NOTES for Ezr 6:1-22

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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.

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 builded, 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 expences be given out of the king's 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 ye 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.

⁸Moreover I made a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expences be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.

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 that hath 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.

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.

¹⁴And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, 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.

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,

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.

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.

¹⁹And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.

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.

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.

The earthly obstacles have been overcome, and the restoration of the Temple has again received royal approval. At last, the work has been completed and the Temple consecrated.

It is significant that the restoration work was completed in time for Passover, which became the first feast for which a service was held after the Temple had been restored and consecrated. On the day commemorating the exodus from slavery in Egypt, the same people gathered in and around the Temple, but now they had returned from the Babylonian Exile. The people may not have a state of their own, but neither did one appear immediately after the exodus from Egypt. Under the rule of the Persian kings, however, they can live quite freely—certainly more freely than under the rule of Egypt or Babylon.

A minimum of earthly freedom has been attained, but it is not small because a greater degree of freedom is possible on earth. Yes, it is possible, but freedom from the power of evil and sin is even more necessary. This freedom is not gained through the organization of the state, however important and necessary that may be. The road to it passes through the restored Temple.

Other notes

For Ezr 6:7-8

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.

Amazing to read how a heathen Babylonian king Darius builds the Temple of the Only True God - the God of Israel. Also strange as the evangelic narrative of the Roman centurion who built a synagogue to the Jews. Strange because we see as people of other faith give much (Darius asks not to economize anything), for God, that they either don’t worship at all, or worship together with other gods.

But don’t we meet in our life such people? We find very often on our road people who help Christians in difficult situations, who offer a lot of money to the Church, however not considering themselves as Christian. They just consider themselves sometimes as the publican in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican too much sinner to fully enter into the Church. It is too difficult for them to believe that God is merciful and forgives. Others are afraid of entering until the end, as the rich young boy, who was ready to give much, but not everything. We also, being in the Church, are very often afraid that God will ask us much. And still, these people who are at the threshold of the Church, without entering inside, make very often much more than us, who consider ourselves already as full Christians.

King Darius calls his heathen servants: "let the work of this house of God alone". We are called to let the work, we are not better than these heathen, who obeyed more their earthly king, than we do with our Heavenly King, who also calls us to work for the Kingdom of God. We forget that Adam and Eve were called to cultivate and to keep the Garden of Eden and to give names to every creature.

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NOTES for Ezr 6:1-22

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