Today continued on with the question about whether or not they could continue building the house of the Lord. King Darius made a decree to search in Babylonia in the house of the archives for a document and record from Cyrus.
They found the record of King Cyrus concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, that said to let the house, the altar for sacrifices, and its foundations be rebuilt. It listed the dimensions for these things and its materials. The cost would be paid by the royal treasury. Also, the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar took would be returned to the temple.
The work on the house of the Lord was to be left alone by those fighting it so it could be finished. Moreover, Darius made a decree of what would be done for the elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of the house of God, the cost to be paid to the men working, and all that was needed for offerings.
Anyone that would alter the building would be punished. A beam from their house would be pulled out and they would be impaled on it, and their house would be a dunghill.
King Darius finished with, “May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree, let it be done with all diligence.”
Finally the temple was finished in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
They offered at the dedication: 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. They set the priests in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. The priests and Levites had purified themselves, so they were clean. They slaughtered the Passover lamb for all, and it was eaten by the people of Israel.
They kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
After this, in the reign of Artaxerxes, Ezra a long descendant from Aaron the chief priest, went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord was on him.
King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest a letter saying that anyone of the people of Israel who freely offered to go with him to Jerusalem, could go. Ezra was sent by the king to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of God, which was in his hand. He was also to carry the silver and gold that was given for the house of God.
With that money, Ezra was to buy all the animals and things needed for the different offerings, that would be offered on the altar of the house of God. King Artaxerxes made a decree that anything else Ezra needed for the house of the Lord would be paid for by the king’s treasury.
Ezra was to appoint magistrates and judges over the people, that knew the laws of God. Those who did not know them, he would teach. Whoever would not obey the laws of God and the king, would be judged strictly; for death, banishment, or confiscation of his goods for imprisonment.
Then it listed the genealogy of those who returned with Ezra, by their fathers’s houses and sons. It gave numbers for each family of how many men went with.
When they were on their journey Ezra proclaimed a fast so they could humble themselves before God, to seek from him a safe journey for all.
Then Ezra set apart twelve of the leading priests and distributed the gold and silver vessels that were for the offering at the house of the Lord. They were to guard them until they reached the temple where they would then be weighed before the chief priests.
They continued on their journey to Jerusalem, and the hand of God was on them, and he delivered them from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way.
When they got to Jerusalem they were there three days, and on the fourth day, within the house of God, the silver and gold vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, and the other priests and Levites.
At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel; twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. They also delivered the kings commissions and aided the people and the house of God.
[…] the temple worship. It may have been written for use at the dedication of the second temple (see Ezra 6:16) when Israel was beginning to revive after the disruption of the […]