Ezra 7:17
That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.
The decree gives silver and gold to be spent quickly for bulls, rams, lambs with their grain and drink offerings to be offered on the altar of God's house in Jerusalem. It is part of the king's generous and abundant provision for restoring the worship and services of the sanctuary at Jerusalem. It belongs to the decree of Artaxerxes in his seventh year, dated to 457 B.C., the third and final decree completing the work begun by Cyrus and continued by Darius and going into effect in the autumn. The going forth of that decree marks the starting point for reckoning the seventy weeks and the 2300-year period of Daniel 8:14. Counting 2300 years from 457 reaches to 1843, reckoned to the fall of 1844 because the decree went into effect near the end of the year, whose passing without the coming of the Lord brought sad disappointment, while the seventy weeks counted from the same date end in A.D. 34 with the crucifixion in the midst of the last week in A.D. 31.
Provision for Temple Worship
The money was to be used to buy bullocks, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings. Those animals with their accompanying offerings were then to be offered upon the altar of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. The purchase was to be made speedily and promptly, without delay.
This direction was part of the king's generous and abundant provision for restoring temple worship. It supplied the services of the earthly sanctuary in Jerusalem as the returned Israelites served God there.
Prophetic Starting Point
This verse belongs to the decree of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, concerning the restoration and building of Jerusalem, issued in his seventh year and dated to 457 B.C. It is the third and final decree, going into effect in the autumn near the end of that year. In its completed form the decree fulfills the specifications for the seventy weeks and completes a single work begun by Cyrus and continued by Darius, described as one decree of three kings. The going forth and completion of the decree marks the starting point for the seventy weeks and the 2300-year period of Daniel 8:14.
Subtracting 457 from 2300 leaves 1843 for the close of the period, a reckoning so simple and plain that even children could understand it, pointing to the end of 1843 for the coming of the Lord. Because the decree was issued near the end of 457 B.C. rather than at its beginning, the period was understood to reach the fall of 1844 rather than the close of 1843. When 1843 passed without the Saviour coming it brought sad disappointment.
Counting the seventy weeks from Artaxerxes' seventh year places their end in A.D. 34, with the crucifixion in A.D. 31 falling in the midst of the final week. While the verse itself concerns purchasing offerings for worship, it is cited for the date of Ezra 7 as a whole, and Ezra's return to Jerusalem is part of the events under that decree.