Ezra 5 Study Notes: Haggai and Zechariah Restart the Work
Haggai and Zechariah prophesy and stir Zerubbabel and Jeshua to resume building the temple. Under God’s watchful care the work continues while Tattenai, the regional governor, writes to Darius, reporting the elders’ account of the exile and of Cyrus’s decree and asking for a search of the royal records.
General
Why was the building not stopped while the officials waited for Darius’s answer (5:5)?
Answer: God was watching over the Jewish elders
Their God was keeping watch over the Jewish elders, so the work continued until a report had gone to Darius and a written reply came back (5:5). The picture is of God’s watchful, protecting care. Scripture often speaks this way: the LORD watches over all who revere Him and trust His loving devotion (Psalm 33:18), and His eyes search the whole world to show His strength for those wholly devoted to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). Zechariah, who was prophesying to these very builders, spoke of the LORD’s eyes, which survey all the earth, glad at the sight of Zerubbabel holding the plumb line (Zechariah 4:10).
- Ezra 5:5 (BSB)“But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.”God’s eye is on the elders, so the work is not stopped while the report goes to Darius.
- Psalm 33:18 (BSB)“Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion”The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (BSB)“For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.””The LORD’s eyes range over the earth to strengthen those devoted to Him.
- Zechariah 4:10 (BSB)“For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.””The LORD’s eyes, which scan the earth, are glad at the sight of Zerubbabel holding the plumb line.
Theological
To what does 5:5 attribute the fact that the work continued while the matter went to Darius?
Answer: God was watching over the Jewish elders
The continuation of the work is credited directly to God’s providential oversight: their God was keeping watch over the elders, so the officials did not halt them pending Darius’s reply (5:5). The expression describes God’s attentive care for His people (Psalm 33:18) and His readiness to display His strength for those devoted to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). Zechariah, prophesying to the same builders, spoke of the LORD’s eyes ranging the earth and glad at the sight of Zerubbabel holding the plumb line (Zechariah 4:10). The same God who had allowed the earlier halt now kept the work going.
- Ezra 5:5 (BSB)“But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.”God’s eye is on the elders, so the work is not stopped while the report goes to Darius.
- Psalm 33:18 (BSB)“Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion”The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (BSB)“For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.””The LORD’s eyes range over the earth to strengthen those devoted to Him.
- Zechariah 4:10 (BSB)“For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.””The LORD’s eyes, which scan the earth, are glad at the sight of Zerubbabel holding the plumb line.
General
Who prophesied to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, leading to the restart of the temple work (5:1)?
Answer: Haggai and Zechariah, two prophets
After the long halt, Haggai and Zechariah, two prophets, spoke to the Jews of Judah and Jerusalem, speaking for Israel’s God, who ruled over them (5:1). Prophets were messengers who spoke God’s word to His people. Haggai confronted the people for living in fine houses while God’s house lay in ruins and told them to go up, bring wood, and build (Haggai 1:4, 1:8). Zechariah brought the LORD’s promise that the work would succeed by His Spirit rather than by human strength, and that Zerubbabel, who had laid the foundation, would also finish it (Zechariah 4:6, 4:9).
- Ezra 5:1 (BSB)“Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.”Haggai and Zechariah prophesy to the Jews in the name of their God.
- Haggai 1:4 (BSB)““Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?””Haggai rebukes the people for living in fine houses while God’s house lies in ruins.
- Haggai 1:8 (BSB)“Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD.”Haggai calls the people to bring timber and build the house.
- Zechariah 4:6-9 (BSB)“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.”Zechariah promises success by God’s Spirit and says Zerubbabel will finish the house.
Theological
Whose prophetic ministry moved the stalled temple project forward again (5:1)?
Answer: Haggai and Zechariah, two prophets
The work resumed not through a change in Persian policy but through the prophetic word: Haggai and Zechariah prophesied on behalf of Israel’s God, who ruled over them (5:1). Haggai rebuked the people for their paneled houses while the LORD’s house lay desolate and summoned them to build (Haggai 1:4, 1:8); Zechariah promised that the work would be accomplished by the LORD’s Spirit, not by might, and that Zerubbabel’s hands would complete what they had founded (Zechariah 4:6, 4:9).
