Ezra 4
It shouldn't surprise us when the enemy comes along side us and tries to disrupt what we are trying to do. It would seem as though when things like this happen that we would be on the guard but often times we are caught unaware. Maybe because we can't believe people would really be that deceiving or have such plans as to destroy us. The fact is that it happens today just as it did in the day of Ezra.
Vs. 3 summarized says that the enemies of Judah and Benjamin were being sly in trying to befriend them and join in their work to rebuild the Temple of God but it was only to confuse them and cause them frustration in hopes that they would stop.
Have you ever had that happen?
I can remember one time when we knew the Lord was calling us to do a huge project in our work among an unreached people group and it was Huge! We had been working towards this big event for 3 years. Striving to find the people where they lived, looking for ways to reach them with the gospel and then hand them one. Well, we were ready and finally the Lord gave Dwayne and I a vision to see that more than 300,000 people would receive the gospel message. It was huge it would require 13 teams coming in small groups starting in June and going to August. It would mean our team in the area would be considering the risks and with much prayer and preparation it was time to carry it out. One of our team members came to us and questioned our vision and our purpose. Dwayne and I said, give us time to pray about it and give us time to seek the Lord. It was after 3 days of praying and fasting we knew that it was the enemy putting doubt in the heart of our team members to try and discourage us and thwart Father's plan.
We went back to the call to do this project. It wasn't from us because we knew the risks and the hard work it would take to make this happen. But the Lord called out the Laborers, He provided men of god to write the Tracks and to provide us the tools to distribute them. He provided two sisters in Tennessee to fund the whole printing of over 150,000. tracts... God was at work and we had to trust Him...
We went back and told our whole team. This project was moving forward and they had to trust the Lord in this because it wasn't our plan but His......
Proverbs 19:21 says, " many plans are in mans heart but the counsel of the Lord stands forever.' this is our verse to claim when we begin to face struggles or discouragement.
The men of god though in Ezra were able to distinguish what the intent was because they knew these men were not of the Household of God. So the men told them no you can't join us or help us this is for the God's people to build. This made them mad and so they went to the King and told him of their plans.
the people however were frightened of the people over the river and the word says in 3:3 that the people of God were fearful of the people of who were living in the land by the river. So they already were fearful now they know for certain that they are out to hurt them and stop them.
Ultimately the people stop work on the temple for a time. We are going to see in Haggai as we jump over to read the accounts of what God had to do get His people back to work and see how the Lord works to encourage and give strength when we His people are fearful and have little faith.
Some of the lessons that have popped out at me in these chapters so far are:
Obedience to Authority
Obeyed the Law of Moses - today we would obey the Word of God
Gave praise and Glory to God rather than Man- They worshiped God.
In the beginning they stayed focused in the midst of fear of what lay ahead of them.
In the end they allowed fear to grip them. -
Today as I think back over Ezra 1-4 I can't help but see myself in them. I do some of these very things and I've allowed the enemy to cause me to become ineffective in what God has called me too because I am fearful!
2 Timothy 1:7 " for God has not given us the spirit of timidity (fear) but of power and love and discipline. "
May we claim those things today:
Power, Love, Discipline
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