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.
And the children of the captivity held the passover upon the fourteenth of the first month.
The exiles had just finished and dedicated the temple. Weeks later they gathered for Israel's oldest feast, on the exact day the law set for it. Why did this small, powerless community reach past the glories of the kingdom to the night Israel left Egypt? What does that choice say about where they thought they stood with God?
The order matters: the house first, then the Passover. One writer sees the feast as the remnant tracing everything they had back to its source.
The connection is very beautiful. The house of their God is finished, and now His people celebrate the memorial of their redemption from the land of Egypt. So they remind themselves, to the praise of Jehovah, of the ground on which they stood. They remind themselves that the foundation of all their blessing, of all God's acting in grace towards them, was the blood of the slain Lamb… They passed by the glories of the kingdom. They travelled upward until they reached the charter of all they had, whether in title or in prospect, and there confessed God as the God of their salvation.
Another writer names what the Passover remembered, and what it matches for Christians now:
The Passover was the memorial of the sacrifice that preserved Israel from the judgment of God on the one hand, and set them free from slavery in Egypt on the other. For us Christians, this feast matches the memorial of the death of Christ, of our deliverance, and of the blessings of the new covenant in His blood.
The date matters. Israel had kept Passovers late before, when the people were not ready. This one stands against that record.
At last a Passover could be kept in Jerusalem. The last Passover recorded before this is Josiah's, which must have taken place over 100 years earlier (2 Chronicles 35:1-19). This one was kept on the proper day too. It was not like the Passover in Hezekiah's time (2 Chronicles 30:1-3), which was held in the second month because many were not purified in the first month.
The verse names them by where they had been. ESV calls them "the returned exiles"; older translations read "the children of the captivity." One writer shows why faith can carry such a name.
Ah, the humbling fact: "the sons of the province, that went up out of the captivity!" Pride forgets such things and hides them. But faith, cleared and cheered by grace, can afford in the darkest day to own the truth: however Israel may change, Jehovah does not change. Therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed.
That small company also refused to shrink its prayers to its own size. It kept the feast on behalf of people who were not even there.
Notice how this remnant clings to the written word. The city is in ruins, the wall unbuilt, enemies all around. Most of the people of Israel are not with them, but are still scattered through the vast dominions of the king of Persia. Yet they offer the sin-offering for all Israel, and kill the Passover for all the children of the captivity who are absent — not with them, but still remembered and prayed for.
Being purified was the difference between a feast on time and a feast delayed. Commentators carry that over to the Lord's table now.
They realise that defilement cannot be allowed at the Lord's table, and that the world has no place there. They also realise that the supper cannot take place without self-judgment: "Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Passover never stood alone. The seven days of unleavened bread that followed carry the point forward.
The moment we are redeemed God claims us, and He wants us to answer His claims by holy lives — separation from evil, and separation to Himself. The feast lasted seven days. That is a complete period — a picture of the whole span of our lives. So in the Old Testament as in the New, all God's claims on His people rest on redemption. "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price."
- Foundation. With the house finished, they went back to the blood of the lamb. That was the charter of everything they held and everything they hoped for.
- Memory. Passover recalled two rescues: from God's judgment, and from slavery in Egypt. It answers now to the memorial of Christ's death.
- Timing. Kept on the proper day, unlike Hezekiah's delayed feast — readiness, not convenience, set the date.
- Honesty. "Children of the captivity" is a humbling name; faith can own the ruin because the Lord does not change.
- Continuation. Seven days of unleavened bread follow the lamb. Redemption comes first, then a whole life claimed for God.
For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves as one [man] they were all pure; and they killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
With the temple finished and dedicated, the returned exiles kept the Passover — and the priests and Levites first made themselves clean as one body. Why this feast now, what does it mean that all of them were clean, and why kill the lamb for people who were not even there?
The order of events carries the point. With the house finished, the people looked back to the night of their rescue from Egypt.
The connection is beautiful. With the house of their God finished, His people celebrate the memorial of their redemption from the land of Egypt. In this way they remind themselves, to the praise of the Lord, of the ground on which they stood. They also remind themselves that the foundation of all their blessing, of all God's acting in grace towards them, was the blood of the slain Lamb… Passing by the glories of the kingdom, they travelled back up to the charter of all they had, whether in title or in prospect. There they confessed God as the God of their salvation.
The feast came back as soon as everything else was back in place.
They again find the order of the feasts God set up. This happens as soon as complete order is back: the altar, the temple, the gathering and unity of the people, and the presence of the Lord among them… The Passover was the memorial of the sacrifice that kept Israel safe from the judgment of God on the one hand, and set them free from slavery in Egypt on the other. For us Christians, this feast matches the memorial of the death of Christ, of our deliverance, and of the blessings of the new covenant in His blood. We keep this memorial on the first day of the week, the day of resurrection, which is "the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).
