Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
The verse describes what followed the return from captivity to build the temple to the Lord God of Israel, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard of the work and came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers asking to build with them because they sought God and sacrificed to Him since Esar-haddon king of Assur brought them up, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers answered that they had nothing to do with them to build a house to God but would build together to the Lord God of Israel as Cyrus king of Persia had commanded. The people of the land who made this offer were the Samaritans, the adversaries and surrounding people. Despite their professed worship, friendship, and offers of help they were not worshipers of the true God but His enemies who put other gods before Him.
The leaders' refusal to unite with them in anything relating to God's worship and the restoration of His worship was right, because professed worship and friendship did not make opponents of God trustworthy partners in the work. God as Creator of all things does not need the help of His enemies to establish His worship, and He does not ask the sacrifice of wickedness nor accept the offerings of idolaters and those who put other gods before Him. Instead of asking human aid, His servants going up to Jerusalem trusted Him to defend and prosper their efforts, seeking His help by fasting and prayer, and the episode shows the danger of relying on help from people who do not serve God and the call to rely on God rather than accept help from those opposed to Him.
After the refusal, those people weakened the hands and resolve of the people of Judah and troubled, discouraged, hindered, and obstructed them in building. Their untiring opposition in the earlier years of the restoration from Babylon worked by false reports that aroused suspicion in minds easily led to suspect, and by hiring counselors against Judah to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia even until the reign of Darius, at times leading rulers in authority to work against God's purposes and making the builders cease by force and power. Behind this earthly opposition Satan was striving to influence the highest powers in the kingdom of Medo-Persia to show disfavor to God's people, while angels worked for the exiles in a controversy in which all heaven was interested, with Gabriel for three weeks wrestling with the powers of darkness seeking to counteract the influences on the mind of Cyrus until Michael, Christ Himself, came to Gabriel's aid and all that heaven could do was done.
The influences for evil were held in check for many years, all the days of Cyrus and all the days of his son Cambyses, so that the people in Judea and the people of God had liberty to continue their work. Amid the manifold difficulties encompassing Zerubbabel the Lord interposed for the faithful builders by speaking through Zechariah to Zerubbabel that the great mountain before him would become a plain and he would bring forth the headstone with shoutings, because the work would be accomplished not by human might nor power but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts.
The verse describes what followed the return from captivity to build the temple to the Lord God of Israel, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard of the work and came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers asking to build with them because they sought God and sacrificed to Him since Esar-haddon king of Assur brought them up, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers answered that they had nothing to do with them to build a house to God but would build together to the Lord God of Israel as Cyrus king of Persia had commanded. The people of the land who made this offer were the Samaritans, the adversaries and surrounding people. Despite their professed worship, friendship, and offers of help they were not worshipers of the true God but His enemies who put other gods before Him.
The leaders' refusal to unite with them in anything relating to God's worship and the restoration of His worship was right, because professed worship and friendship did not make opponents of God trustworthy partners in the work. God as Creator of all things does not need the help of His enemies to establish His worship, and He does not ask the sacrifice of wickedness nor accept the offerings of idolaters and those who put other gods before Him. Instead of asking human aid, His servants going up to Jerusalem trusted Him to defend and prosper their efforts, seeking His help by fasting and prayer, and the episode shows the danger of relying on help from people who do not serve God and the call to rely on God rather than accept help from those opposed to Him.
After the refusal, those people weakened the hands and resolve of the people of Judah and troubled, discouraged, hindered, and obstructed them in building. Their untiring opposition in the earlier years of the restoration from Babylon worked by false reports that aroused suspicion in minds easily led to suspect, and by hiring counselors against Judah to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia even until the reign of Darius, at times leading rulers in authority to work against God's purposes and making the builders cease by force and power. Behind this earthly opposition Satan was striving to influence the highest powers in the kingdom of Medo-Persia to show disfavor to God's people, while angels worked for the exiles in a controversy in which all heaven was interested, with Gabriel for three weeks wrestling with the powers of darkness seeking to counteract the influences on the mind of Cyrus until Michael, Christ Himself, came to Gabriel's aid and all that heaven could do was done.
The influences for evil were held in check for many years, all the days of Cyrus and all the days of his son Cambyses, so that the people in Judea and the people of God had liberty to continue their work. Amid the manifold difficulties encompassing Zerubbabel the Lord interposed for the faithful builders by speaking through Zechariah to Zerubbabel that the great mountain before him would become a plain and he would bring forth the headstone with shoutings, because the work would be accomplished not by human might nor power but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts.