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“On Enemies And Their Tactics” • 10.28.18
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- When we were last in Ezra, the people of God
had established the foundation of the Temple in Jerusalem, a city that had lain
in ruin for 70 years. The celebration that followed was epic.
- 50,000 men, women and children gathered
together at the Temple site and sang the praises of God Almighty, a noise which
honored God's enduring faithfulness and love.
- We all wish that this was the end of the
story, but we know better. Ezra, writing outside of time, looks back upon it
with clear eyes, and without a chapter break pens the next words.
- "Now when the adversaries of
Judah." When we follow the Lord's lead and cooperate with Him in His work,
how can we expect the enemy to act? Chapter 4 offers some perspective.
Text
• Ezra
4:1,2 : "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the
descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the
heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, 'Let us build with you, for we
seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of
Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.'" : Even in a day without electronic media, news traveled quickly.
In the months of gathering and planning, the movement hadn't been so
attractive. That was all mundane.
- However, when it became clear that the Temple
was about to be rebuilt and the people of God held a praise service that hadn't
been seen in the are for decades, the light went on!
- They praised the Lord and immediately had
adversaries! Too often, we are duped into believing that if we get right with
the Lord all will be right with the world. That is never the case!
- If anything, the more that you are
worshipping, the louder your life is for Christ, the more you will attract
those that oppose Him! Biblically, this was the case.
- Nation after nation comes against Israel with
hostile intent, carrying out a Satanic inspired plot to destroy the redemptive
Seed of Christ.
- We shouldn't think that we will get better
treatment as we move our lives closer to God's intention for them! There is no
progress in Christ, where there isn't also opposition from the enemy!
- Initially, these adversaries presented
themselves as allies! At first glance, these people seem to have much in common
with the returning exiles and their offer is quite attractive.
- "Let us build with you." They want
to participate alongside of the Jews! They want to be a part of what is
happening in Jerusalem.
- After all, who wouldn't want to be associated
with such wonderful praise events?
- For such an overwhelming task, one might
think that the extra hands and labor force would be a welcome addition. After
all, many hands make for short work!
- Can you imagine what the Jews must have
thought when the offer was made? Can you hear the spiritual justification that
might have swirled around the camp?
- "Maybe God has sent us this help! He
must want His temple to be finished in a more efficient manner!" But it
got better. These people also claimed to be worshippers of Yahweh!
- They are enthusiastic and call themselves
fellow believers with a history of sacrifice dating back to 722 B.C., nearly
150 years prior to the Jews repatriation.
- Who wouldn't want some friends with those
kind of connections and the kind of stability that comes with dwelling in area
for so long? Everything seems to point to a match made in heaven!
- They are volunteering for difficult work,
claiming to be worshippers of God and they have experience in the land. Win,
win and win! The leader's response tells another story. Verse 3.
• Ezra 4:3 : "But
Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of
Israel said to them, 'You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God;
but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the
king of Persia has commanded us.'" : The
leadership didn't take long to process the request and their response was quick
and emphatic. "You may do nothing with us!"
- What did they know about these people that we
do not? Essentially, these "people of the land" were the new
Samaritans.
- When Israel, the northern 10 tribes, was
conquered, their former capital city became a drop off site for the various
people groups that Assyria conquered.
- The Assyrian empire wanted to reap the
benefits of conquered lands, gathering resources but did not want to leave
indigenous people groups there in large numbers in case of an uprising.
- Their solution was to take several nations
and force them to live together. The language barrier and the disparate
cultures alone would do the work of keeping ideas from unifying.
- When these people, the New Samaritans, first
came to Israel, they worshipped in a way that offended God, which caused the
Lord to allow lions to attack and kill them! (II Kings 17:25)
- This happened so frequently that the Assyrian
King had to send an Israeli priest back into the land to teach the new
inhabitants how to worship the God of the Land!
- In theory, from the perspective of a pagan,
this was a good idea. God didn't think much of it!
- If you remember anything about the ten tribes
of the North, you'll recall that their priests were apostates, given to a false
notion of worship themselves! It's the blind leading the blind!
- Naturally, the results weren't any good, as
is recorded for us in II Kings 17:29ff.
• II Kings
17:29,33,34 : "However
every nation continued to make gods of
its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans
had made, every
nation in the cities where they dwelt. . .They
feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according
to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. To this
day they continue practicing the
former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they
follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the
Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named
Israel," : As you can see, they were not
worshippers of God in the same way that the people of Israel were worshippers
of God!
- In fact, by virtue of the fact that they
worshpped other gods alongside of the true God, reveals that they were not even
truly worshipping the true God, but a re-imagination of Him!
- When that is your foundation, you will never
be much help to the truly faithful. The leaders rightly recognized that they
would not have been good partners.
