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Rebuilding the CityRebuilding the Temple (Ezra 1-3)The Decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1)
But the author of Ezra-Nehemiah knows that the decree of Cyrus is not merely a political event, but a spiritual one. Cyrus' decree came as a result of two spiritual realities. First, Jeremiah had prophesied the end of the exile many years before. Secondly, Cyrus was responding to a stirring of his heart by the Lord. It appears that Cyrus gave at least tacit acknowledgment to the role the Lord played in the proclamation, for Cyrus states: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem . (Ezra 1:2 NASB) While this may seem that this confession on the part of Cyrus is too fantastic to be true, recent scholarly work has revealed that the Persians were very sensitive to oracles and prophecies. We know the Persians heeded the oracles of Greek and Egyptian gods [1]. So it could be that Cyrus had learned of the prophecies of Jeremiah and responding as a means to gain the favor of Yahweh, the God of Israel. Nonetheless, Cyrus acknowledges the sovereignty of Yahweh, calling Him the God of heaven. This is no provincial god belonging only to Israel . This is the sovereign God of heaven. Furthermore, it is He who has given Cyrus his kingdom. The theme of God's sovereignty is a repeated theme. The returning Jews needed to know that the exile was not a mistake or a result of God's impotence. God was in control of the exile, and now He is in control of their return. No matter what opposition they might face, and no matter what kings and empires might arise, their God, Yahweh, is the God of heaven who stirs the hearts of even the most powerful leaders in the world. The People of the Exile (Ezra 2)Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a descendent of the kings of Judea, and the priest Jeshua, 42,360 people would leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem . Chapter 2 lists the names of those families returning with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. This list is the first of many family records throughout Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles. This delineation of families and ancestral heritage is clearly a matter of priority to the author/compiler of these books. The genealogies are important first, to assist the leadership in dividing the land and providing for ancestral claims (Nehemiah 11). Secondly, genealogies are critical for knowing who is responsible for the various temple dutie s. In fact, when certain Levites could not prove their heritage, they were excluded from the priesthood (Ezra 2:61-62). Third, and most importantly, the genealogies prove the ethnic purity of the returning Jews. While the Jews have been in exile, the land has not remained unoccupied. A number of settlers, many of whom were brought in by the Assyrians after the fall of Israel in 722 BC, were had been established in the land for generations. These “people of the land” would be a constant threat to the returning exiles. The Jewish leadership realized if they allowed them to participate in the Jewish community, the very identity of the Jewish people would be at risk. For this reason, when the people of the land asked to be involved in the rebuilding of the temple, Zerubbabel and Jeshua respond, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God” (Ezra 4:3 NASB). Construction of the Temple (Ezra 3, 5-6)The returning exiles donated gold, silver and textiles to the temple construction project (2:68-69), and in the 7 th month they gath ered together and began to offer sacrifices at the temple site (3:1-2). Ten mont hs later the foundation had been completed (3:8). This was a bitter sweet occasion, for there were some there who had been alive to see the old temple destroyed some 49 years earlier ( 3:12 ). However, after the foundation was laid, the construction project slowed down. There was opposition by the people of the land (4:4). According to the prophet Haggai, after a time, the returning exiles forgot about the temple project and put their attention into their own homes and jobs. It was only after the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah that the people returned to building the temple (5:1-2, 6:14 ). The temple was finally completed in 516 BC, seventy years after it had been destroyed by the Babylonians ( 6:15 ). Te people celebrated its completion with sacrifices and offerings ( 6:16 -17) Rebuilding the Walls (Nehemiah 1-3)The Need for Walls (Nehemiah 1:1-3)While the temple was complete, Jerusalem remained just a small village without any walls. The walls of a city were primarily designed for defending the city. However, in the post exilic period, there was not much need for a defensive protection. Judea was well inside the Persian Empire and there were no enemies to the empire threatening to take this small village. But walls served more than just a military purpose. Walls were a defining structure, demonstrating the clear borders of the city. Walls made a village into a city. Walls would make Jerusalem a city of which the Jews