The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Life” it comes from the Hebrew Word “chay” which means “life.”
King Darius searches the royal archives and delivers a decision that finally settles the matter. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Ezra 6.
Darius commands a search made in the house of the archives at Babylon, and a scroll is found at Achmetha confirming that Cyrus indeed made a decree concerning God’s house at Jerusalem, specifying its dimensions and commanding that its expenses be paid from the king’s treasury, and that the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar took be restored to their place.
Darius responds decisively, commanding Tattenai and his companions to stay far from the work and let the governor of the Jews and the elders build this house of God on its original site, with expenses paid promptly and fully from the king’s revenue, so the work would not cease. Darius further commands that whatever is needed for burnt offerings, bullocks, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, be given daily to the priests at Jerusalem without fail, that they might offer sacrifices and pray for the “life,” “chay” in Hebrew, of the king and his sons.
Darius decrees severe punishment for anyone who alters this command, and the work proceeds prosperously through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah, finished according to the commandment of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. The children of Israel, priests, Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles keep the dedication of this house of God with joy, and afterward keep the Passover, since the priests and Levites had purified themselves together, celebrating the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness, for the Lord had made them joyful and turned the heart of the Assyrian king toward them to strengthen their hands in the work.
Darius’s thorough archival search and subsequent decisive support, even funding the temple from his own treasury, shows how completely God turned what began as hostile opposition into active, generous royal patronage. The joyful dedication and Passover celebration that follow confirm that this long, difficult rebuilding process had finally, genuinely reached its intended completion.
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