The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.
The reply is the Persian king's acknowledgment that the letter of accusation sent by the Samaritans and other adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, charging the Jews with rebellion in rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, had been plainly read before him. The king called Artaxerxes here is the impostor False Smerdis, also called Gomates, who reigned about seven months after Cambyses and was quite a different man from Cyrus, and after counselors had already been hired to frustrate the builders he ordered the work stopped by force and power. The halt lasted about two years until the second year of Darius Hystaspes about 520 B.C., when Haggai and Zechariah stirred Zerubbabel and Joshua to build again, which is also described as a delay of fifteen years leaving the temple much as when its foundations were laid. The stoppage was later undone when the records were searched and the written decree of Cyrus was found, so Darius confirmed it and ordered the work forward to completion. The decree of Cyrus covered only the temple with housing for the workers and not the restoring of the city, so it alone did not fulfill the command to restore and build Jerusalem, and the decrees discussed in Ezra 4 are not the beginning of the seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24, whose starting date is the decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7. The king's command looked like a reason to stop and was taken as a sign that God did not wish the building done then, but opposing circumstances are not a sure sign to relinquish duty, and accepting the order instead of answering the slander and trusting that no earthly monarch can stop what God favors was wrong and brought reproof through Haggai with drought and pestilence while God's house lay in ruins.
Letter, King, and Halt
The reply states that the letter sent to the throne had been plainly and clearly read in the king's presence, opening the royal answer to the effort to stop the rebuilding. That letter was an accusation from the Samaritans and the other adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, who represented the Jews as rebellious in order to bring the work on the temple and Jerusalem to an end. Their correspondence with the Persian authorities belonged to the sustained attempt to hinder the work begun under the decree of Cyrus.
The king called Artaxerxes in Ezra was the impostor Smerdis, also called Gomates the false Smerdis, one of the Magi opposed to the Jewish religion. He reigned about seven months in 522 B.C. after Cambyses and was quite a different man from Cyrus. Before this letter the adversaries had troubled the builders and hired counselors to frustrate their purpose under Cyrus and Cambyses, and only after those counselors had failed did the accusation come plainly before Smerdis.
On the complaint that Judah would rebel once Jerusalem was walled, he issued a decree putting a stop to the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. In consequence of it the enemies made the Jews cease building by force and power. The search of the imperial records confirmed Jerusalem's past rebellions, but that true history was used to support a false accusation about the Jews' purpose in rebuilding the city.
The stoppage lasted about two years, until the second year of Darius Hystaspes, about 520 B.C. in Haggai's time. Then Haggai and Zechariah stirred Zerubbabel and Joshua and the people to build again, and the work that had been stopped was resumed when the prophets spoke. The same hindrance is described as delaying the work for fifteen years, so that fifteen years after the return from Babylon the temple was still much as when the foundation stones were laid with joyous services.
The adversaries resisted Zerubbabel and Joshua in rebuilding the temple in the name of the king of Persia, and this opposition is part of the desolation that Judah and Jerusalem had to overcome. Together with the people's poverty and hardship, the power of these adversaries made completing the temple seem impossible, so that God's promise of peace and safety in Jerusalem seemed marvelous to those in that troubled period. The halt was later undone when the king's officers investigated by checking the government records and found that Israel had authority to do the work. Darius searched for and found the written decree of Cyrus, confirmed it, and ordered the work forward, so the house was completed; later kings thus reversed the action of the usurper False Smerdis, with the work allowed to proceed under Darius, later identified as Darius II.
Prophecy and Daniel's Weeks
The hindrance to the work begun under Cyrus delayed the restoration of Jerusalem and its affairs, so that the decree of Cyrus alone did not fulfill the prophecy's command to restore and build the city. The royal reply acknowledging that the opponents' letter had been plainly read belonged to that hindrance, for on complaint from the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin who were troubling the builders and hiring counselors to frustrate their purpose, the king ordered the work stopped and the enemies made the Jews cease building the temple by force and power, so that the work ceased until the second year of Darius Hystaspes. The king called Artaxerxes in Ezra was Smerdis the impostor, who reigned about seven months in 522 B.C. after Cambyses, was one of the Magi and opposed to the Jewish religion.
