Ezra 4:4 says, Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, The people of Israel had been given permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall, but when they began to do so, they met with opposition from the countries around them. If we are doing God's work, even if we have a legal right to do what we are doing, we can expect to meet with opposition from the world. Still, we should never allow this to keep us from continuing to do what God has called us to do.
Verse five adds, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. Those who opposed the rebuilding of the wall hired counselors to frustrate the people of Israel as they worked to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, from the days of Cyrus the king of Persia until the days of Darius the next king of Persia. They were looking for a legal way to stop the building of the wall, and people today still look for legal ways to stop the church from growing. They weren't giving up quickly or easily in their opposition to the wall being rebuilt, and people who oppose Christianity today will not give up on their opposition either. Of course, in order to do God's work, we must first become a part of His everlasting kingdom by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Verse six continues, And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. After Cyrus died, those who opposed the rebuilding in Jerusalem wrote a letter to Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes as he is called in the next verse, complaining about the people of Judah and Jerusalem who were doing the work of rebuilding. He knew very little about the people of Judah and Jerusalem or their God as Cyrus had. Christians today may find their situation in the world and with those in power changing from time to time, and the less those in power know about God, the worse their situation may be.
Verse seven states, And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. This letter to Artaxerxes was written in the Syrian language. I don't know if this really mattered, except that it wasn't written in Hebrew, the language of God's people and was also written in the language someone who didn't know God would understand. I do know that those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord do not understand God's word, since understanding comes from God Himself.
Verse eight adds, Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: We are told the names of those who did the actual writing of the letter. One was Rehum the chancellor and the other was Shimei the scribe. I would suppose Rehum dictated and Shimshai put the words down on paper, which is much the way the Bible was written. God dictated the words of the Bible, and many different authors wrote them down. We either accept this fact or to us the Bible becomes less than what it really is.
Verse nine continues, Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, This verse simply identifies some other people who were involved in writing the letter. I believe we can accurately say that those who oppose God will always have others that support them in their opposition.
Verse ten concludes And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time. The people of several other cities or nations who opposed God's people were named, and we know that there are many nations that stand against God and His people today. There are only two sides. There are those who stand against God, and those who by faith Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord stand for Him.
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