- Ezra 5:1 (BSB)“Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.”Haggai and Zechariah prophesy to the Jews in the name of their God.
- Haggai 1:4 (BSB)““Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?””Haggai rebukes the people for living in fine houses while God’s house lies in ruins.
- Haggai 1:8 (BSB)“Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD.”Haggai calls the people to bring timber and build the house.
- Zechariah 4:6-9 (BSB)“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.”Zechariah promises success by God’s Spirit and says Zerubbabel will finish the house.
General
True or False: Tattenai’s report told Darius that the temple work was slow, careless, and failing.
Answer: False
This is false. Tattenai’s report told Darius that the officials had gone to the great God’s temple in Judah, where the people were building with huge stones and setting timber in the walls, and that the work was being done with diligence and was succeeding (5:8). Even officials who questioned the work had to admit it was thriving. This fits the LORD’s promise through Haggai that He was with the builders (Haggai 1:13), and the truth that if the LORD does not build a house, its builders work in vain (Psalm 127:1).
- Ezra 5:8 (BSB)“Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. The people are rebuilding it with large stones and placing timbers in the walls. This work is being carried out diligently and is prospering in their hands.”Tattenai reports that the work is being done diligently and is prospering.
- Haggai 1:13 (BSB)“Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD.”The LORD assures the builders that He is with them.
- Psalm 127:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.”Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Theological
True or False: In their letter to Darius, Tattenai and his associates described the work as neglected and failing.
Answer: False
This is false. The report describes the great God’s house being built with huge stones and with beams set into its walls, the work advancing diligently and prospering in the builders’ hands (5:8). The officials’ own description bears witness to God’s blessing on the work, in keeping with His promise of presence through Haggai (Haggai 1:13) and the truth that a house’s builders work for nothing if the LORD is not the one building it (Psalm 127:1).
- Ezra 5:8 (BSB)“Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. The people are rebuilding it with large stones and placing timbers in the walls. This work is being carried out diligently and is prospering in their hands.”Tattenai reports that the work is being done diligently and is prospering.
- Haggai 1:13 (BSB)“Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD.”The LORD assures the builders that He is with them.
- Psalm 127:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.”Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
General
After recording the elders’ answer, what did Tattenai ask King Darius to do (5:17)?
Answer: Search the royal records to confirm Cyrus’s decree
The elders had told how Cyrus, in his first year, ordered God’s house rebuilt and returned the precious vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken, handing them to Sheshbazzar, whom he made governor, and how Sheshbazzar laid the foundation (5:13-16). Tattenai ended his letter by asking Darius to have the king’s archives at Babylon searched to learn whether Cyrus had truly issued such a decree, and to send back his decision (5:17). The elders’ account matches what Ezra records of Cyrus’s decree and the returned articles (Ezra 1:2-3, 1:7-8).
- Ezra 5:13-15 (BSB)“In the first year of his reign, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’”The elders recount Cyrus’s decree and the return of the temple articles.
- Ezra 5:17 (BSB)“Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.”Tattenai asks Darius to search the archives and send his decision.
- Ezra 1:2-3 (BSB)““This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”Cyrus decreed that the LORD’s house be built in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 1:7-8 (BSB)“King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.”Cyrus brought out the temple articles and gave them to Sheshbazzar.
Theological
What request did Tattenai’s letter make of Darius at its close (5:17)?
Answer: Search the royal records to confirm Cyrus’s decree
The elders rehearsed Cyrus’s first-year decree, the return of the temple vessels through Sheshbazzar, appointed governor, and the foundation he laid (5:13-16). Tattenai then asked Darius to have the king’s archives at Babylon searched to verify the decree and to send his ruling (5:17). The elders’ account agrees with the opening chapter of Ezra on both the decree and the vessels (Ezra 1:2-3, 1:7-8); the truth of the record would now be tested in Persia’s own archives.
- Ezra 5:13-15 (BSB)“In the first year of his reign, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’”The elders recount Cyrus’s decree and the return of the temple articles.
- Ezra 5:17 (BSB)“Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.”Tattenai asks Darius to search the archives and send his decision.
- Ezra 1:2-3 (BSB)““This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”Cyrus decreed that the LORD’s house be built in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 1:7-8 (BSB)“King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.”Cyrus brought out the temple articles and gave them to Sheshbazzar.
