Writing our Letter

“Let it be known…Let it now be known…Let it now be known…We inform the king…” Ezra 4:12-16

I have never read this passage before but was so entertained by the process. It reminded me of when my children were very young. I don’t believe one day passed without someone ‘letting it be known’ to me the evils that had been leveled against the other. Not one day passed when one of them didn’t ‘inform’ me of the other one’s trespasses. It seems we played court everyday as I tried to judge between plaintiff and defendant…the wounded and the wounder. Most times there were no witnesses so I was left to determine the facts, the fiction, the judgment, and the punishment.

In our passage, the servants of the king hated the Jews and didn’t want the rebuilding and restoration of God’s temple to be successful. They wrote a letter to the king that was full of lies, complaints, fearmongering, and misrepresentation in an attempt to enlist the king to act on their behalf. The laundry list of complaints and lies against the Jews was called a Letter of Accusation. ‘Accusation seems to be a favorite weapon for the enemies of God’s people.’ Take Courage, Jennifer Rothschild, p. 52. But truth be told, we can be God’s people and impose our own letter of accusation on another. When we tear down others, we form our own accusatory attacks. When we exaggerate the action of others, we misrepresent the facts distorting real truth. When we recruit others to support our slander, we dishonor another who God created. God has a plan for each of His children, and an accusatory spirit goes against the grain of what God is trying to accomplish in both us and them. If we are to write any letter, it should be to the King who has all the facts of every situation…who knows the heart of every person involved…and who is well aware of the motivation of all parties concerned. We must always remember that what we dole out to others might be doled out to us one day. Accusations in any form sting and may do irreparable damage.

‘Sometimes the only thing that will give us the umph we need when the accusation is stiff, the opposition is rough, and the discouragement is deep, is God’s word.’ P. 54. God’s word will settle any emotions whether we feel wounded or know that we have wounded another. We must leave all judgment up to God when we have been hurt, and must pursue forgiveness when we have harmed others.

‘By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.’ 1 John 3:16