INTRODUCTION
Movers and shakers are people who do the things that others dream of doing. They don’t just rock the boat and make waves but are involved in what God is doing in the world. As a result, they find themselves in the company of, or follow, other movers and shakers.
This book traces the ministries of five men used by God to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Some of these men lived many years after the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
The rebuilding itself took place in the year 536 BC, following a journey to Jerusalem from Babylon of almost 50,000 Jews. It followed a decree issued by Cyrus of Persia. Amazingly, the return had been prophesied well before Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, for when prophesying that the Jews would be exiled from Jerusalem, the prophets had added that they would return in 70 years time.
More than a study of an Old Testament building project and the events leading up to it, this study gives a glimpse into the heart of a loving God who sees beyond judgement to restoration.
It is a study in linkage: how God connected key persons, each with differing gifts, for the purpose of fulfilling His Divine Plan. The links were not always what we might call conscious connections – some of the persons involved never met the others. Moving, instructing, directing and upholding each of these key persons, however, was the Living God.
These spiritual connections make me wonder what the Lord may be doing in the world today through ministries that seem unrelated. Are these ministries somehow unknowingly linked to one another in the overall plan of God?
May God, through these pages, enable you to discover your spiritual connections – and link up!
THE FIRST MOVER AND SHAKER: JEREMIAH
Jeremiah began to prophesy in 629 BC, and continued through the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 606 BC and beyond, until he was forced by a rebel Jewish remnant to accompany them to Egypt.
Jeremiah prophesied the 70-year captivity of the Jews. (Jeremiah 25:11,12; 29:10) Seventy years was a biblical lifetime. Although the prophet himself did not link the prophesied 70-year captivity to the Jew’s failure to observe the cyclical seventh-year Sabbath, when the land was to be rested for a year (Leviticus 25:4,5; 26:34), the inspired writer clearly did. (2 Chronicles 36:21)
Seventy years of captivity indicates that they had not rested the land for 490 years – from the time of the founding of Israel’s monarchy.
“The implication is that the sabbatical year was not observed under the monarchy.” (New International Bible Commentary, p.393)
“A long arrear of sabbatic years had accumulated through the avarice and apostasy of the Israelites, who had deprived their land of its appointed seasons of rest. The number of those sabbatic years seems to have been seventy, as determined by the duration of the captivity.” (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary.)
Jeremiah was instructed by God to no longer pray for His people, after the prophet’s appeals to the Jews to repent were ignored. (Jeremiah 7:16; 14:11; 15:1; 16:5)
His greatest opposition came from the false prophets, who told the Jews what they wanted to hear. (Jeremiah 28:11; 29:4-11) In his lifetime, Jeremiah prophesied beyond the 70-year Captivity, and spoke in detail of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem.
Jeremiah’s prophetic role was to “root out, pull down and destroy.” (Jeremiah 1:10; 18:7,9) This referred to the Babylonian invasion of Judah, the destruction of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem, and the removal of the Jews to Babylon. (There were three removals: the first in 606 BC, when Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were taken to Babylon.)
But Jeremiah’s job was also “to build and to plant.” So he prophesied the return of the exiled Jews, 70 years after their removal. (Jeremiah 31:28)
Jeremiah’s faith in God’s future dealings with his people was vividly demonstrated in his purchase of a field in his hometown of Anathoth. The purchase was a prophetic pledge. (Jeremiah 32)
The prophet experienced family betrayal (Jeremiah 12:5,6), opposition from every group in society (Jeremiah 1:17-19), constant intimidation (Jeremiah 20:10), unjust accusation (Jeremiah 28:8-11), severe imprisonment (Jeremiah 37:11-21) and finally, abduction (Jeremiah 43:4-7)
Through it all, he remained true to his calling. To understand the pressures he experienced, the trials he endured, and the dangers he faced, we would have to imagine what our fellow-citizens might say and do if a Christian prophesied that our country would be successfully invaded by a foreign power, and added that the very God we worship was behind it – for the ultimate good of our descendants!
Someone had to tell the people the truth, and God chose Jeremiah. The negative term “prophet of doom” was used to mock this faithful man of God. It should be remembered, however, that although he prophesied doom, he also stated that a true prophet should also be an intercessor. (Jeremiah 27:18)
When Daniel was taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, did he know that Jeremiah was prophesying the return of his people, in 70 years? We can only speculate. Even if he did, it’s unlikely that the young Daniel knew the important and influential role he would play in that return.
