CHAPTER XIII THE HISTORY OF THE DECREES (Chapter 11:1, 2)

The angel began with the history of the Persian kingdom, for at the time of the vision the Babylonian monarchy was entirely gone. It was the third year of the sole reign of Cyrus, and the fifth year since Darius the Mede had taken Babylon. It will be remembered that Daniel had seen the various nations, as they rose one after another on the stream of time. God is the only perfect authentic historian; the only unbiased record of national events is found in the Scriptures. Men record acts, but only God can give those acts their proper setting in the great drama of life. There is one unbroken chain of events, a silken thread in the web of life, a perpetual spring in the tide of human affairs. This is the record of God’s dealings with his chosen people. Egyptian history is noted in the inspired record of the world, but only as it played some part in connection with Jehovah’s people. Likewise Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome; whatever the nation and whatever its place in time, its history is noted by the divine historian only during the time when it has been an instrument in God’s hand to spread his truth, or to protect his people.SDP 161.1

It was for such a purpose that the Medo-Persian kingdom came into existence, and when it had fulfilled that work, and the Spirit of God was withdrawn, it passed from the stage of action.SDP 161.2

The Medo-Persian empire was born when the ^{MarginIn the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
Daniel 10:1.
Daniel 2:31-35.
Daniel 7:1-8.
Daniel 8:1-8.
Thy word is truth.
John 17:17.
For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
1 Samuel 2:3.
Psalm 105:13, 14.
O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant. Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.
Jeremiah 46:19, 20.
Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
Proverbs 20:28.
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Egypt in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them.
Psalm 89:9-11 [margin].} time was ripe for Israel’s deliverance from the bondage of Babylon. The first king of the united empire was Darius the Mede. He was a man well advanced in life when he came to the throne; threescore and two years old, the record states. But throughout his reign, Gabriel stood by him “to confirm and to strengthen him.” To Darius was given an opportunity to liberate the Jews. The Spirit of God pleaded with him, and it brought Daniel into his favor, so that he placed the prophet in the third position in the kingdom. Darius knew of God and his power, for it was he who spent the sleepless night in prayer while Daniel was in the lions’ den. Darius, however, did no great work for the Lord. He reigned but two years, when Cyrus took the kingdom.SDP 161.3

From the accession of Cyrus to the end of the history of Medo-Persia, Gabriel worked with the kings. His first words to Daniel in this last vision are to this effect: “I will return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.” When, therefore, the influence of God should be withdrawn from the king of Persia, no power on earth could help them. This thought was made emphatic when the rough goat was seen to meet the ram on the banks of the River Granicus. Wealth, arms, and influence were without avail.SDP 162.1

Of the seven years of the reign of Cyrus, the third was already entered at the time of the vision. His first recorded act on taking the kingdom was to issue the proclamation of freedom to the Jews. Throughout the length and breadth of the land the tidings were heralded. It did not take over twelve months for the message to reach the most remote corners of the <sup>MarginJeremiah 10:7.
Daniel 9:1, 2.
B. C. 538.
Daniel 5:30, 31.
1. Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
Daniel 11:1.
Daniel 6:23.
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Daniel 6:28.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Daniel 6:18.
If God be for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31.
Daniel 10:20.
Daniel 8:7.
There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
Psalm 33:16-19.
Daniel 10:1.
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:1-6.</sup> empire where the Jews might be found. Every inducement which monarch could offer was held out to that people. The slow movement on the part of a few, and the utter inactivity with the great majority, surprised Cyrus beyond measure. It is one of the saddest commentaries in the whole Bible on the perverseness of the human heart, and its desire to cling to sin.SDP 162.2

When it is remembered that Babylon was the personification of all vileness; that injustice and oppression abounded, and that the decree of Cyrus was a call from God to liberty and purity of life, the effect of living long even in the sight of sin ought to appall one. This is a picture of the way the calls of God have been treated over and over again. Here is seen the exact counterpart of what people are doing to-day when asked of God to forsake modern Babylon.SDP 163.1

One reason why the Jews were slow about withdrawing from ancient Babylon was because the children and youth had been neglected during the seventy years’ captivity. Jewish homes should have been schools, training these children for the city of Jerusalem. Instead, Jewish children attended Babylonian schools, mingled with Babylonian society, wore Babylonish apparel, talked, ate, and acted like the Babylonians; and consequently, when the time came to leave Babylon, they had no desire to do so.SDP 163.2

