CHAPTER FOUR PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS 1. What would have been the result if Israel had accepted the help of their neighbors? 2. What was the most effective tool which Satan used to stop the Lord's work? 3. Can you find any errors in the letter written by their enemies, and if so, how do you acco... [ Continue Reading ]
TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT B. The work is interrupted by Israel's enemies. 1. Opposition develops. TEXT, EZRA 4:1-5 1 Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads... [ Continue Reading ]
2. Israel's enemies write letters to prevent rebuilding. TEXT, EZRA 4:6-16 6 Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his c... [ Continue Reading ]
3. Artaxerxes replies and orders the work stopped. TEXT, EZRA 4:17-22 17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the River: Peace. And now 18 the document which y... [ Continue Reading ]