Commentary - Ezra 5:6-17

Bird's-eye view

This passage is a masterclass in what we might call providential bureaucracy. The work of rebuilding the temple has recommenced under the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, and this has attracted the attention of the local Persian authorities. Tattenai, the governor, is not a cartoon villain; he is a competent official doing his job. He launches an investigation, and the Jews respond not with panic or protest, but with a calm, clear, and theologically robust defense of their actions. This entire section is a formal letter from Tattenai to King Darius, reporting the facts of the case. What is remarkable is how fairly he represents the Jews' testimony. He records their claim to be servants of the God of heaven and earth, their confession of their fathers' sins, and their legal basis for rebuilding, which rests on a prior decree from Cyrus the Great. The passage demonstrates God's absolute sovereignty over the civil realm. He can make His enemies conduct a fair investigation and can use official channels and archived paperwork to vindicate His people and advance His kingdom. It is a story of how the kingdom of God moves forward, not always through dramatic miracles, but often through the mundane machinery of reports, inquiries, and archival searches, all governed by the hidden hand of God.

Outline

Context In Ezra

This chapter marks a crucial turning point in the book of Ezra. The initial wave of enthusiasm after the return from exile had stalled out. As recorded in chapter 4, opposition from the "peoples of the land" had been effective, and the work on the temple had ceased for about sixteen years. The project was dead in the water. Then, at the beginning of chapter 5, God sends the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to preach to the remnant. Their powerful ministry stirs the people from their lethargy, and under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, they take up the work again. This renewed activity immediately provokes the official inquiry recorded in our passage. So, the context is one of revived faith leading to obedient action, which in turn leads to official opposition. This opposition, however, is not the end of the story. It becomes the very means by which God will publicly and legally reaffirm the right of His people to build His house.

Key Issues

God's Paper Trail

It is a constant temptation for believers to think that God only works in the "spiritual" realm, and that the realms of paperwork, legal proceedings, and bureaucratic red tape are somehow outside His purview. This passage is a powerful corrective to that kind of thinking. Here we see the kingdom of God advancing because of a formal letter, a series of direct questions, a well-reasoned response, and a request to search the royal archives. God had laid a paper trail years before through the decree of Cyrus. Now, when the work is challenged, He moves the heart of a pagan governor to follow that paper trail. Tattenai is just doing his job, but God is doing His. This should give Christians great confidence to engage with the civil structures of our day. We should not be surprised or dismayed when we are called to account by the authorities. Rather, we should see it as an opportunity to give a faithful testimony, state our case with clarity and wisdom, and trust that God is sovereign over the filing cabinets, the databases, and the final verdict.

Verse by Verse Commentary

6-7 This is the copy of the letter which Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. They sent word to him in which it was written thus: “To Darius the king, all peace.

The stage is set with all the formality of an official state communication. These are not local thugs; this is the governor of the entire region west of the Euphrates, a significant Persian official. He and his colleagues are writing to the top, to Darius the king. The greeting, "all peace," is standard for such correspondence. The very fact that this letter is preserved in Scripture is a testimony to God's meticulous care over the affairs of His people. He wants us to see the machinery of government at work, because He is the one who designed the machine and is directing its operations.

8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, and it is being built with huge stones, and timber is being put within the walls; and that work is going on with all diligence and is succeeding in their hands.

This is a remarkably objective and fair report. Tattenai does not editorialize or slander the Jews. He simply states the facts. First, he identifies the building project correctly: it is "the house of the great God." Even the pagans recognize that this is no ordinary building; it is a temple for a deity they acknowledge as "great." Second, he notes the quality of the work. They are using "huge stones" and timber. This is a serious, well-funded, and permanent structure. Third, he reports on the work ethic of the builders. They are working with "all diligence" and the project is "succeeding." The enemies of God's people are forced to bear witness to their zeal and effectiveness. This is not a failing project; it is a thriving one, and that is precisely why it has come to the governor's attention.

9-10 Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this house and to complete this structure?’ And we also asked them their names in order to make known to you, and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head.

