our eye upon God, observing His eye upon us, will keep us to our duty, and encourage us in it when difficulties are never so discouraging. Let the cause of God, and Truth, be fairly stated and fairly heard, and it will keep its ground.—Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1][Rawlinson in loco more properly renders in accordance with the current Hebrew phrase “which was upon them” that is, having God’s name called upon them.—Tr.]
[2][Suffix with prep. before its noun has this force in Aramaic, Riggs’ Manual. § 49, 3. Comp. Cowper, Syriac. Gram., § 203, 5.—Tr.]
[3][So Luzatto Gram., § 104. This is the better interpretation of the form.—Tr.]
[4][Rawlinson, in loco, regards them as Persians or foreign settlers in Sameria generally.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE RESUMED, Ezr_5:1-2.
THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE RESUMED, Ezr_5:1-2.
1. Haggai… Zechariah — These prophets were contemporary, and both were probably among those exiles who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Prophecies of both of them are extant in the books which bear their names among the minor prophets. It is noticeable that while both are called prophets, yet Haggai is emphatically the prophet, and Zechariah is called here, and at Ezr_6:14, the son of Iddo. In the book of his prophecy Zechariah calls himself “the son of Barachiah, the son of Iddo,” from which it appears that Iddo was his grandfather rather than his father. The word son is, therefore, to be understood here, as often elsewhere, in the sense of descendant, either grandson or great grandson. The prophet naturally mentions his own father, but the historian, perhaps because Barachiah had died early, or was little known, calls Zechariah the son of Iddo, who was well known as one of the priests who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Neh_12:4; Neh_12:16. And as this prophet was of priestly origin, it may be that he is designated by his grandfather’s name rather than his prophetic office to enhance his influence and authority among the Jews. Here would seem to be prophet and priest combined, to rouse and inspire the Jews to action.
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Unto them — Rather, upon them; that is, upon these prophets. The name of the God of Israel was upon these prophets, inasmuch as they spake by Divine inspiration and authority. Compare Jer_15:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain Chap. Ezr_5:1-2. The Voice of the Prophets and the…
Chap. Ezr_5:1-2. The Voice of the Prophets and the National Revival
1. Then the prophets] R.V. Now the prophets. The beginning of a new paragraph, cf. Ezr_1:1, Ezr_2:1, Ezr_3:8, Ezr_4:1.
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Haggai the prophet] After ‘the prophets’, immediately preceding, this designation seems superfluous. But a comparison with chap. Ezr_6:14, Hag_1:1, shows that the phrase was commonly attached to Haggai’s name. The short extant book of Haggai’s prophecy combines reproof for the neglect with encouragement for the renewal of the work on the Temple. The book preserves prophecies uttered in the second year of Darius, (1) on the first day of the sixth month (Ezr_1:1), (2) on the twenty-first day of the seventh month (Ezr_2:1), (3) on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Ezr_2:10).
Zechariah the son of Iddo] cf. Ezr_6:14. In Zec_1:1; Zec_1:7 he is called ‘Zechariah the son of Berechiah the son of Iddo the prophet’. An ‘Iddo’ is mentioned in Neh_12:4 among the heads of priestly families that returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua: again in Neh_12:16 we find a Zechariah mentioned as the son of Iddo and the head of a priestly house, in the days of Nehemiah. Zechariah was probably the grandson of Iddo, and in the genealogies called in preference ‘the son of Iddo’ rather than ‘the son of Berechiah’, either on account of his father’s early death, or because the name of ‘Zechariah the son of Berechiah’ would have been liable to confusion with ‘Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah’ (Isa_8:2). In the same way Laban is called the son of Nahor, not of Bethuel (cf. Gen_24:47; Gen_29:5), Jehu the son of Nimshi, not of Jehoshaphat (1Ki_19:16; 2Ki_9:14; 2Ki_9:20), because the grandfather was the better known and the reputed founder of the house.
Zechariah must have been a very young man (cf. Zec_2:4) when he began to prophesy, if (which is hardly likely) he was still alive in the time of Nehemiah (445 b.c.). The date given to the first prophecy in his book is the eighth month of the second year of king Darius (Zec_1:1).
Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem] i.e. as distinguished from the Jews that were in the Captivity in Babylon.
in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them] R.V. in the name of the God of Israel prophesied they unto them. R.V. marg. in the name of the God of Israel which was upon them. The words ‘unto’ or ‘upon them’ close the verse strangely. The R.V. text expresses with greater distinctness the rendering of the A.V. ‘unto them’. The rendering of the R.V. margin ‘which was upon them’ (i.e. the name of the God of Israel) although a harsh condensed expression, seems preferable. It is not at first sight evident who are intended by ‘upon them’. Most commentators accepting this rendering explain the words as having reference to the two prophets, and illustrate them by Jer_15:16, ‘Thy word was unto me a joy and the rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.’ This indeed is very possible. But the other explanation, which refers ‘which was upon them’ to ‘the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem’, seems most suited to the context. Not the ground of the personal courage of the two prophets, but the basis of their prophetic appeal, i.e. the spiritual calling of the nation, is the purport of the phrase. The prophets prophesied to the Jews in the name of the God Who had chosen them, Whose Name was called upon them. Cf. Isa_43:5-7; Isa_63:19; Isa_65:1; Jer_7:10; Jer_7:14; Jer_7:30; Dan_9:18-19. The message of the prophets was to arouse the people from their neglect of the spiritual work which they were to perform—a work of which the Temple was a pledge,—the testimony to the nations that God had made Himself known unto Israel.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1-2) Now occurs the intervention of the two prophets,…
V.
(1-2) Now occurs the intervention of the two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, whose testimonies and predictions should at this point be read. They reveal a state of apathy which Ezra does not allude to; such a state of things, in fact, as would have thwarted the whole design of Providence had it not been changed. Hence the abrupt return of the spirit of prophecy, some of the last utterances of which provoked or “stirred up “—as Cyrus had been stirred up—the spirit of the two leaders and of the heads of the families.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain RECOMMENCEMENT OF THE BUILDING IN THE SECOND YEAR OF…
RECOMMENCEMENT OF THE BUILDING IN THE SECOND YEAR OF DARIUS. PREACHING OF HAGGAI AND ZECHARIAH. (Ezr_5:1, Ezr_5:2)
It appears from the extant prophecies of these two prophets that the long frustration of their hopes had had its natural effect on the spirits of the people. They had begun to weary of endeavours which produced no practical result, and to despair of accomplishing an object which all their efforts did not perceptibly advance. A reaction had set in. The burning enthusiasm which had shown itself on the first arrival of the exiles with Zerubbabel (Ezr_2:68, 69 3:11) had faded away; indolence had succeeded to activity, and a selfish desire of comfort to zeal for the honour of God. Instead of watching eagerly for an opportunity of recommencing the great work, and seizing the first occasion that offered itself, the people had come to acquiesce in its indefinite postponement, and to say among themselves, "The time is not come, the time that the Lord"s house should be built". (Hag_1:2) Laying aside all idea of moving further in the matter of the temple, they had turned their energies to the practical object of establishing themselves in good and comfortable houses. (Hag_1:4, Hag_1:9) The great revolution in Persia, by which the Pseudo-Smerdis was dethroned and slain, Magism put down, and the (comparatively) pure religion of Zoroaster re-established as the religion of the Persian state, failed to stir their minds or raise their hopes. A whole year was allowed to elapse, and nothing was done, no fresh effort made. It was the second year of King Darius (Ezr_4:24) nay, it was the sixth month of that year, the month Elul, corresponding to our September, as we learn from Haggai (Hag_1:1) and still no step was taken. The nation was "eating," and "drinking," and "clothing itself", (Hag_1:6) and making for itself "cieled houses" (ibid. ver. 4), while the house of God lay "waste" (ibid. ver. 9) in that unsightly condition always presented by works commenced and then suspended for years. Even Zerubbabel and Jeshua the civil and ecclesiastical rulers acquiesced apparently in this miserable state of things this tameness, sloth, indifference to God"s honour, and general pursuit of mere carnal delights. Such was the situation, when suddenly, unexpectedly, to the people"s consternation rather than their joy, a Prophet appeared upon the scene. "In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel." Prophecy had been in abeyance for sixteen years, since the "third of Cyrus," when Daniel uttered his last warning. (Dan_10:1) It was now revived. Haggai came forward, self-proclaimed a prophet of Jehovah, (Hag_1:13) and rebuked the people in the old prophetic tone, and "stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel and the spirit of Jeshua" (ibid. ver. 14), and by exhortations, and warnings, and threats brought about in little more than three weeks (ibid. ver. 15) the resumption of the work, which was henceforth pressed forward with zeal. Haggai"s mission continued only for a very short space from September, B.C. 520, to December of the same year; but before his work came to an end God raised up a second prophet the son of Iddo who carried on his task, sustained the spirit of the people and the rulers, and saw the happy accomplishment of the great undertaking, which he had previously announced as near, (Zec_4:9) in the sixth year of Darius, B.C. 516.
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Zechariah the son of Iddo. Really the grandson. (Zec_1:1) But Bere-chiah, his father, probably died while he was a child, and, being brought up by Iddo, he was called "the son of Iddo. Prophesied unto the Jews. The addresses of Haggai and Zechariah were only occasionally "prophetic," as we now commonly understand the word. But in the language of the Biblical writers all religious teaching is "prophesying," and Ezra here refers mainly to the exhortations addressed to the Jews by Zechariah and Haggai.
Vers. 1, 2.
The work revived.
How completely the work described in these verses was a revival of the previous work of building the temple, as described in chaps, 1.-3., may be seen by the use of the word "began" in ver. 2. Even "Zerubbabel" and "Jeshua," the leaders, had been remiss and, as it were, dead to the enterprise; consequently, in again going on with it, had again, as it were, to "begin." This seems also the best explanation of the singular way in which Haggai (Hag_2:18) and Zechariah (Zec_8:9) speak of the "foundation" of the Lord"s house as having been "laid" at this time. This second "foundation," in the reign of Darius, led to so much more than the first did in that of Cyrus, and proved so much more worthy, therefore, of such a name in the issue, that, not unnaturally, it got almost to monopolise that name even on prophetic lips. It is thus, in another sphere, that historians speak of the Roman empire as being founded by Augustus Caesar, though in reality he only re-established in a more abiding form (as it turned out) what his predecessor, Julius Caesar, had previously founded and lost. Strictly speaking, indeed, would either of these first foundations have been a foundation practically if it had not been afterwards followed up and, as it were, superseded by a second? How this happy resurrection of a buried cause was brought about in this instance is the special point now to consider. It was by the indications of Providence, we shall find, in the first place; and by the voice of prophecy, in the next.
I The INDICATIONS of PROVIDENCE. Providence had spoken to the people, in the interim between the visit of Rehum (Ezr_4:23) and the time at which our chapter opens, in various ways.
1. In the language of hope. A change of rulers had taken place both of chief rulers and also of subordinates. Darius instead of Artaxerxes; Tatnai, (Ezr_5:3) instead of Rehum, etc. This was something of itself. When things are as bad as they can be, no change, to say the least, can be for the worse. In such a case, moreover, a violent change, such as this which brought Darius Hystaspis to the throne in place of the usurper Pseudo-Smerdis, and which probably, therefore, affected the empire in all its provinces, was of a still more hopeful description. How likely that the hand which took the previous monarch"s crown should also reverse his policy! Especially as, in this instance (and it is almost certain that some rumours of this would reach the ears of the Jews), the new king was showing almost ostentatious respect to the name and memory of that Cyrus who had been so favourable to the Jews. To men anxious to be at work again, this would have been great encouragement to begin.
