THE GOOD HAND OF GOD IN OVERSEEING HIS WORK DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE WORK OF GOD-Part 2

Responding

(EZRA 4:1-6)

¹Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, ²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here." ³But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, " You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us." ⁴Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, ⁵and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. ⁶Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

In the First Colonial Congress members were arguing about how they should declare independence from Great Britain. For days they argued about the details. After several days of wrangling and fighting Ben Franklin stood up to speak. Understanding the gravity of the situation he simply stated, "Gentlemen we must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.". From that point forward the colonies began to work together for the sake of the revolution. No truer words could have been spoken.

As we look at our study of Ezra/Nehemiah here in Ezra chapter 4 we have seen the enemies of Gods people arrive and ask if they can help rebuild the temple. In fact there is some indication that they may have wanted build something along side it. Today we are going to look at verse 3 and the response of leadership regarding the situation.

There are several things we can see regarding this verse. First, leadership spoke in a unified fashion. Notice that Jeshua is mentioned here were as in verse 1 he was not. This is the reason I believe that the enemies of Gods people only consulted the civil side of leadership ignoring the religious altogether. They did not want to consult with them because they knew what the outcome would be. In fact the scriptures would not allow the Jews to have any dealings with the unbelievingly gentile especially regarding worship (Leviticus 18:21).

Second, we see them speak to the situation in non-negotiable tone. There is no negotiation with the enemy. God does not negotiate with His enemies nor should we. In fact when the children of Israel entered the land they to destroy the inhabitance because of their sin not negotiate good deal with them (Deuteronomy 7:2).

Notice the tone which Zerubbabel takes with them, "You have nothing in common with us in building the house of our God..." He knew that they worshipped Yahweh with other gods.

Third, we see a total willingness to continue the process in keeping with what has been promised by civil authority. In some ways this was the right thing to do but in other ways it may not have been the best thing to do. While it was true that Cyrus had ordered them to do this (1:1), there is something missing. In fact it maybe something similar to what Eve did in the garden, while not the same. In Genesis chapter 3 when the serpent tempted Eve, she responded by adding to what God had said, "And the woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'"" (Genesis 3:2-3). While Eve may have added to God’s word here Zerubbabel ignored Gods word. What do I mean by that? Simple, Zerubbabel and the people’s authority to rebuild did not come from Cyrus but from God. The point is lost, the call to return and rebuild was not coming from a pagan king but from Yahweh. This is a great study in term of contrast where Nehemiah when his enemies attempt to lure him into their deadly clutches states, "...'I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should I stop while I leave it and come down to you?'". (Nehemiah 6:3)

So what are some things which we can learn from this passage? First, leadership should always have the maturity enough to consult with each other in important issues. The reason for this is so that when the decisions come down then it comes down with authority. Second, we should never negotiate with our enemies. While at times they may mean good, and the passage indicates that they had good on their minds, we should always be vigilant to stand our ground where Scripture, morals, and ethics are involved. Last, while we may have received permission to do something regarding Christ from some other authority, we must remember that ultimately our authority comes not from men, but from God and His word. Especially were the gospel is concerned.

What are some areas in your life that God is calling out to you regarding the enemy of our souls? Do you find yourself unwilling to be in concert with your local church regarding sin and salvation? Do you find yourself attempting to negotiate with Satan and his temptations? Are the scriptures your final authority when it comes to doing what God wants?

Let me know what you think.

God Bless,

Steven Swaim

THE GOOD HAND OF GOD IN OVERSEEING HIS WORK DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE WORK OF GOD-Part 1

The Enemies False Display of Kindness

(EZRA 4:1-6)

¹Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, ²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here." ³But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, " You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us." ⁴Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, ⁵and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. ⁶Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Have you ever had someone walk up to you and act like your friend when in reality they had their own selfish motives in mind. It’s happened to all of us. We call those instances Judas Moments. A time when someone shows apparent good will but in truth they mean nothing but ill-will toward us. Of course we get the name from what happened to Jesus in the gospels as a result of Judas’ betrayal.

As we continue our study through Ezra/Nehemiah we come upon a very important moment, what appears to be a “Judas Moment.” Verse 1 notes that the “…enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple…” How did they know? Remember that shout which we discussed the last time in chapter 3 verse 13? More than likely this shout along with all of the other activity received huge amounts of attention. Now the enemies of God’s people have arrived and as usual they appear to have friendship in their words, but their motives are questionable. What we see here is the enemy’s false display of kindness.

