Ezra 5 - Commentary
We will begin this lesson in Ezra 5:1
There had been a time of absolute complacency, since the foundation of the building of the temple until now. The people had decided not to do anymore work on the temple, and to spend their time building their own houses. Zechariah was actually the grand-son of Iddo. These prophets were sent of God to shake the people of Judah out of complacency. We might even say, they preached to the people.
Ezra 5:2
The messages, these two prophets of God brought to the people from God, showed Zerubbabel and Jeshua the error of stopping the work on the temple. Zerubbabel represented the civil law, and Jeshua was over the spiritual. The people were commanded to go up the mountain and bring wood for the building. There is a great deal more on this in our lessons on the book of Haggai.
Ezra 5:3
The minute the building started up again, so did the opposition. Tatnai was governor on the other side of the river. Whether this is the Euphrates or not, I cannot say. Shethar-boznai was a Persian officer under Tatnai. Tatnai seemed to have the same rank as Zerubbabel, so it was alright to ask, but not to command the stoppage of the work.
Ezra 5:4
This had to be a statement made by Tatnai and the men with him. His inquiry was to set blame on the one who started the work.
Ezra 5:5
The workers continued the work on the temple, even after the complaint by Tatnai. The LORD was watching over them, and they were not about to stop the work, unless Darius commanded it.
Ezra 5:6
The problem was the same as before. Those opposed to God did not want the temple to be built. They wrote a letter of complaint to Darius.
Ezra 5:7
They first spoke peace to the king. They continued by saying that they had gone to Judea and found a house being built to the great God. He was explaining that the temple was being built solid with stones and timber. He could easily see that for some reason, unknown to him, the work was prospering.
Ezra 5:9
This was a true statement, but actually this was out of his jurisdiction. Cyrus had put Zerubbabel in charge of this area.
Ezra 5:11
Of course, they were speaking of the temple that Solomon had built so many years before. They did not answer as individuals, but called themselves the servants of the most high God.
Ezra 5:12
Darius would have been very familiar with this. They had been unfaithful to God by worshipping false gods, and God destroyed them by the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
Ezra 5:13
Cyrus had preceded Darius by a few years. Cyrus had become the king of Babylon at the defeat of Babylon. Actually Cyrus, was king of Persia. He had commanded the building of the temple in Jerusalem, so these servants of God were not breaking any Persian laws.
Ezra 5:14
This would be something that would convince Darius that this was true. He knew that no Persian king would allow the Jews to run off with all of this gold and silver, unless he sent them with it.
Ezra 5:16
This was an accurate statement of exactly what happened. If Tatnai sent these words of the Hebrews to king Darius, he was trying to get at the truth.
Ezra 5:17 "
The Persians kept accurate records of various decrees their kings had made. If Cyrus had made this decree, they could not change it. This captain of Persia wanted to know for sure what was to be done about all of this. Darius would search out the truth, and get back to him.
Additional Resources for Chapter 5
Commentarieshttps://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-5-overcoming-discouragement-ezra-51-17
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Ezr/Ezr-5.cfm
https://www.versebyverseministry.org/bible-studies/ezra
https://www.wednesdayintheword.com/ezra-resources/