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Home , Ezra 4, Ezra 7

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Stony Point Church Book of the Sunday School

Lesson 5 January 10, 2021 Greg Brooks 1 The Work of the Enemies of the People of God Against the People of God

• : 1 – 5, 24 Beginning of Opposition – Temptation and Courage – Discouragement, Fear, and Paralysis • Ezra 4: 6 – 24 Continuation of Opposition – Attempts to Dissuade the Kings

– Letter to Artaxerxes and Temporary Injunction 2 Ezra 4: 1-3 1 Now when the adversaries of and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, 2 they approached 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 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, l as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

3 The Actors in Ezra 4: 1-5 The Returned Exiles • Great majority of those who had seen temple and had died • Sorrow of the Captives who saw the destruction, Psalm 137:1-6 1 By the waters of , there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our lyres. 3 For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! 6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! 4 • The worship of the exiles • Hardy and Committed • Psychology of returned “People of Captivity”. • Feared the surrounding peoples (:3) • Their project was a “small beginning” and very unlike the Glory of Judah and Israel of Old • Had seen the power of Persia, the greatness of Babylon • Obligated to Cyrus • Not trained for battle

5 • Took over a year to begin reconstruction of the foundation. Their destination was a site of complete destruction (II Kg 25: 8 – 9) 8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.

• Started with a great passion for their vision, but it did not endure

6 The Adversaries Identity, II Kings 17:24-33 24 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore, he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them,

7 because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded,“Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made

8 Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

• Love/hate relationship with the unbelieving world. Hatred (even 600 years later) yet fascinated with their idols and their eligible potential spouses!

9 Missing in Action – the Jews Who Were Not Exiled • II Kings 25:12 “The captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.”

• No threat, of no value to Nebuchadnezzar • Had not, over 70 years, rebuilt the city • Inter-married with “POL” • Some commentators suggest they may be part of the “People of the Land” • Assume some joined in the effort that is attributed as the work of the “returned exiles”

10 Ezra 4: 1-3 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.”

11 Observations on Ezra 4: 1 – 3 • What prompted them to make their offer of help • “Adversaries” appeared to have good intentions” o What may have been their agenda? Were they purely altruistic? • What was their “historical memory” o Was it true that they worshipped God as the people of Judah did?

o And the answer is………………………………………………………….

12 13 II Kings 17: 7 – 18 7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made

14 offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the 15 warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.

16 • At one time the answer was YES that resulted in the destruction of Israel (722 BC) and Judah and Jerusalem (Occupation in 597 BC and destruction in 586 BC) • But now (at least for now) it is NO. Psalm 4: 2 - 5 2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. 4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds and be silent. 5 Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the LORD.

See Also II Cor 6: 14 - 18

17 Ezra 4:4-5 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. 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. • Knowing that a military attack was a bad idea, what did the adversaries do to stop construction?  How could they discourage them?  What do you think the “counselors” were paid to do?

Opposition and discouragement caused a sea change from Commitment and Celebration to Fear and Paralysis 18

Lessons

• We are in a spiritual warfare

• Discouragement and fear can be as effective to paralyze us as persecution

• After a time of rejoicing, do not rejoice naively. BE ALERT!

• When the kingdom is advancing, BE ALERT!

• BE ALERT and WISE to how a spirit of compromise may look very inviting --- substituting man’s ideas and solutions for obedience --- the “ends justifies the means” arguments

19 • God’s people need strong leaders

• Intolerance of sin and refusal to compromise will create alienation and hostility

• The trials of the Christian life can lead to discouragement. If we do not counter-attack, it will lead to resignation

• There is a believing response to discouragement. Ps 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heat and my portion forever”

IN VERSE 5 EZRA STARTS TO ASCEND TO 10,000 FEET, FROM THE DETAILS ON THE GROUND OF THE OPPOSITION IN 535 BC TO SEE THE OVERALL TERRAIN OF THE NEXT 90 YEARS. • Verses 6 – 23 are an historical digression by Ezra 20

EZRA 4: 6-24: Ninety-three years and five kings CYRUS 539 – 530 BC • 536 – 535 BC Temple foundation construction • 535 BC: Construction stops during reign of Cyrus CAMBYSES 530/529 – 522 BC • Construction remains abandoned DARIUS I 522 – 486 BC • 520 BC: God’s chastisement to restart through • 520 BC: Abandonment of construction ends (15 yrs) • 515 BC: Temple completed, dedicated on March 12, 515 BC 485 – 465 BC • 485/484 BC: Letter of opposition mentioned in Ezra 4:6 • 479 BC: Esther made Queen by Ahasuerus (Dec 479/Jan 478) ARTAXERXES 465 – 424 BC • 458 BC: Ezra arrives in Jerusalem with over 2,000 men & families • c. 457 – c. 448 BC: Letter of opposition described in Ezra 4:7ff • 446 BC: Nehemiah granted permission to rebuild walls • 445 BC: Wall completed on October 2, 445 BC. Built in 52 days.

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22 CONTINUING OPPOSITION 4:6 Letter of accusation to Aharuerus. Text and response not recorded. Lies to make the Jews detestable to the King. 4:7 – 4:10 Letter to Artaxeres 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 and translated. 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 23 in the rest of the province Beyond the River. “

• The opposition was extensive. o Commander and Official Scribe, representing judges, governors, officials, etc. o Plus “…the rest of the nations…” of the land (POL) o Osnappar – one of the Samaritan kings that resettled the land after the fall of Israel.

4:11-16 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 24

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 palace 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.”

25 • Verse 12, “…the Jews that came up from you to us…” Only Jews sent by Artaxerxes to Jerusalem are Ezra and about 2,000 men and families (). They had been sent with the blessings of Artaxerxes . Ezra 7:10 says that “…Ezra set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” • Characterized the Jews as rebellious, wicked, seditious, disloyal and ungrateful • If reconstructing the city walls, it was to protect against the POL and not the king of Persia. • Note verse 12 refers to the walls (not the temple) • Hid their motives by claiming distress as people loyal to the empire that Jerusalem would rebel and not pay taxes.

26 • Biggest threat was loss of control of the “province Beyond the River”. This included Egypt and Egypt was for centuries a constant threat and problem for Eastern Empires.

• The innuendo was that Jerusalem may make some kind of alliance with Egypt. Zedekiah, Jerusalem’s last king, joined with Egypt in 588 BC against Babylon that led to the destruction the city two years later.

• This would be recorded in the historical book of records.

27 Ezra 4: 17-23 Reply of Artaxerxes 7 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. 21Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.

28 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.

• Adversaries were emboldened to use force.

• The stoppage of verse 23 corresponds with the news from Jerusalem that opens the . Think of how remarkable it was that Nehemiah changed King Artaxerxes mind since he was the one who ordered the stoppage of the work!

29 Ezra 4 lessons for the Jews then and for us now

1. The trouble you are facing now is not new. Adjust expectations – we will face trials.

2. Trust God through long periods of time when it seems that nothing is happening.

3. Trials can make us lose sight of God.

4. Some trials may be caused by our own sin. The Father disciplines the son He loves that he will turn to Him.

30 Conclusion & Prayer

Preparing for next week: Read Haggai (both chapters)

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