Ezra 4 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Ezra 4

Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding

4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.¹ 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace² and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

The King Orders the Work to Cease

17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”

23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Footnotes

[1] 4:7 Hebrew written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic; another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language
[2] 4:14 Aramaic because the salt of the palace is our salt

Commentary

v1-2: The offer of extra help from "the enemies of Judah and Benjamin". Whether or not the offer was genuine does not matter, for these people were Samaritans, brought into the area by Esarhaddon, king of Assyria (also v10). They had mixed true religion with false (2 Kings 17.24-41), but they did not truly fear the True God (2 Kings 17.34).

v3: Zerubbabel quite correctly turned down the offer. There is but one faith (Eph 4.5), and we are unwise to have those of a different faith serve with us (2 Cor 6.14).

v4-5: The enemies then troubled the people; they even went to the expense of hiring counsellors against them. In v12-16, accusations were brought against the Jewish people. We see here a range of satanic schemes and devilish devices, to discourage the people. 2 Cor 2.11 states that "we are not unaware of Satan's schemes".

This work continued through the reign of Cyrus, through the reigns of Xerxes (Cambyses) and Artaxerxes (Gaumata), and into the reign of Darius, a period of at least 8 years (529-521 B.C.). Satanic schemes to frustrate the work of Christ are not just short term, off-one incidents, but the settled decision of the master of evil.

v6-8: As soon as Artaxerxes became king, the letter of accusation was written to him. Presumably had the letter been written to Cyrus, he would have rejected its contents, since he had written the original command for the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

It seems that a number of letters were written, perhaps as one king died and another took his place.

v9-11: Since the enemies lived in Samaria, they could have attacked Jerusalem; any help from Persia would have arrived too late. It was clearly the Lord's overruling that this did not happen.

v12: The letter quoted here was sent by Rehum and Shimshai, as representatives of the enemies of Judah and Benjamin.

The letter began with words of emotive accusation, "that rebellious and wicked city". There were also lies, "they are restoring the walls"; the true situation was thus exaggerated.

v13: The accusation of disloyalty, that the Jews would cease to pay taxes.

v14: The enemies of Judah and Benjamin claimed loyalty to the king, although their motivation was more selfish.

v15: Ancient kingdoms maintained historical records, see Esth 2.23; 6.1. The letter urged the king to discover in those records evidence of Jerusalem's previous rebellions.

v16: The argument concluded with the claim that further progress would lessen the king's dominion on that side of the Euphrates. This statement may have been a deliberate lie, or a genuine fear of the Jews. The reason for the statement is clear, that the king would become prejudiced against the Jewish people.

v17-22: A reply was received following a search through the records. Evidence was found to support the accusations from Rehum and Shimshai. Indeed, not only was there evidence of rebellion from Jerusalem, but there was evidence that taxes were paid to mighty kings in Jerusalem. The kings of Persia would not want such kings to arise within its empire.

The Jews were given no opportunity to defend themselves, or to put their case. But life is not always fair; we do not expect the enemy of our souls to exercise any integrity.

Even in this letter was a future open door, "that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order"; so, construction work could be recommenced, as indeed it was later.

v23-24: The attacks of the enemy were successful, in that the work was stopped. The Lord God allowed this to happen; it was part of His greater purpose.