Source: https://cincinnatichurch.net/node/729
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 05:02:59+00:00

Document:
The present age of the gospel was prophesied of as a time of rebuilding old wastes.
Satan has an eye to frustrating the rebuilding of the temple of God.
The gospel church is the temple of God. 1CO 3:16-17; 2CO 6:16.
Its ministers are given for its edification (building up). EPH 4:11-12.
Its members are to edify one another, which includes rebuilding.
The believer's personal body is the temple of God. 1CO 6:19.
Fornication is a special sin against that temple. 1CO 6:18 c/w ROM 1:24.
“Minor” sexual sins tend to devolve into worse uncleanness.
Satan loves to draw God's people down this drain and keep them there.
The body of the Lord Jesus Christ is the temple of God. JOH 2:19-21.
Satan sought to corrupt Christ by bodily temptation while He walked. MAT 4:3.
Satan sought to corrupt Christ's flesh by death.
Satan sought to prevent the “rebuilding” of Christ's body. MAT 27:62-66.
Satan sought to prevent the news of the “rebuilding” from affecting others.
Satan's ploys against that temple all failed. HEB 4:15; ACT 13:28-39, 48-49.
Rebuilding God's temple is pretty important!
There is one area where Satan does want us to rebuild. GAL 2:18.
It satisfies previous prophecies about Israel's return and rebuilding.
It links with other O.T. books which shed more light on the circumstances.
Its temple would one day be graced by the Son of God. HAG 2:3, 6-9 c/w LUK 2:25-32.
Consider some principal persons in Ezra.
Cyrus: the Persian king who decreed the Jewish return to rebuild the temple. EZR 1:2.
Artaxerxes and Darius: other Persian kings who enabled the project. EZR 6:14.
Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel: trouble-making lawyers hired by the snubbed Samaritans.
Consider the spirit of the people who signed on to the project.
There was willingness to materially support it. EZR 1:6; 2:68-70; 3:5 c/w 2CO 8:1-5.
There was unity. EZR 3:1 c/w ACT 4:32; PHIL 1:27; 2:2.
There was a zeal for purity. EZR 2:62; 10:14 c/w 2CO 7:11.
There was godly response to rebuke. EZR 5:2; 10:15-19 c/w 2CO 7:9.
There was a joyous zeal for proper order according to the Law and keeping of ordinances.
There was humility, confession, fasting and prayer. EZR 8:21-23 c/w ACT 13:1-3.
They made sure that a good foundation was in place.
They had no delusions about the relationship of the temple of God to Babylon.
Jerusalem's overthrow was so complete that it even astonished the Gentiles.
Their beautiful temple was plundered and destroyed. 2CH 36:18-19.
Their former songs of Zion became mocking entertainment for the Babylonians.
In the first year of Darius, Daniel understood the captivity was about to end.
Daniel fasted, prayed and confessed sins as a result. DAN 9:3-20.
The prophecies of Cyrus and their fulfillment are of interest.
He was God's shepherd. ISA 44:28 c/w JOH 10:11.
He would perform all of God's pleasure. ISA 44:28; 48:14-15 c/w JOH 8:29.
God loved him. ISA 48:14 c/w JOH 3:35.
He was God's anointed. ISA 45:1 c/w LUK 4:18.
God held his right hand. ISA 45:1 c/w ACT 2:25.
God raised him up in righteousness. ISA 45:13; 41:2 c/w ISA 42:6; 1JO 2:1.
God would direct his ways. ISA 45:13 c/w JOH 5:19; ACT 2:23.
He would build God's city and temple.
He proclaimed liberty to the captives. EZR 1:3 c/w LUK 4:18.
King Belshazzar's loins were loosed. DAN 5:6 c/w ISA 45:2.
Jeremiah spoke of more than the end of the seventy years' Jewish captivity.
He also spoke of the gathering and return of the Jews to their historic land.
And so what if the returners seemed feeble? ZEC 4:6-10.
The first mention of those who rose up to go was the leadership of the people.
