“The Prophets of God Helping Them”
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many years the powers of evil were held in check, and the people in
Judea had liberty to continue their work.
While Satan was striving to influence the highest powers in the
kingdom of Medo-Persia to show disfavor to God’s people, angels
worked in behalf of the exiles. The controversy was one in which all
heaven was interested. Through the prophet Daniel we are given a
glimpse of this mighty struggle between the forces of good and the
forces of evil. For three weeks Gabriel wrestled with the powers of
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darkness, seeking to counteract the influences at work on the mind of
Cyrus; and before the contest closed, Christ Himself came to Gabriel’s
aid. “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and
twenty days,” Gabriel declares; “but, lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of
Persia.”
Daniel 10:13
. All that heaven could do in behalf of the people
of God was done. The victory was finally gained; the forces of the
enemy were held in check all the days of Cyrus, and all the days of his
son Cambyses, who reigned about seven and a half years.
This was a time of wonderful opportunity for the Jews. The highest
agencies of heaven were working on the hearts of kings, and it was
for the people of God to labor with the utmost activity to carry out
the decree of Cyrus. They should have spared no effort to restore the
temple and its services, and to re-establish themselves in their Judean
homes. But in the day of God’s power many proved unwilling. The
opposition of their enemies was strong and determined, and gradually
the builders lost heart. Some could not forget the scene at the laying
of the cornerstone, when many had given expression to their lack of
confidence in the enterprise. And as the Samaritans grew more bold,
many of the Jews questioned whether, after all, the time had come to
rebuild. The feeling soon became widespread. Many of the workmen,
discouraged and disheartened, returned to their homes to take up the
ordinary pursuits of life.
During the reign of Cambyses the work on the temple progressed
slowly. And during the reign of the false Smerdis (called Artaxerxes in
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Ezra 4:7
) the Samaritans induced the unscrupulous impostor to issue a
decree forbidding the Jews to rebuild their temple and city.
For over a year the temple was neglected and well-nigh forsaken.
The people dwelt in their homes and strove to attain temporal prosper-
ity, but their situation was deplorable. Work as they might they did not