In the book of Ezra, Ezra shared how the people of Israel were attempting to rebuild the temple of Jehovah God, however, adversaries and foes rose against them, “and in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue”, and in chapter four and verse eight of Ezra, Ezra said, “Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter” where we read,
Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem
to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
The verse reads, “Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem ...” Ezra began with the words, “Rehum” whose name means “compassion and was a man who returned from exile with Zerubbabel also known as Nehum” “the chancellor” which means “the owner or lord” “and Shimshai” which means “and Shimshai whose name means sunny and was the satrap of Judea for the Persian government” “the scribe” or “the secretary” “wrote a letter”which means “inscribed, engraved, recorded and a missive or epistle ” “against Jerusalem” or “in opposition to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”. Ezra shared how “Rehum” and “Shimshai” who was his secretary inscribed an epistle in opposition to “Jerusalem”.
The verse continues, “... to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:” Ezra added the words, “to Artaxerxes” or “addressed to Artaxerxes whose name means I will make the spoiled to boil and was the son and successor of Xerxes and emperor of Persia from 465-424 BC” “the king in this sort” which means “the royal ruler and leader of Persia according to the following manner”. Ezra said “Rehum and Shimshai” addressed their letter to the royal ruler of Persia named “Artaxerxes” which was written according to the manner we shall see in our next verse.
When we meditate upon Ezra's words in this verse, we discover how people who served in the realm of “Araxerxes”involved themselves in the effort to stop the rebuilding of the temple and city of the children of Israel. We shall see what “Rehum and Shimshai” wrote in our next verse, but for now let us be reminded that there is always opposition to people receiving God's way and in the same manner, people rise up against people receiving God's Son Jesus as their “Savior and Lord”. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross for all mankind, and our opposition, Satan and his demons want to do everything possible to keep us from receiving God's forgiveness and promise of eternal life. Even after we have accepted Jesus into our lives, Satan will attempt to thwart our witness and disparage our faith. The opposition to Israel serves as a good reminder that we also have adversaries and foes, and that we need to continually rely upon God's Holy Spirit to come to our aid when their assaults arise.
Next time Ezra shares about more people who, “wrote” the letter, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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