Chapter 3: The Decree Of Darius

The Prophet Haggai and Zechariah raised up-The prophecy of Haggai-The prophecy of Zechariah-Action of the Persian governor Tatnai-His letter to Darius-Darius issues his decree-It contained within itself the decree of Cyrus-Argument from this decree-Ezra 6:14-Elements that compose the commandment of Daniel 9:25-Out of many one-Illustration-How the case stood at the death of Darius

“Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.” Ezra 5:1.CRBJ 29.1

From the stand point of this narrative in Ezra, we shall be deeply interested in the study of the books of Haggai and Zechariah. Almost all the book of Haggai and the principal part of the first eight chapters of Zechariah relate to the very circumstances of the Jews we are now considering, and shed much additional light upon the history given us in Ezra. The book of Haggai opens thus:CRBJ 29.2

“In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai, the prophet, unto Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house to lie waste?” Haggai 1:1-4.CRBJ 30.1

These words were addressed to the Jews in all Judea, (Ezra 5:1,) and are therefore no direct evidence relative to the number of private residences in Jerusalem. The decree of Cyrus did not grant the legal right to build again the houses of the city, but only to rebuild the temple; yet Cyrus was well aware that this would result in the building of houses there for such of the people as chose to live around it. But he carefully reserved the right of approving or disapproving these further acts as he might see cause. The words of Haggai show,CRBJ 30.2

1. That the decree of Cyrus was unrepealed by the edict of Artaxerxes; for the people, though placed under disheartening circumstances, are rebuked for suspending their labor upon the temple, and saying “The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.”CRBJ 30.3

2. The people were rebuked for not acting up to the providence of God, and doing that which that providence had placed in their power through the grant of Cyrus. But the rebuke relates wholly to the temple, and not at all to the rebuilding of the city, showing just how far the commandment of the God of Heaven for the restoration of Jerusalem had been up to this time, clothed with the legal authority of the Persian empire.CRBJ 30.4

Next, the prophet incites the people to action in building the temple of the Lord, by stating the judgments that in the providence of God had fallen upon them for sitting down in inactivity because of the opposition of their adversaries. They should have gone resolutely forward in their work from the time of Cyrus, for they had the mandate of the God of Heaven and the legal authority of the Persian empire for the rebuilding of the temple. Haggai 1:5-11.CRBJ 31.1

Then Zerubbabel and Joshua and all the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord, and did fear before the Lord; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts their God. Haggai 1:12-15. The second chapter of this prophecy which concludes the book, is mainly taken up with gracious words of encouragement concerning the temple, and with the promise that it should be more glorious than the temple of Solomon; for it should have the personal presence of “the Desire of all nations.” The book of Haggai, therefore, which says so much to incite the people of God to build the temple and that says nothing to stir them up to rebuild the city, is an additional evidence that the decree of Cyrus authorized only the first of those acts.CRBJ 31.2

The prophecy of Haggai was from the first day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius to the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of that year. Just before the testimony of Haggai was finished, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah in the eighth month of the second year of Darius. Zechariah 1:1. Haggai had spoken to the people concerning the temple alone; for this was the great work which the Lord required at their hands, and this was all that they had legal authority for doing. But Zechariah, whose testimony comes at the close of Haggai’s, was raised up in part, at least, for the purpose of inspiring the people with hope relative to the restoration of Jerusalem itself. He spoke words of encouragement concerning the temple, upon which the people in obedience to Haggai had resumed their labor; but he spoke much more fully concerning Jerusalem. And it is to be observed that he throws all this encouragement concerning Jerusalem into the future; for the commandment of the God of Heaven as yet published by the authority of the Persian empire, extended only to the temple of the Lord.CRBJ 31.3

The prophecy of Zechariah begins by stating the Lord’s controversy with his people, and then invites them to seek him. Chap. 1:1-6. Next it presents the angelic agency by which God takes notice of human affairs. Verses 7-10. These angels report to their chief, who was perhaps Michael the prince of angels, that the whole earth was then in a state of entire peace. Verse 11. Upon this, the prince of these angels looking upon Jerusalem still in distress and comparatively uninhabited, chap. 7:7, cries out, “O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? Verse 12. The Lord answered him with good and comfortable words, upon which the angel bade Zechariah cry, saying, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy.... I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.... And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.” Verses 13-17.CRBJ 32.1

This shows that the restoration of Jerusalem was at this time future, but that the providence of God was at work for its accomplishment. “I lifted up mine eyes again,” said the prophet, “and looked, and behold a man with a measuring-line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.... And another angel went out to meet him and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein; for I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, ... for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.... And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.” Chap. 2. The Lord also makes the gracious promise that Zerubbabel who had laid the foundation of the temple should finish it. Chap. 4:9. From chapter 7:7, we learn that Jerusalem was at this time not restored from its desolate condition; and in chapter 8, is an extended prediction of its complete future restoration.CRBJ 33.1

Such was the testimony of Haggai and Zechariah, who are introduced to our view in Ezra 5:1, as rising up in the second year of Darius, B.C. 520, to incite the people of God to action. They bade them resume labor under the unrepealed decree of Cyrus in behalf of the temple; and though there was at this time an express prohibition of the rebuilding of the city, they cheered them with the certain promise that the Lord should yet choose Jerusalem and cause it to be restored from its existing desolation. The record in Ezra tells us what they did in obedience to this teaching: “Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build”-not the city-but “the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God helping them.” Ezra 5:2: Haggai 1:12-15.CRBJ 33.2

No sooner had the Jews resumed their labor upon the temple, than the Persian governor and other officials on that side of the river, i.e., on the west side of the Euphrates, came up to Jerusalem to inquire what they were doing. But the providence of God had not only given Darius the place of Artaxerxes as king of Persia, it had with the new king given them a new governor and associated officers. The people stepped out by faith to act in obedience to the testimony of the prophets, and the providence of God opened the way before them by moving out of the way that body of Persian officers that had accused them before the king, and by taking away that king that had issued his mandate against them. The new Persian governor and his associates though disposed to call the Jews to a strict account in behalf of the king, their master, were nevertheless perfectly cordial and truthful in their statement to the king, and entirely unlike the men who had accused the Jews before the previous king. These men made careful inquiry, and then wrote the king as follows:CRBJ 34.1

“Unto Darius, the king, all peace. Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were chief of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying. We are servants of the God of Heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of Heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; and said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time, even until now, hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished. Now therefore, if it seem good to the king let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.” Ezra 5.CRBJ 35.1

This letter bears every evidence of candor and truth upon its face, and is worthy of attentive study by those who would understand just what Cyrus had decreed, and what the Jews were really engaged in doing. The following matters are especially important: 1. That this letter of Tatnai to Darius is a perfect refutation of the one written two years before by Rehum, the chancellor, to the king Artaxerxes. That letter slanderously affirmed that the Jews were building the city, and had already nearly finished its walls; but it said not one word of what they were really doing, which was the rebuilding of the temple. This letter, on the contrary, states with candor the fact that the Jews were rebuilding the temple, but it contains not one allusion to any such work as that which Rehum had charged them with. 2. Thus they state just what the Jews are doing: the house of the great God “is builded with great stones and timber is laid in the walls,” i.e., the walls of the house which was composed of these great stones. 3. Then they asked for the authority under which they built this house with walls of such strength. 4. The elders of the Jews answered that they builded the house which Solomon many years ago erected, and which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed, and that this action in rebuilding the temple was in consequence of a decree of Cyrus made in his first year, directing them to build this house of God. 5. When Cyrus issued this decree, he said to Sheshbazzar as he gave him the vessels of the temple to carry back; “Let the house of God be builded in his place.” 6. Then the same Sheshbazzar, i.e., Zerubbabel, in obedience to this authority, went up to Jerusalem and laid the foundation of the temple, and from that time to the time of this interview, the temple had been in building. 7. Having stated these facts to the king they ask him to cause a search to be made that it may be seen “whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.”CRBJ 35.2

Such were the circumstances under which Darius was stirred up to act in the Jews’ affairs. The questions referred to him were properly these: 1. What did Cyrus decree concerning these things? 2. Shall the decree of Cyrus be considered as still in full force? We are now to have the whole matter looked up by the officers of the Persian court, and we have therefore the very best opportunity to learn exactly what the decree of Cyrus did relate to.CRBJ 37.1

“Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house. And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God. Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: let the work of this house of God alone: let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God in his place. Moreover, I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God; that, of the kings goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks and rams, and lambs, for the burnt-offerings of the God of Heaven, wheat, salt, wine and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail; that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of Heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dung hill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there, destroy all kings and people that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.” Ezra 6:1-12.CRBJ 37.2

This shows, 1. That the decree issued by Darius, contained in its bosom the decree which Cyrus had formerly issued. 2. That the decree of Cyrus related to the temple and not to the city; for in the search made by the officers of Darius, it was found filed away with this inscription: “In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF GOD AT JERUSALEM. 3. The decree of Cyrus as recorded in Ezra 1:2-4 is the first part of the document, and that which is given here in Ezra 6:3-5 is the concluding part. If therefore the inscription which was placed upon the document when it was filed away in the Persian archives, and which is quoted in the first clause of Ezra 6:3 be omitted, then Ezra 1:2-4 and 6:3-5 may be read as one complete connected document. 4. That Darius observing how the decree of Cyrus had been defeated in its execution by the malice and violence of the adversaries of the Jews, and the poverty and the feebleness of the Jews themselves, decreed, 1. That the expense of building the house of God be met out of the king’s revenue on that side of the river Euphrates, and also all the expense necessary for the maintenance of the worship of God in the temple. 2. That whoever should try to hinder the building of this house of God at Jerusalem, should be hanged on timber taken from his own house, and have his house itself made a dung hill.CRBJ 38.1

This decree was admirably guarded against failure. It was addressed to Tatnai the governor, on the west side of the Euphrates, and it directed that the king’s revenue in that district, should be used by him for the building of the temple, and that he should punish in the most summary manner whoever should attempt to hinder the work.CRBJ 39.1

“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 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.” Ezra 6:13, 14.CRBJ 39.2

This last sentence is perhaps one of the most remarkable in the book of Ezra. It enumerates and distinguishes the elements that make up the great commandment of Daniel 9:25, and exhibits the unity of the whole. These are, 1. The commandment of the God of Israel. 2. The commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes. Let us take up each of these elements in order.CRBJ 39.3

1. The commandment of the God of Israel. Where had he given a commandment on this subject? There is but one place in which the Most High had given such a commandment, and that is found in Isaiah 44:28: “Even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” It was therefore a prophetic commandment that existed in the purpose of God only, until tangible existence was given to it by the action of the Persian government.CRBJ 39.4

2. To this prophetic mandate the angel alluded when he said to Daniel “that from the going forth of THE COMMANDMENT to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks.” He did not first inform the prophet that such a commandment should go forth, and then state the time from that event to the Messiah, but he spoke of it as though the prophet well knew that such a commandment should go forth.CRBJ 40.1

3. Daniel did know that Isaiah had published the prophetic mandate of the Almighty that Jerusalem and the temple should be rebuilt; and that the Most High in that commandment named Cyrus as the one that should do all his pleasure, so that to Cyrus it was a prophetic commandment assigning him a work to do.CRBJ 40.2

4. This prophetic mandate declared that Cyrus should do all of God’s pleasure; and the providence of God that fulfilled this prediction showed just what God’s pleasure concerning Cyrus was, viz., that he should allow the return of the people and authorize the rebuilding of the temple.CRBJ 40.3

5. When Cyrus issued his decree authorizing the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of the temple, he stated that the God of Heaven had bidden him do this thing. This is an express acknowledgement on the part of Cyrus, that he was decreeing the very thing that the God of Heaven had previously commanded; in other words, that he was clothing the prophetic mandate of the Almighty with the legal authority of the Persian empire. Thus Cyrus acknowledges the commandment of God to him, and that commandment of God addresses itself to Cyrus by name. Thus the commandment of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus are inseparably united.CRBJ 40.4

6. The work thus decreed by Cyrus, being only fairly begun in his lifetime, was forcibly hindered during the reigns of the next two kings. Then Darius, to whom the whole matter was referred, issued his decree repeating word for word a large part of the decree of Cyrus, and adding largely to its grant of power. Thus the decree of Darius is inseparably united with that of Cyrus.CRBJ 41.1

7. Under these connected acts, the temple was builded and finished as a structure, but was not beautified and adorned; and Jerusalem itself, as we may conclude from the facts named, though having no legal existence, had, to some extent, sprung into existence around the temple. Now Artaxerxes takes up and endorses all that had been done by Cyrus and Darius; for he greatly beautified and adorned the temple that had been erected under their decrees, finishing it a second time when it had been finished in a plain manner before by Darius. See Ezra 6:14, 15. And not only did he do this, but he spread the mantle of his legal authority over the city that had without any authority begun to grow up, and he gave back to it, as we shall see, its forfeited and long lost rights and privileges. This act of Artaxerxes, therefore, simply renders that work complete which had been in part accomplished by the authority of Cyrus and Darius, and make his own decree an embodiment of theirs with important additions.CRBJ 41.2

8. Thus the prophetic commandment of the God of Israel becomes the commandment of the Persian empire by the acts of these three Kings of Persia. And thus we see the unity of these acts, and that they are inseparably connected together. It is remarkable that the sacred historian to show the unity of the whole, and to give all the elements that make up the great commandment, brings in the decree of Artaxerxes at this place (Ezra 6:14), though the decree itself is not found in the record till we reach Ezra 7. The oneness of these elements is thus exhibited in two important ways: 1. by the fact that they wonderfully fit into and render each other complete. 2. By the fact that they are all put together by the Spirit of inspiration and presented as one thing. Ezra 6:14.CRBJ 41.3

To illustrate; here is a spy-glass with several joints or lengths that shut one into the other. The whole is now shut up. In this form the spy-glass represents god’s prophetic commandment concerning Jerusalem and the temple as uttered by Isaiah. First Cyrus draws out one joint, then Darius draws out another, and Artaxerxes draws out the last joint, so that the spy-glass is exhibited at full length. The whole glass was complete while shut up in one length, but could not be used till thus drawn out; so God’s prophetic commandment which covered the whole ground, must by his providence be made the commandment of that empire which then ruled the world; and this by the acts of these three men was perfectly accomplished.CRBJ 42.1

The house of God was finished, i.e., as a plain unadorned structure, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. Ezra 6:15. Then the dedication was attended to with great joy on the part of Israel. And their thanksgiving shows just what had been granted them up to the close of the reign of Darius; for it is thus written: “The Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria (Assyria was now a part of the Persian empire) unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of THE HOUSE OF GOD, the God of Israel.” Ezra 6:16-22.CRBJ 42.2

Now at the close of the reign of Darius let us pause to see what has been accomplished in the great work of Jerusalem’s restoration: 1. The Jews were allowed to return. 2. They were authorized to rebuild the temple, and during the life of Cyrus they began the work. 3. Darius by special decree protected them from all who would hinder their work and makes ample provision for the expense of completing the temple. 4. By tacit permission many houses had been built in Jerusalem. Such was the condition at the death of Darius. But, 5. There had been as yet no legal recognition of the city of Jerusalem. 6. No permission to rebuild the walls. 7. No restoration of the authority of god’s law in Jerusalem as the civil law of the city. 8. The house of God was not beautified and adorned so as to be properly completed. All these things remained to be accomplished by the decree of Artaxerxes.CRBJ 43.1