2. In the language of blessing. Judging from the apparently royal luxury which some of the returned Jews were enabled to indulge in, (Hag_1:4) the means of recommencing the work must have been somehow placed in their power. This, also, a call to do so (comp. Deu_8:12, Deu_8:17, Deu_8:18; Gal_6:10; Jam_4:17)
3. In the language of affliction. These other calls not being attended to, there came one of a different kind. God met the people in their path of disobedience, as the angel met Balaam, (Num_22:32) with signs of displeasure. The blessings he had given being misused, he began to withdraw them. Instead of plenty there was "dearth", (Hag_1:11) to the great impoverishment (ver. 6) and sore disappointment (begin. ver. 9) of them all. See further Zec_8:9, 10 as to the wide extent and deep severity of this visitation; and also as to the precise time of its occurrence, viz., just "before" the people for a second time laid the "foundations" of God"s house. Putting these things together, were they not a loud constructive call to begin? So fair an opening, such ample means, such a clear-timed judgment, what does it all mean? To this effect, at least, the Jewish elders ought, in such circumstances, to inquire. (see end of Job_10:2)
II The VOICE of PROPHECY. It was the special privilege, however, of Israel to have more than "constructive" calls from God"s throne. He was graciously pleased to make known his will to them by articulate speech (Deu_4:33; Rom_3:1, Rom_3:2) So, accordingly, it was here. Besides these silent gestures on the part of Providence, so to call them, there were direct verbal utterances also from the lips of those who were authorised to speak to Israel in his name. Two such men, two of these prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, raised up especially, as it appears, for this special emergency, prophesied at that time to these returned Jews. (Ezr_5:1) Much importance seems attached here to this fact. These prophets prophesied to these Jews, it is said, "in the name of the God of Israel which was upon them." Being God"s people being, in fact, the very heart and hope of God"s people at that particular moment God"s prophets were commissioned to recognise and address them as such. Well might the people listen, that being the case. The purport, also, of the message thus sent to them was just as much to the point. A mere glance at the extant prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah will suffice to show this. The prophecies sent, e.g. , were just what was needed
1. In the way of appeal. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider"; (Hag_1:5) so again Hag_1:7, "Consider so, twice over, and with a special note of urgency, in Hag_2:18: "Consider now from this day and upward consider." Consider what you are doing, and what you ought to be doing, in your present circumstances. Consider their meaning and message, and what they are now saying to you, in effect.
2. In the way of interpretation and explanation. This is what these circumstances are saying to you, viz., that it is "time" to build the Lord"s. (Hag_1:1-3) There is no further change to be waited for. Now, under your present ruler, is the "time" to begin. Your recent blessings mean this. (Hag_1:4) Your present trials mean it too (ibid. vers. 6-11). Thus did prophecy, in this case, interpret Providence, and explain the "signs," as it were, of those "times.
3. In the way of promise. Our present history seems to speak of this particularly in the end of ver. 2 prophets of God helping them." The first result of the appeal and remonstrance above spoken of seems to have been a feeling of "fear" (Haggai 1. end of ver. 12). As soon as this began to manifest itself (see middle of same verse) in a spirit of obedience, the voice of promise was heard. "Then spake Haggai the LORD"S messenger in the LORD"S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD". (Hag_1:13) Within a short month after (comp. Hag_1:15, and Hag_2:1) came another and larger promise; (Hag_2:2-9) and two others again from the same prophet in about two months from that time. Besides that notable series of eight prophetic visions, mainly of hope and encouragement, from the prophet Zechariah, before the close of the same year. (Zec 1:7-6:15) So plentifully was this precious dew vouchsafed at this special season of growth; and so harmoniously did all these various changes, dispensations, and voices work together for this revival of God"s work.
From these considerations we see
1. The duty of studying Gods works: his works in providence, and in nature too, so far as we have opportunities for so doing, because in all of them he has something to say to us, if we are only able to understand it. This applies especially to those works or doings of God which concern our own persons and times, because we may almost say of such doings that they are presented to us for study. Note the comparison on this subject between nature and providence in Mat_16:2, Mat_16:3; and see 1Ch_12:32.
2. The duty of listening to Gods word. Partly on account of the clearer significance which it gives to God"s works; partly because of the additional message which it brings of its own. For the language of some of God"s works see Psa_19:1-6, and comp. Rom_1:19, Rom_1:20. For the further language of God"s word see same Psalm 7-9. Compare also, as showing the specially exalted and complementary character of prophecy or revelation, the remarkable declaration of Psa_138:2, and 2Pe_1:19-21. The dark page of God"s doings. (for so it is to us, see Psa_97:2) should never be neglected; but it never can be safely interpreted apart from the plainer page of his word. We may also see from these considerations what is
3. The central topic of all prophecy. The building of God"s house by God"s Israel pointed forward in manifold ways to the coming and work of God"s Son. That house was a well-known type of his body. (Joh_2:19-21) In that restored house he himself was to appear (Hag_2:7; Mal_3:1; Luk_2:25-30) And out of that figurative "house" or family of Israel, as their peculiar crown and salvation, and as a blessing to all other families on earth, he was to arise. When, therefore, the work of building that house, under apparently hopeless circumstances, has to be revived, how fittingly does the spirit of prophecy suddenly reappear on the scene, to stimulate, direct, and encourage these men, who were, virtually, building for all mankind in building for their own Messiah. It may remind us of those well-known passages, Joh_5:39; Act_10:43; Rev_19:10. May it teach us also to give that adorable Saviour a similarly pre-eminent place in our thoughts.
HOMILIES BY J.A. MACDONALD. Vers. 1, 2.
The inspiration of prophecy.
Through the hostility of the Samaritans, who obtained authority from Artaxerxes, the work of building the temple was interrupted. This interruption seems to have commenced under Cyrus. (Ezr_4:5) It was continued under the brief reign of an upstart who feigned himself to be the brother of Ahasuerus; and it was carried on "unto the second year of Darius king of Persia." Thus the work was stopped for about sixteen years. "Then the prophets," etc. Here notice that
I THE INSPIRATION OF PROPHECY IS ROUSING.
1. The people now needed rousing.
(1) During the stoppage of the building they had cooled in their zeal for the house of the Lord. Had they examined their hearts they might have seen this, and they might have inferred from it that God must be displeased. But they had not the courage to do this. Query Are we not slow to examine our own hearts, and to draw faithful inferences from their state?
(2) If they looked around they might have seen the tokens of Divine displeasure. For, year after year, the heavens refused their dew, and the scanty harvests were smitten with "blasting, and with mildew, and with hail." Query Are we not slow to see the hand of God in our afflictions? Reflect What greater calamity could befall us than that God should leave us to ourselves!
2. Haggai brought home the truth to them.
(1) His first commission was to awaken them to a sense of their growing selfishness and apathy. (see Hag_1:1-5) Query How far are we ever justified in quietly "dwelling in cieled houses" while the work of God is neglected?
(2) Then he reminded them that the blast upon their harvests was from God, and incited them to arise and build. (see Hag_1:6-11)
(3) This message from God had the desired effect. (see Hag_1:1-12; comp. text) What part Zechariah took at this early date we are not particularly informed.
3. They were satisfied with the credentials of the prophet.
(1) What these were we are not told. Miracles might have authenticated him. This was notably the case with Moses. Or he may have foretold the drought through which they had passed. In this way Samuel "was established to be a prophet of the Lord". (1Sa_3:19, 1Sa_3:20)
(2) In whatever way it may have been, Haggai so prophesied, "in the name of the God of Israel," that there was no doubt about him. Look at this expression. (see Exo_3:13-20 Exo_33:19; comp. also, Num_14:17) where "power" is put for "name," as in. (Exo_34:5, Exo_34:6) Reflect, gratefully, that we have the truth of God upon the clearest testimony. The Scriptures are authenticated to us not only by miracles, but by the ever-accumulating evidence of prophecy, and by the deep experiences of the heart.
II THE INSPIRATION OF PROPHECY IS SUSTAINING. & Ntilde; "And with them were the prophets of God helping them.
1. It sustains under the burdens of the work of God.
(1) The work is stupendous. Many interests are involved in it. Many workmen are engaged in it. If all these were loyal, still the work would be heavy.
(2) Haggai therefore, four and twenty days after his first commission, again appeared with needed words. "Then spake Haggai the Lord"s messenger in the Lord"s message, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord." What a blessed assurance! How spirit stirring! (Hag_1:13, Hag_1:14; see also Exo_33:14, Exo_33:15)
2. It sustains against the murmuring of Gods people.
(1) Sons of Belial will for very perversity cause trouble. There are also crotchety persons among the godly who embarrass their leaders. And there are croakers who have a morbid pleasure in disparaging the good things of the present by comparing them with the things of the past. (see Ezr_3:12)
(2) Haggai, seven and twenty days after his former message, again appeared to strengthen the hands of the faithful against these. In doing this he uttered a very glorious prophecy, showing how by the presence of Jesus in this disparaged building it should come to exceed the glory of the temple of Solomon. (see Hag_2:1-9) Note This prophecy should convince the Jews. They admit that the Shekinah never came to the second temple; that temple is now no more. If the presence of Jesus did not constitute the greater glory of the second house, what did?
3. It sustains against the assaults of enemies.
(1) Opposition reappears, now led by Tatnai and Shethar-boznai, who question the right of the Jews to resume the building which had been stopped by command of Artaxerxes (vers. 3, 4).
(2) Zechariah now appeared. He opened his commission by exhorting to repentance. (Zec_1:1-6) Note When trials come we should search our hearts, and, if we see cause, amend our ways.
(3) Haggai also followed with words of encouragement, and assurances that, despite the opposition, the work would be prospered. Zechariah subsequently gave them like assurances. These messages came at seasonable intervals to help the leaders and the workers. Reflection All these encouragements belong to those building the spiritual temple, for the prophecies have an ulterior reference to gospel times. Let us use the inspirations of prophecy. J.A.M.
HOMILIES BY J.S. EXELL Vers. 1-5.
A faithful ministry in the Church.
I THAT IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIVINE NAME. "In the name of the God of Israel" (ver. 1).
1. It advances in the Divine Name. These two prophets came to Israel in the name of God; a faithful ministry is commissioned by God, has his authority, and is qualified by him. (2Co_5:20)
2. It partakes of the Divine Character. These prophets must bear in their conduct the purity of God, and in their words the mercy of God; a faithful ministry must exhibit the Divine Character.
3. It recognises the Divine Covenant. These two prophets came to Israel as the covenant people engaged in a great work; a faithful ministry is for the Church in its redemptive relationships.
II THAT IT IS REQUIRED IN TIMES OF MORAL DEGENERACY. The building operations of Israel had ceased; Israel had settled down to an easy life, and was reluctant to enter again upon the arduous task of civil and religious restoration.
1. This faithful ministry was necessary. The Israelites were dwelling in ceiled houses, and God"s house was waste. (Hag_1:4) They required to see the wrong of this; and who will show it them if the prophets of God do not?
2. It was timely. It was a word in season to the people; they needed to be called from indifference to their great work. A faithful prophet will adapt his words to the condition of his hearers, and seek to engage the Church in the duty of the hour.
3. It was effective. The people no longer "earned wages to put into a bag with holes," but they feared the Lord, and entered upon his work. (Hag_1:6) Duty is really more remunerative than luxury. See then the reviving effect which two earnest men may exert within a lukewarm Church; they quicken its fading life and inspire its languid work. A faithful ministry is most influential for good.
III THAT THE SPIRITUAL IS THE MEDIUM OF ITS INFLUENCE, "Prophesied unto the Jews.