Had the Hebrew race been true to its privileges, they might have established schools of the prophets, from which light would have radiated to all parts of the kingdom. This opportunity was offered in the first days of the captivity, when Nebuchadnezzar was witness to the fact that all the Chaldean learning was not worth one ^{MarginIsaiah 5:3, 4.
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isaiah 1:2-4.
I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hosea 1:4-8.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.
Proverbs 1:24, 25.
For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 1:25.
How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods.
Jeremiah 5:7.
For shame hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.
Jeremiah 3:24, 25.
And they that be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
Daniel 12:3 [margin].} tenth what God could teach. Daniel and his companions were brought into favor because of their knowledge of true educational principles, and had schools been established at that time, Chaldean youth would doubtless have been educated by the Jews, and in the religion of the Jews. God had always intended that Israel should be the teachers of the world, and even after sin had led them into slavery, he gave then an opportunity to teach their captors and their captors’ children. Did Israel do so? The end of the seventy years and the response to the decree of Cyrus answer, No. They did not teach others; they failed even to teach their own children. As a result, thousands perished with Babylon.SDP 163.3

Those who did go up to Jerusalem were half-hearted in their service, and ready to give up before the least opposition. When the foundation of the temple was laid, the old men wept because it did not equal in splendor the temple of Solomon, and there was little influence exerted to bring others from Babylon. There is little wonder that after waiting two full years to see results, Cyrus was perplexed and astonished at the outcome. What wonder that Daniel had to wait three weeks for an answer to his prayer, while Gabriel and Michael pleaded with the disheartened Cyrus! Cyrus was ready, had the Jews done their part, to make Jerusalem the glory of the whole earth. As it was, we do not find any record of further work by this king. He died, the work he might have done but partially accomplished because of neglect and inactivity on the part of God’s chosen people.SDP 164.1

Satan had witnessed the workings of the Spirit of God on the hearts of men at the very center ^{MarginGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things what-soever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:19, 20.
John 3:2.
The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: to bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Psalm 105:17-22.
The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Proverbs 29:15.
But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
Ezra 3:12, 13.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Daniel 10:13.
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your} of the government he claimed as his own. It was due to his influence that the Jews did not make a grand entry into Jerusalem. Cyrus struggled between two influences, but was restrained by Gabriel from doing any act of violence. Cambyses, his son, reigned nearly eight years, but most of his time was spent in useless and expensive warfare in Egypt and Ethiopia. Cambyses is the Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:5. To him the Samaritans wrote letters of complaint against the Jews at Jerusalem. But Cambyses was too busy with his foreign wars to give heed to this matter, and hence no action was taken either for or against the work at Jerusalem. The Jews were still at liberty to leave Babylon, but such a time of national quiet was not conducive to great activity on their part, and they remained where they were. The time came when they wished with all their hearts that they had gone out during those peaceful years.SDP 164.2

Cambyses was slain while in Egypt; and before the report was circulated throughout the Medo-Persian empire, an impostor took the throne which belonged to Smerdis, the son of Cambyses. The impostor, known in history as Pseudo-Smerdis (the false Smerdis), is the Artaxerxes of Ezra 4:7. He reigned but seven months, but that gave him time to consider complaints from the Samaritans, and the tribes about Jerusalem, and to issue a commandment for the building of Jerusalem to cease until further word should come from the throne. This letter of the false Smerdis is found in Ezra 4:18-22. This is the only act which the divine historian mentions in the life of this Persian monarch.SDP 165.1

Although very little is said about him, God ^{MarginGod, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Ezra 4:1-6.
Esther 3:6, 13-15.
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which} knew every move he made. This is seen as we follow the history of the decrees. As soon as the Jews at Jerusalem heard the reading of the letter from the false Smerdis, all work ceased. “For,” reasoned they, “how can we go on?” After they ceased to build, God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, and from these we gain a knowledge of how matters then went in Jerusalem.SDP 165.2

The people ceased to build the temple, and turned to building houses for themselves. When urged to continue the Lord’s work, they complained that money was scarce. They sowed seed, but the harvest was less than the amount sown; their trees bore little or no fruit; there was drought, and the cattle died; men could not pay their rent or taxes, and became slaves because of debt, and sold their children into bondage. Then they complained to God. But all the time God was working for them, and they knew it not.SDP 166.1

This is the way he worked: In the city of Babylon, six of the chief men of the empire suspected that the reigning king was not the rightful heir, and they banded themselves together to find out. Forcing their way into the presence of Smerdis, they recognized the impostor, and slew him, and Darius, the chief of the band, was made king. This is the man in history known as Darius Hystaspes, and is Darius the Persian spoken of in Ezra 4:24.SDP 166.2

Gabriel still guarded the throne of the Persians, and while the weak-hearted Jews left off building the temple because of a little opposition, God was bringing a man to the throne who would carry forward the work of Cyrus. Haggai and Zechariah gathered the people together and ^{Marginis at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Ezra 4:7, 18-24.
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.
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 is 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 your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.
Haggai 1:1-6.
An evil man seeketh only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
Proverbs 17:11.
They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; 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} urged them to resume the work of building, giving the word of the Lord that their poverty was the direct result of their own refusal to build in the face of difficulties. The Jews took up the burden, but presently Tatnai and others, governors of tribes in Palestine, came to Jerusalem and warned the Jews to cease. Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua quoted the decree of Cyrus. Tatnai then wrote to Darius, expecting, of course, that he would put an end to the work. Darius, however, caused a search to be made, and found the decree of Cyrus, with all its particulars concerning the building, the sacrifices, and the order for money for the same from the king’s treasury.SDP 166.3

