Reading for April 6th

 Read Ezra 4.1-6. In 4.1-5: Opposition to rebuilding the Temple. This section shows the surrounding peoples opposing the rebuilding of the Temple, just as the following section will detail opposition by the surrounding peoples to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem over a century later. Such opposition to sacred actions furthers the prohibition of intermarriage with the surrounding peoples. In verse 1: The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin: By characterizing these persons as adversaries, the author makes their subsequent request less than truthful. In verse 2: We worship your God as you do: As  deportees who had been settled in the land by the Assyrians, the "adversaries" would not have known the Pentateuch nor the orders for the Temple service attributed to King David. Consequently, they could not approach God in the same way as the returned exiles. In verse 3: We alone will build to the Lord, ... as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us: The community determines to show its devotion on its own, and claims this is required by Cyrus' orders. There is nothing in the decree that restricts who can participate in the rebuilding. In verse 4: The people of the land discouraged the people of Judah: here people of the Land is defined by what proceeded it, namely they are the deportees who brought into the land by the Assyrians. However, the author will use the term simply as a generic label for those who are not of Judah. The Hebrew term translated as discouraged is better rendered "undermined." Comments or Questions..