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SERIES O --- RETURN TO THE LAND --- LESSON 02

BUILD! THEN CELEBRATE!

BUILDING A HOUSE FOR YHVH

From Ezra 3-4

When September came, the people made their way from their homes throughout Judah to a great gathering in Jerusalem. Yeshua the son of Yozadak and his fellow priests worked with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives to rebuild the altar of YHVH so that burnt offerings could be presented on it, fulfilling the Law of Moses, the man of YHVH. As soon as the altar was completed, the people presented burnt offerings to Adonai morning and evening, for they were afraid the people of the land would attack them. The people also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles as written in the Law of Moses, presenting daily the number of burnt offerings which the Law required. After that they offered a continual burnt offering as well as offerings for the new moon and all the appointed festivals of Adonai, Additional offerings were made by individuals as freewill offerings to Adonai. The priests began making these offerings on the fifteenth day of September, even before the foundation of Adonai’s temple was laid. When it was time for the construction of the temple, the Israelites hired masons and carpenters and purchased cedar logs from the people of Tyre and Sidon, trading food, drink, and olive oil for them. The cedar logs were floated on the sea to Joppa, in agreement with the arrangement made by King Cyrus. The following June the people began to construct the temple. The construction crews were made up of the entire group of exiles who had returned from Persia, supervised by Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Yeshua the son of Yozadak, as well as the other priests and Levites. The Levites who were at least twenty years old were appointed to supervise the building of the temple of Adonai. When the builders finished laying the foundation of Adonai’s temple, the priests put on their colourful robes and praised Adonai with their trumpets. The Levites who had descended from Asaph offered their praise to Adonai with cymbals, according to the directions King David had given many years before. [Adonai is good, for His loving-kindness is upon Israel forever!] Thus sang the priests and Levites responsively. Then all the people shouted a great shout, praising Adonai because the foundation of the temple had been laid. But while the shouts of joy rang out, some of the older men and leaders who remembered Solomon’s temple wept aloud for they remembered how beautiful it was. The shouts of joy and the sound of weeping carried across the hills for a great distance. The news that the people of Israel were building a temple of YHVH soon reached their enemies, and these came to see Zerubbabel and the other leaders of Israel. [Let us build with you,] they said, [for we also worship the same Elohiym, and we have sacrificed to Him since the time when Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, brought us here.] But Zerubbabel and Yeshua and the other leaders of Israel answered, [We cannot let you help us build YHVH’s house, for we must build it to Adonai YHVH of Israel, as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.] When the people of the land found that they could not work with the Israelites, they began to cause them trouble so they would be afraid to continue the construction. As long as Cyrus king of Persia lived, and even into the reign of Darius king of Persia, these enemies hired people to spread rumours and to tell lies to the king, hoping thus to stop the work. When Ahasuerus became king these enemies wrote a letter to him, falsely accusing the people of Judah and Benjamin. Again, when Artaxerxes became king, they wrote another such letter. This letter was written in the Aramaic language by Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel and their companions, and it was translated for the king. The letter was actually written by Rehum, the governor, and the scribe Shimshai. Others who took part in it were the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, the Elamites, and people of other nations which Asnapper had brought into Samaria and neighbouring lands west of the Euphrates River. This is what the letter said: [From your servants west of the Euphrates River. We wish to inform you that the Jews whom you sent to Jerusalem are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city and are at this time finishing the walls and foundations of the temple. You should know that if the city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, the people will refuse to pay tribute, custom, or toll to you, and this will bring harm to the royal treasury. [Since we are in your service and do not wish to see anyone dishonour you, we are sending this information to you. Search the records to see how rebellious this city has been, revolting against earlier kings until it was finally destroyed. We want you to know that you will lose control of this city if you permit it to be rebuilt.] The king replied to Rehum the governor, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions in Samaria and the entire area west of the Euphrates River. Here is what he wrote to them: [Peace to you. Your letter has been translated and read to me. I have ordered a search of the records and have discovered that Jerusalem indeed has risen against kings and has often revolted and rebelled. I have also learned that great kings of Jerusalem have ruled over all the land west of the Euphrates River, demanding taxes of various kinds from the conquered peoples. You must command these people to stop building the city of Jerusalem until I give further orders. You must not be careless in this, for I do not wish any more harm to come to me.] As soon as King Artaxerxes’ letter was read to Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their companions, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and by force of arms compelled them to stop the building. The work on the house of YHVH in Jerusalem halted. It did not begin again until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

COMMENTARY

JUDAH IN THE DAYS OF THE RETURN

The Jews arriving in Judah after the long and dangerous journey from the north found little more than ruins in the city of Jerusalem. Hostility was everywhere. The Jews who had not been exiled had moved into abandoned homes and estates. Settlers from Arabia, Edom, Ammon, Philistia, Tyre and Sidon had drifted into Judah and resented the reappearance of the original landowners. The neighbouring Samaritans to the north objected strongly to the establishment of a religious centre in Jerusalem. They considered themselves descendants of the tribe of Ephraim, while the returning Jews saw them as a racial mixture whose religion was largely pagan. In exile, the Jews had lived comfortably, settled lives with good means of livelihood. In the Judah they found, they had to settle in tents in and around Jerusalem, attempt to farm neglected land, and feed their flocks and herds on sparse pasture. They began to rebuild the temple, and centred their lives around that activity and the re-establishment of the Law of Moses. When the counter-order from Persia stopped all temple activity in mid-course, the Jews’ inspiration turned to helplessness and fear. By the time temple work resumed under Darius the Great, Israel had lost what power it had. It had become just another part of the Persian Empire, paying tribute to a pagan king.

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