The house of God was furnished with great and lesser vessels of gold and silver. vs. 7-11.
The gospel church likewise has great and lesser vessels, all of which are necessary.
Some may have special gifts and others have them not. 1CO 12:28-31.
Some may be strong and others may be weak. ROM 14:1; 15:1.
Some may be highly esteemed and others least esteemed. 1CO 6:4; 1TH 5:12-13.
Some may have wealth but others have it not. Partiality is to be shown to neither.
Cyrus did not send back vessels from idols' temples, only those of God's house.
This chapter sets forth an enumeration of the returning men of Israel. v. 2.
It corresponds with NEH 7 and is a mix of names of families and cities.
There is nothing wrong with recording the number of the church members. ACT 1:15.
These are called, “...the children of the province...” (v. 1). c/w EZR 5:8.
This is what sin does to nations. PRO 14:34.
Paul followed this principle in evangelism. 2CO 10:13-18.
Piety begins at home. 1TI 5:4, 8.
“Every tree is known by his own fruit...” (LUK 6:44).
Every man must prove his own work and bear his own burden. GAL 6:4-5.
Every able man must do his own business and eat his own bread.
Bishops and deacons must rule their own houses well. 1TI 3:4-5, 12.
Every man is to work out his own salvation. PHIL 2:12.
The churches in Asia were responsible for their own houses. REV 2-3.
Believers today need such a combination if they are to successfully build.
God has provided such in Jesus Christ Who is both King and Priest. HEB 6:20-7:1.
By King Jesus, believers reign in life through righteousness. ROM 5:21.
By His royal authority and His blood, believers prevail. REV 12:10-11.
Here are observations about a few names in this chapter.
They numbered only 123 men.
This was the prophet Jeremiah's hometown. JER 1:1.
Anathoth's small number (128) may well be owing to their persecution of Jeremiah.
Vs. 36-63 enumerate the households of the priests and Levites.
Some could not prove their ancestry. vs. 59-62.
One of the families of priests had changed their name. v. 61.
Barzillai was a great man in David's day. 2SAM 19:31-39; 1KI 2:7.
Jesus Christ's genealogy is a complete one all the way from Adam that survives.
Among those who came up to Jerusalem were 200 singing men and women.
These were likely lamenters. 2CH 35:25 c/w JER 50:4.
The building of God's house will have its share of lamenting, but not without hope.
Weeping has its place in God's program for the church and our individual lives.
The Spirit even recorded the number of their livestock that attended their campaign.
The church will have its share of natural brute beasts. 2PE 2:12; 1CO 15:32.
Believers must ever be on guard against the beast within.
“...they came to the house of the LORD...” yet it was in ruins.
True hearts delight even in the dust of Zion. PSA 102:14.
Mind that the ruins still had the identity of the house of the LORD.
They “...gave after their ability...” (v. 69) and this is ever God's rule.
The seventh month was noted for important services and feasts in Israel.
Here were unity and cooperation, necessary elements of successful building.
All Persons of the Godhead were united in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A blessed gospel church is a united, cooperative assembly with a common vision.
Godly sorrow works true repentance. 2CO 7:10.
Faith must have works. JAM 2:14-26.
Knowledge must govern emotion. PRO 28:26; 23:19.
Will must meet with action. ISA 1:19; 2CO 8:11.
Outward cleansing must have inward cleansing. MAT 23:25-26; 5:27-28.
Outward duty must come from inward desire. ROM 6:17.
Conduct must accord with creed. ROM 2:21-23.
They were intent on doing “...as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God” (v. 2).
The first thing that they tended to was the setting up of the altar for sacrifice. vs. 2-3.
Noah likewise first built an altar before rebuilding the world. GEN 8:20.
Sin must be dealt with before God blesses building.
Christ promised, “...I will build my church...” (MAT 16:18).
They laid the foundation of God's house with praise and thanksgiving. v. 11 c/w PSA 126:1-2.
There was, however, a mixture of joy and weeping. vs. 12-13.
