Ezra 6 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Ezra 6 Short Summary:
King Darius ordered a search to be made in the royal archives to confirm that his predecessor, King Cyrus, decreed the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. When the fact was confirmed, Darius ordered the adversaries of the Jews to stop opposing them. The Temple was completed in Darius’ 6th year. The Jews dedicated the building and celebrated the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Ezra 6 Summary
WHEN:
538-537 BC - The people of Judah return to Judah.
536 BC - Rebuilding of the foundation of the Temple.
536-530 BC – The adversaries of the Jews oppose the Temple rebuilding.
530-520 BC – Work on the Temple stops by decree of King Artaxerxes.
520 BC – Work on the Temple resumes.
516 BC – Work on the Temple completed.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Captives of Judah – The descendants of Israel who returned to Jerusalem and Judah following 70 years of exile in Babylon. The returning exiles became known as the Jews (4:12).
Darius – King of Persia from 522-486 BC.
Tattenai – The “Governor of the province Beyond the River.” He questioned the Jews about whether they had royal authority to rebuild the Temple.
WHERE:
Jerusalem – The capital of the Kingdom of Judah and the location of God’s Temple. The city was under reconstruction after being destroyed by the Babylonians 50 years earlier.
Ecbatana – A city in the province of Media where historical records of the kingdom of Persia were kept.
OUTLINE:
THE ARCHIVES ARE SEARCHED FOR CYRUS’ DECREE (6:1-5):
When King Darius of Persia received the letter from Tattenai (5:6-17), he ordered his men to make a search of the royal archives to see if Cyrus had indeed ordered the Temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt.
A scroll was found in Ecbatana with the following record…
“In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury.”
DARIUS ORDERS THE TEMPLE REBUILDING TO CONTINUE (6:6-12):
Darius ordered Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and all their associates to stay away from the Jews. They were not to interfere with the rebuilding.
In a turn of events, Darius ordered them to give the Jews all the money they needed for the construction. The price of the Temple was to be paid for out of the royal revenue, out of the tax revenue collected by Tattenai and his local government.
Additionally, Tattenai was to provide the Jews with all the bulls, rams, sheep, wheat, salt, wine, and oil the priests needed to offer sacrifices at the Temple.
Finally, Darius decreed that any man who opposed his orders would be impaled.
THE TEMPLE IS COMPLETED AND THE PASSOVER IS CELEBRATED (6:13-18):
Tattenai did as Darius commanded him, and the Jews flourished with the support of their prophets, Haggai and Zechariah.
The Temple was finally completed in the 6th year of Darius of Persia.
All the Jews celebrated, and they dedicated the building by sacrificing 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 goats as a sin offering for the 12 Tribes of Israel.
The priests and Levites prepared themselves to work in the Temple according to the Law of God.
On the 14th day of the 1st month, they celebrated Passover.
After Passover, they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for the appointed 7 days.
APPLICATION:
The Jews had a decree from the king and a command from God to build.
In completing that order, they encountered all kinds of delays, fears, enemies, and roadblocks.
We have a decree from our King and a command from our God to build, not a Temple, but His Kingdom.
Completing that order isn’t easy.
It’s easy to stop building because of our fears, difficult people, and the delays from all the roadblocks.
One of the great challenges of the Christian life is to KEEP BUILDING!
Don’t get paralyzed by challenges in the present or potential challenges in the future, God will walk you through them.
