Ezra 5:1
OUTLINE:
I. \\#Ezra 1:1-2:70\\ The First Return to Israel
A. \\#Ezra 1:1-4\\ The Command to Return
B. \\#Ezra 1:5-11\\ Preparations for the Journey
C. \\#Ezra 2:1-65\\ The People Who Returned
D. \\#Ezra 2:66-67\\ The Animals That Returned
E. \\#Ezra 2:68-69\\ The People’s Reaction
F. \\#Ezra 2:70\\ Life Begins
II. \\#Ezra 3:1-6:22\\ Construction of the Temple
A. \\#Ezra 3:1-7\\ In the First Year
B. \\#Ezra 3:8-13\\ In the Second Year
C. \\#Ezra 4:1-24\\ The Temple Work Is Stopped
D. \\#Ezra 5:1-6:22\\ The Temple Completed
1. \\#Ezra 5:1-2\\ The Work Begun
2. \\#Ezra 5:3-5\\ The Law Comes
3. \\#Ezra 5:6-17\\ The Official Inquiry Made
III. \\#Ezra 7:1-8:36\\ The Second Return to Israel
IV. \\#Ezra 9:1-10:44\\ Restoration of the People
Review some dates:
539 BC - Cyrus became king
538 BC - Cyrus issued the degree to return
536 BC - Zerubbabel returned
535 BC - Foundation laid and the work hindered
529 BC - Artaxerxes became king and stopped the work
521 BC - Darius became king.
I. \\#Ezra 5:1-6:22\\ The Temple Completed
A. \\#1-2\\ The Work Begun
1. \\#Ezra 4:24\\ - The last time reference was "the second
year of the reign of Darius king of Persia." Apparently,
nothing good happened in connection to the temple from
535 to 520 BC.
2. \\#Ezra 5:1\\ The prophets, Haggai… and Zechariah"
a. At that time, God raised up two prophets to preach to
the people of Israel.
b. Their books are in our Bible.
c. "in the name of the God of Israel" - Notice that these
men spake for God.
3. \\#2\\ "The rose up" - As a result of the prophets’
messages, Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the prophets "began
to build the house of God."
a. Does God lead His people to disobey the laws of the
land?
b. While it is not an everyday occurrence, He does.
B. \\#3-5\\ The Law Comes
1. \\#3\\ "At the same time" - Instantly, "Tatnai, governor
on this side of the river" inquires "Who hath commanded
you to build this house, and to make us this wall?"
a. This does not mean that Zerubbabel was no longer the
governor over the Jews.
(1) \\#2\\ indicates that Zerubbabel was still
leading the Jews.
(2) It would indicate that Tatnai was the governor
over Zerubbabel, as well as, all of the other
national leaders on the west side of the Jordan
River.
b. At the first, this does not seem to be an attack
instigated by the Samarians for the last order given
by King Artaxerxes prohibited the Jews from building
their temple or city \\#Ezra 4:21\\. Tatnai and
Shetharboznai may have just been doing their duty;
however, it would not be long before some of the
enemies of Israel joined with them \\#Ezra 5:6\\.
2. \\#4\\ "What are the names of the men" - Tatnai not only
wanted to know who authorized the building, he also
wanted to know the names of those doing the work. This
put the men’s lives in danger who were doing the work.
3. \\#5\\ "But the eye of their God" - God had inspired the
work to resume, so putting it into the hearts of the
workers that they would not stop building "till the
matter came to Darius."
a. It would require direct word from the king to stop the
work.
b. This is the determination that the people should have
had during the years when Cyrus was king. With an
edict in their hand, it seems all other hindrances
could and would have been resolved in their favor.
c. Yet, resolve for God is better late than never;
although now, instead of having the king’s law behind
them, they were working against it.
C. \\#Ezra 5:6-17\\ Official Inquiry Made
1. \\#6\\ "The copy of the letter"
a. With Israel’s refusal to obey the district governor,
the matter must be carried up the command chain to
the king, Darius.
b. "and his companions the Apharsachites" - This people
is only mentioned in Ezra \\#Ezra 4:9, 6:6\\.
(1) The word is of Arabic origin but the exact
identity of the people is uncertain.
(2) They are believed to be some of the people
brought in by the Babylonians and other rulers
to settle the land while Israel was subdued and
removed.
(3) They are some of the original immigrants who will
mingle with the Jews, form their own version of
Jehovah and worship, and become to the
Samaritans.
2. \\#7-17\\ The Letter - The letter is a retelling of what
has happened thus far, including the fact that the Jews
were attempting to obey a command given to them by Cyrus
that they rebuild a temple for their God \\#14\\ and
asking the new king, Darius, for instructions \\#17\\.
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