free” (Isa. 45:13). By stopping their work, the Jews were admitting that they had no faith in God’s Word or in God’s power to perform it. In the light of these facts, on what basis were the people refusing to obey God and build His house? For one thing, both Isaiah and Jeremiah had predicted a national restoration that would amaze the Gentile nations and bring glory to Israel, but that wonderful event had not yet occurred. (See Isa. 2:1–5; 11; 35; 60:1–5; Jer. 30–31.) The people failed to understand that