Ezra 5

“Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them. At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?” Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter.” Ezra 5:1-5 (NKJV)

Turning from Ezra 4 into Chapter 5, we move fourteen years from Cyrus’s reign to that of Darius 1. Cyrus was killed during battle in 530 B.C.  Darius came to the throne in 522 and reigned until 486 B.C. He was Persian by birth and brought up in Zoroastrianism, which is based on the concept of an ongoing struggle between good and evil. Darius established this religion as the state religion of Persia, which was most likely the motivation for his support of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. While he did not believe in the Lord, rebuilding His Temple was simply to provide a “balance” of religions. God uses a myriad of means and motivations to accomplish His purposes.

The mood of God’s people at the time of Ezra 5 was one of abject depression. The people were so downhearted that they abandoned their attempt to renovate the Temple. They never wanted to see another brick or trowel (4:24). The two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, had their work cut out as they tried to cure the “cancer” of discouragement raging among the Jews. And that’s what discouragement is, isn’t it? Cancer. It begins growing slowly, and by the time you notice, it has traveled throughout the community and threatens to kill progress in its tracks.

Most believers in Messiah Jesus sometimes feel dejected while doing the Lord’s work. There are Saturday evenings when the pastor vows never to preach another sermon and when Sunday School teachers are ready to quit their classes. Volunteers grow weary of their duties amid their busy lives. The layman who goes out, sharing the gospel among the community, sometimes wonders if all his efforts are actually worthwhile after a street full of people refuse to engage in spiritual conversation. Ezra 5 can teach us how to cope with discouragement.

God did not forsake His people in their sadness or leave them to wallow in their self-pity. Instead, He sent two prophets to spur them on to action. Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Judeans in Jerusalem. Then, they set out to join in the work. The gospel speaks best with “sleeves-up.”  That is, the prophets were not simply messengers telling the people to have courage; they were also willing to practice what they preached! And that is what we are called to do: Know God through His revealed Word, and then roll up our sleeves, getting to work by mixing the “spit” of our preaching with the “sweat” of our brows. Lead with your labor.