The rebuilding of the temple by the exiles that had returned to Jerusalem ceased following the reign of Cyrus and was still halted when Darius came to power. Haggai and Zechariah were were elders and prophets in Jerusalem when Darius issued the decree authorizing the Jews to finish reconstruction of the temple. Both men were instrumental in overseeing the work of rebuilding. The officials in Jerusalem kept trying to stop the temple from being rebuilt, but the eye of God was watching.
At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" They also asked, "What are the names of the men constructing this building?" But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received. - Ezra 5:3-5
It was sometime during this time frame that Zechariah saw the man among the Myrtle Trees. 'It has gone on too long,' the angel told Zechariah. Then the angel of the LORD said, "LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?" So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
Then the angel who was speaking to me said, "Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.' - Zech. 1:12-15 NIV
"Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!" For this is what the LORD Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye- I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.
"Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD. "Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. - "Zech. 2:7-13 NIV
God may have punished his chosen people, but he never abandoned them. He never has and he never will. They will always be the apple of his eye, and someday, he is coming to live among them along with many other nations who will be joined with the Lord. Anyone who tries to take advantage of them will incur the wrath of God
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