The decree of Cyrus covered only rebuilding of the temple with necessary housing for the workers, not the restoration of Jerusalem, and therefore cannot be the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem that begins the prophetic period of Daniel 9. Ezra 4 together with Ezra 7 settles which Persian decree begins the seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24, for the decrees of Cyrus or Darius discussed in Ezra 4 are not the true date, and the decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7 is the starting date.
Faithfulness Under Opposition
The Samaritan opposition to the Jews in the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel and Ezra helped foster hatred between the two peoples. The neighboring inhabitants of Palestine wrote to the reigning king of Persia, a quite different man from Cyrus, representing the Jews as a rebellious people, and the letter was plainly read before the king so that he sent an order to discontinue work on the temple fifteen years after the return from Babylon, when the temple was still in much the same condition as when the joyous services were held at the laying of the foundation stones. That royal command looked like an excellent reason to stop, at first making it seem impossible to go on, and the Jews made themselves believe they had good reasons for discouragement and took it as an indication that God did not wish them to build the temple then.
Opposing circumstances are not a sure sign from God to relinquish an unpleasant undertaking, for God does not always make the path of duty smooth. The mind and judgment God has given must be used, guidance asked, and willingness to gladly do whatever God would like maintained notwithstanding difficulties, with consideration of what would be thought right for another person in the same place and especially what in God's sight would be best. The order to stop did not make continuing impossible and was not a sign that God wanted the building left unfinished. The Jews should have answered the king contradicting the slander and remembered that no earthly monarch can stop an undertaking God favors.
Accepting the order as sufficient reason was wrong in God's sight and covered a greater interest in building their own beautiful houses and cultivating their fields and vineyards. God proved His displeasure by sending Haggai to reprove them and by allowing drought and pestilence because His house lay in ruins while their own homes were luxuriously finished.
The reply is the Persian king's acknowledgment that the letter of accusation sent by the Samaritans and other adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, charging the Jews with rebellion in rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, had been plainly read before him.
The king called Artaxerxes here is the impostor False Smerdis, also called Gomates, who reigned about seven months after Cambyses and was quite a different man from Cyrus, and after counselors had already been hired to frustrate the builders he ordered the work stopped by force and power.
The halt lasted about two years until the second year of Darius Hystaspes about 520 B.C., when Haggai and Zechariah stirred Zerubbabel and Joshua to build again, which is also described as a delay of fifteen years leaving the temple much as when its foundations were laid.
The stoppage was later undone when the records were searched and the written decree of Cyrus was found, so Darius confirmed it and ordered the work forward to completion.
The decree of Cyrus covered only the temple with housing for the workers and not the restoring of the city, so it alone did not fulfill the command to restore and build Jerusalem, and the decrees discussed in Ezra 4 are not the beginning of the seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24, whose starting date is the decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7.
The king's command looked like a reason to stop and was taken as a sign that God did not wish the building done then, but opposing circumstances are not a sure sign to relinquish duty, and accepting the order instead of answering the slander and trusting that no earthly monarch can stop what God favors was wrong and brought reproof through Haggai with drought and pestilence while God's house lay in ruins.
Letter, King, and Halt
The reply states that the letter sent to the throne had been plainly and clearly read in the king's presence, opening the royal answer to the effort to stop the rebuilding. That letter was an accusation from the Samaritans and the other adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, who represented the Jews as rebellious in order to bring the work on the temple and Jerusalem to an end. Their correspondence with the Persian authorities belonged to the sustained attempt to hinder the work begun under the decree of Cyrus.
The king called Artaxerxes in Ezra was the impostor Smerdis, also called Gomates the false Smerdis, one of the Magi opposed to the Jewish religion. He reigned about seven months in 522 B.C. after Cambyses and was quite a different man from Cyrus. Before this letter the adversaries had troubled the builders and hired counselors to frustrate their purpose under Cyrus and Cambyses, and only after those counselors had failed did the accusation come plainly before Smerdis.
