The Rest of the Nations - Ezra 4:10

In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort. Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, ...”, and in chapter four and verse ten of Ezra, Ezra shared about “the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over” where we read,

And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, 

and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.

The verse reads, “And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, ...” Ezra began with the words, “and the rest of the nations” which means “and the remainder and residue pertaining to the people groups and tribes” “whom the great and noble Asnapper” which means “that the captain, chief, lord and master as well as rare, famous and honorable Asnapper or Osnapper whose name means horned bull or thorn abolished and was an Assyrian king who transported other peoples into Samaria who was probably the king Ashurbanipal” “brought over” or “carried away and took into exile”. Ezra shared how “Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe” included in their letter the remainder of the people groups who were deported and relocated by “Asnapper” into Samaria and throughout the neighboring lands. 

The verse continues, “... and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.”Ezra added the words, “and set in the cities” or “and fixed and established within the towns, villages and encampments” “of Samaria” which means “belonging to Samaria whose name means watch mountain and was the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam”, “and the rest” or “and the remainder and residue” “that are on this side the river” which means “that exist within the region across the Euphrates stream or flowing river” “and at such a time” or “now at the current time”. Ezra shared how the people from these other people groups were established within the towns and villages belonging to “Samaria” and included the remainder of people who were settled in the region across from the Euphrates river during the current time.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how “Rehum and Shimshai” included the remainder of people who were deported and relocated in “Samaria” by “Ashurbanipal” and in the neighboring lands belonging to the province which was located west of the “Euphrates River”. Regardless of where they were located, it seemed that everyone was against the people of Israel. The same may be said for people who have received Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind. Opposition is real, and it often displays itself with numerous parties and places. God, however, will forgive the sins, grant everlasting life and defend anyone who rises up as adversaries and foes against them if they receive Jesus as their “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Ezra says, “this is the copy of 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".