Ezra 6:8
I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.
Sermons
Some Useful ThingsJ.S. Exell Ezra 6:1-12
The Decree of DariusJ.A. Macdonald Ezra 6:6-13
The Scriptural Warrant for an Established ChurchH. M'Neile, M. A.Ezra 6:8-11














The full document containing the decree or decrees of Darius occupies the first thirteen verses of this chapter. The former portion of it is principally taken up with a recital of the decree of Cyrus, published seventeen years earlier. This has been considered under a distinct heading. The remaining portion of the document may be viewed as in three parts: -

I. THE INSTRUCTION FOUNDED UPON THE DECREE OF CYRUS (vers. 6, 7).

1. The instruction is intrinsically good.

(1) Do not hinder the work of God.

(2) Do not molest those who are engaged in it.

Good men would receive it gladly. The work of God is their work. Those engaged in it their fellows.

2. But to the wicked it is mortifying.

(1) Not to all equally so. The governor, Tatnai, did not commit himself to the opposition in the spirit of bitterness. Therefore to him the turn of events might not be mortifying.

(2) But to the Apharsachites it would be intensely so. Their opposition was malicious (see ch. 4.). Therefore the frustration of their purposes would sting them to the quick. Lesson - Never do anything that may involve humiliation. Reflection - What an agony of mortification there will be in the vanquished insolence of the lost!

II. THE REQUISITION MADE BY DARIUS (vers. 8-10).

1. That from the king's revenue from beyond the river expenses be given to the builders of God's house.

(1) Not from the kingdom in general, but from that portion whence the opposition came. What a public defeat! Yet not so public as that of the enemies of Christ before an assembled universe in the great day of judgment.

(2) The leaders of the opposition are the very persons required to raise and make these payments. What a retribution! Eye for eye; tooth for tooth.

2. That all they required for sacrifice and offering should be supplied.

(1) For burnt offerings "young bullocks and rams and lambs."

(2) For meat and drink offerings "wheat, salt, oil, and wine." In the service of God there is nourishment and refreshment (see John 4:34; John 6:27, 55).

(3) These, "according to the appointment of the priests, to be given day by day without fail." We need the continual efficacy of the sacrifice of Calvary. We need a daily supply of spiritual as well as natural food.

3. Their patriotism and loyalty concerned in carrying out this.

(1) Patriotism. To avert the anger of the God of heaven. To conciliate his favour. The blessing of God is essential to the prosperity of a nation (Job 12:16-25; Psalm 75:6, 7; Daniel 2:21).

(2) Loyalty. To ensure his blessing upon the king and his sons (see 1 Kings 11:11-13; 1 Kings 13:33, 34).

III. THE MALEDICTION DENOUNCED UPON THOSE WHO MAY FAIL TO FULFIL THE REQUISITION (vers. 11, 12).

1. Civil penalties.

(1) His house to be demolished. Infliction not only upon his person, but also on his family.

(2) The timber of it to be made into a cross or gibbet for his crucifixion or destruction. Thus held up to public execration (see Deuteronomy 21:22, 23).

(3) The place of his house to be made a dunghill. That his very memory might be abhorrent to men.

2. The vengeance of heaven imprecated.

(1) Civil penalties are for the breach of the royal decree; the vengeance of heaven for "putting their hand" to injure the "house of God" (see Joshua 6:26; 1 Samuel 14:24).

(2) This vengeance imprecated upon "kings;" may refer to deputies, and particularly to Tatnai and Shethar-boznai.

(3) It is also called down upon the "people." Those "of the land" particularly intended. Query - Does not this suggest a belief in a future state; for if the civil penalties are to the death, what more can there he else? Let us "fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - J.A.M.

Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews.
Look at this history, and consider candidly the great principles involved in these facts. Consider —

I. WHO THESE MEN WERE WHO ISSUED THESE DECREES CONCERNING THE BUILDING, AND CONCERNING THE SUPPLIES OF THE HOUSE OF GOD AT JERUSALEM. They were Gentile kings.

