Ezra 4 – Staying faithful in the face of adversity

When the Assyrians destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel two hundred years earlier, a new community emerged. This resulted from the intermarriage between the Jews and the Assyrians. They were the Samaritans who settled in Samaria and around Jerusalem. The Jews regarded them as a mixed race and did not consider them part of their community. They had always regarded them as a syncretistic group and not part of them. Though they might worship God, since they were once part of Israel, they were being viewed with suspicion. 

Hence, Ezra 4:1-5 tells us that the offer of the Samaritans to help Zerubbabel, the priest Jeshua, and their brethren in the temple rebuilding project was declined. Wanting to safeguard the purity of their beliefs and commitment to God, the Jews refused to allow them to participate in their work.  This provoked the hostility of the Samaritans, who then vehemently opposed the work of the Jews. During this period, they faced much opposition until their work to reconstruct Jerusalem was disrupted. Verse 24 said that the temple's rebuilding came to a halt until the second year of the reign of Darius.

In this chapter, we see the opposition the Jews had to face in their project to rebuild Jerusalem. The enemies did all they could to sabotage the returnees' work. The contents of these verses are not chronological events but were picked to show the opposition the returnees had to face in rebuilding Jerusalem.  

Verse 6 describes the opposition during the time of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). The enemies wrote to this king accusing the returnees. Interestingly, this is the king who took Esther as his queen and who later showed favor to the Jews.  

Verses 7-13 describe another incidence. It was a letter written to Artaxerxes I. This incident had more to do with the rebuilding of the wall. At this time, the temple was already built, and the Jews were rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem.  Their adversaries wrote to Artaxerxes I, accusing the returnees of fortifying the walls in preparation to go against the Persia king. And the rebuilding of the wall was halted. However, we learn from Nehemiah 2:1-8 that Artaxerxes I eventually supported the Jews in the rebuilding of the wall.  

Ezra 4 teaches us to uphold the purity of our beliefs and commitment to God, even in the face of opposition. We must stay steadfast in the face of adversity and not allow external forces to derail our goal of being faithful to our God-assigned tasks. Here, we also see the importance of perseverance and determination when facing obstacles and opposition. We can trust that God will send us unexpected support and help even in the most challenging circumstances.