SCRIPTURE: EZRA 4
OPPOSITION TO THE REBUILDING (vs. 1-8)
The enemies of Judah and Benjamin wanted to help the Israelites rebuild the temple of the Lord but Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the leaders of Israel rejected their offer. So, the enemies set out to discourage the people of Judah and made them afraid to proceed with the construction. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrated their plans during the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius.
LATER OPPOSITION UNDER XERXES AND ARTAXERXES (vs. 6-24)
At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an account against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes in Aramaic language informing him : “The Israelites are rebellious people and troublesome to kings. They are now restoring the walls, repairing the foundation and rebuilding the temple. If the city is built and walls restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid to the royal treasury. Royal revenue will suffer and you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.”
So the king issued an order to search the history of Israel. It was found out that there has a long story of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. So the king issued an order to stop their work and sent the letter to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled by force to stop their work. Thus, the work of the house of God in Jerusalem came to a stand still until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
THOUGHTS:
As the people started to rebuild the temple, the enemy started to disunite, intimidate and use influence to hinder God’s work. The tactic worked and the construction stopped because the king listened to their accusations. But God was still at work.
The people of the land were mostly Samaritans – a half breed nation of mixed Jews and Gentiles. They offered to assist the Jews in their work but Zerubbabel and Jeshua refused their aid because they knew their play and the Samaritans had their false religion. Their purpose of helping was to keep a close eye as what the Jews were doing and to keep Jerusalem from being strong again. Partnership with unbelievers would lead God’s people to compromise their faith.
Believers can expect opposition when doing God’s work. There is no need to fear because God is our helper. Trust him to show you how to overcome the obstacle.
The ministers claimed to worship the same God of the Jews. It was true that they worshiped God but they also worship many other gods. For them, God was just another “idol” to be added to their collection. Their real motive was to disrupt the temple project. Therefore, we must beware of those who claim to be Christians but their real motive is to use Christianity to serve their own interest.
Two of the greatest obstacles to complete God’s work are discouragement and fear. Discouragement removes our motivation while fear hinders us to continue our work. We can overcome them by seeking God’s help and stand together with other believers in faith to God’s promises.