And the elders of the Jews built; and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and completed [it] according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
The temple work ends here, and the verse names two forces side by side: the preaching of two prophets and the decrees of three Persian kings. So which one made the elders prosper? And why list the kings at all?
The order of events matters. The Jews restarted the building before this fresh decree from Darius ever reached them.
The beautiful fact, as we have already seen, is that the Jews had faith to resume the building of the house before they got this fresh decree. "And the elders of the Jews built and prospered" — not through the commandment of the king, but they prospered "through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo." For now that God had given them power, He also controlled all the ruling authorities, so that they now favoured His people.
The verse keeps two groups distinct — those laying stones and those speaking God's word.
It is important to notice these two classes — the builders and the prophets. These two kinds of service can never be confused. A builder cannot take up the work of a prophet, nor could a prophet trade his prophetic mantle for the builder's trowel... A builder is one whose work is to lay stones on the foundation. God uses him, through preaching or teaching, to gather souls and bring them as living stones to the foundation, which is Jesus Christ. A prophet does two things. He urges the people forward in their work by passing on the mind of God, and he tests everything by His word.
The verse says they prospered through the prophesying. The same writer explains why, then traces the pattern through Israel's history and into the church.
The reason is clear. The Holy Spirit was acting in power — first through the prophets, and then in the hearts of the builders, producing a response to the word of God that the prophets brought. All through the history of the kingdom, the nation prospered when they listened to the voices of their prophets. Every evil consequence flowed from ignoring these heaven-sent warnings. It is no different in the church of God. Whenever "the builders" listen to the prophets who unfold and apply the mind of God as revealed in His word, they prosper. Their work lasts, and they themselves receive blessing. But if they are careless of divine guidance and correction, and work after their own ideas, they only corrupt the work they are doing. They put wood, hay, and straw in the place of gold, silver, and precious stones. Their work may look greater, and even more prosperous, to human eyes. But a future day will test it, and the Lord alone is the judge of true prosperity in service.
Haggai and Zechariah are named together, yet they did not bring the same message.
Haggai's ministry stirred up the conscience of the people, urging them to consider their ways, which must have led them to seek His face. Zechariah is the prophet of glory. The vision of glory, the final victory of God's people, the coming of the King and the setting up of His kingdom, the future overthrow of all their enemies — all this became an inspiration for them. God's people need this twofold ministry, which is so abundantly supplied in the Word of God.
The verse names God's commandment first, then the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes.
The authority of the great king came on the scene only to confirm God's word and His servants, and to force those who had tried to hinder the work to honour and help it. The commandment of the God of Israel had its just and primary place; and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes came in below it.
Yet the kings are not dismissed. Their names teach how God's people live under earthly rulers.
Everything was done, therefore, in obedience to God, and by the permission of the earthly power to which, by God's appointment, they were subject. What a privilege for these workmen to have laboured this way — and no small honour, we may add, for these Gentile monarchs to be linked with God's purposes and used to carry them out! No doubt the names of the kings are mentioned to show, for one reason, the value God attaches to the principle of obedience to constituted authority.
The same writer adds one limit. Human authority becomes void the moment it clashes with God's claim over the soul. Otherwise the believer submits.
Commentators differ over the text itself. Gaebelein notes that some claim the words "and Artaxerxes king of Persia" do not belong here.
- Faith first. They resumed building before Darius's decree arrived — obedience moved before official permission did.
- Word next. Prophesying made them prosper: Haggai pressed God's word on the conscience, Zechariah unveiled God's coming glory.
- Roles distinct. Builders lay stones on the foundation; prophets urge the work forward and test everything by God's word. Neither can do the other's job.
- Kings subordinate. God's commandment holds first place, and the kings' decrees come in underneath. Their names still honour obedience to governing authority — except where it clashes with God's claim on the soul.
- Result lasting. Builders who heed the word prosper, and their work endures. Work done our own way may look impressive now, but the Lord tests it later.
And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of king Darius.
The temple is finished, and Scripture fixes the day. Two questions follow. What finished a work that enemies had stopped for years? And why does the record credit both God's commandment and the decrees of foreign kings?
The verse before names two prophets as the reason the elders prospered. One writer points out that the builders had started again before the king's new decree reached them.
