Renewal Brings Opposition
Laying the Groundwork for Revitalization • Sermon • Submitted
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We begin tonight where we left off last Wednesday evening.
The foundation of the temple has been laid.
The young are rejoicing.
The old are grieving.
“It was the best of times it was the worst of time.” -Charles Dickens
The people who knew before…knew before.
Certainly it is said by historians that the noise of the shouts and the noise of the wailing could be heard for miles.
This in mind, no wonder that the “adversaries” of the people of God would begin to rise.
Tonight we will see the opposition to the movement of The Lord amongst His people.
There are four sectional divisions in chapter 4 which point us to the reigning of four separate Kings.
Let’s begin with our first idea brought forth from the text...
The Enemy Does Not Always Appear As An Enemy.
The Enemy Does Not Always Appear As An Enemy.
1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel,
2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build
5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Vs. 1 calls the people of the land the “adversaries” of Judah & Benjamin.
Notice vs 2 has the people (adversaries) approaching Israel as a friend not a foe.
When we read , what Biblical character and story comes to mind? The Serpent in the Garden
The enemy often approaches as a friend.
In our context, the enemy is a group of people that some commentators (like Josephus) have called the Samaritans.
Who were the Samaritans?
The Samaritans- The descendants Mediterranean peoples and Jewish women that had been left behind during the exile.
These people did not know the Lord. They had been taught, by a Jewish priest, but they were still pagans.
These Samaritans did sacrifice in the temple, but they allowed others to sacrifice to a multitude of pagan gods upon the same altar.
They built many of the high places (altars) that are spoken of in the Old Testament.
Notice, in vs. 3, the leaders lead. They decline the offer of compromise. But the resolve of all was not yet in place.
When opposition rises, those who are weakest tend to fear and waver.
There are times when God has to give us a push to get us going...
compare what is saying vs
haggai :
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”
3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,
4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
The Enemy Does Not Stop After One Failed Attempt
The Enemy Does Not Stop After One Failed Attempt
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:6
6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.
Accusation- a removal of your possession, no taxes, no control
Ahasuerus - Persian King, better known as Xerxes (Book of Esther), reigning from 486 BC to 465 BC.
7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.
A third attempt at stopping the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the temple, and the wall.
Notice the king is now Artaxerxes who reigned from 464-424BC.
God Allows Our Resolve to be Tested.
God Allows Our Resolve to be Tested.
8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.
11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now
12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.
13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.
14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king,
15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste.
16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”
17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now
18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me.
19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.
20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.
21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.
22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease.
Ezra 4:8-
8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.
11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now
12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.
13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.
14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king,
15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste.
16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”
17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now
18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me.
19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.
20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.
21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.
22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease.
24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Ezra 4:
Are we truly willing to stand firm and in the directives of the Lord.
Will we allow that which God commands to be thwarted?
Will we stand when others waiver or are hindered?
God Will Always Bring About His Will
God Will Always Bring About His Will
ezra 4;24
24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
A point to acknowledge: vss. 6-23 are a parenthetical insert which gives further revelation of the opposition over a period of years.
There is only about a 15yr pause in the work from vs 5 & vs. 24.