Here is a manifestation of God’s goodness and mercy. That which in the eyes of men looked like defeat was turned into a glorious victory. Darius issued a decree which covered all that was contained in the decree of Cyrus, and more also. Tatnai and the men who had entered complaint were commanded to help forward the work at Jerusalem by giving their own money to bear the expense.SDP 167.1

Watch those men, Tatnai, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, who had raised such an outcry against God’s work. When the decree of Darius was received, the accusers went with great speed to the Jewish leaders. Seeming defeat was turned into signal victory, because God was directing in the affairs of men. Bitter enemies became friends, or at least assistants, when the breath of Jehovah confounded their worldly policy. Again God especially favored Israel.SDP 167.2

The warnings of Jeremiah were still heard: “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver ^{Marginbuild 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 the chief of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the 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 in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.... 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 5:7-17.
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; ...now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, 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 king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.
Ezra 6:1-12.
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Proverbs 21:1.
Jeremiah 51:6, 9, 10.} every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity.... We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country.... The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.”SDP 167.3

“O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Israel heeded not. For thirty-six years-think of it, over a quarter of a century-Darius reigned, and Gabriel stood at his right hand to keep his heart tender toward the chosen people.SDP 168.1

The angels of heaven watched intently to see Israel return and build Jerusalem. To the prophet Zechariah, in the days of Darius, was given a wonderful view of the future history of the people of God. Jerusalem was given an opportunity in those days to build so as to become an everlasting city. Said one angel to another in the hearing of Zechariah, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, for the multitude of men and cattle therein.” Instead of walls of stone, such as Jerusalem and the cities of the world had hitherto been accustomed to build, God promised to be a wall of fire round about. “Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north.... Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.”SDP 168.2

Abounding love, like the love of a mother for her firstborn, is heard in the words of Jehovah: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! for lo, I come. I will dwell in the midst of thee.” Christ’s first and his second coming were both promised then, and would doubtless have followed in quick succession had Israel heeded. ^{MarginLuke 24:25.
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, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, 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, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; after the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Zechariah 2:2-8.
For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Zechariah 2:9-12.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah 49:15.} Throughout all the world the glory of the Lord should be seen upon Zion, daughter of the living God. “I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and JERUSALEM SHALL BE CALLED A CITY OF TRUTH!” “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion: shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee.”SDP 168.3

To those who mourned because the new temple seemed less glorious than the former one, Christ, looking forward to the time when he himself should enter there with words of life for his people, said, by the prophet Haggai, “I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory.” “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former ...and in this place will I give peace.” This he said referring to his personal visit in the form of humanity.SDP 169.1

And again, by the same prophet, he asked them to witness to the fact that from the very day they began to build, the land yielded abundantly; the silver and the gold flowed in, and there was general prosperity.SDP 169.2

By Zechariah the latter rain was promised to Jerusalem; great clouds of his glory should overshadow them. In Jerusalem the weak should be as David, and David as the angel of the Lord. All this he told them by the prophet Zechariah. Read the entire prophecy for its glorious promises. If we had lived in Babylon in the days of Darius, would he have hearkened? Hear the prophet as he looks still farther into the future, and sees the Lord coming and all his saints with him to crown Jerusalem, the City of our God, the bride of the Apocalypse. It should be an ^{MarginBeautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
Psalm 48:2, 3.
Zechariah 8:3.
Zechariah 9:9.
Haggai 2:7-9.
Luke 12:28-30.
Matthew 21:12-16.
Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
Haggai 2:15-19.
Luke 6:38.
Proverbs 11:24, 25.
Deuteronomy 11:13, 14.
Leviticus 26:3-12.
James 5:8.
Psalm 72:6.
Proverbs 16:15.
Zechariah 10:1.
Hosea 10:12.
Zechariah 12:8.
Deuteronomy 32:2.
Amos 4:7, 8.
Job 29:23.
Isaiah 44:3-6.
Joel 2:23.
And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.... And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
Zechariah 14:4-9.} eternal city, with sin and iniquity blotted from the earth.SDP 169.3

Zechariah saw these things in the days of Darius, king of Persia; and had the Jews come out of Babylon, and followed where God would have led, such would have been the history of the world. They heeded not his voice, and after a lapse of nearly twenty-five hundred years, the people of to-day find themselves heirs to exactly the same promises under precisely the same conditions. If the church of God to-day follows the instruction of the prophets, every promise of Zechariah shall be theirs. If not, the history of the Jews during the reign of the king who followed Darius, will be repeated.SDP 170.1