Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Royalty in Ruin (Prophets and Kings)
Chapter 46 - Bitter Opposition Fails
God’s people work together to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem in spite of setbacks, difficulties, and perils.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Ezra 4:1-4
Ezra 5:1-5
Ezra 6:3-6
Matthew 6:25-27
OVERVIEW
Have you ever been bullied? Most of us have at one time or another. Today’s story is a classic. The people of Judah are rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. The neighborhood bullies have taken notice and have decided that they don’t like what their closest neighbors are doing, so they start harassing them. In fact, after intimidation doesn’t work, they start a campaign to get their building stopped by writing letters filled with half-truths to King Artaxerxes. What will happen? What will the king say and do? Will God’s house be rebuilt? Today’s lesson will teach us about faith and courage under pressure.
OPENING ACTIVITY
Most students have been back in school for over a month now. Many have been part of an online school experience and some have gone back in person. Give each student an opportunity to share about their experience.
Some question you might ask:
QUESTIONS
TRANSITION
Change is inevitable, but most people don’t like change because it often causes them to need to adjust their lives. In our story, most of Judah has been in captivity. Now that they are back, their neighbors aren’t sure where they stand in the local political scene. For years, they have been the top dogs, but now that Judah is back, that may change.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read Ezra 4:1-4.
1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
QUESTIONS
Read Ezra 5:1-5.
1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 4 They also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
QUESTIONS
When good things start happening, God’s enemies often do their best to confuse, disrupt, and cause chaos among His people. In this situation, God’s people stayed true to their calling. Why do you think they were so focused and able to keep going in the face of adversity?
QUESTIONS
Read Ezra 6:3-6.
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God. 6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there.
Situations like we’ve read about happen in life. You think you are doing God’s will and then all of the sudden a roadblock is put up in your way. What principles from today’s scripture passages will help you to be more successful in navigating the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic or in other everyday situations?
APPLICATION
When the people of Judah were confronted by their enemies, you can be sure that they wondered at least for a moment if they were doing the right thing even though both their God and the king were behind them. How many times have you wondered if God still answers prayers?
It’s in our nature to question and wonder, but that’s not God’s nature.
Read Matthew 6:25-27.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Next time the enemy tells you that you’re not doing what God wants, or you find yourself worrying about the future, remember God has a plan for your life and He tells us to leave our problems in His capable hands.
FOLLOW UP
It’s time for some reflection.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
Ezra 4:1-23
Ezra 5:1-17
Ezra 6:1-22
LEADER’S NOTE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
OVERVIEW
Following 70 years of Babylonian captivity, God’s people were free to return to Jerusalem and even rebuild the temple Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed. And the king of Medo-Persia paid for it!
Let’s take a quick refresher course on the Israelites under a monarchy. The 12 tribes of Israel had Saul as their first king, followed by David and then Solomon. That seemed to end the “glory years” of Israel. Next came a divided kingdom, with 10 tribes in the north called “Israel” with Samaria as its capital. The two tribes in the south were Judah and the small tribe of Benjamin. They went by the name “Judah” but their capital was Jerusalem, including the magnificent temple Solomon had built.
The record of the monarchs in both the north and the south illustrates lots of pagan worship rather than worshiping Yahweh, the God who had rescued them from Egyptian slavery. In spite of occasional revivals and reformations, the kings and their subjects repeatedly returned to worshiping Baal. The kingdom in the north finally went into captivity to Assyria, with a few poor people left behind to care for the land. They intermarried with others—Canaanites and nomadic travelers—and lost any unique Jewish identity.
The kingdom in the south followed a similar pathway. But with more “righteous” kings, their freedom lasted longer. But eventually they went into captivity to Babylon, and Jerusalem, including the temple, was destroyed and burned to the ground. As captives in Babylon, they maintained their Jewish traditions. So when the opportunity came to return to build Jerusalem and the temple, captive Jews who had maintained their traditions returned. The first few chapters of Ezra provide the genealogy as proof of this.
You can imagine how the social systems got upset when all these people returned to rebuild Jerusalem. Those inhabiting the area felt invaded. Those who returned saw the residents as impure in addition to not being true followers of Yahweh. And they didn’t want to slip back into the sins of their ancestors who worshiped Baal rather than Yahweh. These inhabitants later became known as the Samaritans. Most people know what the Jews thought of the Samaritans a few hundred years later in the time Jesus walked this earth.
That’s a quick historical sketch behind the chapters for this Relational Bible Study. While we are interested in how God wants us to live out this Scripture passage in our lives today, gaining a grasp of the dynamics when they were written helps us to understand its potential meaning for our lives.
Poetic Justice
When have you had to deal with someone who was acting fake?
Read Ezra 4:1-6:22.
Ezra 4
Opposition to the Rebuilding
1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes
6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.
8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.
11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)
To King Artaxerxes,
From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.
13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer. 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
17 The king sent this reply:
To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?
23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.
24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Ezra 5
Tattenai’s Letter to Darius
1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 4 They also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent him read as follows:
To King Darius:
Cordial greetings.
8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.
9 We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
11 This is the answer they gave us:
“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
13 “However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’
16 “So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”
17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.
Ezra 6
The Decree of Darius
1 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:
Memorandum:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:
Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.
6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:
Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.
I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.
The Passover
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. 21 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
1. Why did God’s people refuse local help for building the temple?
2. Why did the adversaries write letters to King Artaxerxes? (Ezra 4:6-7)
3. What made the Persian king’s decree the final word? (Ezra 4:16-22)
4. King Artaxerxes’ decree to stop the work (Ezra 4:23-24) resulted in:
5. How did the Jews respond to the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah?
6. What was the result of the second inquiry sent to the king? (Ezra 6:1-12)
7. God sparked action using Haggai and Zechariah. Could God use you to do the same today?
8. The Passover Feast recorded in Ezra 6:21, 22 included non-Jews. What do the people of your church do to include people from the community?
SUMMARY
Lots of tension, a showdown, appeals to the king; researching historical records for decisions and precedents—it’s all part of our Relational Bible Study for this week. The “enemies” of the Jews came and pretended to offer their help. In reality, they wanted to slow the progress and return to the own status quo rather than allow the temple of Yahweh to be restored in Jerusalem. They used facts from the past and presented them in such a way that the king agreed to their request for the construction to cease. But God’s people told the rest of the story, which included facts that had been left out and facts that superseded the enemy’s story. It was as if the tables were turned in a way some would call “poetic justice.”
APPLICATION
Do you have enemies? Are you aware of them? How actively are they out to get you? What part does God play in protecting or providing for you? Here are some applications for you to live out this Scripture passage this week, or maybe it will spur other ideas the Holy Spirit impresses you to follow.
God’s people had traded their worship of God for worship of the false gods of their age. Because of this continued rebellion and rejection, they went into captivity. But God brought them back from captivity and gave them a new start.
With the coronavirus pandemic, some see their religious freedom being removed, so they respond by meeting in large in-person groups for worship and refusing to practice physical distancing or wearing masks to reduce the potential spread of the virus. The people who returned to Jerusalem had gone without celebrating the Passover for 70 years. That’s a long, long time! It’s doubtful you will have to wait so many years before you can worship without consideration for a pandemic.
