The God of the Archives

Picture yourself as a clerk in a cubical at the capital. You get the call from your boss to look for something. He needs a document. A 16-year-old document. A memo from a previous administration. Something to do with some state sponsored rebuilding project in a backwater corner of the empire. And to find it, you’ll need to dig through the massive stacks of file cabinets over at the national archives. There’s no digital search engine or even a card catalog. We’re talking needle in a haystack. The chances of putting your hand on this piece of paper is slim to none. But what do you know, there it is. Little do you know, but you had a little assistance. Divine assistance. You had the help of the God of the archives.

That’s pretty much what went down in Ezra 6:1-12. When 50,000 Israelites return from captivity to Jerusalem, they have not King Cyrus’ blessing but his financial backing to rebuild the temple (Ez 1:1-11). That’s because God tapped this pagan king on the shoulder to make it happen. After local opposition sabotages the project for 16 years, God lights a fire under His people through a pair of prophets to get back to work (Ez 5:1-2). That gets the attention of local government officials named Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai who swing by to see what in the world is going on over on that pile of rubble that used to be a city. These bureaucrats want to see some paperwork. Who authorized this project (Ez 5:3)? Do they have a royal building permit? They wanted a list of names of people working on the job site (Ez 5:4). These political appointees fire off a letter to the home office wanting to make sure that everything is on the up and up (Ez 5:6-17). They ask King Darius if he would check the files to see if these dudes are lying.

The folks back in the Persian capital Ecbatana immediately get busy looking for this obscure piece of paper (v1-2). You won’t find this city with a search of Google Maps. It was located in the modern day city of Hamadan in Iran. It sat in the foothills and made a great place for a head of state to chill out in the summertime. Just like President Obama enjoys getting away to Martha’s Vineyard, King Darius beats feet to Ecbatana to beat the heat. How extensive are the royal records? This wasn’t some file cabinet in the garage. They didn’t just go down to the basement or up into the attic. There were so many papers and documents that they needed their own building. Ezra tells us how the search began “in the house of the archives where the documents were stored” (v1). Think of that shot of the warehouse from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

It might have seemed like an improbably task, but before you know it “a scroll was found” (v2). And it contained every bit of info that Jewish leaders told Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai. King Cyrus signed off on it (v3). A building permit as well as construction materials to be used (v3-4). The promise of government financing (v4). The restoration of as much of the booty that Nebuchadnezzar swiped when his troops pillaged the place (v5). By the way, notice what is obviously missing from the list. The Ark of the Covenant. Nobody is sure when it left the temple or where it is today. Has anybody thought to check that warehouse from the movie?

At this point, King Darius could have simply said, “Found it. They’re good.” But he didn’t. His royal highness tells his bureaucrats back in province called Beyond the River to “keep away” (v6). Whatever you do, don’t do anything to distract the Jews from taking care of business (v7). But Darius didn’t stop there either. He tells local officials that they are to pony up the money themselves to pay for the project. “The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River” (v8). In other words, the tax money that you normally send to the king, you can just hand it over to Zerubbabel and the boys at the work site. Not some of it. All of it. Not later. Right now. 

But that’s not all. The king tells Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai that they’re also on the hook for anything the Israelites need for their sacrifices. “And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail” (v9). Livestock. Groceries. Supplies. They need to start making immediate plans for daily deliveries to their new neighbors. It might be 16 years late, but Darius makes sure the local Welcome Wagon greets the folks in Jerusalem. 

While Yahweh may have provided the motivation for these pagan kings to get behind the rehabilitation of the temple and return of His people, their royal motives weren’t exactly pure. A big part of their reason supporting the project was so the Jews could “pray for the life of the king and his sons” (v10). Darius might not be sure about this so-called “God of heaven,” but he might as well cover all his bases. Strangely enough, God’s people will do it. Even back when they were being held hostage in Babylon, the LORD told the Israelites to be a blessing wherever they are. “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer 29:7). A few hundred years later, the Apostle Paul tells his buddy Timothy to pray specifically “for kings and all who are in high positions” (1Tim 2:1-2). Am I praying for my political leaders? By the way, I’m to pray for ALL of them. Not just the ones I voted for.

Just in case somebody might try to jack around with King Darius’ memo back to the boys in Beyond the River, he adds a not-so-gentle warning. “If anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill” (v11). Home demolished. Run through with a beam. Big steaming pile. Are we clear on this? Oh, you betcha! The king goes on to make it clear that it was “God who has caused His name to dwell there” (v12) in Jerusalem. He’s the God of the temple mount. And He’s the God of the archives.