In today’s passage, we read something quite surprising: not only did King Darius allow the Israelites to continue rebuilding the temple, but he also ordered that it be royally funded by the local taxes from the province.

In today’s passage, we see that King Darius orders Tattenai and all Persian officials to stop inhibiting the rebuilding of the temple and to leave the Israelites alone.

Today, we see another rather significant detail regarding the decree by Cyrus approving the rebuilding of the temple.

Today, we read about why the temple was larger in the rebuilding than the original.

Today, we read about the records being chaecked according to the king's order.

Today we read about the faithfulness and confidence of Sheshbazzar which should encourage us to press on in the midst of spiritual warfare.

Today we read about how the decreeing power of the foreign kings represent God's kingship over the world.

In today’s passage, we see the Israelites acknowledging their sinful past and the rebuke from God that it warranted.

In today’s passage, we continue through the account of the temple-rebuilding. Specifically, we see the Israelites being questioned about the source of their authority, and we see their faithful response.

Today, we'll read about the response from the people of the land when the rebuilding of the temple continues after a brief halt.