Here Comes the Adversary
Return from Exile: Ezra 4.
As the children of Israel began rebuilding the temple, it didn’t take long for the enemy to notice. There will always be opposition to those who attempt to do God’s will.
Ezra 4 shows just how challenging it can be to endure in the face of intense opposition.
The Jews’ Enemies Oppose the Rebuilding
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” (Ezra 4:1-2)
We’re told in Ezra 4:10 that these “adversaries” were people who had been taken captive by the Assyrians and were “resettled” in “the cities of Samaria.” These people are the ancestors of the Samaritans in the New Testament.
When they heard the Jews were working to rebuild the temple of the LORD God of Israel, these adversaries –notice how they are identified right from the start – approach the leaders of the Jews with a request. They ask to help the Jews rebuild the temple. They explain their request by claiming, “We worship your God just like you do. In fact, we’ve been offering sacrifices to Him ever since the Assyrians brought us to this land.”
It’s true that these people had offered sacrifices to the LORD God since the time they were brought into the land (2 Kings 17:24-28). However, their worship of the LORD was a corrupted form of worship. They continued to practice idolatry (2 Kings 17:29-31), and also made priests from every class of people (2 Kings 17:32). While they claimed to serve and honor the Lord, they did not (2 Kings 17:33-41).
During this time in the ancient world, temples were viewed as political institutions. These temples would often include the state treasury, courts of law, and were a symbol of a people’s national identity.
So when the mixed group of pagan peoples asked, “We want to build with you,” what they were asking for was a shared ownership in the temple – a shared religious, political, and national identity. But the Jewish nation – God’s people – were to remain distinct from all the other nations.
And so, the Jews’ leaders responded to this request.
But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” (Ezra 4:3)
The request of the Jews’ “adversaries” to build alongside them was denied by the Jewish leaders. I think there are at least a couple of reasons for this.
These people were not on the Jews’ side.
First of all, they are already described as “adversaries” – so they aren’t looking out for the best interests of the Jewish people in the first place.
If you pay any attention to the world of college football, you saw a modern-day example of this very same principle happen recently. When it became clear that Lane Kiffin was not going to return as the Ole Miss Football Coach, Ole Miss refused to allow him to continue coaching their team in the postseason. Why? Well, if he is employed, or soon to be employed, by one of their opponents – a rival – whose interests would he be looking out for?
The Jewish leaders knew the people from the cities of Samaria could not be trusted to actually help them.
Rebuilding the temple was the covenant responsibility of God’s people.
Another reason they denied their request was that the temple was supposed to be rebuilt by Israel – God’s own people (Ezra 1:3-4). God had also warned His people in the past about making alliances with pagan peoples (Exodus 34:12-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-6). This was something that had failed to obey God on in the past.
Had the Jewish leaders accepted this offer, the project would have been corrupted by a pagan people who were actually the Jews’ “adversaries.”
As you might expect, the Jews’ “adversaries” did not take the rejection of their offer too well.
Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius, king of Persia. (Ezra 4:4-5)
We see the offer to help with the building of the temple wasn’t genuine, because after the offer is rejected, the people of the land start doing everything they can to “weaken” the rebuilding effort. They made the Jewish people “afraid to build” (ESV). They even went so far as to “bribe” some of the king’s counselors to give counsel directly opposed to the Jews’ rebuilding effort. All of this was done throughout the rest of Cyrus’ reign, until the reign of Darius, which covers about a ten-year period.
The people of the land put together a well-coordinated effort to stop the rebuilding of the temple – harassing the Jews at the local level, and trying to work for a decision against the Jews at the national level.
Eventually, the Jews’ enemies see a window of opportunity to shut things down.
In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. (Ezra 4:6)
A new king comes to the throne, who is unfamiliar with the situation. New kings were always focused on establishing their power and making sure any potential threats were eliminated and subdued.
The Jews’ enemies sense this is the perfect opportunity to finally put an end to the temple rebuilding. So, they “file an accusation” (NET) against the Jewish people.
The Jews’ Enemies Send a Letter to the King
We’re told the names of the leaders who took charge in sending a letter of accusation to the king of Persia against the Jewish people.
In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion: From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River—and so forth. (Ezra 4:7-10)
These five individuals were the “ringleaders” of the opposition to the temple rebuilding effort in Jerusalem. They represented various groups and peoples who had been “resettled” in the cities of Samaria and the surrounding areas.
Here is what they wrote in their letter to the king of Persia.
(This is a copy of the letter that they sent him) To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and so forth: Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations. Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished. Now because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king, that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed. We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion beyond the River. (Ezra 4:11-16)
They begin by referring to themselves as the king’s humble servants. Then they warn the king that the Jews in Jerusalem – that “rebellious and evil city” – were rebuilding the walls of the city. As far as we know, the Jews were not currently doing this. They were only building the foundation of the temple.
The Jews’ enemies claim that if the Jews rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, they would rebel against the king of Persia, costing him valuable “tax dollars,” which would harm his ability to run his empire.
They urged the king to “check his records” and see how Jerusalem had been a rebellious city in the past. They point back to their rebellion against Babylon, and explain that’s why Babylon destroyed the city in the first place.
However, this whole letter to the king of Persia is based on a lie that the Jewish people were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. All we read in Ezra is that they were “building the temple of the LORD God of Israel” (Ezra 4:1).
The enemies of God’s people “pull no punches” when it comes to opposing the will of God.
The King Listens to the Jews’ Enemies
After reading their letter and doing a little research, the king of Persia sent a response to the enemies of the Jews.
The king sent an answer: To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River: Peace, and so forth. The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me. And I gave the command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it. There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the region beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them. Now give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the command is given by me. Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings? (Ezra 4:17-22)
The king’s response acknowledges that he discovered the Jewish people’s past and how they had been rebellious. He also discovered they had been a mighty people at times ruled by powerful kings, so the potential threat was there to the Persians’ power and pocketbook.
This moment reminds us that while we can be forgiven for our past, the decisions we made in our past could continue to haunt us down the road. There is no question that God was blessing the Jewish people and showing mercy to those who trusted Him and humbled themselves before Him. They were back in the land from seventy years of captivity, after all! But here we see their ancestors’ past sins and rebellion come back to cause them an issue.
So, the king of Persia decided not to take any chances and gave the order that all construction be stopped so that Jerusalem could not be rebuilt until there was further word from the king himself. He urged the Jews’ enemies to make sure his orders were carried out so that no harm would come to his reign.
The Jews’ enemies couldn’t get to Jerusalem fast enough to enforce the king’s orders.
Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. (Ezra 4:23-24)
The Jews’ enemies now had the authority of the king of Persia behind them, and quickly brought the work on the temple to a screeching halt “by force of arms.”
This delay is going to drag out for some time, so long that the LORD is going to send a couple of prophets to tell His people, “Get up and get back to work.” Sometimes opposition can cause us to “shut down” and be afraid to do what we need to do. When that happens, we need to be “stirred up” and reminded to trust God once again.
