June 1924
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
381
know God’s Words in our memory verse for last week are true,- fo r they are reaping their-disobedience. Now let us see w hat Ezekiel said to them . (Read God’s prom ises from Bible in lesson for today; vs. 11-16, 25, 26). Now we see God, the g reat Shepherd, had not forgotten Is rael, even though they had wandered away from Him. He loves them and is going to help them . We should always remember God cannot help us and bless us when we will no t follow Him, by doing the things th a t are pleasing in His sight. How these poor people needed th e Heavenly Shepherd to watch over and protect them , and lead them in the righ t way. So many things they needed, and if they had remained tru e to God He would have supplied all th eir needs. They could have said from th e ir h earts, our mem ory verse, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not w ant.” Closing P rayer. J U N E 1 5 , 1 9 2 4 The Return and the Rebuilding of the Temple Golden Text: “Comfort ye, com fort ye my people, saith your God.” Isa. 40:1. Lesson Text: E zra 3:8-13, 6:14, 15 (Read Ezra, chapters 1, 3 to 6 ) Devotional R eading: Psalm 126. W ith Ezra and Nehemiah a new period of history begins w ith God’s chosen people. The exile has come to an end and th e 'tem p le is re b u ilt The period continues for about a hundred years and its motto is “ R estoration.” God had made use of Babylon to punish His erring LESSON people but. th a t proud nation has in tu rn EXPOSITION been overthrown and P ersia now rules th e F. W. F a rr world in its place. H eretofore Israel is the name by which th e chosen people have been called but now for the first tim e we have th e name of Jews. Both names occur in E zra and Nehemiah but in E sth er th e Jews only are mentioned. The decree of Cyrus which perm itted th e re tu rn of the Jews to Palestine and the rebuilding of the temple was is sued B. C. 536 in th e first year of his reign a t Babylon. Cyrus is mentioned by name two hundred years before his birth, Isa. 45:1, and is th e only Gentile ever called th e anointed. A lthough coming from a heathen king, th e de cree recognizes “ the Lord God of heaven.” I t declared th a t the supreme God has charged the king to rebuild th e tem ple and directed th a t gifts shall be made for th is purpose. At th e same tim e it urges th e Jews to re tu rn to th e ir own land. About fifty thousand availed themselves of th is priv ilege and retu rn ed to Judea. No work is ever undertaken for God th a t is no t opposed. The building of th e second temple w as no exception. The leaders a t this tim e were Zerubbabel a prince of th e house of David and Jeshua the high priest. A fter the work had gone on for some tim e the Sam aritans offered to help. These were the half-heathen mongrels th a t had been set tled in the te rrito ry of the ten tribes by th e Assyrian con queror. Their offer was rejected and they became th e open and b itter enemies of the Jews. There were manifold in terrup tion s and vexatious delays. The prophets Haggai T U R N I N G T O H O M E L A N D B U I L D I N G X i O U S E O F G O D “ I w as g la d w h en th e y sa id .”—-P s a . 1 2 2 :1
and Zechariah exhorted and encouraged the people to pro ceed w ith th e good work ■ and a t length a fte r twenty-one years th e undertak ing was accomplished. The vessels of gold and silver which had been carried away to Babylon were restored. It was a tim e of g reat dem onstration and emotion. The old Jews who remembered th e form er splen did temple could no t refrain from te a r s .' The passover was celebrated for th e first tim e in seventy years. While the restored temple was larger th an th a t of Solo mon, it was n eith er so impressive nor so costly. There were no resources in th e retu rn ed rem nan t to provide the rich furnishings th a t adorned the original temple. The outward appearance was far inferior to th a t of Solomon’s. More over the A rk of the Covenant w ith its contents was not th e re and the people realized th a t th e form er glory was lacking. Nevertheless th e honor and glory of th e second temple far outshone th a t of the first in a very im portant respect, th a t of receiving w ithin its walls the incarnate Redeemer and Saviour of mankind. Haggai 2:9. The building of th e first temple was comparatively easy for Solomon whose resources were inexhaustible and the m aterials for which had been faithfully gathered by David through many years. The building of th e second temple was a trem endous und ertaking for the handful of poverty- stricken exiles who retu rn ed from Babylon. It is often easier however to do a big th ing th a n a small one. No work for God should be disparaged or belittled by compar ing it w ith achievements of ano th er time. Such compar isons are un ju st, if not odious. No work can be under taken or carried on for God w ithout constant and increas ing opposition. This is no ground for discouragement or relaxation of effort. On th e contrary it may be taken as evidence th a t one is in the path of duty. An avowed enemy outside th e camp is b etter th an a secret tra ito r w ithin the gates. Material temples of every age are only types and symbols of those sp iritu al sanctuaries where God delights to dwell and manifest His glory. Isa. 57:15; John 14:23; Eph. 2:22. The Story of th e F irs t Twenty Years-—From the R eturn from Exile to th e completion of the new Temple. 1. The Decree of Cyrus perm itting the exiles to retu rn . Some tim e in his first year, (B. C. 538). 2. P reparation s fo r th e retu rn . COMMENTS Several months a t least, in Qrder to FROM THE settle up th e ir affairs, and assemble at COMMENTARIES Babylon. V. V. Morgan 3 The j;xiies depart, leaving Baby lon. Soon afte r th e close of th e rainy and cold seas(*n, which occurs in November and December. (Jan . or Feb. B. C. 537). 4. The Jou rn ey home would require 5 or 6 months; Ezra (7 :1 0 ) was exactly 4 months, w ith a small select com pany. The first journey w ith its larg er numbers and many incumbrances would require more time. 5. A rrival a t Jerusalem . Some tim e in May or June 537. 6 . G etting Settled in th e ir homes and farm s, 4 months, Jun e to October 1. 7. A ltar Set up. W orship Begun. F east of Tabernacles. Seventh month. (October B. C. 537) 8 . Foundations of Temple Begun. (May B. C. 536). 9. F oundations Laid. G reat Celebration. How far the work had gone is uncertain, b u t it must have made con siderable progress in order to have made so clear th e differ ence between th is Temple and Solomon’s. Probably B. C. 535. 10. B itte r Opposition. The W ork delayed fo r fifteen years. The opposition came from th e Samaritans. Cyrus dies B. C. 529. His son Cambyses reigned 7 years till B. C. 522, and was of such a ch aracter th a t he would natu rally oppose the Jews. Darius became king in 521. E zra 4:6-23
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