旧约 - 以斯拉记(Ezra)第5章

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.
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
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 restore this structure?"
They also asked, "What are the names of the men constructing this building?"
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.
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.
The report they sent him read as follows: To King Darius: Cordial greetings.
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.
We questioned the elders and asked them, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?"
We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
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.
But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
"However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
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,
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.'
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."
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.
以斯拉记第五章   第 5 章 

  拉 5:1> 先知哈该和撒迦利亚都出来说劝勉的话,他们的话记在…… 

  5:1 有关哈该和撒迦利亚的事迹与讯息,请参考哈该书和撒迦利亚书。 

  拉 5:1-2> 有神的先知在那里帮助他们,真好!但谁去扶持那些传讲神的话的人?我们可以吗? 

  5:1-2 “有神的先知在那里帮助他们。”神有时会差派先知,去激励祂的子民。为此,哈该和撒迦利亚不但传讲信息,还亲自参与建造工作。今天在教会里,神也会使用先知的信息来巩固我们的工作(参弗 4:11-13 ),如同哈该和撒迦利亚帮助以色列人一样。“但作先知讲道的,是对人说,要造就、安慰、劝勉人。”(林前 14:3 )。不过,我们也要多多鼓励扶持那些传讲神话语的人。 

  拉 5:3-5> 纵有拦阻,神仍拖带犹太人;在跟随神的路上,神的手始终牵引着我…… 

  5:3-5 耶路撒冷附近的外邦人企图阻止圣殿重建。事情还在法理上争论不休、未有定案时,犹太人却已继续他们的工作了。我们为神作工,每当受到耽误、扰乱或打击时,必须凭着信心勇往直前。不论谁阻挡,神必能成就祂在世上的旨意。昔日祂看顾犹太人的首领,今天也必看顾你。你只管专心完成神的旨意,不要被阴谋和中伤绊倒。 

  拉 5:11> 以肯定的语气说出“我们是天地之神的仆人”,你可以吗?无论何时、何况…… 

  5:11 在重建圣殿的过程中,波斯国派来的总督诸多刁难,质问是谁准许建殿( 5:3 ),以威吓以色列人,但百姓毫无惧色地回答:“我们是天地之神的仆人。” 

  在不信神的世界里,要为自己的信仰放胆说话并不容易,却要勇而为之。确认自己是神的仆人,正是解除压力和威吓的良方。我们要先忠于神,然后才考虑人的反应。如果我们太顾虑带有敌意的批评,很容易使自己陷于恐惧中。若要处处讨好人,避免开罪人,我们就无法顺利完工。神是我们的主,祂的赏赐才是最重要的,所以不必惧怕威吓。让我们以言语和行动来告诉别人:神才是我们真正的事奉对象。 

  被掳结束后的先知 \cf0 

  玛代波斯帝国 

  拉 5:13-17> 前面的经文不是称塞鲁士为波斯王吗?怎么在这里却是…… 

  5:13-17 在 1 章 1 节和 5 章 13 节中,塞鲁士分别被称为波斯王和巴比伦王,因为波斯刚攻陷巴比伦,塞鲁士便成了两国之君。巴比伦在这事件中较为重要,因希伯来人被掳的七十年都在那里度过。另外,在 5 章 17 节中的巴比伦,可能是指首都巴比伦城。──《灵修版圣经注释》