Study Desk

These people searched for their family histories, but they could not find them. Their names were not included in the list of priests. They could not prove that their ancestors were priests, so they could not serve as priests.

When the group arrived at the place in Jerusalem where the Lord 's Temple had been, the family leaders gave their gifts for building this house of God again. They wanted to build it in this same place.

They gave as much as they were able. These are the things they gave for building the Temple: 1100 pounds of gold, about 4 tons of silver, and 100 coats that priests wear.

Then they celebrated the Festival of Shelters just as the Law of Moses said. They offered the right number of burnt offerings for each day of the festival.

After that they began offering the continual burnt offerings each day and the offerings for the New Moon and all the other festivals that were commanded by the Lord . The people also began giving any other gifts they wanted to give to the Lord .

Then those who had come back from captivity gave money to the stonecutters and carpenters. They also gave food, wine, and olive oil. They used these things to pay the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring cedar logs from Lebanon. They wanted to bring the logs in ships to the seacoast town of Joppa as they did for the first Temple. King Cyrus of Persia gave permission for them to do this.

The builders finished laying the foundation for the Lord 's Temple. When the foundation was finished, the priests put on their special clothing. Then they got their trumpets, and the sons of Asaph got their cymbals. They all took their places to praise the Lord . This was done the way King David of Israel had ordered in the past.

But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who could remember seeing the first Temple, began to cry aloud. They cried while the others there shouted for joy.

Many people living in the area were against the people of Judah and Benjamin. These enemies heard that the people who had come from captivity were building a temple for the Lord , the God of Israel. So they came to Zerubbabel and to the family leaders and said, "Let us help you build. We are the same as you, we ask your God for help. We have offered sacrifices to your God since the time King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here."

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other family leaders of Israel answered, "No, you people cannot help us build a temple for our God. Only we can build the Temple for the Lord . He is the God of Israel. This is what King Cyrus of Persia commanded us to do."

King Artaxerxes, we suggest that you search the writings of the kings who ruled before you. You will see in the writings that Jerusalem always rebelled against other kings. It has caused much trouble for other kings and nations. Many rebellions have started in this city since ancient times. That is why Jerusalem was destroyed.

I gave an order for the writings of the kings before me to be searched. The writings were read, and we found out that Jerusalem has a long history of rebellion against kings. Jerusalem has been a place where rebellion and revolt has happened often.

Now, you must give an order for these men to stop work. That order must be given to keep Jerusalem from being rebuilt until I say so.

We also asked for their names. We wanted to write down the names of their leaders so that you would know who they are.

But, in the first year that Cyrus was king of Babylon, King Cyrus gave a special order for God's Temple to be rebuilt.

Its wall will be in layers that have three rows of large stones and one row of wooden timbers. The cost of building the Temple must be paid for from the king's treasury.

Now I give this order. You must do this for the Jewish leaders building God's Temple: The cost of the building must be fully paid from the king's treasury. The money will come from the taxes collected from the provinces in the area west of the Euphrates River. Do these things quickly, so the work will not stop.

Give them anything they need. If they need young bulls, rams, or male lambs for sacrifices to the God of heaven, give these things to them. If the priests of Jerusalem ask for wheat, salt, wine, and oil, give these things to them every day without fail.

Give them to the Jewish priests so that they may offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. Give these things so that the priests may pray for me and my sons.

This is the way they dedicated God's Temple: They offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 male lambs. And they offered twelve male goats for all Israel for a sin offering. That is one goat for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.