Opposition Will Always Arise (2)

BIBLE STUDY: EZRA 4

Last week I ended by asking us to check ourselves and make sure jealousy and envy are not lurking in our hearts as they are very poisonous traits and if not handled quickly can lead to a downward spiral in our lives, God forbid in the mighty name of Jesus. I hope if you found either lurking somewhere, you have taken it to God and asked for the help of the Holy Spirit in getting rid of it. Recognising it and mentioning it by name in prayer is the first step to deliverance from it. May the Holy Spirit help us to recognise all the little and hidden foxes in our lives so we can deal with them permanently in the mighty name of Jesus (Amen).

Now back to the returning exiles, as they began rebuilding the Temple, opposition came in great force.  Enemies came pretending to be friends, which is the usual modus operandi of the enemy, but the exiles recognised them as the enemies. You will usually recognise the wolf in sheep’s clothing if you are in tune with the Holy Spirit. The enemy will never approach you as an enemy, he will come as a friend; gain your trust and then strike. There is a Yoruba adage that says “The insect eating the vegetable is in the vegetable” (literal translation), which means that the enemy is usually within your circle, so when the enemy wants to strike, he uses someone already in your company, not a stranger. We need to be careful of those we allow into our space and this can only be done when we take all things to God in prayer before deciding. Remember the case of Joshua and the Gibeonites in Joshua 9, he was tricked into making a covenant with them, thinking they were from a far away land. He did not ask God about it first, he judged them by the seeing of his eyes (their appearance), made a decision and of course we saw the consequences of his actions later on in the chapter.  Joshua fought the most difficult battle of his life defending the Gibeonites. In Joshua 7 we see the case of Achan who brought sin into the camp and caused a lot of misfortune in the people of Israel. Joshua had no idea until the Lord had mercy on him and opened his eyes to see why Israel was suffering from so many calamities. We can see the devastation that can occur if we do not take everything to God or we are in a relationship that is not of God or if someone in our company is involved in sinful acts. As children of God, we must be sensitive to the Spirit of God, we must always involve God in everything we do. He sees behind every mask and if we ask Him, He will reveal to us what is behind the mask. 

The returning exiles saw behind the mask and knew these people had ulterior motives and so did not allow them into their company. Just because they did the right thing, the enemy did not stop finding other ways to stop the work. As a matter of fact, he became more determined to stop the work and did all he could to do this. As you read the story you will find the enemy actually succeeded in stopping the building of the Temple for about 16 years. I am sure some of you may be thinking why didn’t God stop the enemy from doing this? I honestly have no right answer for you but one lesson I have learnt studying this chapter is, anytime it seems I am on a spiritual high and my relationship with God is flowing comfortably, I must be aware the enemy is not happy and will be looking for ways to introduce something, which will bring discouragement into my life. Being aware of this in advance helps me to be even more determined to stay focused on God when such things happen, because I know, at the end of the day God makes everything beautiful in its time. Focusing on Him and carrying Him everywhere I go makes it easier for me to recognise every fox in sheep’s clothing I come across. I have already been warned that the enemy will try his tricks, I know he is the father of lies and I have the Holy Spirit in me guiding me and opening my eyes to the truth of all situations. The more I study the Word, the stronger I get and the more ammunition I have, to deal with the discouragement and lies the enemy tries to bring my way. This is what we all face daily, may God give us more understanding as we continue to study the Book of Ezra.

UNDER GRACE UNDER MERCY