Here is the central issue. Tattenai is the governor, and he has a right to ask about a major construction project in his territory. His question is entirely appropriate from a civil point of view: "Show me your permit." He is asking for their legal authorization. He also asks for the names of the leaders, which is standard procedure. He wants to know who is in charge and who to hold accountable. This is not necessarily a threat; it is how governments operate. God's people are being called to give an account before the magistrate, a situation the New Testament tells us to be prepared for.

11 Thus they responded with a word to us, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.

The response of the Jewish elders is brilliant. They begin not with their legal permit, but with their ultimate identity. "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth." This is their foundational claim. Before they are subjects of Darius, they are servants of the Most High God. This is a bold, presuppositional challenge to the Persian worldview. They are not worshipping some local tribal deity, but the Creator of all things. Then, they establish the historical legitimacy of their project. They are not building something new and novel; they are simply rebuilding the house that had been there for centuries, a house built by Solomon, a "great king" whose fame would have been known.

12 But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and took the people away into exile in Babylon.

This is the moral and theological heart of their testimony. They are asked for their legal standing, and they include a confession of sin. This is disarmingly honest. They don't blame Nebuchadnezzar or the Babylonians. They don't play the victim. They take full responsibility: "our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath." They understand their own history through a covenantal lens. The exile was not a political accident; it was a divine judgment. This kind of honesty gives their entire testimony a ring of truth. They are not trying to hide anything. They are a people who have learned their lesson and have a right understanding of their relationship with their God.

13-15 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. Also the gold and silver utensils...were given to one whose name was Sheshbazzar...and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.

Having established their theological and historical context, they now present their legal case. They appeal to the highest possible human authority: Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire. They are not acting as rebels; they are acting in accordance with an official decree from Darius's predecessor. They provide specific, verifiable details to back up their claim. They mention the return of the temple vessels, a public and well-known act. They name the governor Cyrus appointed, Sheshbazzar. They even quote the substance of the decree: the temple was to be rebuilt "in its place." This is a solid, fact-based defense.

16 Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it is being rebuilt, and it is not yet finished.’

They conclude their defense by establishing a timeline. This is not a new, unauthorized project. It was started years ago under the proper authority when Sheshbazzar laid the foundations. They acknowledge that the work has been intermittent and is not yet complete, which honestly accounts for the long period of inactivity. They are demonstrating that there is a continuous line of legal authorization from the time of Cyrus to the present day.

17 So now if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, if it be that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild that house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his will concerning this matter.”

Here Tattenai concludes his letter. Having faithfully reported the Jews' testimony, he makes a very reasonable proposal. He doesn't take their word for it, but he doesn't dismiss it either. He says, in effect, "Let's check the archives." He asks the king to authorize a search for the decree of Cyrus. This is a bureaucrat's solution, and it is precisely the solution that God intended. The truth is on the record, and Tattenai is providentially moved to look for it. He defers to the king's authority for the final decision, as a good governor should. The stage is now set for God to vindicate His people through the official records of a pagan empire.

Application

There are several profound points of application for us here. First, we must recognize the comprehensive sovereignty of God. Our God is not just the God of the prayer meeting; He is the God of the city council meeting. He directs the hearts of kings, governors, and bureaucrats. We should therefore pray for our leaders and engage with our governing authorities not with fear, but with a robust confidence in our sovereign God.

Second, we must learn from the wisdom of the Jewish elders. When challenged, their response was a model of clarity and faithfulness. They began with their identity in God, confessed their sins honestly, and then laid out their legal standing calmly and factually. They were both bold and shrewd. We are called to the same. We must know who we are in Christ, and we must also do our homework. When the church faces legal challenges, we should not resort to panic or angry rhetoric, but to well-reasoned, truthful, and wise defense.

Finally, this passage is about building the house of God. The physical temple in Jerusalem was a type and shadow of the true temple, which is the body of Christ, the church. The work we are called to is the building of this spiritual house through the proclamation of the gospel and the discipleship of the nations. We will face opposition. Some of it will be official and will come to us in the form of legal challenges and bureaucratic inquiries. When it does, we should remember the faithfulness of God in the time of Tattenai. Our authority to build comes from a decree issued by the King of heaven and earth. That decree is not hidden in some dusty archive, but is plainly declared in the Great Commission. And we can be confident that the God who superintended the Persian archives will ensure that His eternal purpose for His church will never be thwarted by any earthly power.