- You may consider this whole section an
illustration of Paul's writing to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 6: "Do
not be unequally yoked with unbelievers!"
- If a person calls themselves a Christian, but
also refuses to lay down their idols, one has the right to question their
confession and to avoid any lasting, binding cooperation with them!
- Additionally, this again signals that the
exiles had learned their lesson of captivity well. When God initially brought
Israel into the land, His command to them was complete separation. Why?
• Deuteronomy
12:39-31 : "When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to
dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are
not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that
you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their
gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every
abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even
their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods." : God knows and it seems that His people now agree, that
separation from the world is necessary in the establishment of a spiritual life.
- These Samaritans may have been able to build
a few things physically, but their influence would just as quickly have torn it
down spiritually!
- There is no progress that can be gained in
the Christian life by yoking ourselves to unbelievers that will not be negated
by what we lose of ourselves in the process!
- With the decision made, the New Samaritans
quickly showed their true colors. Verse 4.
• Ezra
4:4-7 : "Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of
Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all
the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of
Persia. In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the
beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of
Judah and Jerusalem. In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and
the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter
was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language." : Look at that! Wouldn't it be much more rational for the enemy to
simply accept the counsel of the Elders?
- "Well, they don't want our help. Let's
wish them well and head home." Instead, their attitude was, "If we
can't join them, we'll beat them!" The enemy never accepts your resolve!
- Certainly, these people are not the
incarnation of Satan, but their actions are reminiscent of his, so much so that
one would not be wrong in associating them with him!
- When Jesus rebuffed Satan in the wilderness
after His forty day fast, Luke records that the Devil left Him "until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13) The enemies of Israel did
the same here!
- Infiltration and compromise would have been
ideal. That is the enemy's first and best plan. If the enemy can manipulate or
sabotage from within, the people of God will do their own damage.
- When the option to compromise believers from
within is taken off the table, the enemy is forced to go to plan B, which was
to influence them from without! They tried to "discourage them."
- The picture behind this word literally infers
a "let down" of sorts. The people of the land tried to weaken the
Jewish resolve, in order that they might drop their hands from their work.
- We aren't told what methods were employed or
if they succeeded. Their goal was to find any way that would keep the believers
progressing in their calling.
- Certainly, they worked on discouraging, but
ramped up the attack by bringing trouble upon them in their building. To "trouble" a person is to
cause them "to tremble inwardly."
- The word "palpitation" is closely
related to this. Whatever the enemy did caused a physical reaction in the being
of the people of God. Discouraging words led to destructive actions.
- At every new incident, the hearts of the
Israelis beat wildly in their chest. To some degree, their actions got into the
heads of these vulnerable people. They began to internalize fear.
- At the same time, the enemies of God's people
sought out advise from counselors, people who held command positions in the
region. They brought in legal reinforcements.
- Many of the more recent translations infer
that the enemies of God bribed local officials in the hopes of frustrating,
breaking the resolve of their purpose!
- At this point in our text, understand that
the author moves from a chronological re-telling of historical events and moves
toward a topical rendering of how the enemies of God campaigned.
- What began during the days of Zerubbabel and
the Temple foundation, carried on long after, by as many as 100 years. 75 years
in, they formally accused the people of Israel to Ahasuerus.
- 25 years after that they continued their
campaign with a letter to Artaxerxes. Verse 8.
•
Ezra 4:8-16 : "Rehum the commander and Shimshai
the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion:
From
Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions representatives
of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and
Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom
the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria
and the remainder beyond the River—and so forth. (This is a copy of the letter that
they sent him.) To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region
beyond the River, and so forth: Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from
you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil
city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations. Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built
and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the
king’s treasury will be diminished. Now
because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the
king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king, that search may be made in the book of the records of your
fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city
is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have
incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was
destroyed. We inform the king that if this
city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will
have no dominion beyond the River." : The
letter exposes a large network of at least nine nations, led by these two vocal
leaders in Rehum and Shimshai. This is similar to a class action suit!
-
The show of unity reveals that there wasn't simply a single rogue nation that
opposed Israel's action. There were many that stood against them and their
opinion is known immediately.
-
These Jews have come back to rebuild "the rebellious and evil city!"
When you are an enemy and truth is not on your side, slander will always be
close by!
-
Additionally, when you are an enemy, you will want to provide a good deal of
fear into your forecast! "If you let them rebuild, you can forget about
receiving money from them!"
-
This is supposedly their own motive. They knew they were supported by the King
and they didn't want to see him dishonored! Flattery and self service are
trademarks of any good enemy!
-
They complete their letter with a narrative created from Israel's own history.
These people have a history of inciting sedition! "They will certainly
destabilize this region!"
