The House of God Completed - Ezra 6:14-15

“And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo” (Ezra 6:14). The builders must be guided by the Word of God; the prophets communicate the mind of God to the people. The tabernacle was built after the pattern given to Moses in the mount (Ex. 25:40). There is no room for human inventiveness. Consequently, we read that they “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” (Ezra 6:14¹⁴And 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. (Ezra 6:14)). Certainly they submitted to the civil government — which was appointed of God — but that was itself subject to the commandment of the God of Israel. As to whether they followed the dimensions laid out by Darius (Ezra 6:3) is not clear. Since the foundation had already been laid, it would seem that it followed the original design.