Rebuilding the house of the Lord is up for debate in these passages. They couldn’t agree on who was authorized.
“Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (Ezra 4:24)
So another letter went out from the Jews to King Darius.
“Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.” (Ezra 5:17 ESV)
King Darius not only decreed that the Jews could rebuild, but there would be fatal consequences for anyone who went against it. Finally there was rejoicing!
“Then the people of Israel- the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles- celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.” (Ezra 6:16-18 ESV)
Finally, Ezra was passing through and witnessed all that was happening. He was thankful.
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisors and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.” (Ezra 7:27-28 ESV)
God, You are faithful. When something is promised us, even if circumstances do not make us optimistic, You always are there in all ways.
~Kellie
Sixty-six books in a year 