Today's Favorite Verse: Ezra 4:5

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezra 4:5
"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."

The chapter header describes what happened pretty well. "The Samaritans offer help, then hinder the work - The building of the temple and of the walls of Jerusalem ceases."

It appears because the "child of the captivity" (Judah and Benjamin) didn't agree to let the Samaritans help to build the temple that it caused the Samaritans to stop the work from happening. I reflected on if they should have let them help. Then I thought about the temples today. Would we let another group of people help build it?  I don't think so. Why? because then they would also want to use it. The temple is sacred and only those worthy of a temple recommend can enter. So were the Samaritans "unclean"?

I read in the Bible Dictionary about the Samaritans, they were a mixed population partly Israelite and partly gentile. Their reaction in not being allowed to help in the rebuilding of the temple shows me they were not worthy to be in the temple. So, it must have been the right thing for Judah to do.

It is interesting that the same tactics to stop any good work is used today. The counsellors then are like our lawyers and politicians, putting up road blocks at every turn. Just like Judah would not get their temple for many years because of this, we as a nation can't seem to get any good work done either with all the infighting. Who wins in all of this? No one, to dig a pit for your brother is to fall into it yourself.


Day 982