Introduction
Muscle doesn’t develop without the resistance of heavy weight. Learning to play guitar requires building up calluses. Acquiring a new language demands the disorientation and confusion of a foreign grammar and vocabulary. But in all those instances, the resistance and difficulty is not a sign to stop. It isn’t a sign to give up. It is a sign to persevere.
The Text
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. […]
Ezra 4:1ff
Summary of the Text
After the joyful events of the previous chapter (536 BC), we find that the enemies hinted at in 3:3 spring into action (v1). They feign to Zerubbabel that they come as fellow-worshippers of God, offering both support, camaraderie, appealing to historic ties (v2). Zerubbabel and Jeshua return with a tart response not only refusing their help, but refuting their claims (v3). The enemies let their mask drop and begin a harassment campaign that weakened the hands of the Jews (vv4-5).
This harassment will continue through the entire project of rebuilding the temple and the city, beginning in Cyrus’ reign, and continuing through Darius’ (v5). Ezra includes an example how the opponents of the Jews successfully thwarted progress (vv6-23). These enemies took to writing complaint letters to the king. This is the same Darius that we meet in Daniel, although in verses 6-7 Ezra refers to him by his two throne names––Artaxerxes and Ahasuerus. The example letter has an impressive list of co-signers, likely meant to add weight and intimidate (vv8-11).
The substance of the letter accused the Jews of rebuilding the rebellious and bad city of Jerusalem, while also exaggerating their progress (v12). According to them, if Jerusalem is rebuilt, it will be both a political and financial headache for Darius (v13). At the beginning of Darius’ reign (522 BC) he faced, as many new kings do, various revolts across his empire. In the letter they cajole the king to search the archives and in so doing he will see how rebellious Jerusalem had been; it’s reputation for not playing well with others is why it had been destroyed (vv14-15). They warn the king that if he ignores this he will lose a significant realm of his empire (v16).
The king’s reply reveals that the schemes of the Jews’ enemies worked (vv17-22). He alludes to the reigns of David and Solomon revealing that Judah was considered a genuine threat to the Persian empire (v20). So, he decreed that the work must stop, even insisting that these belligerents of the Jews should see to it that the work grinds to a halt (vv21-22). Eager at having obtained their objective the enemies scurry to Jerusalem and by force and power stop the work (v23). All the good progress was halted, and doesn’t resume until Darius is able to make a further investigation, which is described in the next two chapters (v24).
How the Work is Opposed
You should never assume that the work of reformation and rebuilding can be undertaken without opposition. The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Man cannot be in a symbiotic relationship. There is no treaty between these enemy kingdoms. These saints were confronted with this reality as they got to work, and we can profitably learn from the opposition they faced. Throughout Ezra/Nehemiah are numerous strategies used against God’s people and their labors. This chapter presents us with three types of opposition: water down the work; hamstring the work; and discourage the work.
First, we see that the enemies endeavor to join them in the work, not out of sincerity, but in hopes of undermining and subverting it. This is an attempt to water down the work. The enemies want to hijack the good work of worshipping the Triune God and the cultivation of covenant community in order to make it palatable to their own ideology. This sort of compromise is all too familiar to us: Christian leaders who are coaxed to softening the edges of Gospel in order to appease donors. Parents who use Netflix to be their babysitter. Jesus had a term for this: unsalty salt. On this front we must recognize that while there are co-belligerents in our political battles, we must not, for any reason, water down the clear teaching of Scripture regarding the evils of sin and the goodness of the Gospel, roles for men and women, the blessing of a Christian education for faithful covenant children, and so on.
Second, they oppose the work by bureaucratic sabotage. It gets tied up in the courts. It gets questioned on technicalities. After all, we need to research the definition of “walls”. Let’s refer it to committee. Check the book of procedures. This form of opposition can be seen quite vividly in much of the law-fare which has been wielded against Christians. Think of the baker who wouldn’t bake a cake for gay mirages; or the Christian woman in the UK who was arrested for silently praying within the “safe zone” which surrounds abortion clinics; or our sister congregation in Troy who are tangled up with the city. These are all examples of real abuses of the rule of law, using laws and regulations to inhibit freedom, instead of law being a guardian of the right worship of the Triune God.
Lastly, in giving way to the threats of their enemies, God’s people oppose the work themselves by giving in to discouragement. This really is the most insidious, because it arises from within God’s people. The Hebrew idiom is quite apt, the efforts of the enemies “weakened the hands” of God’s people. External circumstances become a justification to these saints to simply stop what God had clearly paved the way for them to do. Notice that this discouragement was infectious. Instead of being strong and of good courage, like Joshua of old, they grew weak and discouraged. The sins of fear, anxiety, sloth, and apathy led to anemic worship and indifference to the righteous work before them.
The Danger of Discouragement
Discouragement comes in many forms. Externally you might see the various impediments which the enemies of Christ have erected. Whether it is the corruption and blackmail in our political system, or whether it is the pollution of our entertainment industry, or the compromise of our evangelical leaders and institutions. This can discourage you, and convince you to shuffle back to your little hovel and wait it out. Twiddle your thumbs til death takes you.
Discouragement can also arise internally from your own sin. You’ve perhaps been working hard to overcome some sin, and you’d been doing well for a while but you stumbled again. You might be tempted to give up the fight. You might be tempted to settle for life in the rubble. Your hand weakens in the fight. But this is to betray how small a view of your God you have. God stirred up a pagan king to pave the way for His church to be rebuilt. God ensnared Satan to crucify Christ, in order that Christ might destroy all of Satan’s kingdom. Christ reigns over all powers of earth and hell now. Christ offers forgiveness for all your sins, and has sent His omnipotent Spirit to enable you to war with your own flesh to overcome it for His glory.
Don’t Stop
So then, as we begin our own portion of this good work of building the Kingdom of Heaven, this is my charge to you. Do not relent. Do not grow discouraged. Do not set down the sword. Do not black-pill. Do not stop. We have children to nurture in the fear and admonition of the Lord. We have unbelievers who must hear the Gospel. We have sins to confess and overcome. We have a nation in desperate need of discipleship. We have nations who must be compelled to kiss the Son lest He be angry. We have the Living God to worship.
And we can do all this because the Lord Jesus is the King of kings, and He has commissioned us to undertake all this by His Spirit, for His glory, and with His mighty power at work in us. This is what it means to live by faith. Our King has tasked us to subdue our own wily hearts by the unrivaled glory of His Gospel, and to subdue the nations with the stunning Good News that through Christ we have been invited to dwell forever in the house of God that shall never be turned to rubble.
Charge and Benediction
Before the missionary, Jim Elliot, and his companions headed out to reach the unreached tribe which would eventually kill them, they gathered with their families and sang a fitting hymn. Here is the first stanza of that hymn:
We rest on thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,
we rest on thee, and in thy name we go.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
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