God here promised that He would come and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Zechariah conspicuously prophesied of Christ in other places.
Compare “...I will dwell in the midst of thee...” with JOH 1:1, 14.
They would be His people. ROM 9:25-26.
This gathering in of Gentiles was the proof to Israel that Messiah had come.
This was great cause to “Sing and rejoice...” (ZEC 2:10).
This chapter begins to show the troublous times of the rebuilding program. DAN 9:25.
As might be expected when a door was opened for building God's house, adversaries abounded.
vs. 1-10 c/w 1CO 16:9.
Solomon's temple was built without adversity. 1KI 5:4.
(ACT 4:27) and its continued work is with much contention. 1TH 2:2; ACT 14:22.
Godly enterprises can go forward in all seasons. ACT 5:41-42; 9:31; 2TI 4:2.
the Assyrian empire many years earlier. v. 2 c/w 2KI 17:24, 32-33; 19:37.
Therefore, the builders were being troubled by the corrupted element of their own history.
This pattern was repeated in the apostolic era. MAT 23:34.
religion with which you can no longer identify for the truth's sake.
These Samaritans falsely claimed identity in worship with the Jews so as to infiltrate.
idolatry. They were the liberal ecumenics of the day.
are not so. REV 3:9.
The church has also had its share of infiltrators. JUDE 1:1-4.
The faithful church leaders told them, “Nuthin' doin'!” (v. 3).
They did not give them place by subjection at all. c/w GAL 2:4-5.
exposed. ACT 8:21; 1TI 1:3.
result in God not being in the project. ISA 31:1; PSA 127:1.
Being rebuked thus, the Samaritans then set to weakening the workers. vs. 4-5.
The words, troubled and frustrate bring to mind things that happened in the early N.T.
The Gentile churches in Galatia were being troubled by similar sham-artists. GAL 1:7.
This crowd had wormed its way into the Jerusalem church to further its own agenda.
Their methods were very effective. GAL 2:12-13.
grace of God. GAL 2:21; 3:21.
Paul, like Zerubbabel, was quite frank in his attitude towards such troublers. GAL 5:12.
rebuilding project ever: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. JOH 2:18-21; MAT 28:11-15.
In desperation, the Jews did likewise to condemn Paul. ACT 24:1.
A copy of one letter the troublers wrote to the civil power was preserved by the Holy Spirit.
was not written in Hebrew.
and copying involved in putting it to the page.
even as Cyrus was charged by God. ISA 44:28; 45:13.
jeopardized by the building of God's house (especially if the builders didn't pay taxes)!
which they had been insulted. vs. 1-5.
of the city and the walls and the implications of these relative to civil order.
tax snares, zoning ordinances, insinuations of threats to the public good, etc.
resulted in the cessation of the building project. vs. 23-24.
Haggai reprove them? EZR 5:1 c/w HAG 1:1-5.
Perhaps the spirit of David was lacking here. 1SAM 17:26.
work of God are secretly welcomed by the weak workers.
And sometimes fear is a mask for sloth. MAT 25:25-26; PRO 22:13.
abandoned the building of God's house. c/w PHIL 2:21.
They were contentedly building cieled houses. v. 4.
Misguided building got in the way of the greatest of God's temple projects.
God loves His dwelling place more than ours. PSA 87:2.
this intermission (of perhaps as much as 19 years). 2SAM 7:2; PSA 132:3-5.
prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. vs. 1-2 c/w EZR 6:14.
faith in the believer and churches for God's praise.
How oft has a child of God's life fallen into ruin but is revived by such prophesying!
(HAG 2:4). c/w EPH 6:10.
The presence of the Lord strengthens. 2TI 4:17; PSA 23:4.
“...If God be for us, who can be against us?” (ROM 8:31).
Zerubbabel was especially assured that God was with him. ZEC 4:6-10; HAG 2:20-23.
Believers have no less assurances in their efforts to build faith.
HEB 13:5-6; 1CO 10:13; ROM 15:13.