1. Not carnal. No sensational appeals were made to set the luxurious Israelites to build again the ruined temple; but by the word of the Lord they were urged to duty. The weapons of our warfare are spiritual; the word of God is the preacher"s power. Christ"s ministry was spiritual.
2. Not coercive. The sword did not drive the Israelites out of their celled houses; but the word of God spoken by his servants, working in the conscience. The truth is attractive, not coercive. Christ drew sinners to hear him.
3. Not cunning. These two prophets did not seek by cunning arts to win the Israelites from luxury to work for God; but by faithful words of remonstrance. Christ sought not to win men by artifice, but by a solemn statement of fact and duty. The world will not be subdued to virtue by the statesman, by the warrior, by the educationalist, but by the prophet.
IV THAT ITS WELFARE WILL BE ENHANCED BY THE COOPERATION OF GOOD MEN. "Then rose up Zerubbabel" (ver. 2). The prophets alone are morally powerful; but much more so when Zerubbabel and Jeshua are allied with them.
1. The alliance augments numbers. The work of restoration gathers strength by numerical addition, especially by the addition of influential men like Zerubbabel. The ministry needs numerical support; numbers increase the force of the testimony: exhibit the power of the gospel; aid the argument of the truth; are prophetic of future increase.
2. The alliance ensures efficiency. Zerubbabel will aid, advise, support the two prophets, and they in turn will aid him; this combined agency will inspire Israel with duty and courage. Four men can do what two cannot. (Mar_2:3) In the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom.
V THAT IT LEADS THE CHURCH TO THE HOLY ENTERPRISE FOR WHICH IT IS CALLED.
1. Productive work. "To build the house of God" (ver. 2). But for these two prophets it is likely that Israel would have continued to dwell in their ceiled houses, and have neglected the temple. The Church would be much more unmindful of Christian work than it is were it not for its faithful ministers. They awaken its memory. They quicken its conscience. They arouse its affections. They give it a good personal example by coming themselves to build the house of God; well nigh all houses of God in the earth would be unbuilt but for the ministers of the gospel.
2. Permanent work. The house endures when those who built it are gone.
VI THAT IT IS SURE TO MEET WITH IMPEDIMENTS IN THE ENTERPRISE IT CONTEMPLATES. "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet" (ver. 1). "At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river" (ver. 3). When the prophet comes to a Church to aid its work, Satan generally sends agencies to hinder it. The satanic:
1. Simultaneous. The prophets and the hostile governors come together; the spiritual and the satanic move side by side.
2. Inquisitive. "Who hath commanded you to build this house?" How the satanic interrogates the spiritual.
3. Overruled. "But the eye of the Lord was upon the elders of the Jews." Providence is co-operative with a faithful ministry, and helps to overcome all hindrances. E.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Ezr_5:1; Ezr_5:9
Ezr_5:1; Ezr_5:9
Then the prophets, Haggai.
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The great work resumed
The best commentary on these verses is the first chapter of Haggai.
I. The inciters to the west.
1. Want of interest in the work is implied.
2. Obligation to perform the work is implied.
3. Exhortations to resume the work were given.
II. The leaders in the work. Then rose up Zerubbabel, etc.
1. They resumed the work readily.
2. They led the work appropriately. Those that are in places of dignity and power, ought with their dignity to put honour upon and with their power to put life into every good work.
3. They led work influentially. The example of those who occupy high stations is--
(1) Most conspicuous.
(2) Most attractive.
III. The helpers in the work. The prophets. They assisted by their--
1. Exhortations to vigorous prosecution of the work.
2. Assurances of the presence of God with them.
3. Promises of future blessings from God to them.
IV. The great first cause of the work. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, etc. All holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed from Him. I will build My Church, said our Lord to Peter. All the inspiration, wisdom, etc., of the under-builders come from him. Learn--
1. The insidious nature of worldliness.
2. The value of faithful ministers.
3. The solemn obligation of men in eminent stations. (William Jones.)
Hebrew prophets in unfavourable times
The Hebrew prophets came when the circumstances of society were least favourable. Like painters arising to adorn a dingy city, like poets singing of summer in the winter of discontent, like flowers in the wilderness, like wells in the desert, they brought life and strength and gladness to the helpless and despondent, because they came from God. The literary form of their work reflected the civilisation of their day, but there was on it a light that never shone on sea or shore, and this they knew to be the light of God. We never find a true religious revival springing from the spirit of the age. Such a revival always begins in one or two choice souls--in a Moses, a Samuel, a John the Baptist, a St. Bernard, a Jonathan-Edwards, a Wesley, a Newman. (W. F. Adeney, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain THE work of building the temple at Jerusalem, which…
THE MISSION OF PROPHECY
Ezr_5:1-2
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THE work of building the temple at Jerusalem, which had been but nominally commenced in the reign of Cyrus, when it was suddenly arrested before the death of that king, and which had not been touched throughout the reigns of the two succeeding kings, Cambyses and Pseudo-Bardes, was taken up in earnest in the second year of Darius, the son of Hystaspes (B.C. 521). The disorders of the empire were then favourable to local liberty. Cambyses committed suicide during a revolt of his army on the march to meet the Pretender who had assumed the name of his murdered brother, Bardes. Seven months later the usurper was assassinated in his palace by some of the Persian nobles. Darius, who was one of the conspirators, ascended the throne in the midst of confusion and while the empire seemed to be falling to pieces. Elam, the old home of the house of Cyrus, revolted; Syria revolted; Babylon revolted twice, and was twice taken by siege. For a time the kings writ could not run in Palestine. But it was not on account of these political changes that the Jews returned to their work. The relaxing of the supreme authority had left them more than ever at the mercy of their unfriendly neighbours. The generous disposition of Darius might have led them to regard him as a second Cyrus, and his religion might have encouraged them to hope that he would be favourable to them, for Darius was a monotheist, a worshipper of Ormazd. But they recommenced their work without making any appeal to the Great King and without receiving any permission from him, and they did this when he was far too busy fighting for his throne to attend to the troubles of a small, distant city.
We must look in another direction for the impetus which started the Jews again upon their work. Here we come upon one of the most striking facts in the history of Israel, nay, one of the greatest phenomena in the spiritual experience. of mankind. The voice of prophecy was heard among the ruins of Jerusalem. The Cassandra-like notes of Jeremiah had died away more than half a century before. Then Ezekiel had seen his fantastic visions, "a captive by the river of Chebar," and the Second Isaiah had sounded his trumpet-blast in the East, summoning the exiles to a great hope; but as yet no prophet had appeared among the pilgrims on their return to Jerusalem. We cannot account for the sudden outburst of prophecy. It is a work of the Spirit that breathes like the wind, coming we know not how. We can hear its sound; we can perceive the fact. But we cannot trace its origin, or determine its issues. It is born in mystery and it passes into mystery. If it is true that "poeta nascitur, non fit," much more must we affirm that the prophet is no creature of human culture. He may be cultivated after God has made him; he cannot be manufactured by any human machinery. No "School of the Prophets" ever made a true prophet. Many of the prophets never came near any such institution; some of them distinctly repudiated the professional "order." The lower prophets with which the Northern Kingdom once swarmed were just dervishes who sang and danced and worked themselves into a frenzy before the altars on the high places; these men were quite different from the truly inspired messengers of God. Their craft could be taught, and their sacred colleges recruited to any extent from the ranks of fanaticism. But the rare, austere souls that spoke with the authority of the Most High came in a totally different manner. When there was no prophet and when visions were rare men could only wait for God to send the hoped-for guide; they could not call him into existence. The appearance of an inspired soul is always one of the marvels of history. Great men of the second rank may be the features of their age. But it is given to the few of the very first order to be independent of their age, to confront it and oppose it if need be, perhaps to turn its current and shape its course.
The two prophets who now proclaimed their message in Jerusalem appeared at a time of deep depression. They were not borne on the crest of a wave of a religious revival, as its spokesmen to give it utterance. Pagan orators and artists flourished in an Augustan age. The Hebrew prophets came when the circumstances of society were least favourable. Like painters arising to adorn a dingy city, like poets singing of summer in the winter of discontent, like flowers in the wilderness, like wells in the desert, they brought life and strength and gladness to the helpless and despondent, because they came from God. The literary form of their work reflected the civilisation of their day, but there was on it a light that never shone on sea or shore, and this they knew to be the light of God. We never find a true religious revival springing from the spirit of the age. Such a revival always begins in one or two choice souls-in a Moses, a Samuel, a John the Baptist, a St. Bernard, a Jonathan Edwards, a Wesley, a Newman. Therefore it is vain for weary watchers to scan the horizon for signs of the times in the hope that some general improvement of society or some widespread awakening of the Church will usher in a better future. This is no reason for discouragement, however. It rather warns us not to despise the day of small things. When once the spring of living water breaks out, though it flows at first in a little brook, there is hope that it may swell into a great river.
The situation is the more remarkable since the first of the two prophets was an old man, who even seems to have known the first temple before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. {Hag_1:10; Hag_2:9} Haggai is called simply "the prophet," perhaps because his fathers name was not known, but more likely because he himself had attained so much eminence that the title was given to him par excellence. Still this may only apply to the descriptions of him in the age of the chronicler. There is no indication that he prophesied in his earlier days. He was probably one of the captives who had been carried away to Babylon in his childhood, and who had returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem. Yet all this time and during the first year of his return, as far as we know, he was silent. At length, in extreme old age, he burst out into inspired utterance-one of Joels old men who were to dream dreams, {Joe_2:28} like John the Evangelist, whose greatest work dates from his last years, and Milton, who wrote his great epic when affliction seemed to have ended his lifework. He must have been brooding over the bitter disappointment in which the enthusiasm of the returned captives had been quenched. It could not be Gods will that they should be thus mocked and deceived in their best hopes. True faith is not a will-o-the-wisp that lands its followers in a dreary swamp. The hope of Israel is no mirage. For God is faithful. Therefore the despair of the Jews must be wrong.
We have a few fragments of the utterances of Haggai preserved for us in the Old Testament Canon. They are so brief and bald and abrupt as to suggest the opinion that they are but notes of his discourses, mere outlines of what he really said. As they are preserved for us they certainly convey no idea of wealth of poetic imagination or richness of oratorical colouring. But Haggai may have possessed none of these qualities, and yet his words may have had a peculiar force of their own. He is a reflective man. The long meditation of years has taught him the value of thoughtfulness. The burden of his message is "Consider your ways." {Hag_1:5; Hag_1:7} In short, incisive utterances he arrests attention and urges consideration. But the outcome of all he has to say is to cheer the drooping spirits of his fellow-citizens, and urge on the rebuilding of the temple with confident promises of its great future. For the most part his inspiration is simple, but it is searching, and we perceive the triumphant hopefulness of the true prophet in the promise that the latter glory of the house of God shall be greater than the former. {Hag_2:9}
Haggai began to prophesy on the first day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius. {Hag_1:1} So effective were his words that Zerubbabel and his companions were at once roused from the lethargy of despair, and within three weeks the masons and carpenters were again at work on the temple. {Hag_2:1. seq.} Two months after Haggai had broken the long silence of prophecy in Jerusalem Zechariah appeared. He was of a very different stamp; he was one of the young men who see visions. Familiar with the imagery of Babylonian art, he wove its symbols into the pictures of his own exuberant fancy. Moreover, Zechariah was a priest. Thus, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he united the two rival tendencies which had confronted one another in marked antagonism during the earlier periods of the history of Israel. Henceforth the brief return of prophetism, its soft after-glow among the restored people, is in peaceable alliance with priestism. The last prophet, Malachi, even exhorts the Jews to pay the priests their dues of tithe. Zechariah, like Haggai, urges on the work of building the temple.
