What I Noticed Today (Ezra 4-6; Psalm 137)
Ezra 4
In verses 1-5, when enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that they were rebuilding the temple, they offered to help.
Note: The people in the area claimed to worship the Lord, and they may have, but they also worshiped other gods.
- Zerubbabel rejected their help saying the temple must be completed by those who had returned from exile.
- Being rejected, the people tried to bribe officials and interfere with the building of the temple throughout the time of Cyrus, king of Persia.
In verses 6-16, the people already in the land (the enemies described in verse 1) sent a letter to King Artaxerxes of Persia, claiming falsities about the Jews in an effort to get the king to stop the rebuilding.
Note: This section (vv. 6-23) is not in chronological order but demonstrates the opposition to the rebuilding of the temple. The opposition continued through the time of the reign of Xerxes and on to the reign of Artaxerxes. These letters were probably written some 80 years after the rebuilding of the temple began.
In verses 17-23, Artaxerxes replied with a letter calling for the building of the temple to stop until the matter could be investigated further.
- As soon as the letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai, and others, they went to Jerusalem and forced the people from rebuilding on the temple.
In verse 24, the construction of the temple stopped until Darius became king of Persia.
Note: The delay in rebuilding continued for approximately 15 years until the reign of Darius (520 B.C.). The gap (535 B.C. to 520 B.C.) is between the close of chapter 4 and the opening of chapter 5.
Ezra 5
In verses 1-5, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews in Jerusalem, and Shealtiel and Jeshua started rebuilding the house of the Lord once again.
- Tattenai, the governor of the region, Shetharbozenai, and others confronted the Jews asking who gave them permission to rebuild the temple.
- Despite Tattenai’s interference, the people did not stop their work on the temple.
In verses 6-17, Tattenai sent a letter to Darius, the king of Persia advising him that the rebuilding had resumed and asked him to check the king’s records to verify if authorization to rebuild had been written by the former King Cyrus.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- What a great witness it is to see the people coming together united in purpose to rebuild the Lord’s house. The priests and Levites, who had neglected their duties in previous generations, were the first to step forward to build the altar and begin worshipping the Lord. This led the people also to worship the Lord.
- Despite the hardships and oppression, they came together in unified worship to God! They put the worship of God first, celebrated His goodness to them, and then began the process of building the foundation for the temple.
- As soon as they got started, they faced opposition from adversaries. But ultimately, God’s purpose was fulfilled, and the rebuilding continued. God’s purposes cannot be thwarted!
Ezra 6
In verses 1-5, Darius, king of Persia, received the letter from Tattenai, the Persian governor of the area west of the Euphrates river.
- Darius ordered a search of the records in the Babylon library. The records were eventually found in the fortress of Ecbatana.
Note: The fortress of Ecbatana is located in the city modern-day Hamadan which is 300 miles northeast of Babylon. Ecbatana was the capital of Media. King Cyrus had spent the summer there in 538 B.C., the year he wrote the decree for the rebuilding of the temple.
In verses 6-12, King Darius issued his own decree that confirmed the decree by Cyrus, ordering the repairs to be paid for out of the royal treasury.
- Additionally, Darius warned anyone that might consider interfering with the rebuilding of the temple that they would be killed.
- Tattenai, the governor of the region, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out the commands of King Darius.
- The Jews continued to work on the temple and completed it on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius (515 B.C.).
In verses 16-22, once the temple rebuilding was finished, the Israelites celebrated the dedication of the temple.
- Then they celebrated Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with great joy.
All the notes for the book of Ezra have been compiled into a single pdf document. You can download it by clicking here.
Psalm 137
Psalm 137 reveals the torment of the nation Israel because the city of God had been destroyed.
In verses 1-4, the psalmist remembers how the exiles wept over the destruction of Jerusalem.
In verses 5-6, the psalmist promised to remember Jerusalem, his greatest joy.
In verses 7-9, the psalmist prays for God to remember the Edomites who rejoiced as the city of Jerusalem was destroyed and the Babylonians who dashed the children of Jerusalem upon the rocks.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