The cleansing was not the work of a few. They acted as one, just as they had in the building work.
The priests and Levites had purified themselves as one man; they were all pure, and so in a proper condition to celebrate the Passover. They realized that they could not bring impurity to this holy, commemorative meal. Just as they had been unanimous in building the altar, in overseeing the work, and in laying the foundations of the temple, so they are now unanimous in purifying themselves.
Earlier generations had not managed this.
Here the zealous care of the priests and the Levites is remarkable: they had purified themselves as one man, and were all pure. It had not been so even during Hezekiah's earnest reform, when they had to fall back on the second month, the provision given for the wilderness, because many in the congregation could not keep the feast in the first month… Now the right order was kept.
The faithfulness here was real. So was what had gone 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 (compare chapter 6:20 with 2 Chronicles 29:34). But we hear nothing of the ordinances of David. Their celebration of the feast of dedication shows a still greater lack… Fire no longer came down from heaven to show that God accepted the sacrifice.
They killed the lamb not only for those present, but for a scattered people who could not be there.
And here notice how this remnant clings to the written word. The city is in ruins, the wall unbuilt, enemies all around. Most of the people of Israel are not with them, but still scattered across the vast empire of the king of Persia. Yet they offer the sin offering for all Israel, and kill the Passover for all the children of the captivity. Those people are absent — not with them, but still remembered and interceded for.
The feast was long overdue, and the cleansing it called for still speaks today.
They could finally keep a Passover in Jerusalem. The last one on record was Josiah's, over 100 years earlier (2 Chronicles 35:1-19)… On this occasion the priests and Levites had purified themselves. That speaks not only of personal cleansing, but of being kept clear of any link with evil, just as today those who eat the Lord's supper should be free from evil associations.
- Foundation. With the temple finished, they went back to the blood of the lamb — the ground of everything they had, in title and in prospect.
- Purity. They purified themselves together — unanimous and complete, with no priest or Levite left out.
- Standard. The first Passover on record in over 100 years was kept at the right time — unlike Hezekiah's, which waited for the second month because the people were not clean.
- Reach. They killed the lamb for absent brothers still scattered abroad, so the feast remembered and interceded for people who could not be there.
- Table. The same care belongs to the Lord's Supper: cleansing from personal sin, and from every link with evil.
And the children of Israel that were come back out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah the God of Israel, did eat;
The temple is finished and dedicated, and the returned exiles keep the Passover. But the verse names a second group at the table: people who had joined them after breaking with the uncleanness around them. Two questions follow: who were these newcomers, and why were they welcome?
The chapter names two groups who ate: those who came back from exile, and those who came over to them. One writer sees the first group as a blessing to the second:
Now comes the feast, and two classes keep it. First, the children of Israel, who had come again out of captivity. Second, all those who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the land. Notice, these returned ones, the first class, have been a blessing to the second class. Together they eat and keep the feast of unleavened bread with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful.
One writer names what opened the door, and the ground the whole company stood on:
Grace welcomed all who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land to seek Jehovah the God of Israel. The strangers are no less welcome than the remnant. It is of all importance to stand on the ground of God's people. That means not pretending to be Israel, when in truth they were a feeble few. It means standing there not in the pride that forgets sin and ruin, but in the faith that holds to the ground which grace gives and keeps, refusing every substitute for it.
Commentators differ on the identity of this second group. One reads them as Jews, not converts from the nations:
Those who had separated themselves from the filthiness of the heathen were not proselytes — that is, Gentiles who turned to Israel. They were Jews who had married heathen women (10:11). They were true to the written Word.
Another traces them to the people who were never deported at all:
Jeremiah 52:16 tells us that when the great captivity took place, "certain of the poor of the land" were left behind, so that they might be farmers and work the soil. Some of these, or their descendants, cleansed themselves from the evils they had become involved in. They joined in this time of revival and blessing, and so could take part in the feast of unleavened bread.
The move here has two halves: away from defilement, and toward the God of Israel.
Some of the people had stayed in the land through the captivity. Among them, "all who had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah the God of Israel" (v. 21) took part in this solemn feast. They did not form part of the testimony in the strict sense, yet they came to associate themselves with true practical holiness. And so they had part in the memorial and the feast.
The meal itself explains the requirement:
All of the priests and the Levites purified themselves (v. 20). Those who had separated themselves "from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel" ate of the Passover. Nothing that dishonours God was to have a place in this feast. It reminded them of that night when God spared those who sheltered under the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12).
