Old Testament: Ezra 4.11–13

To read the Bible in a year, read Ezra 3–5 on June 13, In the year of our Lord 2022

By Don Ruhl 

You state your position clearly, choosing your words wisely, but somehow someone twists your words into the opposite of what you meant. The enemies of the Jews did that to them. Part of an exchange of letters that the enemy made with the Persian king was this: 

“To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and so forth: Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations. Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished.”

– Ezra 4.11–13 

The king certainly did not want a large group of people within his jurisdiction to avoid taxes. Therefore, he let the enemies of the Jews stop their work of rebuilding the temple. However, some time later, the Jews started back up and used as their justification the edict of an earlier king that they had the authority to rebuild their temple. 

Questions: 

• How have you dealt with dishonest people? 
• Have you misrepresented someone? 

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