1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
Who are these “enemies of Judah and Benjamin”? First, it is important to know that the land surrounding Jerusalem, and even inside the land, is not entirely uninhabited. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and deported the people of Judah to Babylon, he took those Jews who would be of benefit to Babylon. Those who did not have benefited remained in Jerusalem. The most notable of those left in Jerusalem was Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, who penned both the book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations.
So in the 70 years the Jews were in Babylon, the unwanted Jews remained. Plus there were always a number of different people living outside the walls of Jerusalem. But these people are unique. The clue is in how Ezra terms them: the enemies of Judah and Benjamin. Judah and Benjamin were the two tribes that made up “Judah”. Judah was the term given to them once the split of the kingdom happened shortly after Solomon’s death. The rest of the Israelites were part of the Northern Kingdom.
These 10 tribes were headed by kings who moved away from God and continued to move away until the Assyrians overtook them in 722 BC. When the Assyrians overtook them, many were deported to Assyria. For those who stayed, Assyrians imported into the land and intermarried with them. This produced a new race of people who were called the Samaritans.
It is important to understand this backstory for a number of reasons. One of them is, when we get to the New Testament, a story in Luke called The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In order to understand why the Samaritan is such a maligned character in the Jewish culture at that time is because of this story in Ezra. The Samaritans, as we will see, become a constant problem for the Jews in the rebuilding of the temple.
But at this point there doesn’t seem to be a real issue. The “enemies” come to them for what reason? They want to help in the building of the temple. And why? Because they recognize who God is and want to participate in the work.
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”
The rest of this story is one of reactions. The first reaction is from Judah. They refuse the offer of the Samaritans. Why would they do this? Wouldn’t it be beneficial to get whatever help they could? Especially from people who shared their own views about God?
The Samaritans lineage went back to Assyria, which was a polytheistic society. Although they believed in God, they also believed and worshipped many other gods of their land. God was simply part of their pantheon, and although they respected God and followed His tenants, they also followed other gods.
You’ll notice that the response of the Jews is a united response from the governing body. This is important because not only do they have a united front, but are learning from he mistakes of their ancestors. Their ancestors willingly intermingled with the people of the land and were thus corrupted by them. How much more would this generation be corrupted if they shackled themselves to Samaritans who famously weren’t God-centered? They also show the Samaritans that they have the backing fo the government to do so as well.
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
If the Samaritans turned back and went home, the building of the temple would have been a quick endeavor. But the Samaritan’s reaction is to thwart the Jews at every step. They make a concerted effort to cripple their building efforts. First, they attempt to discourage them and put fear into their hearts to slow production. They bribe officials so that it will make the building more difficult. In the book of Nehemiah we see the same thing. Nehemiah is a man who is tasked with building the walls of Jerusalem, under the Persian king Artaxerxes. Yet, very pointedly, the governor Sanballat uses everything in his arsenal to slow down the construction, make the people fearful.
These tactics should be familiar to us. This is what the devil does to us in our lives too. Discouragement is a tactic. Fear is also a tactic. Both of these stories have a deeper spiritual connection to us, one that subtly teaches us how the devil opposes us when we set out to do God’s work.
Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes 6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
This section is an overview of the trouble the Samaritans caused in not only the building of the temple but in the construction of Jerusalem’s wall and the reconstruction of the city. Xerxes reigned from 485 - 465 BC and is one of the characters in the book of Esther. That book chronicles an uprising in the Citadel at Susa. Artaxerxes reigned from 464-424 BC, and is famously part of the Nehemiah story. Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, must get Artaxerxes blessing to build the walls of Jerusalem. This historical timeline may help:
Cyrus allows the Jews to return to rebuild the temple 537 BC Temple was completed 516 BC Reign of Xerxes 485-465 BC Reign of Artaxerxes 464-424 BC Nehemiah builds the wall 444 BC
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.
The following recounts a letter written to Artaxerxes. Interestingly enough, from 4:8 to 6:18, is all written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew.
8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates. 11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants in Trans-Euphrates: 12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer. 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
In this letter, the forces of opposition, spurred on by the Samaritan revolt, grew to a large amount of officials in the area. Although none of them had any concrete evidence of tax-evasion by Judah, they nonetheless make the claim. This is of course during the time of Nehemiah, when the walls are being rebuilt and Sanballat is tormenting them. The problem with the walls being built is a simple matter of old world worry: if a city is walled, then they are autonomous. They could refuse the king’s taxes because they can properly defend themselves with a wall. The opposition knows to hit Artaxerxes with the financial problem that it could present.
When we are doing God’s work, the devil is cunning and diligent in attempting to knock down whatever progress we try to make. He’ll use whatever he has to to dash the work. If you see a constant attack in your life, a pinpoint attack, then perhaps that is an area the devil wants to dismantle because it is an area of strength. He wants you weak, discouraged and fearful.
17 The king sent this reply: To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates: Greetings. 18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests? 23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop. 24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
The tactic works. But it works through an investigation of the city. Jerusalem’s past catches up with it and the king sees that Jerusalem is a rebellious city. He wants the construction shut down immediately.
But wasn’t Artaxerxes the king that green lit the wall in the first place? You’ll notice that Nehemiah does not name the city in Nehemiah 2:4-5:
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
By listening to God and picking his moment, Nehemiah got the king to finance the building of Jerusalem’s walls and does so, in 52 days, sliding under the grip of Artaxerxes. But as time goes on, we see that even though the temple is built and the city is becoming a city again, the Samaritans constantly oppose it every step of the way.