-
Unfortunately, this was at least partially true, especially during the final
years of Judah's Kingom, when the final vassal Kings refused to pay Babylon
what it demanded.
-
Those poor decisions made prior to this group's existence haunted them now.
This little bit of truth turned out to be the turning point in the King's mind.
Verse 17.
• Ezra
4:17-22 : "The king sent an answer: To
Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions
who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River: Peace, and so
forth. The letter which you sent to us has
been clearly read before me. And I gave the command,
and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has
revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it. There
have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the region
beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them. Now
give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until
the command is given by me. Take heed now that you do
not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?" : The King, having researched the matter, agreed with the
contents of the letter. Judah's actions at the end of the Kingdom age provided
enough fuel for his decree.
- He order the suspension of building noting
that it can be overridden later by his own word.
- Persian law was impossible to change if he
had not added that. That singular hope aside, his final words provided the
enemies of God with the fire power that they needed. Verse 23.
• Ezra
4:23,24 : "Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before
Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to
Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. Thus the work of the house of God
which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of
the reign of Darius king of Persia." : These
leaders couldn't wait to flex their new political muscle.
- They came up with a show of force and with
that, the people of God stepped aside for a season from their work on the wall.
- They were made to cease building the walls
one hundred years in the future by a show of military force. Our author's
parenthesis reveals the history of Israel's struggle to reinstate themselves.
- Verse 24
brings us back to the present time when the foundation had just been laid. The
only weapons that had been used at our time in Ezra were discouragement,
troubling and officials hired.
- That was enough to stop the work on the
Temple for nearly 15 years! Consider that: They withdrew from God's work in
their life for nearly 2 decades!
- The same people that traversed a 400 mile
trek through the desert! These are the same people that cleared away the rubble
from the Temple and set up it's foundation!
- God had called them to rebuild the Temple.
Cyrus had granted permission. Materials were paid for and delivered. All that
was on their side when they allowed the pressure to conquer them!
- Think of what they missed out on. The present
glory of God over the Temple. The offerings that were tied to their peace with
Him. Their growth in fellowship with the Lord.
- They would have none of it because they put
their hands down. Truthfully, as you know, the enemy cannot stop God's work in
your life. God will eventually win out.
- His Spirit will conquer habits and amend
lifestyles as He leads you and I to respond to the love of God in Christ. God
will not be thwarted from His purpose in us!
- The enemy has no power to destroy that work, be
he can work to influence us to delay it, which occurs when we Christians stop
cooperating in faith with our God!
- When we leave the work, when we drop our
hands, when we refuse to believe and are too discouraged to continue, the work
in our lives will be delayed.
- I've been reading a book called "The
Shepherd's Life" in which the author, a shepherd, describes a danger that
we might not immediately see as dangerous.
˚ "Shepherds
hate other people's dogs . . . because a dog that hasn't been trained and is
left off the lead (leash) near sheep might get too excited and go into full
hunting mode. . . about once every two years throughout my adult life, a dog
has given chase to a sheep or a lam, and before you know it, the sheep is
pulled down, or lies down in exhaustion, and because the dog has not been
trained to control itself in these situations, it tears at the wool or the
skin, until you have a sheep with it's ears torn or it's throat torn out...Two
years ago, I was shepherding my pregnant ewes and noticed some sheep whirling
in a flock where the fell met the clouds and mist. Something was wrong. . . As
I reached the lower fell . . . a sheep crashed through the undergrowth towards
me and lay at my feet. A few yards after it came two Jack Russell dogs. Tiny
dogs. But their blood was up. They barely noticed me and dived on the ears of
the ewe, tearing them and covering her with blood. . . The dogs were maybe a
tenth of the size of the ewe, but that made little difference. Even a strong
ewe will tire eventually and lie down if the stress overloads her system."[i]
James Rebanks
Conclusion
- We closed
chapter 3 with a picture of praise
and worship. Today, we close chapter 4
with a picture of resigned Christians. That's how quickly that can happen!
- The enemy
will never accept our decision to follow Christ. You should expect that His
plan to steal, kill and destroy your life, is still in play.
- His first
attempt will be to compromise you, to limit your affect on the world, by
placing enough of the world in your heart to forget about your heavenly
promise.
- When that
doesn't work, he will discourage you by whispering that the life that God wants
for you is too hard or that your progress is too little. When that doesn't
work, he will inspire fear!
- Will your
story end like this? Will you put your hands down? Will you delay the work that
God intends by giving in? I pray that you will learn the lesson and hold fast.
Help is on the way!
[i] "The
Shepherd's Life. Modern Dispatches From An Ancient Landscape, pg. 132 and 133.
The section I quote from is adapted for time and relevance to this scripture.