Either intimidated by the opposition they had met with, or really become indifferent to the great object of their restoration, the rebuilding of the temple, the restored Jews had rather employed themselves in building their own dwellings, and establishing their farms, and flocks, and herds, than in proceeding with that great and important work ;* wherefore, Haggai, the prophet, sent unto Zerubbabel and Jeshua, saying; Thus speaketh Jehovah of Hosts. This people say, the time is not come, the time that Jehovah's house should be builded. Then came the word of Jehovah, by Haggai, the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now, therefore, thus saith Jehovah of Hosts; consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is no warmth; and he that earneth wages, earneth wages, to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts; consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah. Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith Jehovah of Hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.† Jehovah saw fit to employ the prophet Zechariah also, *Scott in Hag. i. 2. Prid. i. 228. still further to excite and alarm this torpid people, saying Jehovah hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore, say thou unto them; Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith Jehovah of Hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith Jehovah of Hosts. Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts: Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith Jehovah. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as Jehovah of Hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.* Zerubbabel and his companions having shewn a spirit of submission to the admonition of the prophets, Jehovah authorized Haggai to give them the following condescending declaration, I am with you, saith Jehovah ;† and having stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and of all the remnant of the people, they proceeded in the work of the house of Jehovah of Hosts, their God. And as a further encouragement to their diligence, the same prophet was ordered to deliver that magnificent prophecy of the Messiah, which modern Jews have ever found one of the most difficult passages in the Old Testament to contend with; Speak now to Zerubbabel, and to Jeshua, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith Jehovah; and be strong, O Jeshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be * Zech. i. 2—6. strong, all ye people of the land, saith Jehovah, and work; for I am with you, saith Jehovah of Hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith Jehovah; yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land: and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of Hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of Hosts. The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of Hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of Hosts.* I smote you with blasting, and with mildew, and with hail, in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah. Consider now from this day and upwards, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, have not brought forth from this day will I bless you. And again the word of Jehovah came unto Haggai, in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens, and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses, and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith Jehovah of Hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith Jehovah, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith Jehovah of Hosts.† * Hag. ii. 2-9. The excellent Bp. Hall has a sermon on this text, Vol. v. 193. The inveterate Samaritans, perceiving that the house of God was likely to be rebuilt notwithstanding all their machinations, and having excited the suspicions of Tatnai, the Persian governor of the province;* that officer, with Shetharboznai, who was probably the prefect of Samaria under him,t and their companions, came to the Jews; and Tatnai inquiring who had commanded them to build that house, and to make up those walls; and also, the names of the elders,‡ they replied, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded, and set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of Heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus, the king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. And the vessels also of gold, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus, the king, take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; and said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem; and since that time, even until now, hath it been building, and yet it is not finished.§ The eye of their God being upon the elders of the Jews, so that their enemies could not cause them to cease,|| Tatnai impressed with the simple account they gave, and probably + Prid. i. 229. | Ezra, v. 5. * Prid. i.229. Ezra, v. 3, 4. 9, 10. out of respect for the memory of Cyrus; instead of proceeding of his own authority to put a stop to their labours, thought it best to write an account of the whole affair to Darius, his sovereign. "Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is builded with stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands; and then relating the inquiries he had made, and their answers, he adds; Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus, the king, to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter."* Darius having received this letter, ordered a search to be made for the decree of Cyrus among the records at Babylon; but not being, as is supposed, found in that city, he directed the search to be pursued at Achmetha,† or Ecbatana, the capital of Media, where it was found, and where Cyrus, therefore, probably was when he pronounced the decree.§ Upon this discovery, Darius immediately directed an edict to Tatnai, Shethar-boznai, and his companions, the Apharsachites, to let the work of this house of God alone; "Let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God in his place. Moreover, I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of Heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, Wells, i. 101. Prid. i. 50. 61. 218. 231. "A summer palace of the kings of Persia, in India." A. CLARKE. See post in the reign of Hoshea. Scott in loco. Prid. i. 231. |