Thus the chroniclers brief note on the appearance of two prophets at Jerusalem, and the electrical effect of their message, is a striking illustration of the mission of prophecy. That mission has been strangely misapprehended by succeeding ages. Prophets have been treated as miraculous conjurers, whose principal business consisted in putting together elaborate puzzles, perfectly unintelligible to their contemporaries, which the curious of later times were to decipher by the light of events. The prophets themselves formed no such idle estimate of their work, nor did their contemporaries assign to them this quaint and useless role. Though these men were not the creatures of their times, they lived for their times. Haggai and Zechariah, as the chronicler emphatically puts it, "prophesied to the Jews that were in Jerusalem even unto them." The object of their message was immediate and quite practical-to stir up the despondent people and urge them to build the temple-and it was successful in accomplishing that end. As prophets of God they necessarily touched on eternal truths. They were not mere opportunists; their strength lay in the grasp of fundamental principles. This is why their teaching still lives, and is of lasting use for the Church in all ages. But in order to understand that teaching we must first of all read it in its original historical setting, and discover its direct bearing on contemporary needs.
Now the question arises, In what way did these prophets of God help the temple-builders? The fragments of their utterances which we possess enable us to answer this question. Zerubbabel was a disappointing leader. Such a man was far below the expected Messiah, although high hopes may have been set upon him when he started at the head of the caravan of pilgrims from Babylon. Cyrus may have known him better, and with the instinct of a king in reading men may have entrusted the lead to the heir of the Jewish throne, because he saw there would be no possibility of a dangerous rebellion resulting from the act of confidence. Haggais encouragement to Zerubbabel to "be strong" is in a tone that suggests some weakness on the part of the Jewish leader. Both the prophets thought that he and his people were too easily discouraged. It was a part of the prophetic insight to look below the surface and discover the real secret of failure. The Jews set down their failure to adverse circumstances; the prophets attributed it to the character and conduct of the people and their leaders. Weak men commonly exercise their inactivity by reciting their difficulties, when stronger men would only regard those difficulties as furnishing an occasion for extra exertion. That is a most superficial view of history which regards it as wholly determined by circumstances. No great nation ever arose on such a principle. The Greeks who perished at Thermopylae within a few years of the times we are now considering are honoured by all the ages as heroes of patriotism just because they refused to bow to circumstances. Now the courage which patriots practised in pagan hands is urged upon the Jews by their prophets from higher considerations. They are to see that they are weak and cowardly when they sit in dumb despair, crushed by the weight of external opposition. They have made a mistake in putting their trust in princes. {Psa_118:8-9} They have relied too much on Zerubbabel and too little on God. The failure of the arm of flesh should send them back to the never-failing outstretched arm of the Almighty.
Have we not met with the same mistaken discouragement and the same deceptive excuses for it in the work of the church, in missionary enterprises, in personal lives? Every door is shut against the servant of God but one, the door of prayer. Forgetting this, and losing sight of the key of faith that would unlock it, he sits, like Elijah by Kerith, the picture of abject wretchedness. His great enterprises are abandoned because he thinks the opposition to them is insuperable. He forgets that, though his own forces are small, he is the envoy of the King of kings, who will not suffer him to be worsted if only he appeals to Heaven for fresh supplies. A dead materialism lies like a leaden weight on the heart of the Church, and she has not faith enough to shake it off and claim her great inheritance in all the spiritual wealth of the unseen. Many a man cries, like Jacob, "All these things are against me," not perceiving that, even if they are, no number of "things" should be permitted to check the course of one who looks above and beyond what is seen, and therefore only temporal, to the eternal resources of God.
This was the message of Zechariah to Zerubbabel;
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the head stone with shoutings of Grace, grace unto it!" {Zec_4:6-7}
Here, then, is the secret of the sudden revival of activity on the part of the Jews after they had been sitting for years in dumb apathy, gazing hopelessly on the few stones that had been laid among the ruins of the old temple. It was not the returning favour of the court under Darius, it was not the fame of the house of David, it was not the priestly dignity of the family of Zadok that awakened the slumbering zeal of the Jews; the movement began in an unofficial source, and it passed to the people through unofficial channels. It commenced in the meditations of a cairn thinker; it was furthered by the visions of a rapt seer. This is a clear indication of the fact that the world is ruled by mind and spirit, not merely by force and authority. Thought and imagination lie at the springs of action. In the heart of it history is moulded by ideas. "Big battalions," "the sinews of war," "blood and iron," are phrases that suggest only the most external and therefore the most superficial causes. Beneath them are the ideas that govern all they represent.
Further, the influence of the prophets shows that the ideas which have most vitality and vigor are moral and spiritual in character. All thoughts are influential in proportion as they take possession of the minds and hearts of men and women. There is power in conceptions of science, philosophy, politics, sociology. But the ideas that touch people to the quick, the ideas that stir the hidden depths of consciousness and rouse the slumbering energies of life, are those that make straight for the conscience. Thus the two prophets exposed the shame of indolence; they rallied their gloomy fellow-citizens by high appeals to the sense of right.
Again, this influence was immensely strengthened by its relation to God. The prophets were more than moralists. The meditations of Marcus Aurelius could not touch any people as the considerations of the calm Haggai touched the Jews, for the older prophet, as well as the more rousing Zechariah, found the spell of his message in its revelation of God. He made the Jews perceive that they were not deserted by Jehovah; and directly they felt that God was with them in. their work the weak and timid citizens were able to quit them like men. The irresistible might of Cromwells Ironsides at Marston Moor came from the unwavering faith in their battle-cry, "The Lord of Hosts is with us!" General Gordons immeasurable courage is explained when we read his letters and diaries, and see how he regarded himself as simply an instrument through whom God wrought. Here, too, is the strong side of Calvinism.
Then this impression of the power and presence of God in their destinies was deepened in the Jews by the manifest Divine authority with which the prophets spake. They prophesied "in the name of the God of Israel"-the one God of the people of both kingdoms now united in their representatives. Their "Thus saith the Lord" was the powder that drove the shot of their message through the toughest hide of apathy. Except to a Platonist, ideas are impossible apart from the mind that thinks them. Now the Jews, as well as their prophets, felt that the great ideas of prophecy could not be the products of pure human thinking. The sublime character, the moral force, the superb hopefulness of these ideas proclaimed their Divine origin. As it is the mission of the prophet to speak for God, so it is the voice of God in His inspired messenger that awakes the dead and gives strength to the weak.
This ultimate source of prophecy accounts for its unique character of hopefulness, and that in turn makes it a powerful encouragement for the weak and depressed people to whom it is sent. Wordsworth tells us that we live by "admiration, love, and hope." If one of these three sources of vitality is lost, life itself shrinks and fades. The man whose hope has fled has no lustre in his eye, no accent in his voice, no elasticity in his tread; by his dull and listless attitude he declares that the life has gone out of him. But the ultimate end of prophecy is to lead up to a gospel, and the meaning of the word "gospel" is just that there is a message from God bringing hope to the despairing. By inspiring a new hope this message kindles a new life.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.] i. The work resumed through…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.] i. The work resumed through the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets (Ezr_5:1-2). ii. The workers interrogated by the Persian authorities west of the Euphrates (Ezr_5:3-5). iii. The letter of the Persian authorities to Darius the king concerning the work (Ezr_5:6-17).
Ezr_5:1. Then] shows the close connection of this with the last verse of the previous chapter. Zechariah, the son of Iddo] He was really the son of Berechiah, and the grandson of Iddo (Zec_1:1). It is probable, as Dean Perowne suggests, “that Berechiah had died early, and that there was now no intervening link between the grandfather and the grandson. The son, in giving his pedigree, does not omit his father’s name; the historian passes it over, as of one who was but little known, or already forgotten.” In the name of the God of Israel, even unto them] Rather, “which was upon them,” i.e. the name of God was called upon them, indicating that they belonged to Him (comp. Isa_4:1; Jer_15:16).
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Ezr_5:2. Then rose up Zerubbabel … and Jeshua] &c. The exhortations of Haggai were addressed chiefly to these two leaders (Hag_1:1; Hag_2:2; Hag_2:4), and speedily they responded to them. “In the sixth month, in the first day of the month,” the prophet delivered his first message to them; and “in the four and twentieth day of the sixth month,” the “work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,” was resumed by them and the people (Hag_1:1; Hag_1:14-15). Zechariah did not enter upon his mission until the eighth month, which was two months later than Haggai. And with them the prophets of God] Haggai and Zechariah. Helping them] by exhortation, encouragement, &c.
Ezr_5:3. Tatnai, governor on this side the river] Tatnai was governor (pechah) of the entire country west of the Euphrates, while Zerubbabel was governor (pechah) of Judah only, and was therefore subordinate to Tatnai. Shethar-boznai] was probably the royal scribe or secretary. Who hath commanded] &c. In investigating this matter the Persian magistrates only did their duty.
Ezr_5:4. Then said we unto them] &c. It is almost certain that the text here has been corrupted in some way, and that the genuine reading is, “Then said they unto them,” &c. The question was put by the Persian officers to the Jews, as appears from Ezr_5:9-10.
Ezr_5:5. And then they returned answer by letter] &c. Schultz: “ ‘And they then brought back a letter,’ &c. The letter to be brought back was certainly to come from Darius.” Keil: “ ‘And they should then receive a letter,’ &c. They (the royal officials) then receive a letter, i.e. obtain a decision.”
Ezr_5:6. The Apharsachites] are probably the same as “the Apharsathchites” (chap. Ezr_4:9). See notes on that verse.
Ezr_5:7. They sent a letter] or a report, a message. All peace] i.e. “peace in all things, in every respect.”
Ezr_5:8. With great stones] Margin: “Chald., ‘stones of rolling.’ ” So also Fuerst, who explains it as denoting “heaviness, weight. Ezr_5:8; Ezr_6:4, stone of heaviness, i.e. a heavy, large stone, hewn.” And timber is laid in the walls] Rawlinson interprets this as the employment of timber as the material of the party walls. Schultz, as indicating “the inlaying of the walls with woodwork artistically finished.” Keil: “The placing of wood in the walls refers to building beams into the wall for flooring; for the building was not so far advanced as to make it possible that this should be said of covering the walls with wainscoting.”
Ezr_5:11. We are the servants] &c. The elders of the Jews when asked for their names replied by stating their relationship to “the God of heaven and earth,” which implied their obligation to obey Him. Which a great king of Israel builded and set up] Or, “and a great king of Israel built and completed it.”
Ezr_5:12. But after that our fathers] &c. Keil: “For this reason, because our fathers,” &c. Similarly Schultz: “On this account, because our fathers,” &c. The significance of this verse he expresses thus: “It is true the Temple has been destroyed, but this does not show any weakness in their God, but rather His holiness.” Nebuchadnezzar could not have destroyed their Temple, and carried them away into captivity, if God had not first withdrawn His protection from them because of their sins.
Ezr_5:15. Take these vessels] &c. “The three unconnected imperatives, ‘take, go forth, lay down,’ comprehend the three acts, to a certain extent, in one, thus expressing likewise the zeal of Cyrus, and the zeal that Sheshbazzar was expected to exhibit.”—Schultz. Let the house of God be builded in his place] i.e. in its former sacred place.
Ezr_5:16. And since that time even until now hath it been in building] These words were probably not a part of the answer of the elders of the Jews to Tatnai, but simply his own statement to the king, which he thought was correct. “It was entirely in the interest of the Jews to be silent respecting the fact that Cyrus had allowed an interruption to take place;” and Tatnai and his associates were probably quite ignorant of the fact that the work had been suspended.
