The Exiles Return and Rebuild the Temple

Context

Jerusalem’s temple had once been the center of Israel’s sacrificial worship. But King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed it, carried many people into exile, and took its sacred vessels to Babylon. The returning elders would later acknowledge that this disaster followed their ancestors’ rebellion against God.

Yet God had spoken through Jeremiah, and exile would not be the final word. By this time Cyrus of Persia ruled the empire. What followed would unfold through royal decrees, determined opposition, and years of unfinished work.

Story

In the first year of his reign, God moved King Cyrus to issue a written proclamation throughout his empire. Cyrus announced that the God of heaven had charged him to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Any of God’s people who wished to go could return, and their neighbors were to support them with silver, gold, goods, animals, and voluntary offerings.

God also stirred the hearts of family leaders from Judah and Benjamin, along with priests and Levites. They prepared to leave for Jerusalem. Cyrus returned the gold and silver temple vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken, placing them in the care of Sheshbazzar, a leader of Judah.

The returning community included families, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants. The congregation numbered 42,360, along with thousands of servants and two hundred singers. When they reached their towns, some family leaders gave generously toward rebuilding the temple.

In the seventh month, the people gathered in Jerusalem as one community. Jeshua, a priestly leader, and Zerubbabel led the rebuilding of the altar. Although the people were afraid of those around them, they began presenting the morning and evening offerings required in the law of Moses. They also observed the Feast of Tabernacles and the other appointed celebrations. Worship began even though the temple foundation had not yet been laid.

They hired stoneworkers and carpenters and arranged for cedar from Lebanon to be brought by sea to Joppa. In the second year after their return, the work on the temple began under the supervision of the Levites.

When the builders laid the foundation, priests sounded trumpets and Levites played cymbals. The people praised the Lord for his goodness and enduring mercy toward Israel. Many shouted for joy. But older priests, Levites, and family leaders who had seen the former temple wept aloud. The sounds of celebration and sorrow blended together so completely that no one could distinguish the joyful shouts from the weeping. The noise carried far away.

Opposition soon hardened. Some local people asked to join the building, but Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders said the returned community would carry out the command Cyrus had given them. Their opponents then discouraged the people of Judah, made them afraid to continue, and hired advisers to frustrate their plans throughout Cyrus’s reign.

The temple work eventually came to a standstill and remained halted for years, until the second year of King Darius.

Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah spoke to the people in the name of the God of Israel. Zerubbabel and Jeshua rose and began rebuilding again, with the prophets helping them.

Tatnai, the regional governor, and his associates came to investigate. They asked who had authorized the construction and requested the names of its leaders. But God was watching over the Jewish elders, and the officials did not stop the work while their report was sent to Darius.

The elders explained that they served the God of heaven and earth and were rebuilding the house that had stood there long before. They acknowledged that their ancestors had angered God and that he had given them into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands. But they also reported that Cyrus had ordered the temple to be rebuilt and its sacred vessels returned. Tatnai’s letter asked Darius to search the royal records and decide the matter.

Darius ordered a search. A scroll containing Cyrus’s decree was found in the royal archive at Ecbatana. It confirmed that the temple was to be rebuilt and that its expenses were to be paid from the royal treasury.

Darius commanded Tatnai and the other officials to leave the builders alone. He ordered that royal revenues should cover the work and that the priests should receive the animals, grain, salt, wine, and oil needed for their offerings. He also attached severe penalties to any attempt to interfere. What might have caused another stoppage became an order of protection and support.

The elders continued building, encouraged by Haggai and Zechariah. They completed the temple in obedience to the God of Israel and under the decrees of the Persian kings. It was finished in the sixth year of Darius—many years after Cyrus’s first proclamation and long after the foundation had been laid.

The returned exiles dedicated the temple with joy. They offered sacrifices, including twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel, one for each tribe. The priests and Levites were appointed to their divisions of service as written in the law of Moses.

Soon afterward, the people celebrated Passover. The priests and Levites purified themselves, and the returning exiles were joined by others who had turned from corrupt practices to seek the Lord. For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the Lord had made them glad and had turned the king’s heart toward them, strengthening their hands in the work of his house.

What We Learned

• God worked through Cyrus’s decree, the return of the exiles, the words of the prophets, and Darius’s ruling to fulfill his purpose.
• The people restored worship at the altar even before the temple foundation was laid, obeying God despite their fear.
• Joy and grief came together at the foundation: the people celebrated God’s mercy while remembering what had been lost.
• Opposition and years of delay did not erase God’s call. Haggai and Zechariah helped the people rise and begin again.
• Rebuilding the temple was not only a construction project. It restored dedication, ordered service, Passover, and shared worship among God’s people.