II. WHAT IT WAS THAT THESE KINGS ORDERED. They ordered —

1. The building of the house, and that the expenses incurred thereby should be taken from the king's treasury.

2. The supply of the house, with every item of all the details necessary for carrying out the worship of God — rams, and lambs, and bullocks, and wheat, and wine, and oil, and salt, according to the appointment of the priests.

3. They assigned certain reasons why this should be done.

(1)That sacrifices of sweet savour might be offered to the God of Heaven.

(2)That prayer might be made for the life of the king and his sons.

(3)That wrath might not come upon the king's realm, implying that, if they did not do this, the realm incurred the wrath of God.

4. They insisted upon all this by imposing a heavy penalty upon any recusant subject. The penalty in the decree of Darius was death; the penalty in the decree of Artaxerxes was varying, according to the discretion of the executive magistracy, "whether unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment"; but in each case, there was a penalty for non-payment.

III. THE PARTIES ADDRESSED IN THE DECREE, AND INCLUDED AMONGST THE CONTRIBUTORS. These were not the people only who approved of, and could enjoy the worship of the house, but they included also the adversaries, who did not approve of — who could not enjoy — and who would not join in the worship of the house; yet, although they did not approve, although they would not join in the worship of that house, they were compelled by the king's decree to contribute to the expense of building, and to the continued supply of the materials of that worship. And remember all this was done by those kings, according to the commandment and in harmony with the revealed will of the Lord God of Israel.

(H. M'Neile, M. A.)

People
Apharesachites, Apharsachites, Artaxerxes, Cyrus, Darius, Haggai, Iddo, Levites, Nebuchadnezzar, Shethar, Shetharboznai, Tatnai, Zechariah
Places
Assyria, Babylon, Babylonia, Beyond the River, Ecbatana, Jerusalem, Media, Persia
Topics
Beyond, Building, Construction, Decree, Elders, Expenses, Fully, Goods, Hereby, Jews, King's, Moreover, Paid, Revenues, River, Royal, Stop, Trans-euphrates, Treasury, Tribute
Outline
1. Darius, finding the decree of Cyrus, makes a new decree for building
13. By the help of Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai the temple is finished
16. The feast of the dedication is kept
19. and the Passover

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ezra 6:8

     8797   persecution, attitudes

Ezra 6:6-10

     4357   salt

Ezra 6:7-8

     7468   temple, rebuilding

Ezra 6:8-10

     4544   wine

Library
God the Joy-Bringer
'They kept the feast ... seven days with joy; for the Lord had made them joyful.'--EZRA vi. 22. Twenty years of hard work and many disappointments and dangers had at last, for the Israelites returning from the captivity, been crowned by the completion of the Temple. It was a poor affair as compared with the magnificent house that had stood upon Zion; and so some of them 'despised the day of small things.' They were ringed about by enemies; they were feeble in themselves; there was a great deal to
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The New Temple and Its Worship
'And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo: and they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The "Fraternity" of Pharisees
To realise the state of religious society at the time of our Lord, the fact that the Pharisees were a regular "order," and that there were many such "fraternities," in great measure the outcome of the original Pharisees, must always be kept in view. For the New Testament simply transports us among contemporary scenes and actors, taking the then existent state of things, so to speak, for granted. But the fact referred to explains many seemingly strange circumstances, and casts fresh light upon all.
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Johannine Writings
BY the Johannine writings are meant the Apocalypse and the fourth gospel, as well as the three catholic epistles to which the name of John is traditionally attached. It is not possible to enter here into a review of the critical questions connected with them, and especially into the question of their authorship. The most recent criticism, while it seems to bring the traditional authorship into greater uncertainty, approaches more nearly than was once common to the position of tradition in another
James Denney—The Death of Christ

Brave Encouragements
'In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, 2. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, 3. 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? 4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Ezra-Nehemiah
Some of the most complicated problems in Hebrew history as well as in the literary criticism of the Old Testament gather about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Apart from these books, all that we know of the origin and early history of Judaism is inferential. They are our only historical sources for that period; and if in them we have, as we seem to have, authentic memoirs, fragmentary though they be, written by the two men who, more than any other, gave permanent shape and direction to Judaism, then
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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