Thursday, March 20 – Ezra 4, 5
1. What request did the enemies of Judah make to the leaders of the people? (Ezra 4:1-2)
2. What was their response? (Ezra 4:3)
3. What method did these enemies then use? (Ezra 4:4-5)
4. To whom did these enemies send a letter against the Jews? (Ezra 4:8-17)
5. What was the result of that letter? (Ezra 4:23-24)
6. What response did the elders give to the question, “Who commanded you to build this house?” (Ezra 5:11)
Great! We have now moved past one of the most fascinating books of the Old Testament, Daniel, and continue our virtual journey through the Holy Scriptures. We have now reached the final stage concerning the post-exilic period. To do this, we went back in the order in which the Old Testament books were placed in the canon. It is important to remember that the books of the Old Testament are arranged by themes and not in chronological order. That is why we are going back to Ezra to move forward in time.
Now, under the Medo-Persian Empire, God worked to obtain a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild both the city and the temple.
The “Artaxerxes” mentioned here is not the same Artaxerxes who later issued the final decree in 457 B.C., allowing the Jews to rebuild the temple and the city. The Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 is identified as Cambyses, or “the False Smerdis,” who reigned for about half a year (522 B.C.). After him, Darius took the throne and ruled from 522 to 486 B.C.
It is important to note that there were three decrees issued for the reconstruction of Jerusalem:
1. Decree of Cyrus – 537 B.C.
2. Decree of Darius – 519 B.C.
3. Decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus – 457 B.C.
Before Darius, Cambyses (the False Smerdis) rose to power—an enemy of the Jews—and suspended the work on the temple. But God always acts in favor of His people, providing two more decrees to complete the work.
To understand the prophecy of the 70 weeks in Daniel chapter 9, we focus on the last decree (457 B.C.) because it was the effective one that finally brought results. But there is something even more important:
Starting in 457 B.C., with the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus, Christ’s baptism and crucifixion dates align perfectly with the prophetic timeline.
Finally, Ezra 5 presents the encouragement the prophets Haggai and Zechariah gave to the leaders Zerubbabel and Jeshua to restart the temple construction. God always raises His prophetic Word to strengthen His people when their strength fails. Praise the Lord! This same principle applies today.
The enemies of God’s people, Tattenai and Shethar-Boznai, were unable to stop the Jews despite their schemes.
Today, near the end of history, we have significant work to do. There will be no shortage of enemies who will try to stop us, but we will move forward in the Name of the Lord of hosts.
We learn a lot from history and apply it to our time.
I wish you abundant blessings as we humbly study the sacred Book of God.