Ezra 4:1

No sooner had the foundation of the temple been laid than adversaries appeared on the scene. It was so also in New Testament times. Wherever the apostle went and laid the foundation of the assembly, the enemy stirred into action… But as with Paul, so also with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the enemy took on the appearance of friendship.

The adversaries were the Samaritans… These words revealed their true origin. They were a mixed race settled by heathen kings in the conquered territory of the house of Israel, the ten tribes. We find their history in 2 Kings 17:24. The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in Samaria… One of the captive priests taught them at Bethel the corrupt worship which had ruined the ten tribes.

Here God describes the instruments of Satan with this word: "the adversaries of Judah" (v. 1)… The second book of Kings tells us about the religious state of these nations. They kept their gods. At the same time they acknowledged the God of Israel. In the language of the Bible, "these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images" (2 Kings 17:41).

The reader is not left in doubt for a single moment about the character of these would-be helpers of God's people in their work. The Holy Spirit tells us plainly that they were "the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin," although words of peace were on their lips. He knew their hearts, their aims and ends. And indeed they give themselves away in the very words they use… By their own confession they were Assyrians, not children of Abraham, with no claim to belong to Israel. They were, in fact, the ancestors of the Samaritans, who kept trying to push into the place of privilege and blessing. That is why the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans… From this incident we may learn the source of one of the gravest dangers in the work of the Lord. The kisses of an enemy are both deceitful and dangerous, though it seems so ungracious to refuse the offered help of professed friends.

These people came from an idolatrous mixture. They offer to build together with the people, but what materials could they bring to the house of God?… Do God's people today understand that His work cannot allow any mixture with the world in those He entrusts with it?… In speaking this way, the remnant show no spiritual pride. They admit that they are under the king of the Gentiles because they had been unfaithful. But they have understood that they alone are called to this work.

The enemy had presented himself as a friend. This called for special watchfulness and caution. But once refused, these men soon show their true character openly… The people had been firm. They had resisted the tricks and cunning that belong to the ancient serpent. But they become frightened when the adversary appears as a roaring lion. They forget that their enemy is a defeated enemy, and that he would have fled from anyone who stood up to him.

A child of God should refuse to be yoked with an unbeliever. This holds at home, in business, or in religion. He refuses simply because God tells him to be separate, and not because of his own personal holiness… People will call it intolerance, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, exclusiveness, and the like. But we cannot help all this… No doubt the remnant in the days of Ezra must have looked very intolerant when they refused the help of the surrounding people in building the house of God. But they acted on a divine principle in that refusal.