General
How did the Jewish elders describe themselves when Tattenai asked who they were (5:11)?
Answer: As those who serve the Lord of earth and sky
The elders answered first by saying whose servants they were: they served the Lord of earth and sky, and they were rebuilding the house that a mighty king of Israel had built and completed long before (5:11). They identified themselves by their God, not by their rank or by Persia. That earlier temple was the one Solomon built and finished (1 Kings 6:1, 6:14). Psalm 115:3 likewise speaks of God in the heavens doing whatever pleases Him, the same Lord of all creation they served.
- Ezra 5:11 (BSB)“And this is the answer they returned: “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.”The elders call themselves servants of the God of heaven and earth, rebuilding the old temple.
- 1 Kings 6:1 (BSB)“In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.”Solomon began to build the house of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 6:14 (BSB)“So Solomon built the temple and finished it.”Solomon built the temple and finished it.
- Psalm 115:3 (BSB)“Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.”God is in the heavens and does as He pleases.
Theological
How did the elders identify themselves in the answer Tattenai recorded (5:11)?
Answer: As those who serve the Lord of earth and sky
The elders’ reply begins with confession of allegiance: they serve the Lord of earth and sky, rebuilding the house a mighty king of Israel had built and finished long before (5:11). They place their work in continuity with Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:1, 6:14) and their identity under the sovereign Lord of all creation, who does whatever He pleases in heaven (Psalm 115:3).
- Ezra 5:11 (BSB)“And this is the answer they returned: “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.”The elders call themselves servants of the God of heaven and earth, rebuilding the old temple.
- 1 Kings 6:1 (BSB)“In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.”Solomon began to build the house of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 6:14 (BSB)“So Solomon built the temple and finished it.”Solomon built the temple and finished it.
- Psalm 115:3 (BSB)“Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.”God is in the heavens and does as He pleases.
General
What did Tattenai and his associates want to know when they came to the Jews (5:3-4)?
Answer: Who had given them permission and who the builders were
Tattenai, governor of the lands beyond the Euphrates, came with Shethar-bozenai and other colleagues to ask the Jews who had given them authority to rebuild the temple and finish the structure, and who the builders were by name (5:3-4). The officials later repeated both questions in their report to Darius (5:9-10). The Jews could answer because the rebuilding rested on Cyrus’s decree (Ezra 1:2-3) and, behind it, on the LORD, who had stirred Cyrus to issue it (Ezra 1:1).
- Ezra 5:3-4 (BSB)“At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?” They also asked, “What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?””Tattenai and his associates ask who authorized the work and who the builders are.
- Ezra 5:9-10 (BSB)“So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?” We also asked for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.”The officials repeat both questions in their report to Darius.
- Ezra 1:1 (BSB)“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:”The LORD stirred Cyrus to make his proclamation.
- Ezra 1:2-3 (BSB)““This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”Cyrus’s decree authorized the LORD’s people to build His house.
Theological
What two questions did Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai put to the Jews (5:3-4)?
Answer: Who had given them permission and who the builders were
Tattenai and his colleagues raised two administrative questions: by whose authority the building was being done, and who was responsible for it (5:3-4), questions they repeated in their report (5:9-10). The legitimacy of the work rested on Cyrus’s decree (Ezra 1:2-3), and ultimately on the LORD, who had stirred Cyrus’s spirit to fulfill His word through Jeremiah (Ezra 1:1).
- Ezra 5:3-4 (BSB)“At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?” They also asked, “What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?””Tattenai and his associates ask who authorized the work and who the builders are.
- Ezra 5:9-10 (BSB)“So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?” We also asked for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.”The officials repeat both questions in their report to Darius.
- Ezra 1:1 (BSB)“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:”The LORD stirred Cyrus to make his proclamation.
- Ezra 1:2-3 (BSB)““This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”Cyrus’s decree authorized the LORD’s people to build His house.
General
How did the elders explain why the first temple was destroyed and the people taken to Babylon (5:12)?
