“Hate” has four letters, but so does “love”; “lying” has five letters, but so does “truth.” Write wisely.
Normally it’s impolite to read someone else’s correspondence. But in this case, it’s encouraged. The Spirit included these written communications “for our learning” (Rom 15:4). I wonder if the authors of these letters might have said some things differently if they’d known their missives would be on display for thousands of years. Have you heard this advice? When angry, rush home, put pen to paper, and say everything you’re feeling. But whatever you do, don’t mail it! Tear it in little pieces and throw it in the fire. Better to be warmed by it than to be heated! Now let’s look at the first letter. We notice they really pile on! In Ezra 4:9, they include every people group they can think of, then add, “and the rest of the nations” (v 10). This is the ad populum or “bandwagon” fallacy, the notion that something is true because many believe it. In fact, the crowd is usually wrong. Just one person who stands with God is in the right. Who were these people? When the brightest and best of the Jews were taken captive to Babylon, other enslaved people were brought into Israel to replace them. They married some of the Jews that were left, and later were given the name “Samaritan” because they “settled in the cities of Samaria” (v 10). The writers argue three points. If the Jews are allowed to rebuild Jerusalem, they will rebel (vv 12, 15), they will refuse to pay taxes (v 13), and the king will lose his hold on the region (v 16). Controlling people, acquiring money, and wielding power—that’s what the world is all about. They encourage the king to check his archives. “And,” they write, “you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces” (v 15). And so the mail was posted.