¹¹ “Those who violate this decree in any way will have a beam pulled from their house. Then they will be lifted up and impaled on it, and their house will be reduced to a pile of rubble. ¹² May the God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem as the place to honor his name destroy any king or nation that violates this command and destroys this Temple.

“I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence.”~

Ezra 6:11-12 (NLT)

Over the top

The last two days show how God flipped the situation so the work on the temple was not only NOT stopped, but was supported by the taxes of the province – much to the local leader’s chagrin. Today brings a whole new level to the situation. Anyone who tries to oppose (even by inaction) would regret that they did. It sounds like a pretty gruesome and painful way to die.

And then some

And if that wasn’t it, Darius pronounces a curse against any nation that would later try to destroy the temple. Some believe this was a kind of prophecy. The Romans destroyed the temple soon after Jesus and the empire went into decay and collapsed. It’s interesting to see Darius’ “religiosity” in that he recognized and honored God (VVs 3, 5, 7-10 & here in v12. It seems he at least was religious and probably thought, more gods are better so please them all.

Right away

Darius gives the letter his signature then adds, this must be done right away. No delays. We’ll see tomorrow how this plays out and how much weight Darius, as King of Persia (largest at the time), carries. Of course we know that he, nor any king, president, premier, etc., has any power unless given by God.