The adversaries were completely refuted and stopped in their evil work. The house of God received — I will not say an impulse, but — its completion. The beautiful fact, as we have already seen, is that the Jews had faith to resume the building of the house before they got this fresh decree. "And the elders of the Jews built and prospered [not through the commandment of the king, but] through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo." Now that God had given them power, He also controlled all the ruling powers in their favour.
Haggai and Zechariah served at the same time, yet their messages differed. Another writer separates what each one gave.
Haggai's ministry stirred up the conscience of the people. He urged them to consider their ways, which must have led them to seek His face. Zechariah is the prophet of glory. His vision showed the final victory of God's people, the coming of the King and the setting up of His kingdom, and the future overthrow of all their enemies. That vision of coming glory became an inspiration for them. God's people need this twofold ministry, which is so richly supplied in the Word of God.
Only four years passed between the restart and this date. One commentator names the conditions of that revival, and the cause of the long delay before it.
This revival came in the middle of humiliation, while the people were under Gentile rule. That is its special character. Work on the temple had stopped for fifteen years, from the second year of Cyrus to the second year of Darius the Persian (Ezra 4:24; Hag. 1:1). Four years later the house of God stood complete (v. 15). How disastrous are the delays caused by fear of man and by lack of confidence in the Lord! That lack of confidence is the sure outcome of fearing man.
Chapters 4 to 6 tell one story: work stopped, prophets sent, work finished. One writer draws the order out of it.
Where hearts are not stirred, God may allow circumstances to make the work impossible. On the surface it will look as though the work stopped because of forces beyond anyone's control. The deeper reason is that there was little or no stirring in the hearts of God's people. On the other hand, God intervenes, for instance by sending prophets who speak to the heart of the people. Then, when hearts turn to God, He will also take care of the circumstances. And then nobody will be able to stop the work, until it is finished, "according to the commandment of the God of Israel."
Verse 14 lays God's command alongside the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes. One writer reads the pairing as deliberate, and draws a rule from it.
So they did everything in obedience to God, and with the permission of the earthly power God had placed over them. What a privilege for these workmen to have laboured this way! And no small honour, we may add, for these Gentile kings to be linked with God's purposes and used to carry them out! No doubt the record names the kings partly to show the value God attaches to obedience to the authorities He has set over us. We should not pass over that lesson.
The verse gives a day and a year. The same writer counts back from it to the laying of the foundation.
Four years were taken up from the restart of the building until its completion (Ezra 4:24). No one can tell exactly how many years had passed since the foundation was laid, because Scripture does not give the length of the reigns between Cyrus and Darius. The years could scarcely have been less, and were probably more, than twenty. With what long-suffering and patience God had borne with the failures of His people! His purpose now stands accomplished and the house stands built. With what delight He calls our attention to the labours of His people! Although all had been done by His grace, in that same grace He credits to His people what He Himself had done.
- Stopped by fear. The fifteen silent years came from fear of man and lost confidence in the Lord, not from the enemy's strength.
- Restarted by the Word. Haggai reached the conscience, Zechariah showed the coming glory; God's people need both.
- Prospered, not permitted. They built before the new decree arrived. The prophets' word made them prosper, and God turned the ruling powers in their favour.
- Finished under two commands. God's commandment held first place, and obedience to the kings He had set over them held its own.
- Dated and credited. God bore with more than twenty years of failure. Then He fixed the day in the record, and credited to His people the work His own grace produced.
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;
The second temple stood finished at last, and the people who had come back from exile held its dedication with joy. The building was far smaller than Solomon's and most of the nation was still scattered, so what did they have to be glad about?
The completion came only after a long stoppage, and commentators trace that delay to the builders' own timidity rather than to the strength of their enemies.
The elders among the Jews build and prosper through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. They complete the temple by the commandment of the God of Israel — and also by the commandment of the ruling kings of Persia (v. 14). This is the special mark of this revival: God brought it about while they were humbled and under the rule of the Gentile powers. The work on the temple had stopped for fifteen years... How disastrous are the delays caused by the fear of man, and by the lack of confidence in the Lord that always follows it!
The joy was real, but the house was not what it had been. What God gave back was His presence at the acknowledged centre, not the visible glory of former days.
Compared with the dedication of Solomon, a glorious memory, this dedication is a very feeble thing. Even so, joy fills the hearts of the people. Once again God causes "His name to dwell" (v. 12) in this restored house, and with public approval. His glory does not return to it, nor His throne between the cherubim. But His spiritual presence cannot be missing where His people acknowledge the centre at which He gathers them.
