Dealing With The Enemies Of Restoration (4:1-24)
Neal Pollard
Those seeking to restore God’s will and return to God’s way can usually count on this variable, that there are people who will stand against them. For one thing, the devil doesn’t want such work to succeed (cf. 1 Chron. 21:1; 1 Pet. 5:8; 2 Cor. 2:11). For another, those who resist the commanded efforts of God’s obedient children become his willing allies and accomplices. That’s what occurs in Ezra four, “when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel” (1). They utilize several tactics to try and halt a work they disapproved of. Some methods are pretty timeless, like those discovered here.
First, they tried to interfere with the work of God’s people (2-3).They tried to insert themselves and interfere with the plans and efforts which God put in place through His leaders. While it may seem that the leaders were ungrateful and rude, they understood who these people really were. As the inspired writer says, these were “enemies” (1). Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the households of Israel knew fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness would mean severing fellowship with God (cf. Eph. 5:11; 2 John 9-11).
Then, they discouraged them (4). Details of how they did so aren’t given, but the effect is mentioned. There are a million ways to discourage good work–hypercriticism, second-guessing, gossip, false accusations, questioning motives, lying, etc. In fact, we’ll see some of the specific ways they were discouraged in the following verses. Barnabas was so synonymous with encouragement that it was part of his nickname (Acts 4:36), but these people were synonymous with discouragement. And God immortalizes them in perpetual infamy as discouragers of God’s people. That’s a position none of us ever want to occupy!
They intimidated them (4). Whereas discouragement might often appear more passive, intimidation is aggressive. It’s bullying, using leverage to try to negatively influence and stop people. It involves threats. Ezra describes it this way, that “they frightened them from building” (4). They will magnify their intimidation with the actions that follow, but this was premeditated. Their goal was clear. They used their influence and means to make God’s people afraid to do what God’s Word commanded.
They sought to frustrate their purpose and delay them (5). Everything between verse 5 and verse 24 describes how they delayed the work of God for what would amount to 16 years! They needled and pestered them, gave unsolicited advice, and persisted throughout the rest of Artaxerxes’ reign. They were not simply neutral or uninvolved; they actively tried to subvert righteous efforts.
They falsely accused them (6-16). Sadly, this tactic was highly effective and its impact lasted over a decade. After identifying themselves as loyal subjects of their foreign overlord (11), they begin their smear campaign. They warn Artaxerxes that if and when they rebuild the temple and the walls around Jerusalem, Judah will “will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings” (13), “is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces” (15), and “if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, as a result you will have no possession in the province beyond the River” (16). They drew heavily on their prejudiced view of Judah’s past to accomplish their present goal. Distortion and outright dishonesty was fair game to them because it suited their agenda.
They use their influence against them (17-24). The Persian Empire at this time was suffering from potential Civil War, unrest, power struggles, and instability, with regime changes, espionage, and treachery popping up like wildfire across the vast empire. The Samaritans, trying to stop Judah’s rebuilding project, used this to their advantage. This letter sent to Artaxerxes had its intended effect. Trying to cool off this hot spot in his empire, the Persian king took the position that halting the Jews’ rebuilding project would help maintain order in this part of the Empire. So these “enemies” (Samaritans) used their influence with the Persian king to disrupt the progress the Jews had enjoyed up to that point. Incidentally, this helps explain some of the animosity the Jews retained even up to the time of Christ.
A powerful passage quoting Jesus says, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Mat. 12:30). It is always important to examine ourselves to find out where we are in relation to God’s will and word (2 Cor. 13:5). Our task must unequivocally be to aid and support the restoration of the work and will of God. We must look within and determine where we are in that. The last thing we would want is to find ourselves on the wrong side of the divine purpose.
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