CHAPTER XX

THE RESTORATION

THE position held by Darius was the result of the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus. He was king of the whole of the realms subject to him; Darius reigned for him over Babylon. In the first year of his reign Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews living in the provinces of Persia to return to their country and rebuild the temple of the Lord. This action was in accord with the general policy of Cyrus. In response to the decree many of the exiles, led by Zerubbabel, a member of the royal house, returned to Jerusalem to undertake the rebuilding of the temple. There was plenty of enthusiasm at first; the altar was repaired and some of the old sacrifices were reinstituted. Then apathy overtook the workers and little more was done.

The cessation of the work was partly due to the opposition of “the people of the land,” the rem­nant of the Israelites mingled with the Gentile peoples who had been placed there by the Assyrians. They offered to assist the Jews, and when their offer was rejected they did all they could to hinder the work. The Jews were discouraged and their zeal waned; so they built houses for themselves and discontinued the building of the temple.

Rebuilding encouraged

They were aroused from their apathy by the words of two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai commenced to prophesy two months before Zechariah. His voice was a trumpet call to work. “Consider your ways,” he said. He told the people that their troubles were due to their neglect of the house of God. When they responded to his call the tone of his proclamation altered; promise took the place of rebuke. Some of his promises were very far-reaching. Though the temple looked very poor to those who remembered the glories of former days, he said, speaking in the name of the Lord of hosts, “Yet now be strong . . . yet once, it is a little while, . . . and I will shake all nations, and the desirable things of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory.” Like the earlier prophets he took the view that saw in the fulfilment of the promises something connected with the covenants made with Abraham and David.

Zechariah added his voice in encouragement. In a series of visions he described the earth as sitting still and at rest. He spoke of a time when the Lord should inherit Judah, his portion in the holy land, and choose Jerusalem again. Looking into the future he saw how one whose name should be the Branch should build the temple of the Lord, and reign as king and priest. “In that day saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour, under the vine and under the fig tree.” He foresaw Jerusalem a city of truth, a holy mountain. In a later prophecy he spoke of a king who should speak peace to the nations, and whose dominion should be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. In a final vision he declared that the Lord should be king over all the earth, when the governing principle in the city of Jerusalem should be holiness to the Lord.
Urged by the words of the prophets the work of rebuilding the temple was carried to a conclu­sion, notwithstanding the opposition of the peoples of the land, and a great dedication ceremony was held, after which things again quietened down.
Many years afterwards a fresh company of Jews led by Ezra reached Palestine. Ezra was not a builder but a scribe, an enthusiast for the law of the Lord. His main object was to explain and expound the Law, and to see that it was carried out. The services of the temple were arranged on the lines provided in the Law. He found that marriages had taken place between the returned Jews and the mixed population of Canaan, a thing prohibited in the Law. Ezra moved the people to reform, and induced them to enter into a covenant under which they agreed to put away their alien wives.

Later, Nehemiah was appointed governor. He had been cupbearer in the court of the Persian king, and was troubled by the reports that had reached him concerning the condition of Jerusalem; he desired to do something for the city of his fathers. Armed with the necessary authority from the king he came to Jerusalem and took up the duties of governor.

Nehemiah, the governor

He examined the walls of the city by night and found they were all broken down. He set to work to rebuild them. He was an organizer as well as a man of action. He gathered around him people of all classes, including rulers, goldsmiths and women, and in fifty-two days the work was finished in spite of all manner of difficulties and opposition. The old animosity of the people of the land con­tinued, but though they tried every possible expe­dient they could not stop the progress of the work. It was a great day when the new and repaired walls were dedicated.

Nehemiah then gave attention to the organiza­tion of the country and the court, and, in conjunction with Ezra, carried through a religious reformation. Then he returned to Persia, after having been governor for twelve years. In his absence the old evils revived, and he obtained leave to visit the country again. Foreign marriages had once more taken place; the priesthood had been defiled, and another religious reformation was needed; with characteristic vigour Nehemiah took charge of affairs and carried through a religious and a social reformation.

The improvement did not last long; the removal of Nehemiah resulted in all the old evils reviving, and things became as bad as ever. Against the prevailing tendency Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, raised his voice. Mercenary motives prevailed in connection with the temple services; every one required his price. The priest­hood was degenerate and the people were corrupt. Marriage laws were flagrantly disregarded. Malachi protested against such things and warned the people of the consequences. He declared “the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in. . . . But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?” he asked.
Palestine in the Time if Christ In his teaching Malachi gave expression to a truth that runs through, and explains, the whole of the Story. “I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Many years afterwards an Apostle expressed the same truth in other words when he said, “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Israel’s part in the great plan that forms one of the main themes of the Story cannot be changed. They are beloved for the fathers’ sake, and the purpose will be carried out for God’s holy name’s sake.

Like other prophets of the closing days of the old dispensation, Malachi foresaw the universal extension of the knowledge of God. After rebuking Israel he said, “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered unto My name, and a pure offering; for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.” In the certainty of prophecy he spoke of the future as already present.

In this spirit the Old Testament section of the Story closes with a great promise and a warning. “Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings. . . . Remember ye the law of Moses. . . . Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.”