REESTABLISHING GOD’S PEOPLE / RESTORING THE TEMPLE; LOCATION = BABYLONIA (IRAQ) / JERUSALEM (OVER 79 YEARS; TIME PERIOD?, 6 PERSIAN (IRANIAN) KINGS); THE DECREE OF CYRUS RELEASED THE ISRAELITES FROM THEIR CAPACITY. EZRA TELLS OF THE RETURN TO JERUSALEM OF 2 GROUPS OF ISRAELITES AFTER THEIR RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY. THE 1ST GROUP RETURNED WITH (GOVERNOR) ZERUBBABEL AND RESTORED THE TEMPLE. THE 2ND GROUP RETURNED WITH EZRA WHO RESTORED THE PEOPLE TO GODLY PEOPLE (PER MARILYN HICKEY)
Cyrus’ Proclamation
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of (PROPHET) Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, WHAT IS THE LORD STIRRING IN YOUR SPIRIT? saying:
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. THIS SHOWS HIS POWER; GOOD REGARDING HIM REBUILDING.
3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! [a]Go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
4 And every survivor, at whatever place he may [b]live, the people of [c]that place are to support him with silver and gold, with equipment and cattle, together with a [d]voluntary offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’” GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER - 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7; IF WE ARE NOT CHEERFUL PERHAPS WE SHOULDN'T GIVE.
Holy Vessels Restored
5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites rose up, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. THERE WERE AT LEAST 4 GROUPS WHO WANTED TO HELP.
6 And all of those around them [e]encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with equipment, cattle, and with valuables, aside from everything that was given as a [f]voluntary offering. PLEASE DON’T BRING YOUR COWS IN HERE AS OFFERINGS. 😊
7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; POLYTHEISM IS THE WORSHIP OF MANY GODS.
8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah.
9 Now this was their number: thirty gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty nine [g]duplicates;
10 thirty gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles. IT'S IMPORTANT TO COUNT THE OFFERING CORRECTLY :) THE BIBLE GETS VERY SPECIFIC, WHICH HELPS WITH ITS VERACITY.
11 All the articles of gold and silver totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
It would encourage them to build the temple that they had so much rich furniture ready to put into it when it was built. https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/ezra/1.html
WE WANT THE BEST FOR GOD, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THE POOR.
Footnotes
Ezra 1:3 Lit he is to go up
Ezra 1:4 Or reside as a stranger
Ezra 1:4 Lit his
Ezra 1:4 Or freewill offering
Ezra 1:6 Lit strengthened their hands
Ezra 1:6 Or freewill offering
Ezra 1:9 Heb obscure; other possible meanings are knives, censers
Number of Those Returning
2:1 Now these are the [a]people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile to Babylon, and they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city.
THIS CHAPTER HAS A GENEALOGY WHICH I WILL NOT READ.
2 [b]These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, [c]Seraiah, [d]Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, [e]Mispar, Bigvai, [f]Rehum, and Baanah.
This is the number of the men of the people of Israel:
3 the sons of Parosh, 2,172;
4 the sons of Shephatiah, 372;
5 the sons of Arah, 775;
6 the sons of Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812;
7 the sons of Elam, 1,254;
8 the sons of Zattu, 945;
9 the sons of Zaccai, 760;
10 the sons of [g]Bani, 642;
11 the sons of Bebai, 623;
12 the sons of Azgad, 1,222;
13 the sons of Adonikam, 666;
14 the sons of Bigvai, 2,056;
15 the sons of Adin, 454;
16 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98;
17 the sons of Bezai, 323;
18 the sons of [h]Jorah, 112;
19 the sons of Hashum, 223;
20 the sons of [i]Gibbar, 95;
21 the [j]men of Bethlehem, 123;
22 the men of Netophah, 56;
23 the men of Anathoth, 128;
24 the sons of [k]Azmaveth, 42;
25 the sons of [l]Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
26 the sons of Ramah and Geba, 621;
27 the men of Michmas, 122;
28 the men of Bethel and Ai, 223;
29 the sons of Nebo, 52;
30 the sons of Magbish, 156;
31 the sons of the other Elam, 1,254;
32 the sons of Harim, 320;
33 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725;
34 the [m]men of Jericho, 345;
35 the sons of Senaah, 3,630.
Priests Returning (to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city)
36 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;
37 the sons of Immer, 1,052; 38 the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;
39 the sons of Harim, 1,017.
Levites Returning (to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city)
40 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of [n]Hodaviah, 74.
41 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128.
