Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible study. We are in the book of Ezra in the Old Testament. It is sandwiched between 2 Chronicles and Nehemiah. Today we are in chapter four and if you have not taken some time to read this chapter, please do so and then come back for this study. I am going to break the chapter down into three sections and will give some information on each of those sections to aide in your personal study. If you are enjoying this particular study, I would love to hear from you in the comments section. Many have sent me texts and messages stating how much you enjoy these blog posts and I appreciate any feedback I get. I want to honor God with my blog and point others to the cross of Christ. Let's begin.
Verses 1-5: Adversaries' Help Refused
As you may know, adversaries are the enemies. These are not friends and they do not have pure intentions. The enemy of Israel has heard about the children of Israel building the temple of the LORD. They offered to help but they were rejected. Why? The heathen of the land had incorporated the worship of the God of the Jews along with a variety of false gods. They said, "Let us build with you because we seek your God just like you." The truth is they did not have a true worship and devotion to God, Yahweh. These pagans were rejected by the people of God which shows how important it was to have a pure faith. The children of Israel, God's chosen people, replied, "You have nothing to do with us building a house unto our God." They let them know they would build it without their help. So instead of stepping out of their way and leaving them in peace to work, they frustrated things. The adversaries began to discourage the people of Judah and tried to scare them from building the temple. They even hired propagandists to drain their resolve. This torment and harassment lasted about 15 years during the reign of Cyrus king of Persia to when Darius took the throne as king of Persia.
Verses 6-16 Letters of Opposition Written
The devil is always busy, but so is God. Make no mistake about it, when you do something good for God, something important, the devil always comes along to try to discourage and dissuade us and when that doesn't work, he starts lying and causing problems in higher powers. These men have nothing better to do than try to slow the progress on the building. They clearly never wanted to help build the temple. They have done everything they could to stop the men from building and now they have written a letter to king Artaxerxes. These hired counselors the adversaries paid to help stop the building of the temple were trained in psychological warfare. They knew the king would not listen to their rejection of this project unless they brought up money and power and how the children of Israel would strip him of that, so that is what they said. Verse 16, "We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side of the river." In other words, they claim that this building project threatens the king's reach. The false accusations are that the city is rebellious and bad and they won't pay toll, tribute, and custom.
Verses 17-24 Artaxerxes' Decree
We see that the enemy thinks he has won. King Artaxerxes has looked into this building project and the people of Israel and decided they could be a real threat. He halts the project by royal decree and the adversary is quick to read the letter in Jerusalem to the Jews. They were made to cease working by force and power. The work stopped about 16 years after the project began.
This may seem like a disappointment and a major blow in the project, but God is still in control. We will read what happens next week. If you have a setback and you are made to stop working on something God told you to do, please do not give up and do not get discouraged. He still has a plan and He is still in control. Take it to God and ask Him to guide you in what to do next. He will order your steps and give you instructions.
Thank you for joining me this week for Bible study. I truly enjoy diving deeper into the Scriptures with all of you. I hope and pray that something I have shared has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
No comments:
Post a Comment