Ezr_5:17. The king’s treasure house] This is called, in chap. Ezr_6:1, “the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.” Important documents were preserved in the treasure house attached to the royal residence.
THE GREAT WORK RESUMED
(Ezr_5:1-2)
The best commentary on these verses is the first chapter of Haggai. In the light of that chapter we propose to interpret them. For fourteen years the rebuilding of the Temple was stayed. We have now to consider the resumption of the work.
Notice:
I. The inciters to the work. “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews,” &c.
1. Want of interest in the work is implied. The Jews were backward at making a new effort to erect the sacred edifice, and needed stirring up to their duty in the matter. They had been building their own houses, attending to their own affairs, and had become indifferent as to the rebuilding of the house of God. They said, “The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built” (Hag_1:2). Had they been zealous in this affair, they would have renewed their efforts when Darius came to the throne. But the spirit of worldliness possessed them, and they deferred this sacred duty until they were sharply summoned to it.
2. Obligation to perform the work is implied. The prophets summoned them to the work “in the name of the God of Israel which was upon them.” This implies His authority over them, and their obligation to render loyal obedience to Him. In His name Haggai commanded them to resume this work. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; … Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and build the house,” &c. (Hag_1:7-8). The Jews did not deny the obligation. Fourteen years previous they had claimed it as their exclusive privilege. At that time they were forcibly prevented from fulfilling it; and afterwards, in process of time, they grew indifferent as to its fulfilment, and while acknowledging the obligation, they postponed its discharge. By neglecting the performance of duty our sense of its sacredness and imperativeness will almost certainly be diminished.
3. Exhortations to resume the work were given. “The prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied unto the Jews,” &c. The nature of their prophesying we can ascertain by reference to the books which bear their names. In the address of Haggai (Hag_1:1-11; Hag_1:13), which led to the resumption of the work, we find—
(1.) Earnest remonstrance because of their neglect (Ezr_5:4).
(2.) Solemn and repeated summons to reflection, “Consider your ways” (Ezr_5:5; Ezr_5:7).
(3.) Interpretation of the Divine dealings with them, showing that God had withheld His blessing because of their neglect (Ezr_5:6; Ezr_5:9-11).
(4.) Command to build the Temple (Ezr_5:8).
(5.) Encouragement to them to enter upon the work (Ezr_5:8 b, 13). Thus the prophet, under the direction of the Most High, endeavoured to arouse them from their sloth, and incite them to interest and effort in the good and great work.
II. The leaders in the work. “Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build,” &c.
1. They resumed the work readily. In less than a month after the summons of Haggai they began the work. On the first day of the sixth month the first prophetic message was delivered to them, and on the twenty-fourth day of the same month actual operations were resumed at the Temple. The readiness of their response is commendable. Delay in the performance of duty is perilous. Promptitude in its discharge is both binding and blessed. (a).
2. They led the work appropriately. It was becoming that Zerubbabel the chief prince, the first man in the state, and Jozadak the chief priest, the first man in the Church, should take the lead in such a work. “Those that are in places of dignity and power,” as M. Henry observes, “ought with their dignity to put honour upon, and with their power to put life into every good work; thus it becomes those that precede, and those that preside, with an exemplary care and zeal to fulfil all righteousness and to go before in a good work.”
3. They led the work influentially. “All the remnant of the people” followed their example, “and came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” The force of example is proverbially great; but it is especially influential in the case of those who hold the position of leaders amongst men. The example of those who occupy high stations is—
(1.) Most conspicuous. It is visible with great clearness and to great numbers.
(2.) Most attractive. To the majority of mankind the example of persons in eminent positions, from the mere fact that they occupy such positions, has an influence which is denied to others however wise and worthy they may be. (b). Great is the responsibility of those who are called to the high places of society. “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required,” &c. (Luk_12:48).
III. The helpers in the work. “And with them were the prophets of God helping them.” The nature of the assistance which the prophets rendered in the work may be gathered from the prophecies of Haggai which were delivered after the work was resumed (Haggai 2). They assisted by their—
1. Exhortations to vigorous prosecution of the work. “Be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord,” &c. (Ezr_5:4).
2. Assurances of the presence of God with them. “For I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you,” &c. (Ezr_5:4-5). This means more than His mere presence; for He is everywhere present. “Whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there,” &c. (Psa_139:7-10). It is an assurance of His gracious and helpful presence—His presence as their covenant God. With the obedient God is ever present for their protection, encouragement, assistance, &c.
3. Promises of future blessings from God to them. “The desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts,” &c. (Ezr_5:7-9). What a mighty inspiration there must have been in promises of such blessings as these, uttered by the prophet of God! He who thus encourages the hearts of workers renders them most valuable help in their work. Thus the earnest thinker, and the firm believer in God, may help those who are engaged in more active labours in building the spiritual temple of our Lord.
IV. The great First Cause of the work. It was God who inspired and sent forth the prophets, and who excited the spirit of the Jewish leaders and people to resume the work. “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” “All holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed” from Him. He is the great Master-Builder of His own Church. “I will build My Church,” said our Lord to Peter. All the inspiration and wisdom, the patience and power of the under-builders, come from Him. And to Him be all the praise. (c).
LEARN:—
1. The insidious nature of the sin of worldliness. See how gradually and stealthily it came upon the Jews. (d).
2. The value of faithful ministers. They both arouse men to duty, and assist them to perform it.
3. The solemn obligation of men in eminent stations. Let them, like Zerubbabel and Jeshua, be forward in every good work.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Pleasant is it to entertain the picture of ourselves in some future scene, planning wisely, feeling nobly, and executing with the holy triumph of the will; but ’tis a different thing—not in the green avenues of the future, but in the hot dust of the present moment—not in the dramatic positions of the fancy, but in the plain prosaic now—to do the duty that waits and wants us, and put forth an instant and reverential hand to the noonday or evening task.—James Martineau.
(b) As we give them (kings) all advantages of honour, so do we soothe and authorise all their vices and defects, not only by approbation, but by imitation also. Every one of Alexander’s followers carried their heads on one side, as he did, and the flatterers of Dionysius ran against one another in his presence, stumbled at, and overturned whatever was under foot, to show that they were as purblind as he. Natural imperfection has sometimes also served to recommend a man to favour. I have seen deafness affected; and because the master hated his wife, Plutarch has seen his courtiers repudiate theirs, whom they loved; and, which is yet more, uncleanness and all manner of dissoluteness has been in fashion; as also disloyalty, blasphemies, cruelty, heresy, superstition, irreligion effeminacy, and worse, if worse there be. And by an example yet more dangerous than that of Mithridates’ flatterers, who, by how much their master pretended to the honour of a good physician, came to him to have incission and cauteries made in their limbs; for these others suffered the soul, a more delicate and noble part, to be cauterised. But to end where I began: the Emperor Adrian, disputing with the philosopher Favorinus about the interpretation of some word, Favorinus soon yielded him the victory; for which his friends rebuking him, “You talk simply,” said he, “would you not have him wiser than I, who commands thirty legions?”—Montaigne.
(c) The scribe is more properly said to write than the pen, and he that maketh and keepeth the clock is more properly said to make it go and strike than the wheels and poises that hang upon it, and every workman to effect his work rather than the tools which he uses as his instruments. So the Lord, who is the chief Agent and Mover in all actions, may more fitly be said to bring to pass all things which are done in the earth than any subordinate causes, as meat to nourish us, clothes to keep us warm, the sun to lighten us, friends to provide for us, &c., seeing they are but His instruments.—Downame.
Day and night the tides are rising along our shores, filling bay and estuary, silently for the most part, yet surely. The power that draws them resides afar off in the heavenly bodies, and is not seen or noticed, but only inferred. All the goodness of men, their generous impulses, their loves and faiths and inspirations of purity, their zeal and enthusiasm in self-denial and devotion—that great moving tide of goodness which is moving in upon the human heart—is derived from God, who, afar off, silent as the moon in summer nights, is drawing all men unto Him.—H. W. Beecher.
(d) Nearly all can recall that favourite fiction of their childhood—the voyage of Sinbad the Sailor into the Indian Sea. They will remember that magnetic rock thatrose from the surface of the placid waters. Silently Sinbad’s vessel was attracted towards it; silently the bolts were drawn out of the ship’s side, one by one, through the subtle attraction of that magnetic rock. And when the fated vessel drew so near that every bolt and clamp were unloosed, the whole structure of bulwark, masts, and spars tumbled into ruin on the sea, and the sleeping sailors awoke to their drowning agonies. So stands the magnetic rock of worldliness athwart the Christian’s path. Its attraction is subtle, silent, slow; but fearfully powerful on every soul that floats within its range. Under its enchanting spell, bolt after bolt of good resolution, clamp after clamp of Christian obligation, are steadily drawn out. What matters it how long, or how fair has been the man’s profession of religion, or how flauntingly the flag of his orthodoxy floats from the mast head? Let sudden temptation smite the unbolted professor, and in an hour he is a wreck. He cannot hold together in a tempest of trial, he cannot go out on any cruise of Christian service, because he is no longer held togther by a Divine principle within. It has been silently drawn out of him by that mighty loadstone of attraction—a sinful, godless, self-pampering, Christ rejecting world.—T. L. Cuyler, D.D.
THE GREAT WORK INVESTIGATED AND CONTINUED
(Ezr_5:3-5)
I. The sacred work investigated by the secular authorities. “At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them,” &c. (Ezr_5:3-4).
Notice:
1. The nature of the investigation. Two points are inquired into:—
(1.) The authority of the builders. “Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?”
(2.) The names of the builders. “Then said they unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?”
2. The spirit of the investigation. It is probable that some of the Samaritan enemies of the Jews, prompted by bitter and hostile feelings, communicated with Tatnai and instigated this inquisition. But as regards the inquisition itself there is nothing to complain of; for—
(1.) Tatnai had the authority to make the investigation. He was “governor on this side the river;” all the country west of the Euphrates was subject unto him. The governorship of Zerubbabel, being of Judea only, was subordinate to that of Tatnai, who therefore acted within the limits of his power in making this inquisition.
(2.) Tatnai exercised his authority in a commendable manner. He made no vexatious or impertinent inquiries. And he presented an impartial and honest report to Darius the king. Very different was the course which he and his associates pursued from that of Rehum and his associates (chap. 4). There is nothing in the conduct of the present Persian officials which bears any resemblance to the unscrupulous and bitter hostility which their predecessors displayed to the Jews.
The eye of the world is upon the work of the Church to-day. And while there are some who would wilfully misrepresent and maliciously oppose that work, there are others who regard it fairly, and speak of it with candour and truthfulness. Let the members of the Church see to it that it shall be apparent to all unprejudiced persons that their work tends to promote truth and righteousness, purity and peace, piety and patriotism. (a).
II. The sacred work carried on through the Divine blessing. “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease,” &c. These words suggest—
1. The Divine interest in the work. “The eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews” is an expression denoting His deep concern in the progress of their undertaking. As we attentive. observe that in which we are greatly interested, so God regards His Church and the enterprises in which it is engaged.
2. The Divine oversight of the work. His eye ever upon the Jewish leaders suggests the accuracy and thoroughness of His knowledge of them and of their great business. In His providence the great God watches over the interests and efforts of His people. (b).
3. The Divine inspiration of the workers. The consciousness that “the eye of their God was upon” them encouraged the Jews, made even coward spirits brave, and nerved even the feeblest arm for vigorous toil, and so raised them above fear, and enabled them to carry on the work. And to-day to godly souls there is unlimited inspiration in the consciousness that the Divine Eye is upon them. (c).
