The Book of Ezra

Word Study

"prophesied," Hebrew hitnabbi (הִתְנַבִּי) from naba, to prophesy, speak for God. The stalled work of chapter 4 comes back to life through the preaching of the word of God. "Then the prophets, Haggai... and Zechariah... prophesied unto the Jews... in the name of the God of Israel." The book of Haggai preserves these very sermons: the sharp rebuke, "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?" (Haggai 1:4), and the tender promise, "I am with you, saith the LORD" (Haggai 1:13). And beautifully, "with them were the prophets of God helping them", the preachers did not merely exhort from a distance but were present in the work, encouraging as it went.

"rose up," Aramaic qamu (קָמוּ), stood up, arose to act. The result was immediate: "Then rose up Zerubbabel... and Jeshua... and began to build." The preached word roused the people from their discouragement and got them working again. Notice the order: the prophets preached, and then the leaders and people rose up to build. Revival of the work followed revival of the word. This is how the work of God advances: not merely by human effort or favorable circumstances, but by the living word of God stirring hearts to rise up and build. What discouragement had halted, the word of God restarted.

Explanation

After years of the work lying idle, God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to preach to His people, rebuking their neglect and encouraging them with His presence. The effect was immediate: Zerubbabel and Jeshua rose up and resumed building the temple, with the prophets right there helping and encouraging them. The revival of the work followed the revival of the word. It was not new circumstances or removed opposition that restarted the building, but the living word of God stirring the people to rise up and act.

Gospel Focus

"The prophets... prophesied... Then rose up Zerubbabel... and began to build" shows the reviving power of the preached word of God. The work had ceased under discouragement; what restarted it was not a change in circumstances but the proclamation of God's word. So it has always been: "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), and it is "by the foolishness of preaching" that God is pleased to save and stir His people (1 Corinthians 1:21). When the work of God stalls, in a life, a church, a family, the remedy is a fresh hearing of His word, which rouses discouraged hearts to "rise up and build." Notice too that the prophets were "helping them", the preachers labored alongside the builders. God's word is not merely a distant command but a present help, and those who proclaim it are called to encourage the doers of it. If your own work for God has grown cold or stalled, sit under His word again; let it rebuke, encourage, and stir you, "quickening" you as the psalmist prayed, "quicken thou me according to thy word" (Psalm 119:25). The word that raised up Zerubbabel can raise you up to build again.

Word Study

"the eye of their God," Aramaic ein Elahahom (עֵין אֱלָהֲהֹם), the eye of their God, His watchful, protecting regard. When the governor Tatnai came questioning and demanding to know who had authorized the building, the work could easily have been shut down again, as it had been sixteen years before. But this time something is different: "the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease." The phrase "the eye of their God" is a beautiful picture of divine watch-care, God's attentive, protecting gaze fixed upon His people. This is the same watchful eye Scripture speaks of throughout: "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him" (Psalm 33:18); "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).

"cease," battilu (בַּטִּלוּ), stop, halt (the same root as the work's ceasing in chapter 4:24). Because His eye was upon them, the enemies "could not cause them to cease." Tatnai could question, and did write to Darius, but he could not stop the work while the appeal was pending; the building continued "till the matter came to Darius." God's providence held the door open. What the enemy had power to stop before, he could not stop now, not because the enemy was weaker, but because God's protecting eye was upon His people.

Explanation

When the Persian governor Tatnai challenged the building and could have ordered it stopped, the work continued anyway, because "the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews." God's watchful, protecting care meant the enemies were unable to halt the work while the matter was referred to King Darius. The building went on under God's providential protection. What opposition had successfully stopped sixteen years earlier, it could not stop now, not because the enemies were weaker, but because God's watchful eye was upon His people.

Gospel Focus

"The eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease" is a precious assurance of God's watchful care over His people and His work. The same God whose eye was on the builders watches over us: "the eyes of the LORD are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers" (1 Peter 3:12); "he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:3-4). Because His eye is upon His own, no enemy can finally halt what God intends to accomplish. The opposition that succeeded before could not succeed now, for God had determined the work should go forward. This does not mean His people never face opposition, they did, and do, but that in His providence God overrules it for the good of His purposes and His people: "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). When you labor for God under the watchful eye of hostile powers, remember there is a greater Eye upon you still. "The LORD is thy keeper" (Psalm 121:5). The work God has appointed, no man can finally stop, for the eye of your God is upon you, and He never sleeps.

Word Study

"servants," Aramaic avdohi (עַבְדוֹהִי), servants, slaves. When Tatnai asked who they were (the elders' answer is here reported in his own letter to Darius), they did not hide or hedge. They answered with a confession that is both humble and magnificent: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth." Humble, for they call themselves mere "servants," slaves. They defined themselves not by their weakness, their poverty, or their political vulnerability, but by whose they were: servants of the God of heaven and earth.

"the God of heaven and earth," Elah shemayya ve-ara (אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא וְאַרְעָא), the God who owns and rules both heaven and earth. Magnificent, for they name their Master as "the God of heaven and earth", not a local or tribal deity, but the sovereign Lord of the whole universe. In a Persian empire full of gods, before a hostile official, this little band of returned exiles declared their allegiance to the one true God who made and rules all things. It was a bold, unashamed confession of faith under pressure. And they set the work in its true light: they were only rebuilding what had stood "these many years ago," restoring the worship of the ancient God of Israel. Their identity, their courage, and their whole account of themselves flowed from the greatness of the God they served. To know whose you are is to know who you are.

Explanation

When questioned about who they were and by what authority they built, the Jewish elders answered plainly and boldly: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth." Facing a hostile official in a pagan empire, they confessed their faith without fear or apology, identifying themselves not by their weakness or vulnerability but by their allegiance to the one true God, the sovereign Lord of all. Their courage and their whole sense of identity flowed from the greatness of the God they served. Knowing whose they were told them who they were.

Gospel Focus

"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth" is a model confession of faith, humble and bold at once. These exiles, poor and politically powerless, defined themselves by whose they were, servants of the sovereign God of all. So the believer's identity is rooted not in status, wealth, or strength, but in belonging to God: "ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20); "whose I am, and whom I serve" (Acts 27:23). To be a servant of the God of heaven and earth is the highest dignity there is, higher than any earthly title. And their fearless confession before a hostile power is the pattern for us: "whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32); "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). When the world questions, challenges, or pressures us, we need not hide or apologize; we can answer with the same quiet, unashamed boldness: we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, the God made known to us in Jesus Christ. Know whose you are, and you will know who you are, and how to stand.