The King Orders the Work to Cease
The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
The above story is a recount of the events in Jerusalem when some 50,000+ Jews were released back to Jerusalem by King Cyrus (see the first chapter) and instructed by the king to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. However, since it took quite a time for this to happen, new kings rose up and did not know this command from Cyrus (yet!). In the process of building the Temple there were some in the area who did not want the Temple to be rebuilt and sent to the new kings (Artaxerxes) to warn him about the history of Jerusalem, trying to cause the work to be stopped. Those writing to King Artzxerxes were only giving him partial truth. He was told these tidbits of truth to get him to come to a false conclusion, however. He was not given the entire truth. In a political environment he was convinced those building the Temple were a danger to him. This incomplete narrative caused him to shut down the rebuilding of the Temple. This is what false leaders and false teachers do. They create an incomplete narrative that causes people to believe a story. The story is often something others want to hear. Although this shut down of the work will not last, it was a minor victory for those who opposed the Temple being rebuilt . This is how the world works today, as well. Leaders convince other leaders using incomplete narratives to make decisions that benefit them. We must remember that as believers in this world we are to speak truth. We are not to speak partial truth to get others to agree with us. We are to speak the entire truth. We are to put away falsehood and stand on truth least we be like the world rather than different than the world.
Ephesians 4:25 (ESV)
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
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