1 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:
The search conducted by Darius is impressive. The scroll containing Cyrus’ commands are found in another citadel, in a place called Ecbatana. It shows the diligence Darius had in finding the truth placed before him. It also took some time to find this. During his search, the Jews did not stop their work.
Memorandum: 3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.
This section reveals the contents of the scroll. 1. Cyrus allowed the Jews to rebuild the temple. 2. He allowed for the dimensions of the temple to be designed and paid for by the royal treasury. 3. He allowed for all that was stolen by Nebuchadnezzar to be returned to the temple.
6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.
This section is Darius’ response to the letter proposed by the officials anginas the building of the temple. It lays out what is to be done and how it is to be accomplished. First, Tattenai is commanded not to interfere with the building of the temple. This is an order not to interfere.
8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop.
Second, Darius lays out how the Trans-Euphrates will help. They will be required to pay for whatever the Jews need. This is in an effort to help the project continue moving forward.
9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
Third, Darius outline how they will help the Jewish people spiritually. They will aid in getting them whatever they need to continue the sacrifices to God. They are to be given whatever they need without fail, meaning when Judah needs something, they have to snap to it and produce what they need immediately.
11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble.
To oppose this will result in death on a beam. And not only that, but their generational house will be destroyed, meaning their action will have an effect on the ones they love. This is harsh indeed, meant to insure that Darius’ demands are met for the temple’s rebuild.
12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Finally, Darius, inspired by Cyrus, who was inspired by God, aids the Jews in every way to finish the House of the Lord. In the book of Haggai, we see the Jews despondent, not really desiring to work on the temple, mores concerned with their own lives. When Haggai and Zechariah intervene, and show them that their lack of faith is really at the heart of the matter, it stirs the Jews into action. But as we see in this book, God’s still at work, and as the Jews are moved to return to their faith walk and do God’s work, the opposition is destroyed by God through His design. Suddenly the Jews have the backing of the Persian government, are reconnected with God and are able to complete the building.
Completion and Dedication of the Temple 13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Tattenai and his cohorts turn around their allegiance to carry out Darius’ orders. Instead of opposition, they were allies now in the building of the temple. But we also see that a great spiritual change has happened. The people continued to listen to the prophets as they worked. And the prophets not only helped in spiritual matters but also in the physical building. No longer were the Jews a people crushed under the burden of famine and hardship (Haggai 1:5-6, 10-11), but they were people who moved into deeper trust and relationship with God. This restoration took another four years since the intervention by Haggai and Zechariah, putting the finished construction at 516 BC.
16 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. 17 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. 18 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.
Compared to the dedication of Solomon’s temple, this was a much smaller event. Solomon sacrificed over 140,000 animals to his temple whereas Zerubbabel sacrificed 712. The wealth of Judah is nothing compared to the wealth of Solomon’s Israel. But the amount isn’t the important part. What is is the heart of those dedicating and sacrificing to God.
The sacrifice of 12 male goats is significant. 12 represents the number for perfect governmental order, but it also represents the 12 tribes of Israel. This collective is important because even though the tribes have been all but scattered and eliminated, the sin offering is representative for all of Israel.
They also assigned priests and Levites to resume the proper designation of worship. This was done to mirror what was written in the book of Leviticus. Judah is trying to do it correctly so that, moving forward, the temple is dedicated to God properly, worship is done properly and the future of worship is set up properly.
The Passover 19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. 21 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
Judah was determined to move forward correctly with God, and the began with celebrating the Passover on the proper day. This also shows us that the jews understood one of the tenants of their faith well: that the Passover was a core concept of their faith, which displayed God’s protection and love for them. The Passover marked the Jewish people as a pure people, and the ceremony brings that purity to a new generation. This purity was extended to those nearby Jerusalem, for those who were seeking God. This speaks to a great outreach to those who weren’t just of the Jewish faith.
The last verse is directed at Darius. He is the one who’s heart was changed to turn the opposition into alliance, although it was truly God, moving the chess pieces around, helping the Jewish people regain their faith and hope, and turning the hearts of the Jews and Persian leaders alike to turn the tide and allow the temple to be rebuilt.