Verses 1-5, “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.' 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.' 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.”
The adversaries that are spoken of here are the Samaritans who settled into the area after the fall of Judah. They had a mixture of beliefs that made them despised among the Jews. Although they believed they worshipped the same God, the Samaritans also served their own gods. You cannot mix the ways of God with the ways of the world or else you get a lukewarm mess. But this is exactly what much of the church is doing today. Celebrating Halloween is just one way that the church had adopted the evil practices of the world, but there are numerous others. God wants our undivided worship, along with our full obedience.
When the Samaritans offered to help build a house for God, they were declined because they were not genuine. We do not need to partner with unbelievers in order to do a work of the Lord. They will often attempt to deceive you by claiming that they are also believers, but you will know them by their fruit. II Corinthians 6:14-18, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”
Verses 6-16, “In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 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. (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.”
Being rejected from building showed the true intentions of the Samaritans. If they could not get their way accomplished through a false alliance, they would frustrate the efforts of the Jews openly. These supposed worshipers of God, had now clearly become enemies of the Jews, and wrote a letter to the king accusing them of rebellion. At this point, the temple had been completed, and their complaint was against the Jews finishing the work of the city and its walls. The letter stated that if the Jews succeeded at rebuilding, then they would not pay tax, tribute, or custom to the king. This was an outright lie. Notice how the Samaritans made it look like they had the king’s best interest in mind though. We see here the craftiness of our enemy, the Devil, and how he uses people in our lives to frustrate the work that God wants to do through us. If one way doesn't work, he's quick to find another.
Verses 17-24, “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? 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.”
The letter proved to be successful at stopping the work, but only temporarily. King Artaxerxes researched the history of the nation of Judah, finding that they had in past times been powerful enough to be imposing taxes and tributes on other nations, rather than being the ones paying. In order to preserve his power, Artaxerxes sent a letter to the Jews ordering them to stop the work until further notice. The Samaritans gladly went up to Jerusalem to halt their work by force, the same work that they once said they wanted to partner in. They may have thought they won, but God is sovereign, and the work would resume in the second year of King Darius' reign.
During those fifteen years of halted work, the faith of the Jews would be tested. They were told by God to do a work, but now it must have looked impossible. When we find ourselves in similar situations, how do we respond when things do not happen according to our timeline? This is why the believer needs endurance, and also why God allows adversaries and trials in our lives, so that we are not lacking. James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Only those who persevere will be rewarded in the end.
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.” 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.”
ReplyDeleteEzr 4:1-3 NKJV
These adversaries came to try to help build the temple. They seemed to have an
alterier motive and when the offer was declined they tried to discourage the people from building. If they truelly wanted to help, they would not tried to discourage from building, but when they were declined you could then see their true heart. In the end they did not care about the temple being built, but they instead were an attack from Satan.
At times Satan will try to send people into the church. We as christians need to be aware of these people. They might seem as though they are trying to help, but as time goes on, they end up creating an disaster. We need to people carefull, not letting in or even keeping an eye on them. If we allow these people to come in and influence, it will not end well.
In this chapter, the remnant left behind in Judah (also called the Samaritans) tried to come to the Jews and join them in building the temple. They claimed that they worshiped God as the Jews did, which was a complete lie. They may have believed they worshiped the same God, but the Samaritans also worshipped other false gods as well. They were living in idolatry which is blatant sin towards God. They also claimed that they sacrificed to him as well, but there had been no altar or priests to do these sacrifices before now, so they also disobeyed in that way as well. Zerubbabel and the whole assembly of Jews refused their help, which was wise and godly. It was probably tempting to take them up on the offer because everything would get done faster, but it isn't worth joining hands with unbelievers!
ReplyDeleteAs Christians, we go through these same temptations at times. Especially pastors, they may be tempted to join hands with someone who isn't a believer to gain authority or popularity, which all appeals to the flesh anyway. Often, the enemy tries to make himself look like a good thing, and spin us off to be the rude and judgemental ones. II Corinthians 11:14-15- "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." There are many instances where true Christians are made to look judgemental and unloving by the fake church. One is homosexuality. If we don't believe in it, we are being harsh and unloving. We are made to look bad, even though true love wants them to repent and get out of that sin! The true church will be persecuted by the false church!
When joining them failed, the Samaritans then went to the king of Persia and tried to convince him to stop the work because of Israel's past sin. This was extremely sneaky and clever on their part. They again, made themselves to look like the good guys by "trying to help the king". Once the king heard of their past, he commanded that they be stopped, and the Samaritans probably believed they won. The construction of the city stopped for around 15 years, but God had told them to rebuild the city, so it would happen in His perfect timing!
First of all, time will always show what's truly in someone's heart. People can seem all good and nice at first, but later, their actions give them away. They can only pretend for so long, until their true character is revealed. If someone has real faith, there will be works to back up that faith. Not that the works save us, but they are a result from our true faith. James 2:17-18- "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." We should always be able to look at someone's actions and discern whether they have true faith or not. Many people are all talk with nothing to back their faith up with!
Lastly, God is sovereign no matter what man tries to do. They can try to stop us in every way from completing God's will, but eventually they won't succeed. If someone is trying to oppose what when are doing for Christ, than that just confirms that we are doing what's right! Many people don't like the truth! If we had no opposition, then we may look too much like the world! But, God is over everything, and He can make a way for His will to be accomplished no matter what anyone tries to do! Romans 8:31- "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"