42 The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, 139 in all.
43 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
44 the sons of Keros, the sons of [o]Siaha, the sons of Padon,
45 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,
46 the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan,
47 the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,
48 the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,
49 the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,
50 the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of [p]Nephisim,
51 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
52 the sons of [q]Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
53 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,
54 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
55 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of [r]Hassophereth, the sons of [s]Peruda,
56 the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
57 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of [t]Ami.
58 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.
59 Now these were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, [u]Addan, and Immer, but they were not able to [v]provide evidence of their fathers’ households and their [w]descendants, whether they were of Israel:
60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652.
Priests Removed (LIKE SOME CATHOLIC ONES; THE S. BAPTIST CHURCH IS BEING INVESTIGATED NOW.
61 Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name.
62 These searched among their genealogical registration but they could not be located; so they were considered defiled and excluded from the priesthood. THIS IS STRONG. THE STANDARDS FOR BEING A PRIEST WERE HIGH
63 The [x]governor said to them that they were not to eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim. THEY WERE LIKE DICE; THIS WAS A WAY OF FINDING THE WILL OF GOD BECAUSE IT’S PREDESTINED
64 The whole assembly together totaled 42,360,
65 besides their male and female slaves [y]who totaled 7,337; and they had two hundred singing men and women. IT IS GOOD TO SING TO AND ABOUT GOD.
66 Their horses numbered 736; their mules, 245;
67 their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.
68 Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they arrived at the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to erect it on its site.
69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, (GREEK; BRITANNICA.COM: its original value was equivalent to that of a handful of arrows) five thousand silver minas (BRITTANICA.COM: the sacred mina was equal to 60 shekels; https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/weights-measures-and-coins-of-the-biblical-and-talmudic-periods: the Second Temple period when the shekel became a coin denomination), and a hundred priestly [z]garments.
70 Now the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
Footnotes
Ezra 2:1 Lit sons
Ezra 2:2 Lit who
Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Azariah
Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Raamiah
Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Mispereth
Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Nehum
Ezra 2:10 In Neh 7:15, Binnui
Ezra 2:18 In Neh 7:24, Hariph
Ezra 2:20 In Neh 7:25, Gibeon
Ezra 2:21 Lit sons
Ezra 2:24 In Neh 7:28, Beth-azmaveth
Ezra 2:25 In Neh 7:29, Kiriath-jearim
Ezra 2:34 Lit sons
Ezra 2:40 In Ezra 3:9, Judah; in Neh 7:43, Hodevah
Ezra 2:44 In Neh 7:47, Sia
Ezra 2:50 In Neh 7:52, Nephushesim
Ezra 2:52 In Neh 7:54, Bazlith
Ezra 2:55 In Neh 7:57, Sophereth
Ezra 2:55 In Neh 7:57, Perida
Ezra 2:57 In Neh 7:59, Amon
Ezra 2:59 In Neh 7:61, Addon
Ezra 2:59 Lit tell
Ezra 2:59 Lit seed
Ezra 2:63 Heb Tirshatha, a Persian title
Ezra 2:65 Lit these
Ezra 2:69 Or tunics
Altar and Sacrifices Restored
3 Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one person to Jerusalem.
Psalms 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers, rose up and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. AREN’T YOU GLAD WE DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS FOR FORGIVENESS?
3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, because [a]they were terrified of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. DO WE GO TO GOD WHEN SCARED?
4 They also celebrated the Feast of [b]Booths, as it is written, and offered [c]the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, [d]as each day required; JEWS STILL CELEBRATE THIS TODAY.
5 and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the appointed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a [e]voluntary offering to the Lord. OUR OFFERINGS SHOULD BE CONTINUOUS AND VOLUNTARY.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. SOMETIMES WE NEED TO GIVE OFFERINGS BEFORE WE SEE RESULTS. JOHN WIMBER OF THE VINEYARD SAID FAITH CAN BE SPELLED RISK.
7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission they had [f]from Cyrus king of Persia (IRAN)
Temple Restoration Begun
8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. YOUNG ADULTS NEED TO WORK OR BE IN SCHOOL. :)
9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of [g]Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.
10 Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, [h]the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the [i]directions of King David of Israel. A VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS FOR WORSHIP IS BIBLICAL.
11 And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. IT'S BIBLICAL TO SHOUT FOR JOY TO THE LORD. HOW OFTEN DO WE?
12 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first [j]temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, I ENJOY SEEING CHURCHES AROUND THE WORLD. I'VE BEEN TO 30 COUNTRIES.
13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away. WHY DON'T WE WORSHIP GOD WITH AS MUCH EXCITEMENT AS A SPORTS TEAM WINNING?
