The reply of the elders, especially as they report it, is really significant. They could have tried to distract or turn the attention away from what they were doing. They could have made excuses; they could have downplayed their faith; they could have downplayed the identity of who they were, but they did not. The people who actually had been discouraged and quit building for sixteen years, now are boldly saying to those who are trying to intimidate them,
we are the servants of the God of heaven and we are rebuilding his temple.And in fact, they then report their own history.Our fathers were actually exiled under the wrath of God, and in fact, it was just and it was necessary for this to happen.In other words, what they are doing, is they are giving a good testimony. They could have said the Babylonians invaded us and they were just too strong for us. No! They do not make any excuses. We sinned against God, and God punished us—that is why we were in exile.So they identify themselves as the servants of God, and they identify the fact that their own history matters, but why did they respond this way? You have to understand, this is actually the enemy's report of how they responded to them. What I think is that these people of God finally took to heart the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, and therefore they were firm, steadfast, and gave a good unwavering testimony to their God.1
Brian Borgman
9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’