Ezra 4:1, commentary and pictures

The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin were the Samaritans, who heard that the returned exiles, the children of the captivity, were building the temple in Jerusalem unto the Lord God of Israel. They were a mixed people settled in Samaria after Assyria carried Israel away, who claimed to seek the same God and to have sacrificed to Him since Esar-haddon brought them up, yet they were idolaters who put other gods before the Lord. On hearing of the work they came to Zerubbabel and Joshua and the chief of the fathers with promises of friendship, offering to build together with Israel and join in the work. Zerubbabel and the leaders refused, answering that they had nothing to do with them in building a house unto God but would build alone as Cyrus king of Persia had commanded, holding that obedience matters more than help gained by cooperation and that God's people must trust in Him alone and accept no help in worship from those who do not serve Him. Their friendly offer disguised opposition as alliance, and that smooth, advantageous approach is more to be feared than open enmity, warning Christians to give such alluring inducements no heed and not to be drawn by conformity with the world away from allegiance to God.

Adversaries Hearing the Work

The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin named in the verse are the Samaritans, who heard that the children of the captivity, the returned exiles, were building the temple in Jerusalem unto the Lord God of Israel. Their hearing of the rebuilding of the temple to the Lord by the returned captives led directly to their coming to seek a part in the work. The Samaritans were a mixed people formed after Assyria deported many Israelites and settled foreign peoples in Samaria.

Although they claimed to seek the same God and to have sacrificed to Him since Esar-haddon king of Assur brought them up, they were not worshipers of the true God. They were idolaters who put other gods before the Lord and revered graven images. Their profession of worshiping Israel's God did not make them true worshipers.

On hearing of the work they came to Zerubbabel and Joshua and the chief of the fathers, the family leaders of the returned Israelites. They promised friendship and offered to build together with them and join in the work of the temple. That request to help build was the response of Judah and Benjamin's adversaries to learning that the returned captives were rebuilding the temple to the Lord.

Refusing Help in Worship

Zerubbabel and Joshua and the chief of the fathers answered the adversaries that they had nothing to do with them in building a house unto God, but that the returned Israelites themselves together would build as Cyrus king of Persia had commanded. They refused the offer and chose instead to build as the Lord had commanded. The builders would not unite with those who professed friendship and offered help because they were not worshipers of the true God, and would not unite with them in anything relating to worship.

Obedience to God mattered more than help gained through cooperation, and God's people were to trust in him alone and not accept help from those who did not serve him. They relied on God for help rather than seeking support from the king or accepting aid from those opposed to him. Accepting such help would have opened the way for idolatry. The Creator of all things needs not the help of his enemies to establish his worship, asks not the sacrifice of wickedness, and accepts not the offerings of those who serve other gods before him and put other gods before the Lord.

He will defend and prosper his servants in their efforts to serve him when they trust him alone. Those who made the offer to help are presented as adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, and their offer stands against their opposition to the work of restoring worship to the Lord God of Israel. After the refusal the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them in building, and hired counsellors against them to frustrate their purpose.

Subtle Opposition and Warning

The adversaries did not come as open and avowed enemies but with smooth words and fair speeches, disguising opposition as friendly help and apparent alliance with the builders. Their offer to help appeared advantageous, yet it was an insincere and flattering attempt to gain influence and draw God's people into compromise. It worked by flattering inducements, ingenious subterfuges, and alluring inducements meant to tempt from allegiance through alliance and conformity with those who do not fear God.

That friendly approach has greater power to deceive and is more to be feared than open opposition. Satan uses concealed snares and deceptive offers to draw God's people away from faithfulness, and the setting warns Christians not to conform to the world or accept subtle inducements that lead away from allegiance to God. Such offers must be given no heed but strictly guarded against, with every subtle influence that seeks entrance resisted by a vigilance that knows no relaxation, especially as earth's history is closing, lest some carefully concealed and masterly snare take God's people unaware.

True prosperity depends on continuance of covenant relationship with God. Those who walk humbly before Him and draw near to Him for protection from evil are not left to struggle alone, for angels help and protect them. The Lord never betrays one who trusts in Him, and in pity and love He lifts up a standard against the enemy, claiming them as His own whom none may touch.

The refusal began a bitter hostility and animosity between the two peoples, and that rejection deepened the hostility. It formed the background to their later dispute over where to worship. The Samaritans' separation from Israel had followed disobedience and the gradual contamination of their religion by idolatry, and after their rival temple on Mount Gerizim was destroyed they sought instruction in the true religion, though they continued to cling to some idolatry and rejected Jerusalem as the true place of worship. The rejection in the temple-building account led the Samaritans to build that rival temple on Mount Gerizim.