In Ezra, chapter four, verse twenty-four, the work on the temple ceased soon after it began and did not resume eighteen years later. The record returns to Ezra four, verse five, with more specific detail. The suspension of the general enterprise called “the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem” lasted nearly two years. For neither could they nor might proceed in that work against their King’s prohibition without a command from the King of heaven, which, however, they afterward received. But even then, they were cold and indifferent about it and were accordingly reproved by the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah in chapter five, verse one of that book, compared with Haggai one, verse two. So, the work, in great measure, stood still until the second year of the reign of Darius.
The Samaritans had succeeded only too well in checking the progress of the work. However, King Cyrus, occupied in schemes of conquest, had little leisure to attend to such matters. The suspicious temperament of Cambyses inclined him to listen to sinister reports. The disturbed condition of the Empire during his reign and that of Gomates, his successor, gave abundant opportunity for petty tyranny and the withdrawal of state privileges.
Today, believers face opposition in various ways in the spiritual realm. We may have goals or desires to accomplish that received confirmation from God. However, there may be a force beyond the physical attempting to work against us, especially the people of God, that the human eye may not see. Believers must ask God for the spiritual gift to open our eyes so we can see in the spirit, which is possible with God. However, to receive that, our lives must be clean before Him according to His Word. We cannot expect godly things if we choose to live the ungodly way.