Ezra 6:8-10 I, Darius, 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… so that the work will not stop. Whatever is needed … 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.
Under the prophetic leadership of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 5) the people restarted the Temple construction. The opposition confronted them again and demanded to know who permitted this work. The Israelites were not intimidated into stopping work so the opposition sent a letter to the new king, Darius. They requested that he search the royal records for evidence of some approval for what the Israelites were doing in reconstructing the Temple of God.
A search of the royal archives produced the original letter signed by King Cyrus giving approval for the Israelites to rebuild the Temple of God. In responding to the opposition in Jerusalem, King Darius’ letter outlines clearly the help that the inhabitants of the entire region are to provide to the Israelite community in their efforts. The tables were completely turned around. All their provisions of food, supplies and construction material would now be provided out of the treasury of the local secular authorities.
The wisdom of man guided this decision. If peace and stability and loyalty from this area of the kingdom could be attained, the King concluded it was in his own interests to help. So he provided the materials needed for the Israelites to rebuild their Temple of God and find peace in their religious practices. It would be good for the region of the Trans-Euphrates to have everyone working together to accommodate King Darius’ decree. And lastly, who knows, maybe their God will provide for the well-being of the king and his sons. Darius was quite pragmatic in his thinking.
Darius was quite unlike the pragmatists of our day. Today the pragmatist completely rejects the potential of there being truth to the Christian teachings. Who knows what God would do today if they were to see it in a different light?
