God can stir up and raise our spirits!
What Nabuchodonosor stole from the temple and carried to Babylon, Cyrus, his spirit stirred up and raised by God, let the Jews out of captivity and let them return to Jerusalem and Juda.
Not only did Cyrus free the Jews from Babylon but he royally decreed that the Jews were to rebuild the Temple- the house of the Lord in Jerusalem!
So now all the multitudes of Jews acting as one man, but only forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty in number at this point in time, singing men and singing women, offered themselves freely to the house of the Lord to build it in its place
First the foundation:
And when the masons laid the foundations of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their ornaments with trumpets… with cymbals, to praise God by the hands of David king of Israel. And they sung together hymns, and praise to the Lord: because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever towards Israel… But many of the priests and the Levites, and the chief of the fathers and the ancients that had seen the former temple, when they had the foundation of this temple before their eyes, wept with a loud voice: and many shouting for joy, lifted up their voice. So that one could not distinguish the voice of the shout of joy, from the noise of the weeping of the people: for one with another the people shouted with a loud shout, and the voice was heard afar off.
What a celebration! But now their enemies saw this and supposedly offered to help them:
Now the enemies of Juda and Benjamin heard that the children of captivity were building a temple to the Lord the God of Israel. And they came to Zorobabel, and the chief of the fathers, and said to them: Let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do: behold we have sacrificed to him, since the days of Asor Haddan king of Assyria, who brought us hither.
But Zorobabel, and Josue, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said to them: You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God, but we ourselves alone will build to the Lord our God, as Cyrus king of the Persians hath commanded us.
Rejected they sought other less direct means to interfere with the rebuilding of the Temple:
(This is the copy of the letter) To Artaxerxes the king… they will not pay tribute not toll, nor yearly revenues, and this loss will fall upon the kings… and shall know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to the kings and provinces… We certify the king, that if this city be built, and the walls thereof repaired, thou shalt have no possession on this side of the river.
The king sent word… that this city of old time hath rebelled against kings, and seditions and wars have been raised therein… Hinder those men, that this city be not built, till further order be given by me. See that you be not negligent in executing this, lest by little and little the evil grow to the hurt of the kings.
…and they went up in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and hindered them with arm and power. Then the work of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was interrupted, and ceased till the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.
Interesting so they hired lawyers to stop the building of the Temple! Well at least civilization is becoming more civilized versus the immediate war and slaughter option. After sometime God intervened again through prophets:
Now Aggeus the prophet, and Zacharias… prophesied to the Jews that were in Judea and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel. The rose up Zorobabel… and Josue… and began to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
And at the same time came to them… and their counselors… Who hath given you counsel to build this house, and to repair the walls thereof?
In answer to which we gave them the names of the men who were the promoters of that building. But the eye of their God was upon the ancients of the Jews, and they could not hinder them. And it was agreed that the matter should be referred to Darius, and then they should give satisfaction concerning that accusation.
But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he delivered them into the hands of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon the Chaldean: and he destroyed this house, and carried away the people to Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, king Cyrus set forth a decree, that this house of God should be built… let the house of God be built in its place… and from that time until now it is in building, and is not yet finished. Now therefore if it seem good to the king, let him search In the king’s library, which is in Babylon, whether it hath been decreed by Cyrus the king, that the house of God in Jerusalem should be built, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
King, look in your own library!
Freed from Babylon captivity, the Jews started to rebuild the Temple and soon will hopefully finish rebuilding the Temple!
Day 157: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Free from Babylon Captivity, Jews start to Rebuild the Temple!
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The First Book of Esdras, Chapters 1-5
Bible Notes:
The book describes the return from exile of a large group of Jews under Zorobabel and their rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The last three chapters tell of the return and spiritual renovation of another group of exiles under Esdras, the holy doctor of the Law from whom this book takes its name.
1 Esdras Chapter 1: Cyrus releases the Jews; Preparations for the return to Jerusalem; Cyrus restores the Temple vessels.
In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persians: and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and in writing also, saying Thus saith Cyrus king of the Persians: The Lord the God of heaven hath given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build his house of the Lord the God of Israel: he is the God that is in Jerusalem. And let all the rest in all places wheresoever they dwell, help him every man from his place, with silver and gold, and goods, and cattle, besides that which they offer freely to the temple of God, which is in Jerusalem.
…and everyone whose spirit God had raised up… besides what they offer on their own accord.
And king Cyprus brought forth the vessels of the temple of the Lord, which Nabuchodonosor had taken from Jerusalem, and had put them in the temple of his god… All the vessels of gold and silver, five thousand four hundred: all these Sassabasar brought with them that came up from the captivity of Babylon to Jerusalem.
1 Esdras Chapter 2: List of those who returned to Jerusalem; Families; Priests; Levites; Nathinites and the servants of Solomon; Those with an unknown genealogy; Total number that returned; Donations to help rebuild the Temple.
