Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the LORD.
Here the returned exiles move from setting up an altar to building the temple itself. Zerubbabel and Jeshua lead the start and put the Levites over the work, which raises three questions: why the start took so long, why the age limit matters, and what this beginning would cost.
The Delay Before the Start
The altar came first; the building waited months longer. One writer sees a test of faith in that wait, and a pattern in the order of events.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWe do not doubt that their faith was also tested at the beginning, for nine months passed before the work began. ... The order in this chapter is the building of the altar — that is, worship; then obedience to the Word of God; and then whole-hearted, united service for the Lord. This is the order still for God's people.
Another writer explains the pace. A people gathered by grace grows into the truth over time.
William KellyNo remnant ever called out by grace arrived all at once at the truth God is going to give them. It is a matter of growth as a whole, not only individual growth. They did not arrive at the understanding of His mind and of His word. At the beginning they are not able to do what they may understand, and have power for, another day.
Leaders at the Front
The verse names the governor and the priest first, and that order is not accidental.
Edward DennettWhatever the state of the people at large, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the governor and the priest, are foremost in the Lord's work. Officially at the head, they keep the spiritual lead of the people. It is a happy thing for God's people in any age when their leaders know the secret of the Lord's mind. Then they can call the people to follow them in His service. It is not always so. Quite often the Spirit of God acts first among His people, and the leaders in name only are then set aside, or forced to follow to keep their place.
Not Arrival, but the House
Reaching Jerusalem was not the finish line.
William KellyThey did not think the whole work was finished just because they had reached Jerusalem — just because God recognised them there as Israelites. Something else was at stake: the LORD's glory... this work is for the house of the LORD, the great shared work of gathering round His name.
Appointing the Levites: God's Order Recovered
The age limit points back to a pattern Scripture had already set.
Edward DennettThe governor and the priest know how to bring the people into the holy work alongside them... Finally, the Levites from twenty years old and upward received the task of carrying forward the work of the house of the Lord. This was plainly a return to the order set out in Scripture. It grew out of a God-given understanding of the work they were doing. Keeping God's order in the work of His house matters most of all, because it is really submission to His will as expressed in His word. To human thinking some other method might have seemed better. But the only question for the Lord's servants was, and is: what has He directed?
One writer reads the Levites as a picture of service given to God's people today:
H. L. RossierIn the second year of their arrival at the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, in the second month, the Levites (who, as we have seen, represent ministry for us) are established according to the mind of God, to oversee the building of the temple.
Few Hands, Enough Hands
The Levites who answered the call were a tiny group compared with earlier generations.
Edward DennettThere were only seventy-four. In the wilderness they numbered eight thousand five hundred and eighty, and that count included only the men from thirty to fifty years old. When the Lord opened the door out of captivity, very few cared to use it. They had made a home in the land of their exile, and had forgotten Jerusalem. So the faithfulness of these seventy-four was all the more precious to the Lord. With His presence and blessing they were enough for His service as overseers of the workmen in the house of God.
Opposition Arrives With the Work
The peace of the first two years ended when the building started.
Hamilton SmithThroughout the history of God's people, one thing has always held true. Whatever is God's will for the moment becomes the special target of the enemy's attack. So the returned remnant found in their day... For two years the enemy had left them in peace; but as soon as they took up their proper work, according to the will of God, the enemy raised opposition (Ezra 4).
Summary
- Delay — Nine months passed before building began. The wait tested their faith, and recovery came by growth, not in one leap.
- Lead — Zerubbabel and Jeshua start the work themselves and draw the people in. Leaders who know the Lord's mind can ask others to follow.
- Order — Zerubbabel and Jeshua appoint the Levites by the pattern Scripture had set. Keeping God's order in His house is simply obeying His will.
- Few — Only seventy-four Levites came back for this work. With God's blessing they were enough.
- Cost — When the real work started, opposition started too. The enemy attacks whatever God wills now.