CHAPTER 6

(515 B.C.)

DARIUS CONFIRMS THE DECREE OF CYRUS AND SUPPORTS THE REBUILDING

¹Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon (it seems that the application made to Darius received his immediate attention).

²And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:

³In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the House of God at Jerusalem, Let the House be built, the place where they offered Sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;

⁴With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the kings house:

⁵And also let the golden and silver vessels of the House of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the Temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the Temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the House of God.

⁶Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be you far from thence:

⁷Let the work of this House of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this House of God in his place (as the trumpet had given no uncertain note, the Persian officials, Tatnai and Shethar-boznai, whatever their wishes may have been, had no choice as to their line of action; the kings word was law; they were to leave the Jews alone, and let them finish the work on the Temple).

⁸Moreover I make a decree what you shall do the elders of these Jews for the building of this House of God: that of the kings goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered (not only was permission given to continue the work, but, as well, the workmen on the Temple were to be paid out of the royal revenue, as well as the expenses of the Sacrifices; the money came out of the taxes levied by the Persians against Syria).

⁹And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the Burnt Offerings of the God of Heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the Priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:

¹⁰That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of Heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

¹¹Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

¹²And the God Who has 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 (Darius left absolutely no doubt as to what he was saying as it regards the building of the Temple; as well, he left absolutely no doubt as it regards the punishment that was to be inflicted if his decree was altered in any way).

THE TEMPLE COMPLETED

¹³Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily (the Persian authorities who dealt directly with the Jews showed no reluctance to obey).

¹⁴And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the Prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the Commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

¹⁵And this House was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. (The prophesying of both Haggai and Zechariah contributed much toward the finishing of this edifice. The Temple had been approximately twenty-one years in building. Fifteen years of this time had been all but wasted.)

THE TEMPLE DEDICATED WITH SACRIFICES AND JOY

¹⁶And the Children of Israel, the Priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this House of God with joy, (If it is to be noticed, Ezra is careful to present the returned exiles as Israel, and not merely Judah. This indicates that some of all the Tribes of Israel had returned. As well, by the use of the words, this House, it seems that Ezra does this to link the present with the past, the new Temple with the old, the restored faith with that of former times.)

¹⁷And offered at the dedication of this House of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a Sin Offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the Tribes of Israel (all this proclaims the fact that Israel now rested on the foundation of the shed Blood of the Sacrifices, which pointed to the One Who was to come; the Cross of Christ is likewise the Foundation of the Church; regrettably, the modern Church seems to be forgetting this Scriptural fact).

¹⁸And they set the Priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the Book of Moses (the respective Offices of these two orders, the Priests and the Levites, are given in Num. 3:610 and 8:626).

THE PASSOVER KEPT AGAIN

¹⁹And the children of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month (Ex. 12:6).

²⁰For the Priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the Priests, and for themselves (this is the first Passover mentioned in all the 21 years of the returned exiles; possibly they conducted other Passovers, but the Scripture does not say).

²¹And the Children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,

²²And kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the House of God, the God of Israel (as is obvious here, when Israel set about to carry out the Work of God, then the Lord began to work for them; He will do the same presently!).