Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill.
Local officials had asked Darius to check whether Cyrus really authorised the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. He did more than confirm it. He attached a death penalty to anyone who tampered with his order, so the empire's own power now guarded a work its own officials had tried to stop.
The penalty spelled out
The threat is aimed at the man's house as much as at the man. A beam is torn from his own roof and becomes the means of his death. (Older translations read "hanged" where the ESV has "impaled".)
Leslie M. GrantDarius clearly thought it necessary to add a solemn decree. Anyone who tried to change his edict was to have his house destroyed, and was himself to be hanged from the timber of his house (v. 11). This would very effectively stop any show of hostility by the enemies of the Jews.
Royal authority as a shield
The empire's power now stood around the builders instead of against them. The words Darius chose also hint at what he knew of the God whose house it was.
Edward DennettSo the king surrounded the Jews with his authority. He guarded them from further interference with their work by making it a death penalty to meddle with it. From the language he used, there can be little doubt that Darius himself knew something of "the God of heaven," for he speaks of Him as causing "His name to dwell there." Either way, God turned his heart in favour of His people and of the work of building His house. The decree took effect at once. We read that Tatnai and his companions "did speedily" what Darius had ordered. All opposition stopped, and the enemies of the work disappeared from the scene.
God's hand behind the search
Persian law made a king's written order permanent, and the decree itself rests on a scroll found in an unexpected place. Commentators read both facts as God directing events.
H. L. RossierDarius the Persian supports the Jews and gives a fair sentence, and it rests on the fact that, by "the law of the Medes and Persians… no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed" (Dan 6:15). In all this we can see the providence of God, watching over His people. The edict of Cyrus is found at Achmetha, in the province of the Medes, and not at Babylon (v. 2). That proves that without God stepping in, even the most careful search would have been in vain… he uses the authority entrusted to him to punish those who would oppose the will of God; and last, he solemnly calls on the God who dwells at Jerusalem to carry out vengeance on those who oppose Him.
Faith moved first
The Jews started building again while the case against them was still open. Their protection came later, and it came through the complaint their enemies had filed.
J. N. DarbyWhat they lacked was faith in God. We have seen that when there was faith they dared to build, even though there was a decree against it. This faith brings about a decree in their favour — and it comes through the action of their enemies. It is good to trust in God. Blessed be His gracious name!
Where the decrees rank
The royal decrees were never the first cause of the finished house. Something else held that place.
The Bible TreasurySo the authority of the great king came on the scene only to confirm God's word and His servants, and to force respect and help from those who had tried to hinder… The commandment of the God of Israel had its right and first place, and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes came in under it.
Opposition that backfires
The officials who wrote to Darius hoped for an order to stop the work. What came back was protection, and death for anyone who interfered. The same pattern shows up again in the New Testament.
Edward DennettGod Himself was the shield of His people while they were busy in His service. As long as they obeyed His word and counted on Him for strength and defence, nothing could hinder them. In this way Satan once more overreached himself, and God used him to further the work that he hated. As the apostle Paul wrote centuries later, "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." (Phil. 1:12.) … So, whatever the opposition or persecution, we may go forward calmly and with steady courage, because the work we are doing is the Lord's, and He has said, "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Summary
- Faith first. They started building again before any new decree existed. The protection in this verse came after the step of trust, not before it.
- Enemies as couriers. The complaint meant to stop the work produced the decree that defended it. Satan overreached, and furthered what he hated.
- Providence in an archive. The scroll turned up at Achmetha, not Babylon. God steered a search that would otherwise have found nothing.
- The real shield. God Himself shielded His people. Here He did it by wrapping a king's authority around them, and opposition stopped at once.
- Ranked authority. The decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes come under the commandment of the God of Israel. They confirm His word; they do not create the work.