旧约 - 以斯拉记(Ezra)第6章

King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon.
A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum:
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 ninety feet high and ninety feet wide,
with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.
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.
Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from there.
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.
Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop.
Whatever is needed--young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem--must be given them daily without fail,
so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble.
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.
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.
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.
The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
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.
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.
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.
On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.
The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for themselves.
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.
For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast 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.
以斯拉记第六章   第 6 章 

  拉 6:1-2> 又有一卷发现!这些可真是很有历史价值的呢! 

  6:1-2 在这些地区(即今日叙利亚附近),发现了不少用陶泥和纸草制成的文物,这些资料记载了商业贸易的情况和历史。而在叙利亚的爱巴拉城,也发现藏有大量同类记录的档案和文献。 

  拉 6:14> 王的降旨,神的旨意是──圣殿得建!我的生命,神的计划,我还怕吗? 

  6:14 以斯拉清楚指出,最先下令重建圣殿的是神,而非众君王,因为君王不过是神所使用的工具。最奇妙的是神竟藉着外邦人典籍库里一卷遗失了的诏书,来遏止反对重建圣殿的声音,这份诏书使神的工作顺利进行。神的心思意念高过一切掌权者,也超越一切历史,胜过反对的力量。我们难以预计祂如何拯救我们,但只要相信祂的大能和慈爱,便再没有什么可以阻挡我们了。 

  拉 6:15> 6:15 公元前 516 年,圣殿重建完毕。 

  拉 6:16-22> 敬拜有时,作工有时…… 

  6:16-22 在献殿礼上,安排了筵席和庆典。典礼与列王纪上 8 章 63 节所罗门献殿时的相似,不过当年所献的牛羊比此时的多出二百倍。另外,“摩西律法书”( 6:18 )可能是指利未记。祭司和利未人分组按班次来“事奉神,是照摩西律法书上所写的。”他们敬拜有时,工作有时。敬拜神和为神做工,二者都是恰当和必需的,都能讨神的喜悦。 

  拉 6:19> 守逾越节,以色列人就记起当年此日出埃及── 

  6:19 逾越节是每年举行的重要庆典,纪念以色列人出埃及。当年法老王经过一连串的灾难仍不肯释放以色列人,神便派遣使者,把埃及人每个家庭的长子杀掉。不过以色列人在门框和门楣上都涂了羔羊的血,灭命使者逾越不入,他们便避过了灾难(参出 12:1-30 )。 

  拉 6:22> 改变,来自神,非靠人力;当想去改变别人时,我们可以…… 

  6:22 我们有很多途径祈求神的帮助,你可曾想过,祂可以改变一个人甚至整个团体的态度。祂是全能的神!祂的智慧与洞察力超越人性的规律。你必须总是以先改变自己的态度作为第一步,同时记住,神也能改变别人的态度。──《灵修版圣经注释》