NOTES for Ezr 6:1-22
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.