Footnotes
Ezra 3:3 Lit terror was upon them from
Ezra 3:4 Or Tabernacles
Ezra 3:4 Lit by number
Ezra 3:4 Lit a day’s word on its day
Ezra 3:5 Or freewill offering
Ezra 3:7 Lit of
Ezra 3:9 In Ezra 2:40, Hodaviah; in Neh 7:43, Hodevah
Ezra 3:10 As in LXX and some mss; MT they set the priests
Ezra 3:10 Lit hands
Ezra 3:12 Lit house
Enemies Hinder the Work
4:1 Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel,
2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you, we seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” WHAT SACRIFICES ARE WE DOING FOR THE LORD? TIME, TALENT, TREASURE?
3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”
4 Then the people of the land [a]discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building,
5 and bribed advisers against them to frustrate their advice all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. THERE HAS BEEN CORRUPTION SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.
6 Now in the reign of [b]Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of [c]Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the [d]text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic. THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE OF JESUS' DAY WAS ARAMAIC. THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN IN HEBREW, THE NEW TESTAMENT IN GREEK. IT'S GOOD TO STUDY THE BIBLE IN ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGES TO LEARN.
The Letter to King Artaxerxes
8 [e]Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows—
9 [f]Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues, the judges and the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
10 and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable [g]Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the Euphrates River. And now (EDEN WAS NEAR HERE AND TIGRIS)
11 this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him:
“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the region beyond the Euphrates River; and now
12 let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.
13 Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom tax, or toll, and it will [h]be detrimental to the revenue of the kings.
14 Now because we [i]are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s shame, for this reason we have sent word and informed the king,
15 so that a search may be conducted in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and detrimental to kings and provinces, and that they have revolted within it in past days; for this reason that city was laid waste. THE BIBLE IS A RECORD BOOK OF HUMANKIND'S FAILURES AND SUCCESSES. WHAT WILL THE LORD SAY ABOUT US?
16 We are informing the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, then as a result of this you will have no possession in the province beyond the Euphrates River.”
The King Replies and Work Stops
17 Then the king sent a response to Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River: “Peace. And now,
18 the document which you sent to us has been [j]translated and read before me.
19 And a decree has been [k]issued by me, and a search has been conducted and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, and that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it,
20 that mighty kings have [l]ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that tribute, custom tax, and toll were paid to them.
21 Now issue a decree to make those men stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE 2020s? :)
22 And beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should there be great damage, to the detriment of the kings?”
23 Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ decree was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in a hurry to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by military force. THE PALESTINIANS ARE TRYING TO STOP THE JEWS BY MILITARY FORCE TODAY.
24 Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem was discontinued, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Footnotes
Ezra 4:4 Lit slackened the hands of
Ezra 4:6 Or Xerxes; Heb Ahash-verosh
Ezra 4:7 Heb Artah-shashta
Ezra 4:7 Lit writing
Ezra 4:8 Chs 4:8-6:18 are in Aram
Ezra 4:9 Uncertain, MT Then Rehum
Ezra 4:10 I.e., prob. Ashurbanipal
Ezra 4:13 Or certainly be...to the kings
Ezra 4:14 Lit eat the salt of
Ezra 4:18 Lit clearly read
Ezra 4:19 Lit put forth
Ezra 4:20 Lit been
Temple Work Resumed
5 When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah (OTHER BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT) the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them,
2 then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. WE NEED TO REBUILD THE CHURCH AROUND THE WORLD - Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with some 2.4 billion followers. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-most-heavily-christian-countries-on-earth/
3 At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them as follows: “Who issued you a decree to rebuild this [a]temple and to finish this structure?”
4 Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building.
5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report could reach Darius, and then the decree concerning it could be sent back. THE EYE OF GOD IS ON ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
Enemies Write to Darius
6 This is the copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king.
7 They sent the report to him in which it was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace.
8 May it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God which is being built with large stones, and [b]beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is being performed with great care and is succeeding in their hands. GOD IS THE GREAT GOD.
9 Then we asked those elders and said to them as follows: ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’
10 We also asked them their names so as to inform you, in order that we might write down the names of the men who were [c]in charge.
11 So they [d]answered us as follows, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. ARE WE SERVANTS? ARE WE REBUILDING OUR LIVES?
12 But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean (S. IRAQ) , who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. OUR SIN PROVOKES GOD TO WRATH. WE WILL SEE JUDGMENT IN REVELATION WHEN JESUS RETURNS.
13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
14 Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took them from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor.
15 And he said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and have the house of God rebuilt in its place.”
16 Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is not yet completed.’
17 And now, if it pleases the king, let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, as to whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”
Footnotes
Ezra 5:3 Lit house, and so in vv 9, 11, 12
Ezra 5:8 Lit timber is
Ezra 5:10 Lit at their heads
Ezra 5:11 Lit returned us the word