As soon as they resumed the building of the temple, opposition arose. vs. 3-4.
though the king's commandment was that the city not be built. EZR 4:21.
we abandon the ways of the flesh for Christ's sake that the opposition starts. 1TH 2:13-14.
let Him influence men contrary to the world's interests and the opposition is immediate.
doctrine preached there doesn't get in the way of the world's ambitions.
Darius about their concerns regarding the rebuilding project. vs. 7-17.
The first demand was a legitimate inquiry which the elders of the Jews answered.
The second demand was disregarded; they did not cough up the names of the brethren.
Consider the wise response of the elders of the Jews.
sense in painting these officials with the same brush.
belligerence or ad hominem attacks when God and truth are on one's side.
special reverence to Judah's God. EZR 1:3.
construed as a political threat to the government of the Persians.
God...”, their enemies themselves being judges. DEU 32:31.
They focused on the pillars of the issue, not the rubble.
but the current condition of ruin did not mean that rebuilding was futile.
both to God and the unalterable law of the Medes and Persians. c/w DAN 6:15.
This wisdom may be applied to the rebuilding of a life or spirit that is in ruins.
Admit that you are a work in progress.
the Jews...” (v. 5), according to His faithful promises. JER 24:6; PSA 33:18.
therefore was lawful and should not be stopped. EZR 5:13-16.
Cyrus' decree was not just oral but written. EZR 1:1.
that were relevant to their situation. EZR 4:11; 5:6.
trouble could have been averted.
Jeremiah wisely retained authenticated evidence of an important transaction. JER 32:9-10.
promises. DEU 17:18-20; 2TI 3:15.
make of the scriptures. vs. 1-2 c/w ACT 17:11-12.
The best decrees of God are found by diligent searching. PRO 2:3-5.
Such searching will unearth Christ. JOH 5:39 c/w COL 2:3.
God truly rewards them that diligently seek Him. HEB 11:6.
The written decree was similar to the oral proclamation but with added detail. vs. 3-5.
Construction details and dimensions for God's temple were in the written decree.
in the written record, not the oral.
of His temple which is Christ Himself. EPH 3:18-19.
Christ. PHIL 3:8; COL 1:9-10.
revealed in the written record of the apostles. 2CO 3:12-18; 1JO 1:3.
in the believer. The construction details are plainly recorded and should be followed.
stones...” v. 4 c/w EPH 2:20-22.
wise will note that great houses of God concentrate on such. 2TI 2:20-21.
Darius then confirmed Cyrus' decree and embellished it. vs. 6-12 c/w PRO 21:1; REV 12:16.
What Satan had meant to be a curse upon the Jews, God made into a blessing.
DEU 23:5 c/w PHIL 1:12.
Tatnai and his cohorts were told to steer clear of the rebuilding effort and leave them alone.
to just leave us alone. State benefits may be as dangerous as state belligerence.
power. v. 10 c/w 1TI 2:1-2.
The rest of the chapter shows that Tatnai and company took this very seriously.
heathen feared the decree of Darius!
PRO 13:13; REV 22:18-19; 2CO 2:17; LUK 14:34-35; 1CO 3:17.
Christ's building program will not be finished until the end of the world. MAT 28:19-20.
in progress. PHIL 3:13-14; 1CO 13:12.
The finishing of our faith is in Christ's hands. PHIL 1:6; HEB 12:2.
The house being finished, it was then dedicated with great joy and Biblical worship. vs. 16-22.
Coming to God's house should be with joy. PSA 122:1.
correspondence with repentance and recovery, which is a cause for great joy.
Mind their sensitivity to sin issues and the order of Scripture! vs. 17-20.
True worship begins with sin issues settled!
The ministry was ordered by the book. c/w NUM 8:9-10.
The passover was kept according to the book. EXO 12:6.
The priests and Levites were properly prepared. ct/w 2CH 29:34; 30:1-3.
Their separation from the filthiness of the heathen cannot be overemphasized.
The LORD had made them joyful and strengthened their hands. NEH 8:10.

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