could be proud. The lack of walls was a symbol of shame (1:3), and when realizing that Jerusalem was in this state, Nehemiah wept before the Lord (1:4) The Prayer of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:5-11)In his heartache, Nehemiah took the situation to the Lord in prayer. Throughout the book we find Nehemiah was a man of prayer. The narrative is interrupted in several places with comments by Nehemiah to the Lord, asking for the Lord to remember and intervene in his life. This first prayer exemplifies Nehemiah's prayer life. The prayer begins with an acknowledgment of the greatness of God. Nehemiah knew that his God was not just the God his fathers or the God of Israel. He was addressing Yahweh, the God of heaven who is great and awesome (1:5). But Yahweh is not just great, but He is loving and faithful to His people (1:5b). While God has been faithful to His people, His people have not been faithful to Him. So Nehemiah confesses the sins of Israel (1:6-7). Ironically, Nehemiah was not unfaithful. Nehemiah appears to be a devout follower of God. Yet, Nehemiah takes responsibility for the sins of his people and confesses the unfaithfulness of the nation as if it were his own. This is a strong mark of leadership. Nehemiah doesn't pass the blame, but takes the blame for failures for which he is not personally responsible. But as a leader, he accepts the responsibility for the sins of his people, confessing it to the Lord. Nehemiah is confident in his prayer. He knows that God will help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem . But this is not a blind faith. His faith is based in His knowledge of the word of God. Nehemiah quotes Moses (1:8), where God promises that, while disobedience would lead to exile, if they returned, God would care for and protect His people (1:9). The Jews had returned. Now Nehemiah was merely asking God to fulfill something He had already promised. Nehemiah was praying within the will of God, so he was confident in the answer to the prayer. But he was only confident because he knew God's will, and he only knew God's will because he knew the word of God. Finally Nehemiah was confident, because He knew that God was sovereign. While the King of Persia was a powerful man with the ability to grant or deny Nehemiah's request, the king ultimately was subservient to God. If God wanted to answer Nehemiah's prayer, he knew it would be a small thing to God to influence the most powerful ruler on the earth. Character of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2-3)At the end of chapter 1 we learn an important fact. Nehemiah is the cupbearer to the king. This means Nehemiah is responsible for protecting the king from poisoning. He is part of the king's trusted security team. This was not merely a ceremonial role, as the threat of assignation was very real in Persia . King Artaxerxes himself had seized the throne after assassinating his own brothers. So for Nehemiah to arrive at such a position demonstrates that he was a faithful servant of the king. Nonetheless, for Nehemiah to come into the presence of the king bearing his sadness so evidently was extremely bad protocol, and could have led to his dismissal or even execution. But it says something of the respect the king had for Nehemiah that he recognized Nehemiah's distress and was so willing to help Nehemiah. While Nehemiah must have had a close relationship with the King, his relationship with the King of kings was even stronger. So when Artaxerxes asks Nehemiah how he can help, Nehemiah first responds with a quick prayer (2:4). This is not a long, thought-out deep prayer, like that in chapter 1. This is one of those quick emergency prayers. But it reveals that Nehemiah had a close relationship with God. Nehemiah responds to the king's inquiry with a very detailed request. Nehemiah knows exactly what he needs from the king. He is prepared for this moment. This reveals that Nehemiah is a true leader with vision and strategy. He was prepared for a positive response from the king. He had a strategy should his prayer be answered. He didn't just leave it all to faith, but he worked out his faith with a strategy (2:5-8). The king granted Nehemiah's request. Clearly this was due to Nehemiah's character and Nehemiah's leadership skills. But Nehemiah did not take any credit for this. Instead he acknowledged that the king only responded because of the grace of God (2:8b). Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem . He begins the task, not by announcing his presence to the people, but first by assessing the situation. As a good leader he knows that awareness of the situation is the first step to leadership. He secretly inspects the walls. He then formulates his plan. He approaches the people of Jerusalem and casts his vision in a stirring speech, finally calling on them to action. The people respond, “let us arise and build!” ( 2:18 ) Unlike the temple, which took decades to complete, because of the leadership of Nehemiah the walls were completed in just 52 days ( 6:15 ). But while the Nehemiah was clearly the catalyst for the completion of the walls, Nehemiah and the people of the lands understood that “this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” ( 6:16 ). Opposition to the RebuildingOpposition by the People of the Land (Ezra 4-6)Both the rebuilding of the temple and the walls took place amidst severe opposition from the inhabitants of the land. These Jews were settling in their lands. With the building of major civic projects, they knew that more Jews would follow and that their claim on the territory would be threatened. So the people of the lands sought legal remedies to cause the building to stop. In Ezra 4:4-5, the people of the land hired counselors to frustrate the people. These counselors were not hired thugs, but were lobbyists and lawyers who worked the Persian bureaucracy to frustrate the construction project. This happened during the building of the temple, as well as during the building of the walls in Nehemiah's day (4:7). Here the writer of Ezra interrupts the narrative regarding the temple project and jumps ahead 72 years to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah to show how the opposition to the wall project in his day was the same that they faced 72 years earlier when the temple was being built. The opposition sent a letter to the king, accusing the people of subversion and rebellious intent in building the walls. If the king allows the project to be complete, he runs the risk of loosing the territory due to rebellion. Opposition by Sanballat and Tobiah (Nehemiah 4-6)In the days of Nehemiah, the opposition employs not just political resistance, but violent resistance. The leaders of this opposition are named Sanballat and Tobiah (Nehemiah 2:10 ). They mocked Nehemiah and the Jews ( 2:19 ). But Nehemiah was not discouraged because he knew God was on his side ( 2:20 ). Sanballat and Tobiah threaten to destroy the walls as they are constructed (4:3). Nehemiah's first response, however, is to take the matter to God in prayer (4:4-5). But he doesn't just leave it with prayer. Nehemiah prepares the people for the threat and he sets up guards to defend the walls. The people have a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other as they complete the project ( 4:17 ). Nehemiah's leadership here is remarkable. He encourages the people ( 4:14 ) not because of his brilliant strategy, but because he knows God will protect them. The Legal DefenseThe Edicts of Cyrus and DariusThe opponents used the Persia n legal system to frustrate the rebuilding efforts. The book of Ezra-Nehemiah defends the legal status of the returning exiles as a defense against this political opposition. Throughout the book it is emphasized that the rebuilding of the temple was in response to an edict from King Cyrus (Ezra 3:7, 4:3). The book itself begins with a restatement of that edict (Ezra 1:3). When the opponents send a letter to the King Darius, the Jews respond by sending their own letter, asking the king to check the archives for Cyrus' edict (Ezra 5:13 ). Eventually the memorandum of Cyrus is found (6:1-5). The discovery of the edict was sufficient to convince King Darius that the work should continue (6:6). Moreover, the rebuilding effort was now an Imperial work project and the governors of that territory were ordered to pay for the rebuilding of the temple fr om their treasury (6:8). The author goes into great detail as to where the edict was found as well as quoting the edict. This illustrates that one of the major purposes of the book was to establish the legal basis for the Jewish resettlement efforts. The rebuilding was clearly done according to the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, the decree of Artaxerxes ( 6:14 ). Edicts of Artaxerxes in Support of EzraWhen Ezra returns to Judea , he also has the support of Artaxerxes. He carries a letter issued by the king indicating that Ezra has been appointed to establish an autonomous government under the king enforced by the priests and based upon the law of God (7:14, 25). Furthermore, the needs temple are to be paid from the royal treasury ( 7:20 ) and the priests are not to be taxed by provincial authorities ( 7:24 ). Disobedience to this edict and to the law of God established by Ezra is punishable by banishment, fine or imprisonment ( 7:26 ). This edict becomes the charter under which the Jews would have legal standing in the Persian Empire for centuries to come. They maintained the legal right of self rule under the priests according to the Law of Moses. Footnote
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The book of Ezra-Nehemiah begins with the proclamation which marks the beginning of the end of the exile. The Jews had been systematically deported from their homeland by the Babylonia ns beginning in 605 BC. Now, the Persians, under King Cyrus, had conquered Babylon . The Babylonians held their empire together by trying to assimilate the conquered nations into their culture. The Persians, however, allowed their subject nations a measure of cultural autonomy in exchange for loyalty. So King Cyrus issues a decree in 538 BC allowing the exiled Jews to return to their homeland.