Basic HTML Version
252
Royalty and Ruin
The Battle Behind the Scenes
While Satan was trying to influence Medo-Persia to show disfa-
vor to God’s people, angels worked in behalf of the exiles. Daniel
gives us a glimpse of this struggle between good and evil. For three
weeks Gabriel wrestled with the powers of 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 twentyone days,” Gabriel
declared, “and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”
Daniel 10:13
. The victory finally came. The forces of the enemy
were held back all the days of Cyrus and all the days of his son
Cambyses.
The highest agencies of heaven were working on the hearts of
kings, and the people of God should have spared no effort to restore
the temple and its services and to reestablish themselves in their
Judean homes.
[201]
But their enemies opposed them relentlessly, and gradually the
builders lost heart. Some could not forget the scene at the laying of
the cornerstone, when many had expressed lack of confidence in the
enterprise. And as the Samaritans grew bolder, many of the Jews
questioned whether the time had come to rebuild. This feeling soon
became widespread. Workmen, discouraged and disheartened, took
up the ordinary pursuits of life.
During the reign of Cambyses work on the temple progressed
slowly. And during the reign of the false Smerdis the Samaritans
persuaded that impostor to issue a decree forbidding the Jews to
rebuild their temple and city.
For more than a year the temple was almost forsaken. The people
lived in their homes and worked to attain earthly wealth, but they did
not prosper. Nature seemed to conspire against them. Because they
had let the temple lie waste, the Lord sent drought. God had given
them the fruits of field and garden as a sign of His favor, but because
they had used these gifts selfishly, He removed the blessings.