The Temple Is Finished

The Temple Is Finished

Q: How long did it take to complete the Temple?

• a. 5 years
• b. 10 years
• c. 20 years

Have you ever been excited about a project you were going to do? You started out strong, but your enthusiasm wore off, and you slowed down or stopped completely.

The Jews started out strong with their project of rebuilding the Temple, but they gave up on the project for many years before finally completing it. What happened?

After the Jews had been in exile for 70 years, King Cyrus allowed the people to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple under the direction of Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Enemies living in the land tried to stop the work. First they volunteered to help with the rebuilding to keep an eye on how things progressed, but God wouldn’t want pagans to help build God’s Temple. So the Jews turned down their offer.

Next the enemies tried to discourage the people and make them afraid to continue building. Then there was a disagreement on whether or not the Jews had permission to rebuild.

The building project stopped for many years, but it was finally finished 20 years after it was first begun. You can read more about the obstacles and solutions in the book of Ezra.

For You

There will always be obstacles when you’re trying to do things for the Lord. The important thing is to seek the Lord and see if he really wants you to do the project. If the answer is yes, push on and ask for God’s help and the help of stronger Christians in completing the task.

Answer: c

The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. The Temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.   Ezra 6:14-15

(The Whole Story: Ezra 3–6)