God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia (Babylonian emperor), to return the Jews from exile to Jerusalem. Would you have chosen to stay or return? He also orders the rebuilding of the temple. Those who return are the family heads of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, priests, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants. The restoration of the temple begins with the rebuilding of the altar of burnt offerings. The altar is built as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. With a grant from Cyrus, Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin to lay the foundation of the temple. Intermingled with the joyful shout is the sound of weeping for many of the people remember the magnificence of the old temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Would you be weeping or celebrating? Jeshua refuses the help of the Samaritans on the technicality that Cyrus gave permission only to the Jews to rebuild the temple. Are we still insisting in racial purity in worship? This exclusivity arouses the hostility of the people of the land, who oppose them all the days of Cyrus even until the reign of Darius. Even after exile we still see an arrogant community of believers. Because of the rebellious nature of the Jewish people the king is advised to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The work on the temple is halted until the second year of the reign of Darius.
God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia (Babylonian emperor), to return the Jews from exile to Jerusalem. Would you have chosen to stay or return? He also orders the rebuilding of the temple. Those who return are the family heads of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, priests, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants. The restoration of the temple begins with the rebuilding of the altar of burnt offerings. The altar is built as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. With a grant from Cyrus, Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin to lay the foundation of the temple. Intermingled with the joyful shout is the sound of weeping for many of the people remember the magnificence of the old temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Would you be weeping or celebrating? Jeshua refuses the help of the Samaritans on the technicality that Cyrus gave permission only to the Jews to rebuild the temple. Are we still insisting in racial purity in worship? This exclusivity arouses the hostility of the people of the land, who oppose them all the days of Cyrus even until the reign of Darius. Even after exile we still see an arrogant community of believers. Because of the rebellious nature of the Jewish people the king is advised to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The work on the temple is halted until the second year of the reign of Darius.
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