While the Jews worked to rebuild the temple, their enemies tried to stop them by sending a letter to the king of Persia accusing them of rebellion. They told the king to “search…in the record books,” where he would see that Jerusalem was “a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces” (Ezra 4:15). They said if the Jews completed the work, the king would lose power in that region (Ezra 4:16).
When a search was made into the records, the king learned about Jerusalem’s past “rebellion and revolt” (Ezra 4:19). So he issued a decree to “make these men stop work,” which they did “by force of arms” (Ezra 4:21, 23).
However, when another search was made into the records, it was discovered that “King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild” the temple (Ezra 5:13). Yet the “construction” was “not yet completed” (Ezra 5:16). So Darius issued a new decree to let the Jews continue the work (Ezra 6:7). Not only that, but he supplied them with whatever they needed to complete it (Ezra 6:8-12).
One part of the records verified what the enemies of the Jews said, but it did not provide a complete picture. Looking at all of the relevant records led Darius to support the work rather than stop it. This contains an important lesson for us.
Partial understanding leads to faulty conclusions. Regarding the word of God, we cannot base our beliefs on one verse taken out of context. We need to consider “the sum of [God’s] word” (Psalm 119:160) so we can know what is right.