And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.
A Persian governor has come to Jerusalem and demanded to know who authorised the rebuilding of the temple. The elders answer by first naming whose they are. Then they tell the story of the house — who built it, why it fell, and why they are building again.
Confession before defence
The first thing out of their mouths is not a permit but an identity. One writer calls that confession the strongest weapon a believer has when opposed.
Edward DennettNothing could be simpler or more beautiful than the way they tell their own story and the story of the temple they were building. Right at the front of everything they declare themselves "the servants of the God of heaven and earth." Against Satan's schemes no weapon is stronger than a bold confession of our true character. The first outward step in Peter's fall was his denial that he belonged to Jesus of Nazareth. How often since that day has that denial led to shame and defeat! So it was a blessed thing that these Jews could take their stand on this open confession that they were God's servants.
Two reasons, in order
Their reply has two halves, and the sequence matters. The decree of Cyrus is real, but it is not what they lead with.
F. B. HoleTheir opponents put on record that when challenged their answer was twofold: both religious and political. They put the religious reason first, saying, "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth," and are building under His command. In the second place they quoted the original authorisation they had received from Cyrus.
Building before the paperwork
They had not waited for permission. A ban stood against them, yet the work was going up, because God had spoken.
The Christian's FriendThe reader should remember again that the people did not wait for the Gentile authorities to renew their commission to build. True, they were subject to the powers God ordained, and a decree forbidding them to build was in force. But God Himself had spoken. So if they were to give Caesar the things that are Caesar's, they were also to give God the things that are God's. When God stoops to speak, His claims come first. They stand above every other consideration, whatever the consequences. Builders of a later day held the same principle. When Peter and John were forbidden to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, they replied, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20.)
Honest about the ruin
They do not dress up the past. They name the great king who built it, and in the next breath they name the sin that lost it and the king who tore it down.
Edward DennettWhat a history! Solomon had built the house, and Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed it, and the cause of all this sorrow was their fathers' sins. What a story of patient grace and mercy lies between those two dates! And what an exposure of the human heart, even though God Himself had cultivated it! Between those two points lies the history of the kingdom under man's responsibility. It was set up in glory and splendour under Solomon, the prince of peace. (David was the first king, but the building of the temple marked the establishment of the kingdom.) It was destroyed in the reign of weak and wicked Zedekiah.
Another writer sums up the reply as three admissions held together: service, discipline, and permission.
Michael HardtThey served the God of heaven; they were under God's discipline because their fathers had sinned; and Cyrus had passed a decree entitling them to build.
The strength behind the words
The same confession turns up in a short account of Zerubbabel's work. Beside Cyrus's decree stands God's word about where the power would come from.
Morrish Bible DictionaryJeshua the high priest helped Zerubbabel, and they began to build at once. The Persian governors questioned their authority for doing so. Their reply was a noble one: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth." Cyrus had made a decree that the temple should be built. But God's word to Zerubbabel was, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts."
Summary
- Servants first. Before any argument, they say whose they are. Confessing our true character openly is the strongest weapon against Satan's schemes.
- Order. Their answer was twofold: God's command first, Cyrus's decree second. The human authorisation was true, but it came after.
- Obedience. They had already started while the ban still stood. When God speaks, His claim outranks every other — the ground Peter and John took in Acts 4.
- Honesty. They hid nothing. Solomon built the house, their fathers' sins lost it, and Nebuchadnezzar tore it down. That ruin was God's discipline.
- Power. Cyrus gave the decree, but the word to Zerubbabel went further. The work would go forward by God's Spirit, not by might or power.