Now these are the children of the province, that went out of the captivity, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Juda, every man to his city…
The number of the men of the people of Israel: The children of… The children of Bethlehem… The children of Jericho…
The priests… The Levites… The singing men… The children of the porters… the children of Asa… The children of the servants of Solomon… and the children of the servants of Solomon…
And these are they that came up from… And they could not show the house of their fathers and their seed, whether they were of Israel… and was called by their names, these sought the writing of their genealogy, and found it not, and they were cast out of the priesthood… that they should not eat of the holy of holies, till there arose a priest learned and perfect.
All the multitudes as one man, were forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, besides their man servants, and women servants… singing men and singing women… Their horses… mules… camels…. asses…
…offered freely to the house of the Lord to build it in its place. According to their ability, they gave towards the expenses of the work…
1 Esdras Chapter 3: Erection of an altar; Feasts observed; Foundations of the Temple are laid.
And now the seventh month was come… and the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem… and they built the altar of the god of Israel that they might offer holocausts upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God… while the people of the lands round about put them in fear…
And they kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the holocaust every day orderly according to the commandment, the duty of the day in its day. And afterwards the continual holocaust, both on the new moons, and on all the solemnities of the Lord, that were consecrated, and on all in which a freewill offering was made to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer holocausts to the Lord: but the temple of God was not yet founded.
And in the second year of their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, the second month… all that were come from the captivity to Jerusalem began, and they appointed Levites from twenty years old and upward, to hasten forward the work of the Lord.
And when the masons laid the foundations of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their ornaments with trumpets… with cymbals, to praise God by the hands of David king of Israel. And they sung together hymns, and praise to the Lord: because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever towards Israel… But many of the priests and the Levites, and the chief of the fathers and the ancients that had seen the former temple, when they had the foundation of this temple before their eyes, wept with a loud voice: and many shouting for joy, lifted up their voice. So that one could not distinguish the voice of the shout of joy, from the noise of the weeping of the people: for one with another the people shouted with a loud shout, and the voice was heard afar off.
1 Esdras Chapter 4: Samaritans offer to help build the Temple; The Jews refuse Samaritan help; Samaritans take revenge; Letter to the Persian king; Work in Jerusalem ordered to stop; The work on the Temple is halted.
Now the enemies of Juda and Benjamin heard that the children of captivity were building a temple to the Lord the God of Israel. And they came to Zorobabel, and the chief of the fathers, and said to them: Let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do: behold we have sacrificed to him, since the days of Asor Haddan king of Assyria, who brought us hither.
But Zorobabel, and Josue, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said to them: You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God, but we ourselves alone will build to the Lord our God, as Cyrus king of the Persians hath commanded us.
Then the people of the land hindered the hands of the people of Juda, and troubled them in building. And they hired counselors against them, to frustrate their design all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of the Persians. And In the reign of Assuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Juda and Jerusalem.
… and the letter of accusation was written in Syriac, and was read in the Syrian tongue.
(This is the copy of the letter…”) To Artaxerxes the king… they will not pay tribute not toll, nor yearly revenues, and this loss will fall upon the kings… and shall know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to the kings and provinces… We certify the king, that if this city be built, and the walls thereof repaired, thou shalt have no possession on this side of the river.
The king sent word… that this city of old time hath rebelled against kings, and seditions and wars have been raised therein… Hinder those men, that this city be not built, till further order be given by me. See that you be not negligent in executing this, lest by little and little the evil grow to the hurt of the kings.
…and they went up in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and hindered them with arm and power. Then the work of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was interrupted, and ceased till the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.
1 Esdras Chapter 5: Work on the Temple resumed; Darius informed by the royal officials; The letter to Darius.
Now Aggeus the prophet, and Zacharias… prophesied to the Jews that were in Judea and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel. The rose up Zorobabel… and Josue… and began to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
And at the same time came to them… and their counselors… Who hath given you counsel to build this house, and to repair the walls thereof?
In answer to which we gave them the names of the men who were the promoters of that building. But the eye of their God was upon the ancients of the Jews, and they could not hinder them. And it was agreed that the matter should be referred to Darius, and then they should give satisfaction concerning that accusation.
The copy of the letter… sent o Darius the King… the king all peace… Be it known to the king… the house of the great God, which they are building… And they answered us in these words, saying: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building a temple that was built these many years ago, and which a great king of Israel (David designed, son Solomon built) built and set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he delivered them into the hands of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon the Chaldean: and he destroyed this house, and carried away the people to Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, king Cyrus set forth a decree, that this house of God should be built… let the house of God be built in its place… and from that time until now it is in building, and is not yet finished. Now therefore if it seem good to the king, let him search In the king’s library, which is in Babylon, whether it hath been decreed by Cyrus the king, that the house of God in Jerusalem should be built, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
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