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Welcome to another installment of “Well That’s Interesting” (you can find the first post with a detailed explanation of the series here, or bookmark this page to keep track of the whole series).

Whereas last week we focused our attention on one verse, today we’re going to be looking at an entire chapter of scripture! To save space, I won’t copy out the whole thing here, but instead, I encourage you to take a few minutes now and read through Ezra chapter 4.

There is a lot of interesting content in this chapter, but I won’t bury the lead here: What I noticed this time reading through, which I’ve never noticed before, is that the reported standstill in verse 24 is not as a result of the dastardly plot and letter to the king in verses 9–23!

Some Background

Now, I’ll be honest. There are certain portions of scripture that I find more difficult to follow than others; I’m going to assume I’m not alone in this. Specifically, I tend to find it tricky when passages involve lots of dates, places, and names (bonus points when the names are ones that are commonly used throughout Israel’s history, and thus appear in multiple places and times). The first few chapters of the book of Ezra are a great example.

While chapter 1 starts with a clear narrative, detailing a time that is easy to place in the story of Israel, by the end of chapter it turns into a list of gold and silver articles that were returned to God’s people from the Babylonians. The majority of chapter 2 is spent listing all of the people and families that travelled to Jerusalem when King Cyrus sent them back (oh, and also their animals!)

Finally in chapters 3 and 4 we get back to the action as the rebuilding begins and opposition is faced. However, what can seem at a quick glance like a fairly straightforward story, is in fact anything but. And it’s here that I’ll willingly throw myself under the bus to remind us all of an important lesson when it comes to studying scripture: If we allow our focus to be compromised by sections of scripture we find less interesting, we can easily get distracted and miss the point of the text.

Opposition Explained

Let’s go back to the beginning of the chapter. We read that some neighbouring peoples (most likely the people group that would eventually be known as the Samaritans) heard about the temple-rebuild project and offered to help. However we also know that their offer was not fully genuine—the author specifically refers to them as “enemies” in verse 1. Zerubbabel and the people were therefore justified in their exclusivity and refusal of help in verse 3. Verse 4 then lets us know that the enemies did not appreciate this denial, and from that point on they “set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building” (NIV).

But it’s verse 5 where things start to get really interesting, at least with regards to the topic we’re discussing today.

They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezra 4:5 NIV

But then verse 6 then starts talking about the reign of King Xerxes, and verse 7 notes King Artaxerxes. It’s at this point, with several different kings named in as many verses, that I admittedly can start to struggle. Maybe you, like me, find it easier to disconnect at this point and forget or ignore the names and just pay attention to the story.

And what a thrilling story it is! Verses 8 through 22 detail probably one of the most clever schemes against God’s people in all of the Bible, as the enemies use the king’s ego and pride and fears to convince him to put a halt on the building of the wall around Jerusalem. Verse 23 tells us that the enemies, at the king’s command, forcefully stopped the Jews from building, then verse 24 says they were stopped until the second year of king Darius.

Putting Together the Pieces

Now, maybe you’re reading this and you’re following exactly what happened in this chapter and you don’t see how anyone could be confused. But for the rest of us, let me walk you through some of the things it took me a while to notice.

The letter that gets sent to Artaxerxes describes the people of Jerusalem rebuilding the walls and foundations (verse 12). But back at the beginning of the chapter, when the opposition is first appeared, the people are rebuilding the temple (verses 1–3). This is one of the major hints that maybe it’s time to start doing some study of history and dates, to get all of our kings in a row and figure out what’s actually going on here.

If you’re reading from a study Bible, or one with extra footnotes, some of this work might’ve already been done for you. But according to historical record, here is the timeline of Persian kings we’re working with.

Cyrus (the great)	559–530 BC
Cambyses II	530–522 BC
Bardiya	522 BC
Darius I	522–486 BC
Xerxes I	486–465 BC
Artaxerxes I	465–424 BC
Darius II	424–404 BC

So Cyrus was the king that released the people from their prophesied exile and allowed/commanded them to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1). Cambyses and Bardiya, the next two kings, are not mentioned, most likely because there was nothing noteworthy during their reign specifically with regards to the topic at hand. The next king that is referred to is Darius, when we read in Ezra 4:5 that the enemies worked against the rebuilders “during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

Next comes Xerxes, with continued opposition (verse 6), and then of course the big scheme with Artaxerxes (verses 7–23), before referencing Darius again in verse 24. Now, looking at our timeline, we might think that the author is referring to Darius II, who came after Artaxerxes. That might make sense chronologically, if it weren’t for the fact that the same verse once again mentions the “house of God” or temple. Historical record confirms the completion of the rebuilt temple in 515 BC, or as Ezra 6:15 notes, “in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius”, long before the reign of Artaxerxes or Darius II.

Solving the Puzzle

So what on earth is going on here? Was the author of Ezra confused? What is happening with all these kings and the people and rebuilding?

It would seem to me that a logical solution here is that verses 6–23 are parenthetical. They’re a digression, an aside, included to add emphasis and draw attention to the theme of opposition. Consider this paraphrase:

After denying help from the locals (enemies) to rebuild the temple, the people faced constant opposition. The faced opposition for years, all the way until the reign of King Darius!

In fact, the opposition didn’t even fully stop there. An accusation was lodged during the next king, Xerxes. And even years later, when Artaxerxes was on the throne, the enemies devised a letter and a scheme, preying on his fear, to convince him to put a stop to the people (who had long since finished the temple and were now rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem!)

But anyways, back to the start of the process. There was so much opposition that the temple building was basically at a standstill until the second year of Darius.

When viewed through this lens of understanding, we get a clearer picture of the story, we can actually keep track of the dates, characters, and events; and we can better understand what the author is trying to accomplish. In this case, by parenthetically addressing the plots of the enemies that would happen in the future, the author makes it very clear that the people rebuilding the temple faced constant opposition. For decades. Rebuilding the temple. Rebuilding the foundations. Rebuilding the walls. He does not want it missed: this task wasn’t easy!

And yet, we know from continuing to read Ezra and Nehemiah that the task was completed! By the strength and grace of God, the people accomplished the job that He had set out before them, because God is faithful through it all!

Why Does it Matter?

Where normally I save this section for application of the text itself, today the lesson I’ve been reminded about is more about how we read and study the text in general. That is to say, the content of Ezra 4 is interesting, but what’s important is understanding what the author is actually doing with what he is saying. (As an aside, we had a great podcast with Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla during our Joseph sermon series where he talks all about this idea of proper Bible study and authorial intent. I highly recommend you check it out: here).

Reading scripture is incredibly important for the life of the Christian, and I don’t think that every time we read scripture it needs to be intensive study. However, when it comes to a text that is a bit confusing, or one that is hard to follow or stay focused on (looking at you, censuses and genealogies), taking the extra time to research and figure out what is actually going on can be game-changing.

In the case of Ezra 4, by missing the literary digression and reading the story with a linear chronology, we can get completely lost and confused and just ignore the details at worst; or try to follow along but miss the actual emphasis and intention at best. By taking some time to slow down, focus on the details, read a footnote or two, or do a bit of research, we can better understand what the author is doing; and thus, we can move towards a better grasp of the text itself and its application in our lives.