One thing was missing at this dedication, and it says a lot. Fire had once come down from heaven on the sacrifices; here none came.
The LORD had given them cause for joy. But fire no longer came down from heaven to show that God accepted the sacrifice offered at the dedication of the house. It was a difference of absence, yet a deeply significant one. Even the thing they rejoiced in showed their true state: "The LORD had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel." That was great kindness and touching grace on His part. But what a change!
When the foundation was laid, the contrast with the older house had brought tears. The same contrast was here, yet this time the joy held.
If they had dwelt on this side of things, their joy might well have come mixed with weeping and tears, as it did when they laid the foundation. But faith has to do with unseen things. So faith could remind this weak, small company that the Lord was no less mighty and no less merciful for them than He was for Solomon.
The verse calls this gathering "the people of Israel," though they were only a fragment of the nation. How would they treat those who stayed behind in Babylon?
In fact, these "children of Israel" were only a small, weak part of the two tribes Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites. At such a moment they might have been tempted to forget their brothers who had not answered the proclamation of Cyrus — or even to shut them out... Those brothers chose an easy life in Babylon, captives though they were, instead of suffering hardship with those "whose spirit God had raised"... So had they not forfeited their place and title among the people of God? A harsh spirit might have argued that way. But this poor, weak company, whatever their condition, held the thoughts of God.
This dedication is one of a series of glad gatherings in Israel's history, all of them tied to God's house, and one writer draws a direct encouragement from the fact that this one came so late and in such poverty.
These feasts, with one exception, express pure joy alone. They were spontaneous, and the law never commanded them. The joy in them always had to do with the house of God. From this we may draw a comforting conclusion. Feeling the decline around us must not weaken our joy in any way, for the blessings the Lord pours on His Assembly today are worth as much as in the more prosperous times of the Church's history. "Rejoice in the Lord always", we are told — and that in days when the ruin was growing more marked.
- Finished — the house was completed under the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah. The work had stopped for fifteen years first, and commentators blame the fear of man.
- Feeble — the dedication was small beside Solomon's. No fire fell from heaven, and the glory did not return.
- Filled — God made His name dwell there again. His presence at their centre of gathering was reason enough for joy.
- Faith — their joy held because faith looks at unseen things. God was no less mighty and no less merciful for this weak few than for Solomon.
- Far-reaching — this small group did not write off the brothers who stayed away. They held the thoughts of God about the whole people.
and they presented at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
The temple stands complete, and the exiles mark the day with a few sacrifices — among them twelve goats for a nation whose ten other tribes were far away. Why do so few offer for all twelve, and what is left to rejoice in when so much is gone?
The dedication was a real celebration. But set beside Solomon's dedication, it looked poor.
It was only natural that they should rejoice at such a moment. The house of their God expressed all the blessings of the covenant in which they stood. And at last it stood completed before their eyes, after weary years of failure, difficulties, disappointments, and sorrow... But contrast this dedication with the dedication of Solomon's temple, and you see their own weakness and the poverty of their circumstances. Then the king offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep... If they had dwelt on this, their joy might well have carried lamentation and tears, as it did when they laid the foundation. But faith has to do with unseen things. So it could remind this weak remnant that the Lord was no less mighty and no less merciful for them than for Solomon.
The number of goats is not a round figure. It matches a nation that had long since split in two.
By this time five or six centuries had passed since the nation split and the ten tribes broke away under Jeroboam. Yet the returned remnant recognised that God had called the whole nation out of Egypt. They knew the division which followed was their failure and not God's purpose, and that God never swerves from His original thought and call. So they still had all twelve tribes on their hearts. Though they were only a remnant, they held to God's thought and purpose for the whole nation.
Here the twelve appear in sacrifice, not in stone.
The sacrifice makes a public confession of sin, and it leaves no tribe out. In the time of Elijah, an altar of twelve stones expressed the unity of the people. We no longer find that. Instead we find twelve male goats offered on the altar for the expiation of a common sin. So they acknowledge their solidarity and equality in sin. These exiles belonged to Judah and Benjamin. In their eyes the sin of those two tribes is just as great as the sin of the other ten, and it needs the same expiation.
