Expect Opposition

Day three hundred eighteen

Today I thanked the Lord for all the blessings that He has given me.  I know that He is active in my life and that I need to acknowledge that fact daily.  I thanked Him for being there even when I am not always paying attention.  Sometimes I think I act like the ungrateful child that every parent becomes frustrated with.  I apologized for that and promised to do better.  Father thanks for loving me so much, even when I don't deserve it!

Ezra 4

This chapter starts right off letting you know that there is going to be some trouble. Within the first four words of the first verse we find the word adversaries.  Judah is working on rebuilding the temple and the wall and their adversaries are not happy about it.  Their enemies will continue with one effort after another to get this work interrupted.  Anytime you are doing the Lords work you have to expect opposition, especially from Satan.  He is a master at getting people to do what he wants and he uses some interesting tactics.  The Lord gives us some insights into these tactics in this chapter.

The Enemy
How could Judah have enemies they have been in captivity for 70 years?

Earlier in the history of the northern kingdom of Israel the Assyrian Empire had attacked and won.  At that time, the Assyrians took away the people of the northern kingdom and scattered them to various parts of the world.  At the same time, the Assyrians took people from other captive nations and planted them in the area of the northern kingdom.  It was out of superstition that these people tried to worship God, in order that they might not have trouble with the wild lions.  But they didn’t serve God only, they also served all their other gods.  These people eventually intermarried with some of the Jews, and they became known as the Samaritans.

Tactic #1 Infiltration (v 2)
It is the people who settled in the northern kingdom that now approach Zerubbabel and Jeshua in asking to help be a part of the rebuilding of the Temple in verse 2. 

You might look at this and think that it was an innocent type of request that the Samaritans were making.  Yet these people had twisted ideas about who God was and how He was to be worshipped.  If Zerubbabel and Jeshua had allowed them to help, then they would also have input into the character of Judaism from that point on.  Zerubbabel and Jeshua needed to keep the worship pure, so they refused their help.

There have been people placed in my life that appeared innocent enough in the beginning, but over time tried to sway me from what I believed in.  It is tough to see this coming because we know we are supposed to introduce others to Christ, but at the same time we have to be careful that our own foundation is not compromised.  We have to keep Christ in the relationship and make sure we don't compromise with the worldly ideas.  That is how we fight back, when we recognize that the relationship is pulling us away from God then it is time to let go and move on.

Tactic #2 Discouragement (v 4)
The term "weakened" in this verse means discouraged.  Often discouragement is brought about by different fears.  When we yield to discouragement, it is usually because we give too much thought to the past or the future.  We are not given specific instances to describe how the Samaritans discouraged God's people, but over time, when you are facing many challenges, it is easy to start to doubt and get discouraged. 

There is a quote I like about this subject:  “Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.” That's the key to fighting discouragement, knowing what God has called you to do and not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow and focusing on today.

Tactic #3 Trouble (v 4)
I like the way this is stated, "...and troubled them in building."  Again not specific, but you can imagine what this meant.  To me it sounds like the little things that could go wrong, like someone taking materials or tools needed to build.  The things that cause time delays, not on a grand scale, but a little here and a little there slowing the work down.

This can still happen in our building projects and life situations today. The question we need to ask ourselves is: "Is God doing something else behind the scenes that we can't see yet?"  We fight this tactic by remembering that God is bigger than any troublemaker in our lives.

Tactic #4 Frustration (v 5)
The Samaritans even hire counsellors to help them stop the work.  How frustrating is it when you know you are doing something good and yet those against you are gaining support!  Why can't they see what you are doing is good?

I saw a great answer to this tactic:  Play the role of the oyster that makes something beautiful out of its irritations!  Don't let the frustration get to you, pray and trust God to make something good out of the situation.

Tactic #5 Fatigue (v 5)
Some times it just doesn’t let up. Judah will continue to try to build through king Cyrus' reign and into Darius' reign.  Battling constantly can be so tiring. 

Many people, including Christians, fall to this tactic, of being so physically tired that it subsequently wears on them emotionally and spiritually.  I am included in this group. 

We have been given many tools to fight this tactic: the Sabbath, Family Home Evening, scriptures, prayer, etc.  The Lord knows that to fight this tactic requires continual physical, emotional, and spiritual refreshment.  He has given us an arsenal of our own!

Tactic #6 Accusation (v 6)
This tactic worked! The construction had to stop (v 24).  This is one of those situations where Satan might have won the battle, but he does not win the war.  Reality is we don't live in a fairy tale world where everyone lives "Happily ever after".   Satan has a powerful arsenal of accusations for us and a whole army to carry out his bidding.

So how do we fight this one?  It helps if we recognize it and expect it.  If you know it is coming then you can prepare for it. The Lord would guide His people through this situation with the help of His prophets.  It would become a war of words with letters sent to Darius (Ezra 5). In the end the rights of the Jews to build would be upheld (Ezra 6). This is a matter of keeping the proper perspective.  Satan might have delayed the project, but his win was only temporary, God would prepare a way.

I don't know about you, but I have been a victim of each of these tactics at some point in my life.  The work the Lord has asked me to do has been interrupted many times.  But as I look back at these times I can see where the Lord stepped in and got me back on track.  Through these experiences I have learned to expect opposition, but I have also learned the skills necessary to fight back. The work may continue to be interrupted, but with the proper response at least it will continue!