Ezra 6:12
And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.
This verse is the closing of the second decree for building the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, issued by Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia, after the proclamation of Cyrus and after the original decree of Cyrus was found. That decree set aside the prohibition of the usurper Smerdis and carried on the work begun under Cyrus. The work had begun under Cyrus, whom God moved as His agent to discern the prophecies concerning himself, to grant the Jewish people liberty, and to furnish the necessary facilities for rebuilding.
In the decree Darius commanded that the work be left alone and that the governor and elders of the Jews build the house in its place. Expenses were to be paid without hindrance from the king's tribute beyond the river, with daily provision of bullocks, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and oil for burnt offerings to the God of heaven so that sacrifices of sweet savors would be offered and prayer made for the life of the king and his sons. Severe penalties were added for altering the decree, invoking the God who caused His name to dwell there to destroy all kings and people who would put their hand to alter and destroy the house at Jerusalem, and commanding that it be done with speed. Darius thus declared that God had placed His name at Jerusalem and invoked destruction on any king or people who tried to alter or destroy the temple there, requiring the decree to be carried out quickly.
The decree protected the temple and its builders, ordered the work to proceed, and in God's providence prepared the way for the completion and early completion of the temple. Even with the hindrance removed, the Jews remained unbelieving and indifferent, misapplied inspired prophecy, claimed the time to build had not come, left the house of the Lord in ruins, and built houses for themselves. The verse means that the Lord still moves upon the hearts of kings and rulers in behalf of His people, moving them to give favors, gifts and help for the advancement of His cause and to open avenues through which truth may go, with the goods of the Lord placed in the hands of unbelievers to be used for a fallen world. The decree of Darius continued the work begun by Cyrus and was part of the one decree completed by Artaxerxes, with the combined decree dated to 457 B.C. as the starting point for the seventy weeks prophecy.
As long as the world stands and the Spirit of God is striving with the world and the door of mercy is not yet closed, God's people are to receive as well as to impart favors. They are to give the world the light of truth from the Scriptures and to receive what God moves men to do for His cause, including in the religious liberty work. They are not to cut off or refuse favors, withdraw from help God has moved men to give, bind up means God would set free, build a wall of separation from the world, or come into conflict with authorities and powers so as to bring on the time of trouble before the time. Such gifts are not to be refused even when the givers have no sympathy with the work and no faith in Christ or practice of His words.