4. The Divine protection of the workers. “The eye of their God upon” them clearly involved this. The figure implies not only interest and knowledge and oversight, but also defence. His eye was upon them not only to inspire but also to shield them; not only to mark their perils, but also to preserve them from injury. And in this way the work was carried on. It suffered no interruption by reason of the inquisition of the Persian officials, and the reference of the case to Darius. (d).
If we are engaged in the work of the Lord, we may confidently look to Him for protection. The path of duty is the path of safety. And the consciousness of the eye of our God upon us should make us patient in suffering, calm in peril, earnest in work, and courageous in conflict.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) If the Church will go forth to win new victories, she needs only to take fearlessly up the supremacy with which her God has dowered her, namely, the reconciling life of her indwelling Lord. Shutting up all internal questions that make her militant against herself, she is to move on in her own absolute, sublime majesty, militant only against every form of sin, to enthrone the kingdom of God. She must cease to beg favours of worldly policy. She must stop her infamous coquetry with Mammon. She must not be bowing on Sundays to sectarian prejudice, nor on week-days to social respectability, nor ever whisper guilty flatteries to popular sins, nor wait till great public vices are manifestly dying out of themselves, and feeble with approaching dissolution, before she dares strike at them. The staunch, uncompromising sincerity of old Puritans and confessors must be in her muscles. An awful zeal must gird up her loins. Purity, freedom, equity, are to be more to her than costly churches; the prayers of saintly men, and women and children too, her patronage; and her daily speech, the benediction of charity.—F. D. Huntington, D.D.
(b) The infinite knowledge of God fits Him to be a special object of trust. How could we depend upon] Him, if He were ignorant of our state? His compassions to pity us, His readiness to relieve us, His power to protect and assist us, would be insignificant, without His omniscience to inform His goodness and direct the arm of His power. This perfection is, as it were, God’s office of intelligence: as you go to your memorandum-book to know what you are to do, so doth God to His omniscience. This perfection is God’s eye, to acquaint Him with the necessities of His Church, and directs all His other attributes in their exercise for and about His people. You may depend upon His mercy that hath promised, and upon His truth to perform; upon His sufficiency to supply you, and His goodness to relieve you, and His righteousness to reward you; because He hath an infinite understanding to know you and your wants, you and your services. And without this knowledge of His, no comfort could be drawn from any other perfection; none of them could be a sure nail to hang our hopes and confidence upon. This is that the Church alway celebrated (Psa_105:8): “He hath remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations;” and (Psa_105:42), “He remembered His holy promise;” “And He remembered for them His covenant” (Psa_106:45). He remembers and understands His covenant, therefore His promise to perform it, and therefore our wants to supply them.—S. Charnocke, B.D.
(c) Were the Olympian Agonistæ inspired by the admiring gaze of applauding thousands? Did the thunders of acclamation which awoke the echoes of Olympus excite the Athletæ to higher energies? How, then, shall we be affected who believe that we are ever under the watchful eye of the dread Supreme? The KING looks on those who are running the heavenly race—who are wrestling with spiritual antagonists—and who are handing “a cup of cold water” to some drooping and thirsty disciple! As the King’s eye brightens with approbation, let us resolve to climb the highest steeps of duty and to walk on the loftiest mountains of holy enterprise!—Joseph Parker, D.D.
(d) The tribulation and poverty of His Church is not unknown to Him (Rev_2:8-9): “I know thy works and tribulation,” &c. He knows their works, and what tribulation they meet with for Him; He sees their extremities when they are toiling against the wind and tide of the world (Mar_6:48); yea, the natural exigencies of the multitude are not neglected by Him; He discerns to take care of them. Our Saviour considered the three days’ fasting of His followers, and miraculously provides a dish for them in the wilderness. No good man is ever out of God’s mind, and therefore never out of His compassionate care: His eye pierceth into their dungeons, and pities their miseries. Joseph may forget his brethren, and the disciples not know Christ when He walks upon the midnight waves and turbulent sea; but a lions’ den cannot obscure a Daniel from His sight, nor the depths of the whale’s belly bury Jonah from the Divine understanding: He discerns Peter in his chains, and Stephen under the stones of martyrdom; He knows Lazarus under his tattered rags, and Abel wallowing in his blood; His eye and knowledge goes along with His people, when they are translated into foreign countries, and sold for slaves into the islands of the Grecians, for He “will raise them out of the place” (Joe_3:6-7). He would defeat the hopes of the persecutors, and applaud the patience of His people.—S. Charnocke, B.D.
THE LETTER TO THE KING CONCERNING THE WORK
(Ezr_5:6-17)
This letter has three chief divisions, each of which requires brief notice.
I. The inquisition of the Persian authorities. “The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river,” &c. (Ezr_5:6-10). Here is a report of—
1. The observations which they made.
(1.) That the work was being well done. “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.” This seems to show that the work was being done in a substantial and excellent manner.
(2.) That the work was being rapidly done. “And this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.” Inspired by the exhortations of Haggai the prophet, and encouraged by the example of Zerubbabel the prince, and Jeshua the chief priest, the people worked zealously and the edifice was progressing quickly.
2. The inquiries which they proposed.
(1.) As to the authority of the builders. “Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?” (comp. Ezr_5:3).
(2.) As to the names of the builders. “We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them” (comp. Ezr_5:4).
II. The reply of the Jewish leaders. “And thus they returned us answer, saying,” &c. (Ezr_5:11-16). This answer is remarkable both for its prudence and for its piety. It seems to us to present the following aspects of the work. That it was—
1. Not a mere human enterprise, but a Divine commission. When asked to give their own names, the Jewish elders replied, “saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth,” &c. Of their personal names and distinctions they say nothing; but assert that in rebuilding the Temple of Jehovah they were acting as servants of the Supreme Being, whom they were bound to obey. The work was to them not optional, but obligatory.
2. Not an innovation, but a restoration. “We build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.” Nearly five hundred years had passed since Solomon built the first Temple. The building they were raising was not a novel invention of their own, but was supported by the venerable antiquity of its predecessor, and by the fame of the great king which built that predecessor.
3. Not in a spirit of presumption and pride, but of obedience and humility. “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.” At least three portions of this statement have a bearing of more or less importance in the present position of affairs.
(1.) That the destruction of the former Temple was not owing to any imperfection on the part of their God. Nebuchadnezzar did not prevail against Him. This testimony vindicates Him against any imputation of inability to defend His people and His Temple.
(2.) That the destruction of their former Temple was owing to their God having forsaken them. “He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.” He withdrew His protection from them, and they speedily fell before the Chaldeans.
(3.) That their God forsook them because of their numerous and heinous sins. Their fathers provoked Him unto wrath by abominable idolatries, and He retired, leaving them to themselves and to the gods whom they had chosen. They forsook God, then God forsook them. This testimony reveals the fact that it was in a spirit of penitence rather than of presumption that they were working. It also shows the obligatoriness of the work: having seen the evil of their ways and returned unto Jehovah their God, it behoved them to rebuild the Temple for His worship.
4. Not in opposition to, but in conformity with, royal authority. “But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon,” &c. (Ezr_5:13-16). Three things (which we have already noticed) are here laid down.
(1.) That the work was commanded by King Cyrus. “King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.… Let the house of God be builded in his place” (comp. chap. Ezr_1:1-3).
(2.) That the work was assisted by King Cyrus. “And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God,” &c. (Ezr_5:14-15, and comp. chap. Ezr_1:4-11).
(3.) That the work was carried on by the officer appointed by king Cyrus. “Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem,” &c. (Ezr_5:16, and comp. Ezr_5:2, and chap. Ezr_1:8). Thus they show that in this work they were obedient and loyal subjects of the Persian monarch.
5. Not political, but religious in its character. They were building an edifice which was designed not for plotting but for piety, not for political schemes but for religious services—“the house of God.” Moreover, they were not building this Temple to any merely local or national deity, but to the One Supreme Being—“the God of heaven and earth.” Thus the reply of the Jewish elders was fitted to honour Jehovah their God, and to disarm the opposition of men; it was both pious and prudent. (a).
III. The appeal of the Persian authorities to the king. “Now, therefore, if it seem good to the king,” &c. They ask Darius—
1. To ascertain whether Cyrus did authorise and encourage this work. “Let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem.”
2. To issue instructions for their guidance in relation to this work. “And let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.”
CONCLUSION:
Two things we may well admire and imitate—
1. The fairness of the Persian officials. Let us deal justly with those who differ from us in faith or opinion; let us be careful to represent their views and beliefs fairly and accurately, &c. (b).
2. The faithfulness of the Jewish leaders. They “witnessed a good confession.” Let us imitate them in this. By the testimony both of the lip and of the life, let us honour “the God of heaven and earth.” (c).
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) As the hermits were communing together, there arose a question as to which of all the virtues was most necessary to perfection. One said chastity; another, humility; a third, justice. St. Anthony remained silent till all had given their opinion; and then he spoke, “Ye have all said well, but none of you have said aright. The virtue most necessary to perfection is prudence; for the most virtuous actions of men, unless governed and directed by prudence, are neither pleasing to God, nor serviceable to others, nor profitable to ourselves.”—Dict. of Illus.
(b) There are a great many who cannot accept religion as a mere fact. There are a great many on whose minds are thronging thousands of thoughts. There are those who come to religion from the side of their household, and from the side of their affections. And they cannot doubt. Blessed be that man who had such a father and mother, that as long as the memory of father and mother lives he cannot doubt. Under such circumstances, whatever the intellect may do, the heart rectifies it. The intellect may write “Scepticism,” but the heart rubs it out, and writes “Love.” But many have no such childhood, no such teaching, and no such association. My memory goes back to the Sabbaths of my childhood—to the bright hill top, to the church-bell, and so long as I remember these things, and have a vision of my mother, and a recollection of my father, I cannot doubt religion. But there are many who had no such parents, or none within their remembrance. Many have had their whole life’s training in the most material elements, some in artistic relations, some in realms of doubt, some in intellectual gladiation. Men come to the subject of religion from entirely different points. And when men come to religion in such ways that they have in themselves no moral witness to the truth, and have suggestions and doubts that they do not seek, but that are forced upon them, there is a certain respect to be paid to them, and a certain sympathy to be experienced for them.—H. W. Beecher.
(c) We all have our creeds, and, in spite of ourselves, we profess them;—the creed of fashion; the creed of appetite; the creed of a selfish expediency; the creed of a sect; the creed of indifference, which is as irreligious and as bigoted in its way as any other; or the creed of eternal right and Gospel faith. Conduct is the great profession. Behaviour is the perpetual revealing of us. A man’s doctrines flow from his fingers’ ends, and stand out in his doings. What he may say is not his chief profession, but how he acts. Character lets out the secret of his belief; what he does tells what he is. He has “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” when he has “Christ formed within him.” His profession is as natural as the pulse in his veins. The good man makes profession of his goodness by simply being good; but the Christian man will not forget that he is not wholly good till he has joined himself to Christ’s body. He publishes his adhesion as spontaneously as nature publishes her laws,—as the sun its light,—as the rose its sweetness; by being steadfast; by shining; by fragrant charities. It costs a graceful elm no spasm to paint a graceful image on our eye, and the sea spreads its mysterious arms around the hemispheres without vanity. They make their nature known by silently keeping its laws. And because the Christian soul is made to be a conscious member in a living organism or church, it keeps its own high law only by being there. Religion belongs in the heartbeat of a man’s affections, and the breath of his daily desire; till it has so possessed him, it is a small matter that he keeps its effigy as a connoisseur keeps his marble Apollo,—on the outskirts of his practical fortunes. The true hospitality takes it to the heart. But when the heart has taken it in, it will not lock it there, and make it a prisoner. It must go abroad again, for the blessing of man and the praise of God. It will put its owner into the Church, not to show himself, but that he may the better become one with his brethren, and their common Head. So does the religion that is natural unite the public confession of it with the hiding of its inward power.—F. D. Huntington, D.D.