On the complaint that Judah would rebel once Jerusalem was walled, he issued a decree putting a stop to the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. In consequence of it the enemies made the Jews cease building by force and power. The search of the imperial records confirmed Jerusalem's past rebellions, but that true history was used to support a false accusation about the Jews' purpose in rebuilding the city.
The stoppage lasted about two years, until the second year of Darius Hystaspes, about 520 B.C. in Haggai's time. Then Haggai and Zechariah stirred Zerubbabel and Joshua and the people to build again, and the work that had been stopped was resumed when the prophets spoke. The same hindrance is described as delaying the work for fifteen years, so that fifteen years after the return from Babylon the temple was still much as when the foundation stones were laid with joyous services.
The adversaries resisted Zerubbabel and Joshua in rebuilding the temple in the name of the king of Persia, and this opposition is part of the desolation that Judah and Jerusalem had to overcome. Together with the people's poverty and hardship, the power of these adversaries made completing the temple seem impossible, so that God's promise of peace and safety in Jerusalem seemed marvelous to those in that troubled period. The halt was later undone when the king's officers investigated by checking the government records and found that Israel had authority to do the work. Darius searched for and found the written decree of Cyrus, confirmed it, and ordered the work forward, so the house was completed; later kings thus reversed the action of the usurper False Smerdis, with the work allowed to proceed under Darius, later identified as Darius II.
Prophecy and Daniel's Weeks
The hindrance to the work begun under Cyrus delayed the restoration of Jerusalem and its affairs, so that the decree of Cyrus alone did not fulfill the prophecy's command to restore and build the city. The royal reply acknowledging that the opponents' letter had been plainly read belonged to that hindrance, for on complaint from the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin who were troubling the builders and hiring counselors to frustrate their purpose, the king ordered the work stopped and the enemies made the Jews cease building the temple by force and power, so that the work ceased until the second year of Darius Hystaspes. The king called Artaxerxes in Ezra was Smerdis the impostor, who reigned about seven months in 522 B.C. after Cambyses, was one of the Magi and opposed to the Jewish religion.
The decree of Cyrus covered only rebuilding of the temple with necessary housing for the workers, not the restoration of Jerusalem, and therefore cannot be the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem that begins the prophetic period of Daniel 9. Ezra 4 together with Ezra 7 settles which Persian decree begins the seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24, for the decrees of Cyrus or Darius discussed in Ezra 4 are not the true date, and the decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7 is the starting date.
Faithfulness Under Opposition
The Samaritan opposition to the Jews in the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel and Ezra helped foster hatred between the two peoples. The neighboring inhabitants of Palestine wrote to the reigning king of Persia, a quite different man from Cyrus, representing the Jews as a rebellious people, and the letter was plainly read before the king so that he sent an order to discontinue work on the temple fifteen years after the return from Babylon, when the temple was still in much the same condition as when the joyous services were held at the laying of the foundation stones. That royal command looked like an excellent reason to stop, at first making it seem impossible to go on, and the Jews made themselves believe they had good reasons for discouragement and took it as an indication that God did not wish them to build the temple then.
Opposing circumstances are not a sure sign from God to relinquish an unpleasant undertaking, for God does not always make the path of duty smooth. The mind and judgment God has given must be used, guidance asked, and willingness to gladly do whatever God would like maintained notwithstanding difficulties, with consideration of what would be thought right for another person in the same place and especially what in God's sight would be best. The order to stop did not make continuing impossible and was not a sign that God wanted the building left unfinished. The Jews should have answered the king contradicting the slander and remembered that no earthly monarch can stop an undertaking God favors.
Accepting the order as sufficient reason was wrong in God's sight and covered a greater interest in building their own beautiful houses and cultivating their fields and vineyards. God proved His displeasure by sending Haggai to reprove them and by allowing drought and pestilence because His house lay in ruins while their own homes were luxuriously finished.