GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
EZRA 5:1-5
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5:1 Now Haggai the prophet and the prophet Zechariah 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 in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them. 3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the Trans-Euphrates and Shethar Bozenai and their associates came to them and said, “Who gave you an order to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also demanded, “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was upon the grey heads of those Jews, and they did not stop them till a report could be brought to Darius and an answer could be returned by letter concerning this.
The sample letters we just read in chapter 4 were typical of the resistance that the exiles were facing. We’ll just notice once more that they were from the time of Artaxerxes. Here’s a little timeline if it helps:
▪ 540-530 (King Cyrus) Exiles returning, work on temple begins
▪ 530-522 (King Cambyses) Work on temple delayed
▪ 522-516 (King Darius I) Haggai, Zechariah arrive
Temple completed
▪ 516-486 (still Darius I) Quiet period
▪ 486-464 (King Xerxes) Queen Esther
▪ 464-454 (King Artaxerxes) More exiles and Ezra arrive
Letters of Ezra 4, similar to earlier opposition
▪ 454-445 (still Artaxerxes) Nehemiah arrives; walls are finished
The reformation of Israel’s marriages.
▪ 444-423 (still Artaxerxes) Malachi prophesies
Since Ezra mentions Haggai and Zechariah, we know that the year is 520 BC. Haggai’s first vision from God was on August 29, 520 BC, coming in “the second year of King Darius” (who began his reign in 522).
According to the prophets themselves, they preached several messages of encouragement to the exiles from August through December. This preaching included a rebuke from Haggai about the quality of the woodwork in the homes of the people compared with the unfinished temple: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:4). Zechariah’s early preaching was more general, and reminded the exiles of what got their forefathers removed from the land in the first place: “Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord” (Zechariah 1:3), and “Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices” (Zechariah 1:4).
The work resumed. The people were energetic. Large stones or stone blocks were hoisted or moved up ramps into place. Timbers were set into the walls for reinforcement (Ezra 5:8). Supervisors with plumb lines were being certain of every angle (Zechariah 4:10). But then trouble came. Tattenai was the governor of the Trans-Euphrates and is mentioned in at least one document from the period, a promissory note from 502 BC (Journal of Near-Eastern Studies Vol. 3, 1944, page 6). He and several assistants came to demand who gave permission for the temple’s rebuilding. And more than that, he demanded the names of the workmen and their supervisors. It was intimidating. The only relief from our perspective is that all of the workmen were not immediately arrested and deported or killed on the spot. Such are the tactics of tyrants and führers, the politics of the paranoid.
But the people of God knew that the eye of God was upon them and upon “the grey heads” of the Jews’ leaders. Grey hair is used in the Bible as a term of respect for age and wisdom: “The splendor of the old is their grey hair” (Proverbs 20:29), and the Lord commanded Moses: “Rise in the presence of grey hair; show respect for the elderly and revere your God” (Leviticus 18:32).
But even over their grey heads, the Name of the God of Israel was over them (verse 1). They could quote Cyrus, but they could not produce the document he had written; it wasn’t in their possession. But the prophets of God encouraged them to build, and with these two witnesses the requirement of God that everything be decided with two witnesses was kept, for “a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15). Jesus upheld this same requirement (Matthew 18:16). So now they had no compulsion or confusion about the Fourth Commandment, since their prophets had commanded them to build from the voice of God himself. “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), but this is never a cause for rebellion. To refuse to obey and to lead an open opposition are two different things. We can, and must (if necessary) refuse to obey a government that commands us to disobey God. But we still owe that same government our respect and obedience in all other matters. Therefore we will not try to overthrow it or conspire to do so.
Humble obedience and humble service please our God. “In humility, consider others better than yourself” (Philippians 2:3). “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12). And again: “Show true humility toward all men” (Titus 3:2). Not some men, not the ones who are easy to get along with, but all. This is not an easy task. But it is still God’s holy will, and we want to obey him without grumbling, without complaining, and without questioning his will. And so “We pray for the well-being of the king” (Ezra 6:10), we pray for him, that is the government, whether we are asked to (Jeremiah 37:3; 1 Kings 13:6) or not (2 Kings 19:20). For “the Lord himself is he who hears.” Pray that our leaders would do their tasks with true wisdom and humility. Through them, God gives us food, house, home, protection and security, but their honor and glory is only for this world. Therefore we also pray for their souls, that besides doing their tasks for the good of the people and not merely for profit, that they would also come to faith, be reconciled with God over the guilt of their sins (2 Corinthians 5:20), and put their faith only and entirely upon Jesus Christ for forgiveness, the resurrection, and eternal life. For this would bring them honor in eternity, they would be rewarded fully (2 John 1:8), and have so much more than the brief honor their grey heads have in store here on earth.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Archives at St Paul’s Lutheran Church https://splnewulm.org/daily-devotions/ and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: www.wlchapel.org/connect-grow/ministries/adults/daily-devotions/gwfy-archive/2025
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Ezra 5:1-5 Grey heads