Ezra 7
Then read the rest of Ezra to see what restoring and building Jerusalem entailed.
1
Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and
in it a record was written thus: 3
In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: "Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king's treasury. 5 Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God"--
Ezra 6:1-5
1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia...
Cyrus had already given the command to set the exiles free to do the work of restoring and building Jerusalem.
Darius and Artaxerxes just continued what Cyrus had started.
By Ezra Chapter 7, we see the exiles had already been free from the 70 years of exile.
There was pause in the work, when the command was given to make the work cease.
That is why the time frame is written as
seven weeks and
sixty two weeks.
"Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be
seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks; Daniel 9:25
The word of the Lord through Isaiah teaches us the intent of the Lord concerning Cyrus.
Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness; Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be built,' And I will raise up her waste places; Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers'; Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid." '
"Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.
I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward," Says the Lord of hosts.
Isaiah 44:24-45:3,13
It was Cyrus who gave the command that set the exiles free to restore Jerusalem, which started with the Temple.
It was Cyrus command that began the 70 weeks prophecy, until Messiah the prince.
Both Cyrus and the Messiah were anointed ones in this Prophetic Word.
The Word of the Lord can not be denied as to His Plan and Purpose through Cyrus, who was a type of Christ.
Finally, Artaxerxes only continued with the restoring of the house of God and granted to Ezra what Ezra wanted because of what Cyrus had already done.
The king
granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.
Ezra 7:6
JLB
