But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.
Officials come to the builders at Jerusalem. They demand to know who authorised the work, and they ask for the names of every man involved. The building carries on anyway. The reason has nothing to do with the strength of the workers.
The eye that guards
This watching is not neutral. One writer sees God taking in the whole danger His people stood in, and giving them what they needed to keep going.
Edward DennettThe eye of God was upon His beloved people, seeing their danger. He watched so that He might give them the courage they needed in front of the enemy. He would make them aware of His presence and shelter, and so stir them up to keep on with their work. And it really is a wonderful thing for our souls when we realise, even a little, that the eye of God is upon us. It produces in us that holy fear which makes us fearless of man. It also gives us the sweet sense of His presence and protection covering us. In His grace He has bound us to Himself by ties that cannot perish.
Why the opposition came at all
The trouble started the moment the building restarted. Commentators trace this to a pattern: the enemy attacks what is done for God.
Edward DennettSuppose believers settle down in the world, set their minds on earthly things, and become "dwellers on earth" — the phrase is meant in a moral sense. Then Satan will leave them alone. But the Spirit of God may move them to grasp His mind and go out in living testimony. The moment they do, the adversary will try to turn them aside by any trick or device likely to succeed.
New enemies, same work
The officials named in this chapter are not the ones who blocked the work earlier. Later, new names appear again. The faces change; the resistance does not.
H. L. RossierOne group of men succeeds another in their hatred against the work of God, some more violent, some less. But the opposition remains, because the enemy who uses all these instruments has not changed. If only faith would never let the obstacles raised by Satan's agents stop it! If only we understood well that no one can destroy the work of God, because God remains over and above it all!
Hands held back
The verse says the enemies "did not stop them." One writer names who held them back, and who kept the builders going.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThese enemies did not reckon with the Keeper of Israel who neither sleeps nor slumbers. They did not know it, but what they were doing would lead to victory for God's people. It would end in the finishing of the house of God. The eye of God was upon the elders of the Jews. He gave them strength, courage and assurance, so that they could persevere in the work.
What restarted the work
The builders did not wait for fresh permission from Persia before picking up their tools. Two prophets had spoken, and that was enough. The authority to build had been theirs all along.
The Bible TreasuryGrace working through the word is what called them back to His work, not the decree of the Persian power. They were not acting against authority. Cyrus had given them that authority at the start, in line with prophecy spoken before he was born and before Judah went to Babylon. But their enemies frightened them, and they turned to their own affairs and neglected God's house. That encouraged the effort to stop them by the world's authority... Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah roused them from their laziness and their fears, and they took up the work again in the face of opposition and threats. But it was all in vain.
The letter that backfired
The work goes on "until the report should reach Darius." That report was meant to shut the project down. It did the opposite.
Edward DennettFaith could see God at work behind the scenes. He used the power of the enemy to carry out His own purposes. Here is another instance of how He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. When their adversaries interfered, Darius confirmed the decree of Cyrus. He also issued a second decree: he himself would pay for everything the house of God needed.
Summary
- Eye — God watched over the elders to protect them, not to inspect them from a distance. His eye gave them courage, shelter, and the sense of His presence while the enemy stood in front of them.
- Enemy — the attack came because the work was for God. The names of the opponents keep changing, but the one behind them does not.
- Restraint — the enemies could not make them stop. God held back the hand that wanted to halt the building, and the work went on through the whole investigation.
- Faith — the builders started again at the word of two prophets, not at a new permit from Persia. Faith took away their fear.
- Result — the hostile letter reached Darius, and back came both confirmation and funding. God turned the power aimed at them into their supply.