The matter of professing Christ appears to be regarded by many as a kind of optional duty, just as optional as it is for light to shine, or goodness to be good, or joy to sing, or gratitude to give thanks, or love to labour and sacrifice for its ends. No, my friends, there is no option here, save as all duties are optional, and eternity hangs on the option we make. Let no one of you receive or allow a different thought. Expect to be open, outstanding witnesses for God, and rejoice to be. In ready and glorious option, take your part with such, and stifle indignantly any lurking thought of being a secret follower.—H. Bushnell, D.D.
THE SUPREMACY OF GOD
(Ezr_5:11)
“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.”
These words lead us to consider—
I. The universal supremacy of God. “The God of heaven and earth.” The idea of sovereignty is involved in the idea of God. “The very name of a God includes in it a supremacy and an actual rule. He cannot be conceived as God, but He must be conceived as the highest authority in the world. It is as possible for Him not to be God as not to be supreme.” Our text brings to our notice the extent of the Divine supremacy, but we shall do well briefly to notice—
1. The ground of the Divine supremacy. God is the universal Sovereign because of—
(1.) The perfections of His being. He is infinitely wise, righteous, and kind. He is supreme in authority because He is supreme in ability and excellence. “God therefore being an incomprehensible ocean of all perfection, and possessing infinitely all those virtues that may lay a claim to dominion, hath the first foundation of it in His own nature.” (a).
(2.) Because all things were created by Him. The maker of anything has an undoubted right over the thing which he has made. The invention is the property of the inventor; the picture, of the painter; the book, of the author. God’s creatorship is most complete; all things, in respect both of matter and of form, were made by Him; therefore His sovereignty is absolute.
(3.) Because all things are sustained by Him. “By Him all things consist.” He “upholds all things by the word of His power.” “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” He is the Force of all forces; the Superintendent of all laws and processes of nature, &c. “As the right to govern resulted from creation, so it is perpetuated by the preservation of things.”
(4.) And this supremacy should be the more heartily recognised and responded to by us because of the benefits which He bestows upon us, and especially because of our redemption from sin by Jesus Christ. “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God,” &c. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present,” &c. (b).
2. The extent of the Divine supremacy.
(1.) It extends throughout heaven. He is “the God of heaven.” He is supreme over heavenly beings. “Angels that excel in strength, do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.” They are “His hosts, ministers of His, that do His pleasure.” The music and joy of their being is in doing His will. He is supreme over heavenly bodies. “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.” “He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by name.”
(2.) It extends throughout earth. He is “the God of heaven and earth.”
“By knowledge supreme, by wisdom Divine,
God governs the earth with gracious design.
O’er beast, bird, and insect His providence reigns,
Whose will first created, whose love still sustains.”
He rules over all men. The highest potentate and the humblest peasant are alike under His authority. He “bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity,” &c. (Isa_40:23-24). He rules over men in every respect. Nothing pertaining to their life is too great or too small for His oversight and control. Even “the bounds of their habitation” are determined by Him.
(3.) It extends throughout hell. “The devil and his angels” are rebels against God’s authority, but they cannot annul that authority, or free themselves from the restraints of His arm. Satan could not afflict Job beyond a certain limit, which was determined by God (Job_1:12; Job_2:6). “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell,” &c. (2Pe_2:4). “The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,” &c. (Jud_1:6). Thus the Divine supremacy is universal in its extent. (c).
II. The great obligation of man. “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth;” and are therefore under solemn obligations to obey Him. His will we should accept as our law. And our obedience to Him should be—
1. Complete. We should conform to His will in all things. No department of our life is beyond His control. We may not select certain commandments for our obedience, and reject or ignore others. We must “have respect unto all His commandments.” (d).
2. Perpetual. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Our obedience must be continued as long as our being. The redeemed will “serve Him day and night in His Temple” through all eternity.
3. Hearty. Mere mechanical obedience is not acceptable to Him. The service of the hireling is an abomination in His sight; but that which is spontaneous and sincere He delights in. (e).
4. Joyous. Obedience to Him should be a pleasure to us. Joyous service is frequently commended in the Scriptures. “I will run in the way of Thy commandments.” “Thy statutes have been my songs.” “Serve the Lord with gladness.” “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” (f).
III. The exalted privilege of man. It is deemed an honour to serve human sovereigns and princes. How much greater—how immeasurably greater—is the honour of serving the God of heaven and earth! When the service of God is rightly estimated, it is regarded as a glory, and rejoiced in as a privilege.
CONCLUSION:
What is our attitude towards the sovereignty of God? Do we bow to it only when we are forced to do so, and because we are forced to do so? Or do we rejoice in being “the servants of the God of heaven and earth”?
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) This is the natural order God hath placed in His creatures, that the more excellent should rule the inferior. He committed not the government of lower creatures to lions and tigers, that have a delight in blood, but no knowledge of virtue; but to man, who had an eminence in his nature above other creatures, and was formed with a perfect rectitude, and a height of reason to guide the reins over them. In man, the soul being of a more sublime nature, is set of right to rule over the body; the mind, the most excellent faculty of the soul, to rule over the other powers of it; and wisdom, the most excellent habit of the mind, to guide and regulate that in its determinations; and when the body and sensitive appetite control the soul and mind, it is a usurpation against nature, not a rule according to nature. The excellency, therefore, of the Divine nature is the natural foundation for His dominion. He hath wisdom to know what is fit for Him to do, and an immutable righteousness whereby He cannot do anything base and unworthy; He hath a foreknowledge whereby He is able to order all things to answer His own glorious designs and the end of His government, that nothing can go awry, nothing put Him to a stand, and constrain Him to meditate new counsels. So that if it could be supposed that the world had not been created by Him, that the parts of it had met together by chance, and been compacted into such a body, none but God, the supreme and most excellent Being in the world, could have merited, and deservedly challenged the government of it; because nothing had an excellency of nature to capacitate it for it, as He hath, or to enter into a contest with Him for a sufficiency to govern.—S. Charnocke, B.D.
(b) That benefit of redemption doth add a stronger right of dominion to God; since He hath not only as a Creator given them being and life as His creatures, but paid a price, the price of His Son’s blood, for their rescue from captivity; so that He hath a sovereignty of grace as well as nature, and the ransomed ones belong to Him as Redeemer as well as Creator (1Co_6:19-20): “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price;” therefore your body and your spirit are God’s. By this He acquired a right of another kind, and bought us from that uncontrollable lordship we affected over ourselves by the sin of Adam, that He might use us as His own peculiar for His own glory and service. By this redemption there results to God a right over our bodies, over our spirits, over our services, as well as by creation; and to show the strength of this right, the Apostle repeats it, “you are bought,” a purchase cannot be without a price paid; but he adds price also, “bought with a price.” To strengthen the title, purchase gave Him a new right, and the greatness of the price established that right. The more a man pays for a thing, the more usually, we say, he deserves to have it; He hath paid enough for it; it was, indeed, price enough, and too much for such vile creatures as we are.—Ibid.
(c) The sapphire throne of God, at this moment, is revealed in heaven, where adoring angels cast their crowns before it; and its power is felt on earth, where the works of creation praise the Lord. Even those who acknowledge not the Divine government are compelled to feel it; for He doeth as He wills, not only among the angels in heaven, but among the inhabitants of this lower world. Hell feels the terror of that throne. Those chains of fire, those pangs unutterable, are the awful shadow of the throne of Deity; as God looks down upon the lost, the torment that flashes through their souls darts from His holiness, which cannot endure their sins. The influence of that throne, then, is found in every world where spirits dwell; and in the realms of inanimate nature it bears rule. Every leaf that fades in the trackless forest trembles at the Almighty’s bidding, and every coral insect that dwelleth in the unfathomable depths of the sea feels and acknowledges the presence of the all-present King.—C. H. Spurgeon.
(d) All the commandments have the same Author, and the same sanction. He who thinks to atone for the breach of one by the observation of another; he who reserveth to himself a license of indulging in any favourite, darling lust, while, in general, he preserveth the appearance of an exemplary conduct, is a hypocrite, and, unless he repent, will be brought to shame, if not before men here, yet before men and angels hereafter.—Bishop Horne.
The hypocrite is in with one duty, and out with another: like a globous body, he toucheth the law of God in one point—some particular command he seems zealous for; but meets not in the rest; whereas, the sincere heart lies close to the whole law of God in his desire and endeavour.—W. Gurnall.
(e) As fruits artificially raised or forced in the hot-house have not the exquisite flavour of those fruits which are grown naturally, and in their due season; so that obedience which is forced by the terrors of the law, wants the genuine flavour and sweetness of that obedience which springs from a heart warmed and meliorated with the love of God in Christ Jesus.—H. G. Salter.
(f) Men are commonly more cheerful in their obedience to a great prince than to a mean peasant, because the quality of the master renders the service more honourable. It is a discredit to a prince’s government, when his subjects obey him with discontent and dejectedness, as though he were a hard master, and his laws tyrannical and unrighteous. When we pay obedience but with a dull and feeble pace, and a sour and sad temper, we blemish our great Sovereign, imply His commands to be grievous, void of that peace and pleasure He proclaims to be in them; that He deserves no respect from us, if we obey Him because we must, and not because we will. Involuntary obedience deserves not the title: it is rather submission than obedience, an act of the body, not of the mind: a mite of obedience with cheerfulness, is better than a talent without it. The testimonies of God were David’s delight (Psa_119:24). Our understandings must take pleasure in knowing Him, our wills delightfully embrace Him, and our actions be cheerfully squared to Him.—S. Charnocke, B.D.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST SINNING
(Ezr_5:12)
In this verse we have three weighty reasons for abstaining from sin.
I. It provokes God. “Our fathers provoked the God of heaven unto wrath.” By many sins, and especially by the practice of idolatry with its accompanying vices, the people of both Israel and Judah had long provoked Jehovah before He suffered them to be carried into exile. The evil of sin, as a provocation of the Most High, will be more impressively realised if we reflect that He is a Being of—
1. Infinite purity. He is “glorious in holiness;” … “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity.” Sin is the very opposite of holiness; therefore it grieves Him, and if persisted in, it provokes Him. It is the “abominable thing, which He hates.” Have we not in this a reason for shunning it? (a).
2. Infinite patience. He is “not easily provoked;” “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” He “is long-suffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” How wonderful was His forbearance with His ancient people! How long He suffered them, notwithstanding their heinous, widespread, and long-continued sin! Yet at length they provoked Him unto wrath. How wicked and how persistent must the sin be which provokes so patient a Being to anger! Therefore let us flee from sin. (b).
II. It deprives the sinner of His protection. “He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean.” By their sin the Israelites deprived themselves of the sure defence which His presence afforded to them, and frustrated His gracious purposes in relation to them. This truth is pathetically and beautifully expressed in Psa_81:11-16 : “My people would not hearken to My voice; and Israel would none of Me,” &c. By his sin the sinner places himself beyond the protection of the Divine Providence; he takes up the position of a rebel against the Divine government, and so forfeits the rights and privileges which that government confers upon its loyal subjects.
III. It strips the sinner of power to battle with his foes. “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.” Bereft of the Divine presence and protection, the men of Israel and of Judah could not stand before their enemies. Guilt robs a man of courage. The consciousness of righteous action in a righteous cause is the mightiest inspiration in conflict and the surest defence in peril. Sin deprives a man of this. Guilt brings faintness into men’s “hearts; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth,” &c. (Lev_26:36-37). “The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Or, as Shakespeare expresses it—
“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.”
