Rebuilding the Temple

3 When the seventh month arrived and the sons of Israel were settled in the towns, the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. ² Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, his fellow kohanim, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it as written in the Torah of Moses, the man of God. ³ They set up the altar on its fixed resting place despite their fear of the peoples of the lands and they offered burnt offerings on it to Adonai, both the morning and the evening sacrifices. ⁴ They also kept the Feast of Sukkot as it is written and offered the prescribed number of daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day.

⁵ After that they presented the regular burnt offerings, the new moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the sacred moadim of Adonai, as well as all the freewill offerings brought to Adonai. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to Adonai, though the foundation of the Temple of Adonai had not been laid. ⁷ So they gave money to the stone-masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians to bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by King Cyrus of Persia.

⁸ In the second month of the second year after they had come to the House of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers—the kohanim, the Levites and all who returned from captivity to Jerusalem—began the work. They appointed the Levites from twenty years of age and older to supervise the work on the House of Adonai.

⁹ Then Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to supervise those working in the House of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their brothers, the Levites.

¹⁰ When the builders had laid the foundation of the Temple of Adonai, the kohanim, arrayed in their vestments and with clarions, and the Levites sons of Asaph with cymbals, were stationed to praise Adonai as prescribed by King David of Israel. ¹¹ With praise and thanksgiving they sang to Adonai,

“For He is good;

For His mercy upon Israel

endures forever.”

Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to Adonai because the foundation of the House of Adonai had been laid. ¹² But many of the kohanim, Levites and patriarchal leaders, older men who had seen the former House, wept loudly at the sight of the founding of this House, while many shouted for joy. ¹³ People could not distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of the people’s weeping. For the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard far away.

Resistance Weakens the People

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for Adonai the God of Israel, ² they approached Zerubbabel and the leading patriarchs and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the prominent patriarchs of Israel said to them, “It is not for you and us to build a House for our God—but we alone will build it for Adonai the God of Israel, just as Cyrus—king of Persia—has commanded us.”

⁴ Then the people of the land began discouraging^[a] the people of Judah and making them afraid to build. ⁵ They bribed advisors in order to thwart their plans all the days of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶ During the reign of Ahasuerus at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷ Also during the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. ⁸ Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

⁹ From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and the officials, the magistrates, and governors over the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites) ¹⁰ and the rest of the peoples whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and the rest of Trans-Euphrates.^[b]

(Now ¹¹ this is a copy of the letter they sent to him.)

To Artaxerxes the king, from your servants, the men of Trans-Euphrates:

Now ¹² let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding the rebellious and wicked city. They are completing the walls and repairing the foundations.

¹³ “Furthermore, let it be known to the king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, no more tribute, taxes or duty will be paid and the royal revenue will suffer. ¹⁴ Now since we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king ¹⁵ so that a search may be made in the book of records of your fathers and you will discover in the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting internal revolts from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will no longer have any possession in Trans-Euphrates.”

¹⁷ The king sent this reply:

“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates who dwell in Samaria and the others in Trans-Euphrates.

“Shalom!

¹⁸ “The letter that you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence. ¹⁹ At my order a search was made and it was found that this city has from earliest times revolted against kings and that rebellion and sedition continually occur in it. ²⁰ Mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem governing all the Trans-Euphrates, and tribute, taxes, and duty were paid to them.

²¹ “So now, issue a decree to stop these men—this city is not to be rebuilt until I issue a decree. ²² Be careful not to be negligent in this matter. Why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?”

²³ Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they hurried off to the Jews in Jerusalem and by force and power compelled them to stop.

⁶ We do speak wisdom, however, among those who are mature—but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ Rather, we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery—a wisdom that has been hidden, which God destined for our glory before the ages. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it—for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But as it is written,

¹⁰ But God revealed these things to us through the Ruach.^[b] For the Ruach searches all things—even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the things of a man, except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the things of God except the Ruach Elohim. ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God—so we might come to know the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ These things we also speak—not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Ruach, explaining the spiritual to the spiritual.

¹⁴ Now a natural man does not accept the things of the Ruach Elohim, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is discerned by no one. For

Building Together on God’s Foundation

3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as Spirit-filled but as worldly^[d]—as infants in Messiah. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. Indeed, even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, aren’t you worldly and walking in a human way? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere humans^[e]?

Hoshia-na!

Psalm 28