Answer: Their ancestors had provoked God, so He handed them over
The elders openly confessed that the temple had been destroyed and the people carried away to Babylon because their fathers had provoked heaven’s God to anger, so He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of Babylon (5:12). They did not blame bad luck or Babylon’s strength. The exile was God’s judgment on long disobedience: Judah mocked His messengers until His anger could not be turned away, and He gave them into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand (2 Chronicles 36:16-17). Daniel’s prayer makes the same confession of sin (Daniel 9:5-7), and so does Ezra’s own prayer later in this book (Ezra 9:7).
- Ezra 5:12 (BSB)“But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried away the people to Babylon.”The elders confess that their fathers angered God, who gave them over to Nebuchadnezzar.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16-17 (BSB)“But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy. So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God gave them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,”Judah’s scorn of God’s prophets brought His judgment through the Chaldean king.
- Daniel 9:5-7 (BSB)“we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land. To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.”Daniel confesses Israel’s sin and the justice of the exile.
- Ezra 9:7 (BSB)“From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and subjected to the sword and to captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.”Ezra confesses that the people’s iniquities brought them into captivity.
Theological
What explanation did the elders give the Persian officials for the destruction of the first temple and the exile (5:12)?
Answer: Their ancestors had provoked God, so He handed them over
Before a pagan official, the elders confessed the theological cause of the exile: their fathers provoked heaven’s God to wrath, and He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar (5:12). Babylon was the instrument; God was the judge. Chronicles gives the same account of a people who scorned the prophets until wrath was beyond remedy (2 Chronicles 36:16-17), and the same confession runs through Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:5-7) and Ezra’s (Ezra 9:7). Owning the justice of God’s judgment is part of the humility of the restored community.
- Ezra 5:12 (BSB)“But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried away the people to Babylon.”The elders confess that their fathers angered God, who gave them over to Nebuchadnezzar.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16-17 (BSB)“But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy. So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God gave them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,”Judah’s scorn of God’s prophets brought His judgment through the Chaldean king.
- Daniel 9:5-7 (BSB)“we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land. To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.”Daniel confesses Israel’s sin and the justice of the exile.
- Ezra 9:7 (BSB)“From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and subjected to the sword and to captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.”Ezra confesses that the people’s iniquities brought them into captivity.
General
When Zerubbabel and Jeshua began rebuilding again, what does the text say the prophets did (5:2)?
Answer: They stood with the builders and helped them
Moved by the prophets’ message, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, Jozadak’s son, took up the work of rebuilding God’s house in Jerusalem once more, and God’s prophets stood by them and gave them help (5:2). Haggai records that the leaders and all the remnant listened to the LORD’s voice and feared Him (Haggai 1:12), and that the LORD Himself stirred their spirits so that they came and worked (Haggai 1:14). He also told them to be strong and work, because He was with them (Haggai 2:4).
- Ezra 5:2 (BSB)“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.”Zerubbabel and Jeshua resume the work, with the prophets helping them.
- Haggai 1:12 (BSB)“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.”The leaders and people obey the LORD’s voice through Haggai.
- Haggai 1:14 (BSB)“So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,”The LORD stirs the spirits of the leaders and people to begin the work.
- Haggai 2:4 (BSB)“But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work! For I am with you, declares the LORD of Hosts.”The LORD tells them to be strong and work, for He is with them.
Theological
What role did God’s prophets take once Zerubbabel and Jeshua resumed the building (5:2)?
Answer: They stood with the builders and helped them
The prophetic word bore fruit: Zerubbabel and Jeshua arose and set to rebuilding, and the prophets stood alongside them, giving help (5:2). Haggai describes the same turning as obedience and the fear of the LORD (Haggai 1:12), and attributes it ultimately to God, who stirred the spirits of both leaders and of the remnant (Haggai 1:14). The renewed work rested on His promised presence, for He told them to take courage and work because He was with them (Haggai 2:4).
- Ezra 5:2 (BSB)“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.”Zerubbabel and Jeshua resume the work, with the prophets helping them.
- Haggai 1:12 (BSB)“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.”The leaders and people obey the LORD’s voice through Haggai.
- Haggai 1:14 (BSB)“So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,”The LORD stirs the spirits of the leaders and people to begin the work.
- Haggai 2:4 (BSB)“But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work! For I am with you, declares the LORD of Hosts.”The LORD tells them to be strong and work, for He is with them.