No One Can Thwart God’s Plan

“But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter”.  Ezra 5:5

Israel’s enemies, in an effort to stop the rebuilding of the temple, requested that Persia’s king, Artaxerxes, research the records to find occasions when Israel had committed insurrection, rebellion, and sedition against other nations.  He found some evidence which was written to make it seem as if Israel was always the aggressor, and ordered the building stopped.  When word reached those who were attempting to stop the work, they went to Jerusalem and made Zerubbabel and the other workers put down their tools.  We are not told what these enemies did to force the Jews to stop, but apparently it was effective.  There was no more construction on the temple for about 16 years.

After the long interruption, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to Zerubbabel and his fellow Jews concerning the temple.  We are not told what they said to the workers, but it was encouraging enough to cause them to begin work on the temple again.  The two prophets even helped them.  It wasn’t long before Israel’s enemies discovered that God’s people had started work again on God’s house.  Tatnai, the governor of Samaria, Shethar-boznai, a military officer, and others with them came to Jerusalem and demanded to know just who had told the Jews they could begin working on the temple again.  They also wanted a list of the workers.  However, God had His eye on the work of His people and would not allow the Samaritans to do anything to force the work to stop.  All they could do was to send a letter to Darius, who was now Persia’s king, to verify that he had given permission to resume building the temple and the city.

The letter described the visit to Jerusalem by the Samaritans and their inquiry as to why the Jews had begun building again when they had been ordered to stop several years ago.  They wrote that Zerubbabel and his associates answered them with a concise telling of the events that led up to this point in time.  As servants of God, they were rebuilding the temple which Solomon had built many years before.  But, because Judah had become disobedient, God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to destroy God’s house and take the people captive.  The vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen and taken to Babylon, King Cyrus, who had defeated Babylon, had returned to God’s people, and God had instructed Cyrus to rebuild the temple of which the king allowed Zerubbabel and other captives to go to Jerusalem and begin the work.   The Samaritans then requested Darius to search and find the original decree made by Cyrus.

A search was made, and the order by Cyrus was found.  There were even exact measurements to follow and the kinds of materials to be used in the decree.  Cyrus even agreed to provide the funds.  Upon this verification of all that God’s people had claimed, Darius ordered the Samaritans to leave the Jews alone and let them continue to build the house of God.  He also issued his own decree, one by which the Samaritans were likely made to wish they had never written to Darius, that ordered them to help pay for the work.  Here they were, desiring to stop the work, but now they had to not only let it continue, but also to provide funds for it.  These funds would come from the taxes that Samaria owed to Persia.  Thus, Samaria was not out any additional funds, but it was a slap in the face for them to pay the Judeans these taxes rather than to Persia.  They also had to provide bullocks, rams, and lambs for the Jews to offer as burnt offerings and give wheat, salt, wine, and oil to the priests on a daily basis.  To not obey the king’s command would mean certain death to the Samaritans.

This decree was to take effect immediately.  The Jews continued their work and were blessed by the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah.  The temple was completed as God had commanded with the help of Persian kings in the sixth year of Darius’ reign, about 20 years from its start date.  It pays to be obedient to God’s commands.  Israel’s enemies tried to thwart His plan of the rebuilding of His house, but they were not successful and ended up having to help pay for it.  God always blesses more than we can ever imagine.