The Eye of Their God Upon the Elders - Ezra 5:5

In the book of Ezra,, Ezra shared how the temple in Jerusalem was authorized to be rebuilt again after fifteen years of delay, and when they began to build, “came Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who has commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?”, and in chapter five and verse five of Ezra, Ezra shared how, “the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews” where we read,

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.

The verse reads, “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius:” Ezra began with the words, “but the eye of their God” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the vision and sight belonging to their, the people of Israel's, Supreme Deity Jehovah God” “was upon the elders” which means “was on the older, gray and hoary headed members” “of the Jews” or “belonging to the Jehudaite or Judaite people”, “that they could not cause them to cease” which means “so they, not one person, was able to make them, the elders, halt or stop their building”, “till the matter” or “until such a time that the command, judgment and discretion” “came to Darius” which means “went or was brought to Darius whose name means lord and was the son of Hystaspes, the founder of the Perso-Arian dynasty (521 BC)”. Ezra shared how Jehovah God's sight was upon the people of Israel, the Jews, and the older people of Israel would not stop building until their cause arose to“Darius” the king of Persia.

The verse continues, “and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.” Ezra added the words, “and then they returned answer by letter” or “and at that time they, the elders, received a response through means of a written missive or document” “concerning this matter” which means “about the rebuilding of the temple and barrier walls of Jerusalem”. Ezra shared how the “elders” continued building until they received a response from Darius about rebuilding the temple and walls. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how the older people of Israel did not stop their rebuilding of the temple just because “Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions”questioned their work. Opposition to the Kingdom of God always wants to stop the people of God from doing their work, but because God loves everyone, He will forgive their sins, grant them everlasting life and give them the ability to work in His Kingdom when they surrender their lives to Him as their “Savior and Lord”. God loves us, and because He is the absolute authority, He wants us to keep working in His Kingdom regardless of the opposition who desires to stop us. (See Ephesians 6:12)

Next time Ezra shares about, “the copy of the letter that Tatani … sent to Darius the king”, 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".