Good Morning “Strengthened When Tested”. Today we are in Ezra 5.
Zerubbabel wasn’t fooled when the Assyrians wanted to join in the rebuilding of The Temple. He knew they were not true worshippers, and likely had ulterior motives. We must always be on guard remembering that we are easily deceived and that those heading another direction can easily corrupt our righteous intentions (1 Corinthians 15:33). Thus we partner with, surround ourselves with those whose faith has been proven (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
When the Assyrians are rejected and fuel a fire in the king that results in a “stop work” order… Judah stops. In fact for 15 years construction is halted. Does it strike you odd that God would go to all the trouble of moving in the heart of King Cyrus, to begin the Temple reconstruction, and begin moving Judah back into Jerusalem… only to stop construction at the foundation stage? They rebuilt the altar, began the process of bringing back right worship… but then were halted.
Why didn’t God protect them from their enemies and allow them to continue? How do we know He wasn’t prepared to?
In 4:23 we read “…they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.” Thats it though. How much force did they bring? We’re not told. It doesn’t appear that Judah push’s any further. There doesn’t appear to be any real battle or military pressure. Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, went and by force stopped them.
After a 15 year pause, God sends Haggai, and Zechariah the prophets to them to rebuke their stop work, and then they roll up their sleeves and get back at it. They meet opposition again, but “…the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped…”
Nothing else has changed to make the resumption of the work possible at this point. There is no new edict from the king. The enemies of Israel haven’t been defeated, nor have they given up. With encouragement from the prophets, they merely determine to get back to work. Can we then conclude that they stopped building the first time before the Lord stopped protecting them? Perhaps.
Zerubbabel seemingly passed the first test with the Assyrians and work continued. Did they fail the 2nd? The text is not clear and does not necessarily say that - so we cannot make that definite assertion.
Ok, so what do we know? We know we will face opposition in our own redemption process, and as a result we too may find ourselves discouraged (Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8). We know God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) - His eye is on us as it was them. We must not let ANYTHING stop us! God is Faithful, and He has spoken. He is in us and is GREATER than the evil one opposing us (1 John 4:4). Press on! Don’t waver ,when tested, but be strengthened through it (Hebrews 6:1-6).
Love you all! Dig in!
Zerubbabel wasn’t fooled when the Assyrians wanted to join in the rebuilding of The Temple. He knew they were not true worshippers, and likely had ulterior motives. We must always be on guard remembering that we are easily deceived and that those heading another direction can easily corrupt our righteous intentions (1 Corinthians 15:33). Thus we partner with, surround ourselves with those whose faith has been proven (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
When the Assyrians are rejected and fuel a fire in the king that results in a “stop work” order… Judah stops. In fact for 15 years construction is halted. Does it strike you odd that God would go to all the trouble of moving in the heart of King Cyrus, to begin the Temple reconstruction, and begin moving Judah back into Jerusalem… only to stop construction at the foundation stage? They rebuilt the altar, began the process of bringing back right worship… but then were halted.
Why didn’t God protect them from their enemies and allow them to continue? How do we know He wasn’t prepared to?
In 4:23 we read “…they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.” Thats it though. How much force did they bring? We’re not told. It doesn’t appear that Judah push’s any further. There doesn’t appear to be any real battle or military pressure. Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, went and by force stopped them.
After a 15 year pause, God sends Haggai, and Zechariah the prophets to them to rebuke their stop work, and then they roll up their sleeves and get back at it. They meet opposition again, but “…the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped…”
Nothing else has changed to make the resumption of the work possible at this point. There is no new edict from the king. The enemies of Israel haven’t been defeated, nor have they given up. With encouragement from the prophets, they merely determine to get back to work. Can we then conclude that they stopped building the first time before the Lord stopped protecting them? Perhaps.
Zerubbabel seemingly passed the first test with the Assyrians and work continued. Did they fail the 2nd? The text is not clear and does not necessarily say that - so we cannot make that definite assertion.
Ok, so what do we know? We know we will face opposition in our own redemption process, and as a result we too may find ourselves discouraged (Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8). We know God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) - His eye is on us as it was them. We must not let ANYTHING stop us! God is Faithful, and He has spoken. He is in us and is GREATER than the evil one opposing us (1 John 4:4). Press on! Don’t waver ,when tested, but be strengthened through it (Hebrews 6:1-6).
Love you all! Dig in!
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