A guilty “conscience does make cowards of us all.”
And Wordsworth:
“From the body of one guilty deed
A thousand ghostly fears and haunting thoughts proceed.” (c).
By all these reasons let us beware of sin, shun it, hate it; and “follow after holiness.” For in respect of holiness we may reverse the argument of our subject, and affirm that
(1) it is well pleasing to God;
(2) it secures to its possessor the Divine protection; and
(3) it invests its possessor with moral strength and courage.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Is it (if the supposition may be allowed) anything merely personal which God condemns in the action of the sinner against Himself? Can the sinner do God any harm? Can the mightiest chief in all the armies of hell pluck one star from the sky, or keep back the light of the sun, or bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? God is not, so to speak, alarmed for His personal government. The offences against His power cost Him no concern, but the offences against His holiness afflict Him with great sorrow. The parent cares nothing for the mere blow of the child’s tiny fist, but the passion which prompted it breaks his heart. God has to maintain the public virtue and order of the universe. He fears no stroke of power; but if, for mere convenience of expression, we may distinguish between His personality and His attributes, we may say that offences against His person are forgiven, but offences against His attributes cannot be forgiven apart from confession and repentance on the side of the criminal.—Joseph Parker, D.D.
(b) The more His patience is abused, the sharper will be the wrath He inflicts. As His wrath restrained makes His patience long, so His compassions restrained will make His wrath severe; as He doth transcend all creatures in the measures of the one, so He transcends all creatures in the sharpness of the other. Christ is described with “feet of brass, as if they burned in a furnace” (Rev_1:15), slow to more, but heavy to crush, and hot to burn. His wrath loseth nothing by delay; it grows the fresher by sleeping, and strikes with greater strength when it awakes: all the time men are abusing His patience, God is whetting His sword, and the longer it is whetting the sharper will be the edge; the longer He is fetching His blow, the smarter it will be. The heavier the cannons are, the more difficultly are they drawn to the besieged town; but, when arrived, they recompense the slowness of their march by the fierceness of their battery. “Because I have purged thee,” i.e., used means for thy reformation, and waited for it, “and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused My fury to rest upon thee. I will not go back, neither will I spare; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee” (Eze_24:13-14). God will spare as little then as He spared much before: His wrath will be as raging upon them as the sea of their wickedness was within them. When there is a bank to forbid the irruption of the stream, the waters swell; but when the bank is broke, or the lock taken away, they rush with the greater violence, and ravage more than they would have done had they not met with a stop: the longer a stone is in falling, the more it bruiseth and grinds to powder. There is a greater treasure of wrath laid up by the abuses of patience: every sin must have a just recompense of reward; and therefore every sin, in regard of its aggravations, must be more punished than a sin in the singleness and simplicity of its own nature. As treasures of mercy are kept by God for us, “He keeps mercy for thousands;” so are treasures of wrath kept by Him to be expended, and a time of expense there must be. Patience will account to Justice all the good offices it hath done the sinner, and demand to be righted by Justice; Justice will take the account from the hands of Patience, and exact a recompense for every disingenuous injury offered to it. When Justice comes to arrest men for their debts, Patience, Mercy, and Goodness will step in as creditors and clap their actions upon them, which will make the condition so much more deplorable.—S. Charnocke, B.D.
(c) They say sheep are scared with the clatter of their own feet as they run; so is the sinner with the din of his guilt. No sooner Adam saw his plate off, and himself to be naked, but he is afraid of God’s voice, as if he had never been acquainted with Him. Never can we truly recover our courage till we recover our holiness. “If our heart condemn us not, then have we boldness before God” (1Jn_3:21).—W. Gurnall.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Building of the Temple Recommenced
The Building of the Temple Recommenced
This chapter gives an account of a renewed attempt to rebuild the Temple, and recites a letter from the Persian officials in Judæa to the Persian court to enquire whether the Jews had leave to proceed with the work.
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1. Then the prophets] The hostility of their neighbours (Ezr_4:4-5), coupled with disastrous seasons (Hag_1:10-11; Hag_2:17), had so discouraged the people that they said 'The time is not come for the Lord's house to be built' (Hag_1:2). Out of this despondency they were roused by two prophets, whose presence amongst them must of itself have convinced them that the Spirit of the Lord was once more with them.
Haggai] The prophecies of Haggai were all delivered in the second year of Darius. In them he upbraided the people for bunding substantial houses for themselves whilst neglecting the House of God; attributed to such neglect the prevalent scarcity, which was God's judgment upon them; and when the work was once again taken in hand by Zerubbabel, predicted that the glory of the second Temple would exceed that of the first.
Zechariah] The prophecies of Zechariah (who was really son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo) were delivered at intervals between the second and fourth years of Darius. In them he consoled his countrymen for their afflictions, denounced (God's wrath upon the nations who had oppressed Jerusalem, encouraged with hopes of a great future both Zerubbabel and Joshua in their work of rebuilding the Temple, and exhorted the people to truth, justice, and mercy.
In the name.. even unto them] RM 'in the name of the God of Israel which was upon them': cp. Jer_14:9 (which is lit. 'thy name is called upon us').
2. Began to build] It had really been begun sixteen years before (Ezr_3:8.), but the work having been suspended, it had to be recommenced.
3. Tatnai] perhaps the satrap of all the Persian possessions W. of the Euphrates (the 'river').
4. Said we] better, with the LXX, 'said they.'
5. They could not cause them to cease] Tatnai could not venture to arrest a work which was alleged to have the sanction of Cyrus (Ezr_5:13), though he cautiously sent to Persia to have the statement verified. Till the matter came, etc.] RV 'till the matter should come to Darius, and then answer should be returned.'
13. Cyrus the king of Babylon] The king of Persia included Babylon within his dominions: cp. Neh_13:6.
14. Sheshbazzar] i.e. Zerubbabel: see on Neh_1:8.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 1. The prophetic ministry of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezr…
CHAPTER 5
1. The prophetic ministry of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezr 5:1)
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2. The result of their ministry (Ezr 5:2)
3. Tatnai’s interference (Ezr 5:3-5)
4. The letter to Darius (Ezr 5:6-17)
Ezr 5:1. At that critical time when the enemy seemed to have triumphed, and they were losing their interest, God graciously intervened by sending them His two messengers the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Their great prophetic messages will be more fully taken up in our annotations on the books which contain their prophecies. The voice of prophecy is always heard when the people of God are in decline. The greatest prophets appeared at the darkest period of Israel--Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Two months before Zechariah began his prophetic ministry Haggai lifted up his voice and addressed Zerubbabel and Joshua (Jeshua). It was the Word of the LORD which he communicated to the princely and priestly leaders of the people. This first message gives an interesting light upon the situation of the remnant. (Read Haggai 1.) The people were saying “The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.” This they must have said on account of their enemies; they were waiting for a more providential time, when they could pursue the building of the house. The next words of Haggai reveal the moral condition of the people: “is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?” Then the exhortation, “Consider your ways.” From these words we learn that they had settled down in comfort and were more occupied with building themselves houses than with finishing the house of the Lord. And God had dealt with them for this neglect; they had suffered on account of it (Hag 1:6-11).
Ezr 5:2. When the burning message of Haggai was delivered the LORD revived them again. They arose from their state of apathy and began to build the house of the LORD, the prophets of God helping them. The book of Haggai tells us that they all obeyed the voice of the LORD their God ... and the people did fear before the LORD. No sooner had they obeyed and feared the LORD than another message came through the prophet: “I am with you, saith the LORD.” They no longer feared their enemies, nor the King’s command, but they feared the LORD, and at once the work was vigorously resumed and the house finished (6:15). The Word of the LORD was used in their revival. Every true and genuine revival always started and always will start with the Word of God, hearing and believing what God has spoken.
Ezr 5:3-5. This new start attracted at once the attention of their enemies. Tatnai, governor on this side of the river and Shethar-boznai with their companions appeared on the scene. (In cuneiform tablets of the first and third years of Darius Hystaspis, a governor Ustnai is mentioned. He is described in Assyrian as the governor of the province.) They asked the questions, “Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up the wall? What are the names of the men that make this building?” (“We” in verse 4 is “they,” Tatnai and his companions, See verse 10.) Thus the enemy made another effort to hinder the work. He never fails to attack that which is done to the glory of God. But these enemies did not reckon with the Keeper of Israel who neither sleeps nor slumbers. Little did they know that what they were doing would lead to victory for God’s people and would result in finishing the house of God. The eye of God was upon the elders of the Jews. He gave them strength, courage and assurance, so that they could persevere in the work. God was with them, and who then could be against them? God restrained Tatnai from giving order to suspend the work, so that they worked right on. Blessed are all the servants of the LORD who toil in the fear of the LORD, knowing that His eye is upon them and that He sustains all who put their trust in Him.
Ezr 5:6-17. Then Tatnai and his associates sent a letter to King Darius, which gives the unreported details of their visit to Jerusalem. The letter tells us that the house was built with great stones and timber in the walls, and that all prospered in their hands. Zerubbabel and his companions had answered the inquiries to Tatnai as follows: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.” Thus they gave a witness of themselves and then related what had taken place, and how Cyrus had made the decree to build the house of God. The letter stated that Sheshbazzar (Zerubbabel) had laid the foundation and that the house was still unfinished. Then follows the request: “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 the matter.” The builders must have had perfect peace about this letter, knowing that the LORD was with them.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Zeal of the People Aroused
The Zeal of the People Aroused
v. 1. 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. It seems that the Jews, after their first attempt to rebuild the Temple had been hindered, had lost most of their interest and zeal for the task, and needed an emphatic admonition to arouse them to action again, Hag 1:2-11.
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v. 2. Then rose up Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of the returned exiles in Judah, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them, encouraging and inspiring them, were the prophets of God, helping them.
v. 3. At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, satrap, or viceroy, of the Persian king who governed the larger province, or satrapy, west of the Euphrates, including Syria, Palestine, Phenicia, and Cyprus, under whose jurisdiction were the smaller governors of the nations and tribes in his entire territory, and Shethar-boznai and their companions, minor officials accompanying the viceroy and his secretary, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house and to make up this wall? The Samaritans had evidently complained also to the viceroy, and so he came to investigate the matter, not being content with hearing only one side of the matter.
v. 4. Then said we, the Persian officials being meant, unto them, the Jews, after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? They inquired for the men in authority among the Jews, those upon whom the responsibility rested.
v. 5. But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, who might naturally have been overawed by the coming of these high officials and been inclined to give up their project in sheer terror, that they could not cause them to cease till the matter came to Darius, the Jews were permitted to go on with their work until the king himself had handed down a decision in the matter; and then they, the investigators, returned answer by letter concerning this matter. Because the Jews had informed Tatnai that they were acting by permission and upon a decree issued by Cyrus himself, the viceroy thought best to refer the case to the king for adjustment. God Himself holds His sheltering hand over the work done in His honor, and therefore it can never fail.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Iddo ... Jeshua ... Jozadak
Iddo ... Jeshua ... Jozadak
names of men (See: How to Translate Names)
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Shealtiel
man's name. See how you translated this in Esra 3:1.
to build the house of God
This was the temple of God.
translationWords
Haggai
prophet
Zechariah (OT)
God
Israel
Jew
Judah
Jerusalem
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:1 Haggai first prophesied on August 29, 520 BC…
5:1 Haggai first prophesied on August 29, 520 BC (Hag 1:1). Zechariah began prophesying about two months later (Zech 1:1). The books of Haggai and Zechariah record their messages (see also Ezra 6:14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.