THE SECOND MOVER AND SHAKER: DANIEL
Taken from Jerusalem to Babylon after the first invasion, Daniel was a paragon of righteousness. (Ezekiel 14:14)
Daniel began his prophetic ministry as an interpreter of dreams, when the magicians and astrologers of Babylon were forced to admit to Nebuchadnezzar that they were unable to tell the king the content of his forgotten dream. (Daniel 2:10,11)
Daniel and his three companions, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, had already distinguished themselves by their wisdom. (Daniel 1:19,20) The magicians and astrologers could interpret revealed information (much like today’s psychiatrists), but Daniel alone could access the forgotten information itself, and then interpret it. He did so through dreams and visions from God. (Daniel 2:19; 7:1; 8:1; 10:1) On two occasions, he was able to interpret on the spot, while wide- awake. (Daniel 4:9; 5:17) Daniel’s greatest prophetic revelations, though, followed earnest prayer. (Daniel 2:17,18; 9:3; 10:2,3)
Daniel’s most far-reaching prophecy was that of the Seventy Weeks. (Daniel 9:24-27) It came only after much prayer, fasting, mourning and confession. (Daniel 9:3)
The cause of all this was the discovery by Daniel of Jeremiah’s prophecies concerning the exact time of the Jew’s captivity. (Daniel 9:2) He “understood by scrolls the number of the years…” Daniel knew that God’s Word could be counted on, literally!
But to fully understand why Daniel’s discovery caused him to fast, mourn, pray and confess, it is necessary for us to read the context of Jeremiah’s second prophecy. This speaks of the duration of the Captivity: how long the Jews were to remain in Babylon.
Jeremiah 25:12 simply mentions it as a fact. But Jeremiah 29:10-14 not only restates the fact – it adds the vital information that drove Daniel to his knees!
First, there is a God-given promise of a future for his people – a hope for them to hold onto. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Second, there is an assurance that God would hear the prayers of those who prayed for Him to end their exile. (Jeremiah 29:12)
Third, a condition was laid down in relation to their search for God. (Not their search for freedom itself. Their prayers were to be God-directed, rather than freedom-directed.) Their freedom would follow their rediscovery of Him. (Jeremiah 29:13,14) Daniel took Jeremiah’s prophecy very seriously.
“I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said…we have sinned…” (Daniel 9:3, 4, 5)
The result: “At the beginning of your supplications the commandment came forth, and I (Gabriel) have come to show you; for you are greatly beloved…” (Daniel 9:23)
Daniel, as a result, was given an even greater revelation: a far-reaching prophecy that included the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the coming of the Messiah, His redemptive work, and the ultimate destruction of the yet-to-be-rebuilt city! (Daniel 9:24-27)
This would be dated from “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem – a date that was to be a matter of intense interest to two men, Zerubbabel and Joshua – and 50,000 others – all of whom would demonstrate their willingness to be on the cutting edge of God’s work by returning to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the Temple.
THE THIRD MOVER AND SHAKER: ZERUBBABEL
Also known as Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8; Haggai 1:1), Zerubbabel was a prince of Judah, which means he was a descendant of King David. It was to him that Cyrus, king of Persia, entrusted the priceless vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple at Jerusalem, 70 years previously.
(Cyrus had been spoken of by name in a prophecy given by Isaiah, nearly 200 years earlier. (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1-5) Although a pagan king, he was chosen by God to do His will at the time appointed for the return of the Jews from exile.)
Zerubbabel first built the altar and offered burnt offerings to the Lord. As well as true worship being his chief priority, it was a protective measure. (Ezra 3:1-3) The foundation of the Temple was not yet laid (Ezra 3:6), but the basis for true worship, sacrifice, was clearly established before the rebuilding program began.
The laying of the foundation took place a year after the Jews’ arrival. It was an emotional experience – joy mingled with sadness. (Ezra 3:10-13) The joy of the young was mingled with the sadness of the aged. The latter remembered the former Temple of Solomon, compared to which this Temple seemed modest, indeed.
The enemies of the Jews halted the Temple’s construction for 18 years. It would have been sometime toward the latter part of this time period that Zerubbabel began to question within himself whether he would live to see the completion of the project he had started.
To whom could he turn for encouragement? Joshua, the high priest, was preoccupied with his own problems. It became increasingly difficult to interest the people in a building project that now seemed a lost cause. Disillusioned with the long-delayed project, the people had redirected their energies into providing for their own creature comforts.
What Zerubbabel desperately needed was a fresh message from the LORD, a word that would renew the vision, and, as a consequence, restart the long-stalled work on the House of God.