Most of the people were nowhere near Jerusalem. The offering still covered them, and that has a lesson for small gatherings today.
And faith was at work in these children of the captivity, for we find that they offered a sin offering for all Israel. All Israel was not there — only representatives of two or three tribes. But these few stood on the ground of the nation before God. They understood this, and so they included all the tribes of Israel in their sin offering. This is a significant lesson for the remnant gathered out in these last days to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ... for the faith that links itself with God on the one hand links itself on the other hand with all His people.
Fire from heaven had once shown God's acceptance at such a dedication. This time it did not fall.
The Lord had given them cause for joy; but fire no longer came down from heaven to testify to divine acceptance of the sacrifice offered for the dedication of the house. This was indeed a negative difference, but one of deep significance.
God's people are still divided today. One writer separates what we cannot change from what we can still do.
Does this not have a voice for today, does it not give direction in a time of ruin? We cannot undo the scattering of God's people, we cannot force everyone to return to the basic principles that Jerusalem stands for (though we want to encourage as many as we can to do so). But we can act on the basis that the people of God is one.
- Finished — the house stood complete after years of failure and delay. Faith could remind a weak remnant that God was no less mighty for them than for Solomon.
- Joy — the small offerings and the missing fire from heaven marked a changed day, yet the people still rejoiced.
- Confession — twelve goats put every tribe under the same sin offering. The exiles claimed no advantage over the ten tribes that stayed away.
- Whole — the split in the nation was human failure, not God's purpose. So a few from two tribes still carried all twelve on their hearts.
- Today — we cannot undo the scattering, but we can still act on the fact that God's people are one.
And they set the priests in their classes, and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem as it is written in the book of Moses.
The temple is finished and dedicated. The first thing the returned exiles do is order its service, setting priests and Levites in their groups by the written instruction of Moses. Why did a small, poor remnant tie itself so closely to a book?
A newly finished house might have invited new human arrangements. These builders went the other way.
They were also marked at this moment by obedience. They arranged the service of the house, both the priests and the Levites, as the book of Moses says. The path of obedience, whether for the individual or for the assembly, is the only path of blessing. At that time, with the house of God just completed, they would have thought it folly for man to push his own thoughts into it. Their only concern was to know what God had said, what He had directed.
The groups themselves go back to David. He sorted the priestly families into fixed turns of service, which older writings also call courses or classes.
David divided the priests into 24 courses: 16 of them were of the house of Eleazar, and 8 of Ithamar. A list of them, under the name of each head, is given in 1 Chronicles 24:6-19. The Levites were divided in a similar manner.
Yet the verse points to Moses, not to David. One writer weighs both what is named here and what is missing:
The priests are set in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, according to the law of Moses. Here we find more faithfulness than in the best days of the kings. But we hear nothing of the ordinances of David, and we see a still greater lack in their keeping of the feast of dedication.
This verse is not a one-off. The same phrase keeps returning from the first altar onward.
The return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon was also marked by their submission to the authority of the written law of Jehovah. When they were gathered together as one man in Jerusalem, they "built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God... they kept also the feast of tabernacles as it is written."
The people had far less to give than before.
Despite so many blessings, the resources of the people were very much diminished, whether for offerings or for service (compare 1 Kings 8:63). But this did not hinder the order of service in any way. For this order they had an authority that could not fail. They could always turn to what "is written in the book of Moses" — in other words, the word of God.
Another writer draws out what a time of ruin does not excuse:
They took care about order too. A time of ruin never justifies relaxing about Scripture. It calls for special care in those who care for God's house.
The same writer who described their obedience warns how such obedience slips away:
No danger is more subtle than the gradual creeping into the assembly of human thoughts and arrangements in place of the word of God. In effect, though it is not intended, it removes the Lord from His place of supremacy over His people. So there never was a time when it was more necessary to remember the words of our risen Lord: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
- Written. They set the service of the finished house "as it is written." Their one concern was to know what God had said.
- Ordered. The divisions were fixed turns of service. David had sorted the families into them.
- Unchanged. Their resources had shrunk, but the order of service held. The book of Moses stayed an authority they could always turn to.
- Heightened. A time of ruin is no excuse to hold Scripture loosely. It calls for greater care in those who care for God's house.
- Guarded. The subtlest danger is human arrangements creeping in to replace the word. That removes the Lord from His place of supremacy, even when no one means it.