The seven days that followed carried the same meaning forward:
This feast of unleavened bread is a picture of complete, perpetual sanctification, kept for seven days. Seven is the number of fullness. It stands for the whole course of our life — a life devoted to the One who delivered us by His death, and to the One we belong to.
Where they kept the feast mattered too:
They kept the passover — a proof that the redemption of the people could be remembered in the land. Happy privilege of the restored remnant!
Writers carry the pattern over to the Lord's table today:
All Christians who are separated from the world, and from the lifeless profession of Christianity around us, have the right to the Lord's table. Their brothers receive them there with joy.
And the small company must not shrink into itself:
Some believers may bear a remnant character, in keeping with what we are seeing in the book of Ezra. If so, they must always keep in view the whole Church of God. They must not become wrapped up in themselves, as though others did not count before God.
- Cleansed — the second group broke with the uncleanness of the nations around them before they ate.
- Joined — separation had a destination. They turned to the returned people and to the God of Israel, and joined themselves to real practical holiness.
- Welcomed — grace opened the feast, not ancestry. The strangers were no less welcome than the remnant.
- Fed — the Passover proved they could still remember redemption in the land. The seven days of unleavened bread picture a whole life given to the One who delivered them.
- Joyful — commentators differ on who these newcomers were, but not on the result: the Lord made them joyful. And a small company like this must keep the whole Church of God in view.
and they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy; for Jehovah had made them joyful, and 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.
The temple is built and the Passover is over. Now the chapter ends with a week-long feast, and the verse gives two reasons for it: God gave the people their joy, and God moved a foreign king to help them.
The verse names God as the source of the joy. One writer also points to what the people themselves had done:
No wonder that the feast of unleavened bread was kept, and was kept with joy (v. 22), and the king of Assyria was supportive of the work of the house of God. It is a timeless principle: obedience brings joy and blessing.
Yet much was missing that day. Another writer says the loss does not cancel the joy:
The glory of Jehovah did not appear now, and no fire from Him burned up the offerings. Neither one would have suited a day of ruin and small things. True faith would not look for them either. As things are, there is no greater privilege and no higher honour; claiming more is only the flesh at work, and it opens the door to Satan. But faith has a right to gladness of heart, whatever the sorrow over God's broken and scattered people. Let the path be narrow, and the heart large.
The New Testament takes up this feast and applies it to how believers live:
This feast came right after the Passover, and takes its special meaning from it. The apostle has explained this to us. He says, "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven... but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). That is, the moment we are redeemed God claims us. He wants us to answer that claim by holy lives — separation from evil, and separation to Himself. The feast lasted seven days: a complete period, and a picture of the whole course of our lives.
Another writer notes that the law gave this bread a different mood:
This feast is a picture of sanctification, both shared and personal, spoken of in 2 Corinthians 6:17 to 7:1. The restored remnant keeps this feast with joy. They had done the same at the feast of tabernacles, at the dedication of the foundation, and at the dedication of the house (Ezra 3:13; Ezra 6:16, 22). Here the feast differs from the law of Moses, which called this bread "the bread of affliction — for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste" (Deuteronomy 16:3). In the middle of all these recovered blessings, there is no room for any feeling but joy.
The king in this verse is Persian, so the title puzzles readers. One writer explains it from history:
It is interesting to see at the end of Chapter 6 that the Lord had "turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them." So the king of Persia is called both "the king of Babylon" (ch. 5:13) and "the king of Assyria." Persia had conquered Babylon, and Babylon had earlier conquered Assyria. So Persia's king held authority over Assyria and Babylon.
The same writer, commenting on Proverbs, states the wider rule behind this:
It is true, not only of believing kings, but of all kings, that their hearts are in the hand of the Lord. They may think their rule answers to no one, but the Lord knows how to turn their hearts to do His will.
Commentators differ on the mood of the ending. One writer hears a note of loss in it:
They kept the Passover — a proof that the redemption of the people could be remembered in the land. Happy privilege of the restored remnant! ... And even the thing they rejoiced in showed what their condition now was. "Jehovah 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." It was great kindness and touching grace on His part. But what a change!
- Obedience. They kept the feast God commanded. Joy and the king's support followed: obedience brings joy and blessing.
- Gift. The verse credits the joy to God, not to their circumstances. The glory and the fire were gone, but faith still has a right to gladness of heart.
- Holiness. Seven days of unleavened bread picture a whole life kept clean. Christ our Passover was sacrificed, so the redeemed belong to God.
- Reach. The "king of Assyria" is the Persian ruler who now held Assyria and Babylon. Every king's heart is in the Lord's hand, believing or not.
- Honesty. The foreign king's help was real kindness. It also showed how much had changed, so joy and honest sorrow sit in the same verse.