The Elders Builded - Ezra 6:14

In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily”, and in chapter six and verse fourteen of Ezra, Ezra shared how, “the elders of the Jews builded” where we read,

And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

The verse reads, “And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.” Ezra began with the words, “and the elders of the Jews” which means “and the grey, hoary-headed and older Jehudaites or Judaites of Israel” “builded” or “erected, constructed and made”, “and they prospered” or “and they, the elders of the Jews, were successful and showed prosperity” “through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet” which means “by the means of the inspired teaching belonging to Haggai whose name means festive and was the tenth the in order of the minor prophets and first prophet to prophecy after the captivity” “and Zechariah”whose name means “Jehovah remembers and was the eleventh in order of the minor prophets; a priest” “the son of Iddo”or “the male offspring belonging to Iddo whose name means his witness and was the grandfather of Zechariah”. Ezra shared how the older Jewish men who belonged to Israel constructed the temple through the inspirational and prophetic words of “Haggai and Zechariah” who exhorted and encouraged the to return to their work. (See the Books of Haggai and Zechariah)

The verse goes on to say, “And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” Ezra continued with the words, “and they builded” which means “and the elders and people of Israel erected, constructed and rebuilt”, “and finished it”or “and completed the rebuilding of the temple”, “according to the commandment” which means “in keeping with the judgment, discretion and order” “of the God of Israel” or “pertaining to the Supreme Deity belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and nation of descendants of Jacob”, “and according to the commandment” “of Cyrus” which means “belonging to Cyrus whose name means possess you the furnace and was the king of Persia and conqueror of Babylon; first ruler of Persia to make a decree allowing the Israelite exiles to return to Jerusalem”, “and Darius” or “and Darius whose name means lord and was known as Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as "Astyages" the last king of the Medes (538 BC)”, “and Artaxerxes” whose name means “I will make the spoiled to boil or I will stir myself in winter” “king of Persia” or “the royal ruler and leader belonging to Persia whose name means pure and splendid and encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south”. Ezra shared how the “Jewish elders of Israel” built the temple and completed it in keeping with the order of Jehovah God and of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes who were royal rulers in Persia. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how the children of Israel rebuilt the temple of Jehovah God in Jerusalem in keeping with God's command, and according to the instruction of “Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes”. God used several rulers to accomplish His will for the people of Israel, and because He loves them and us, He goes to great lengths to let us know He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and employ us in His Kingdom to bring others into a personal relationship with Him. 

Next time Ezra shares how, “this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".