Commentary - Ezra 5:1-2

Bird's-eye view

After a long and discouraging delay of about sixteen years, the work on God's house grinds to a halt. The people of God had returned to the land with high hopes, but local opposition, coupled with a faithless appeal to the pagan king, had succeeded in stopping the project cold (Ezra 4:24). This is where we find them at the beginning of chapter 5. The people have turned inward, building their own paneled houses while the Lord's house lies in ruins. It is into this stagnant and disobedient situation that God injects the propulsive power of His Word. He sends two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to preach to the remnant. Their message is a divine kick in the pants. The result is immediate and remarkable: the civil and religious leadership, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, rise up and resume the work. This short passage is a powerful illustration of a central biblical theme: God's Word, faithfully preached, is the catalyst for God's work, faithfully done. It shows the necessary partnership between the prophetic word and practical action, between church and state, in getting the kingdom built.

This is not just ancient history; it is a paradigm for all reformation and revival. When the people of God grow lethargic and distracted by their own affairs, God does not usually send an earthquake or a legion of angels. He sends preachers. He sends His Word. And when that Word is received and obeyed, the leaders lead, the people work, and the house of God is built, regardless of the opposition. The engine of covenant history is the preached Word of God.

Outline

Context In Ezra

Chapter 5 marks a pivotal turning point in the book of Ezra. The first return from exile under Zerubbabel had begun with great promise in chapters 1-3. The altar was rebuilt, sacrifices were reinstituted, and the foundation of the temple was laid amidst both joyful praise and sorrowful remembrance. However, chapter 4 details the fierce opposition that arose from the "people of the land." This opposition was both insidious, offering a corrupting partnership, and openly hostile, lodging accusations with the Persian court. This external pressure was tragically successful, leading to a royal decree that halted the construction. The work ceased for over a decade and a half. The people, discouraged, turned to their own domestic concerns, as the prophet Haggai makes clear (Hag. 1:4). So, chapter 5 opens on a scene of spiritual apathy and disobedience. The action described here is the direct result of the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah, whose own books provide the theological content of the sermons summarized in this narrative. This chapter restarts the central project of the first half of Ezra: the rebuilding of the temple, God's house, which is the center of worship and covenant life for His people.

Key Issues

The Word Comes First

It is essential that we see the divinely ordained sequence of events here. The hammers do not start swinging again because Zerubbabel had a sudden burst of civic pride, or because Jeshua managed to rally the priests with a clever fundraising scheme. The work begins again because the prophets prophesied. God's work is always downstream from God's Word. Before there can be any faithful action, there must be a faithful proclamation.

The people had grown discouraged. They had started looking at the size of the opposition instead of the size of their God. They had rationalized their disobedience, saying the time had not yet come to rebuild (Hag. 1:2). They had it exactly backwards. The time was difficult precisely because they were not putting God's house first. God's response to this malaise was not to make their circumstances easier, but to send them a hard and gracious Word. He sent Haggai and Zechariah to recalibrate their thinking entirely. This is how God always works. Reformation does not begin with a committee meeting; it begins when the Word of God is opened and proclaimed with authority. The pulpit is the engine room of the church, and when that engine is running on the high-octane fuel of biblical preaching, the whole enterprise moves forward.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 And the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

The action begins with the prophets. Notice the slight redundancy: "Haggai the prophet." The text is emphasizing their office, their function. These men were not just giving their pious opinions; they were speaking as accredited messengers of the living God. Haggai's message was direct and practical: "Consider your ways! You are building your houses while mine lies desolate. No wonder nothing is going right for you." Zechariah's message was full of rich, apocalyptic imagery, reminding the people of the grand cosmic realities that underpinned their small construction project. They were not just stacking stones; they were participating in God's great plan of redemption.

They prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem. This was a local affair, a targeted message to the covenant people in their designated place. And crucially, they spoke in the name of the God of Israel. This is a declaration of authority. They were not speaking on their own authority, but as ambassadors. Their words carried the weight of the one who sent them. The final clause, who was over them, is a vital clarification. The Persian king might be their political overlord, but the God of Israel was their ultimate authority. He was "over them" in every sense that mattered. The prophets were reminding them of their true citizenship and their ultimate allegiance. To obey the God of Israel was more important than to fear a pagan bureaucrat.

2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them supporting them.

The word "then" shows the direct result of the preaching. The Word did its work. It landed on fertile soil in the hearts of the leaders. Zerubbabel, the civil governor from the line of David, and Jeshua, the high priest, represent the two key spheres of leadership in Israel: the state and the church. When the Word of God is proclaimed, it should provoke a response first and foremost from the leadership. And their response was not to form a committee to study the feasibility of the project. They arose and began to rebuild. This is faith in action. True faith hears the Word of God and does what it says.

And notice the beautiful conclusion: and the prophets of God were with them supporting them. The prophets did not just deliver their message and then disappear. They did not drop the bomb and run. They came alongside the leaders and the workers, providing ongoing encouragement and support. This is a crucial part of the pastoral task. It is not enough to preach the truth from the pulpit on Sunday. The preacher must also be there on Monday, walking with the people, helping them, and applying that Word to the messy realities of the work. The support of the prophets was not simply a pat on the back. It was the continuing ministry of the Word, assuring the builders that God was with them, that their work mattered, and that He would bring it to completion.

Application

This passage is a permanent cure for the church's periodic bouts of discouragement and lethargy. When the work of God's kingdom seems stalled, when opposition seems overwhelming, and when God's people are more interested in their own comfort than in God's house, what is the remedy? The remedy is the faithful, courageous, and authoritative preaching of the Word of God.

We need to hear the message of Haggai today. We must "consider our ways." Are we pouring all our energy and resources into our own paneled houses, our careers, our hobbies, our comfortable lives, while the church, the house of God, is neglected? The church is not a building, but a body, and it is built up by the ministry of the Word, by fellowship, by discipleship, by evangelism. Are we engaged in that work?

And we need to hear the message of Zechariah. We need to have our imaginations captured again by the glorious, cosmic scope of what God is doing in the world through His Son. We are not just trying to keep a religious club afloat. We are part of a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The God of Israel is still "over us." Jesus Christ is Lord. Therefore, we must not be paralyzed by fear of what pagan governors in Washington D.C. or Ottawa might say or do. We have our commission from a higher authority.

Let the preachers preach. And let the leaders, both in the church and in the home, hear that Word and rise up and begin to build. And as we build, let us do so together, supporting and encouraging one another, knowing that the God who calls us to the work will also empower us for it.