and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.
These names sign a hostile letter to the king of Persia, sent by peoples settled in Samaria and the province west of the Euphrates. Who were they, and what real force did their protest have against the small group rebuilding Jerusalem?
Who These Peoples Were
They were not natives of the land. The verse names Osnappar as the king who settled them there. One writer traces that practice back through earlier Assyrian kings.
H. L. RossierThey belonged to the nations that the kings of Assyria conquered and then moved to other countries, as their custom was. Esar-haddon, the son of Sennacherib, followed the policy of Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17:3). He removed the tribes of Israel that still held out, and they went into captivity. In their place he put people from many different lands, settling them in the cities of Samaria and in the land west of the Euphrates (v. 10).
Their religion matched their mixed origin. Second Kings records what they became:
H. L. RossierThe second book of Kings (2 Kings 17:33) tells us about the religious state of these nations. They kept their own gods and at the same time acknowledged the God of Israel. In the words of the Bible, "these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images" (2 Kings 17:41).
A Warning Picture
That blend did not stay in ancient Samaria. One writer sees the same mixture in later religion that carries God's name.
H. L. RossierThis mixture was not plain idolatry, and it makes us think of the blend we call Christendom, in whatever form it appears... where worship of the true God sits alongside the moral darkness of the world, and where what people profess has no relation to what ought to mark the people of God.
Many Nations, One Target
So many names matter for one reason: they all pulled the same way.
Edward DennettThe first is the union of all the different races of the land "against Jerusalem"... all of them joined forces to block the Lord's work of building His house. The mind of the flesh is hostile to God. So when God and His testimony are at stake, His enemies agree on one aim and purpose without difficulty. They may differ among themselves, and even hate one another, yet they are of one mind when God comes on the scene. We see this clearly in the case of our blessed Lord, when the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers took counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed (Psalm 2). Even Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends through their shared contempt of Christ.
Behind that alliance Dennett sees a hidden hand:
Edward DennettSo in our chapter Satan stays hidden, but he is the one stirring up these different peoples to act against the work of the remnant.
The Weight of the Signature List
The list of names was also meant to impress.
F. B. HoleThe letter went up in the names of leading men among the people of the land. It was backed by no fewer than nine of the tribes or citizens or peoples then living in the country around them. It was clearly a very impressive document.
Whether the writers had any right to speak for all those groups is another matter.
Leslie M. GrantThey present themselves as representatives of many peoples whom Osnappar had taken captive and settled in the cities of Samaria (vv. 9-10). Whether they really spoke for those nations when they wrote may be very doubtful, but they wanted their letter to look convincing.
Where the Real Danger Lay
Their numbers and titles were not the real problem. The trouble had already started inside the camp.
Edward DennettWe must still stress that these enemies could have had no power against the people of God, if the people themselves had not lost faith in God and heart for their work. Paul wrote, "A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries" (1 Cor. 16:9). Yet not one of his opponents could have hindered his work, because he was counting on Him who "opens, and no one will shut."
Summary
- Origin — Assyrian kings moved these peoples into the cities of Samaria and the land west of the Euphrates. They took Israel away and put foreigners in their place.
- Mixture — They feared the God of Israel and served their carved images too. One writer sees the same blend wherever true worship sits beside the world's moral darkness.
- Coalition — Peoples who hated each other agreed at once when God's house went up. The same union of enemies met again at the cross.
- Presentation — Nine peoples and leading names made the letter look impressive. Whether the writers really spoke for them all is doubtful.
- Weakness — No alliance could stop the work while the builders trusted God. Opposition wins only where faith and heart are already lost.