We must first ask the question as to why these people were considered enemies? Verse 2 answers our question. First they approach “…Zerubbabel and the head of the fathers’ households…” This particularly interests me because Jeshua’s name is not mentioned. While that may not mean too much to most people it interest me because this indicates that the Levites were not consulted in the work of the temple. The enemies only approached the civil authorities and not those who are in charge with the building of the temple. While most say that Jeshua and the Levites were considered in with “…the head of the fathers’ households…” I think differently because the writer of both books are very distinct about who they are talking about. This may have been done for one of three reasons: (a) It was an honest mistake; (b) There was hope that leadership would divide causing a rift in the community; or (c) Selfish motives from leadership would begin to show up proving that motives were not true. Second they are enemies because they want to “…build with you…” This indicates that rather than a partnership in building the temple together, they want to build something along side of the temple. Third, they claim, “…for we like you seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esahaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

There are a couple of sub-thoughts which can come from this: (a) They do not seek God (Yahweh) the same as the Jews did. Notice the name Esahaddon which is mentioned. Many scholars have a hard time placing this king but most agree that more than likely he is the king mentioned in 2^nd Kings 17:24-26, 28, 32-33. In that passage it notes that the king of Assyria transplanted people from other lands into Israel and took the people of Israel and scattered them throughout the known world. In the process many of these transplanted people began to die. The people began to fear the God of the land and made an appeal to Assyria for a Levite to come teach them about Yahweh. The request was acknowledged and they learned about sacrificing to Yahweh. When this happened the deaths began to decrease. The problem is that these Levites would have also mixed much of the rival religions teachings in; therefore the people would mix the worship with Yahweh in with other gods. (b) Their sacrifices are questionable. If they do not truly worship in the way that the Law required then their sacrifices are suspect. 1^st Samuel 15:22-23 states, “...’Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry…” The Psalmist writes in Psalm 40:6-8, “Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. 7Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me; 8I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.’” Even though this is a Messianic Psalm it still points to what Samuel told King Saul, it is not the act of sacrifice that God is concerned with, but the condition of the heart. The enemies worship was corrupted and their sacrifices were questionable because their hearts were not right. This can be seen the statement “…your God…” In other words they have no personal attachment with Yahweh. They do what they do to fulfill an obligation not truly worship Him.

So what can we learn from this passage? First, No matter how the enemy or enemies approach us they are still enemies of truth. Second, leadership is always the first and most important target. They will approach leadership first in order to compromise its effectiveness. Therefore they will always approach the most vulnerable area. Third, there is always the claim that they worship the same God in an attempt to mask their true identity. Pluralism, postmodernism and essentialism are three of the most dangerous tools that are used in modern day Evangelicalism today.

What concerns me is this, that through the last thirty years churches have been in decline causing the churches to slide back into pre-World War II conditions. For pastors and members alike this has been a great cause of concern. As a result we have begun to pick up on the world’s tactics in areas of leadership, management, and commercialization. While this may not be wrong in and of itself, through the years it has caused us to culturize the church rather than the church affecting the culture. This has lead to what is known as the “Emergent Church” which has taken pluralism, postmodernism and essentialism to its highest level regarding Christianity and applying them to God’s word. We have now moved from pre-World War II conditions to a pre-Christian era and way of thinking. The errors that the post-modern approach has attempted to mix yogism and meditation with prayer. It attempts to prove that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is the same as the gods of other religions.

There is also a lack of concern to come to Sunday morning services and continue to support the work of the local church. This is more evidence of the same Biblical cowardness as that which was just mentioned regarding emergent church theology. Paul wrote in 1^st Timothy 4:1-5-“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected it is received with gratitude; 5for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

The point is we cannot afford to worship in the way of the world and hope to walk in the ways of God! My question to you and others is who is the focus of our worship? And what is the focus of our instruction? Our instruction should come clearly from Scripture alone and our focus of worship should be Christ alone. Understand I believe in Biblical scholarship as well, so don’t think that when the scriptures are studied, it is done blindly without an understanding of history, language, culture, and art. So as you go to worship this Sunday morning, think about what you are doing. Christianity is a thinking person’s religion. We should worship with minds in gear, but with Jesus at the center of our thoughts.

Lord Bless,

Steven Swaim

(All Scriptural quotes come from the New American Standard Version)

THE GOOD HAND OF GOD IN OVERSEEING HIS WORK-Part II

(EZRA 3:8-13)

8Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. 9Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God. 10Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD according to the directions of King David of Israel. 11They sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, "For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Have you ever just wanted to stop in the middle of what you are doing, take time to look around at what has been accomplished and give God the thanks for what has been done? I do! It gives me a feeling of accomplishment. It can also do one of two things: Encourage me to move forward with greater determination or cause me to shut down thinking I’ve done enough for the day. Many leadership experts tell us that any task we are involved in is in danger at this point. The halfway syndrome will hit and many people just stop, never to return to the work at hand.

Here in Ezra 3:8-13 we are looking at the people of Judea and Benjamin beginning to return to the land of Israel. They are returning under orders of the king to rebuild the temple (1:1). However, upon returning some of the people pull their support of the rebuilding process (2:68). Either way the building process began. It started with the altar being set back up on its foundation (3:3) and the re-establishment of worship toward Yahweh in the midst of the temple grounds (3:3-4). Now we are looking at the responsibility we play in overseeing the work of God. Last time we saw the importance of the overseeing (3:8-9), but now we focus on an important aspect of overseeing God’s work which is ignored for the most part…celebration (3:10-11).

Why is this so important? Because it helps those in leadership to see what was done and how well it was done. So in some since it can play the role of quality control. Second, God can use it to bring conviction to those who are not doing that good of a job. And it can be used as an encouragement to those who are endeavoring to do the best they can.

There are several things we can see from the passage. First, they celebrated while the work was being done (v. 10). In my illustration I gave the idea of being halfway finished with a project before I would stop and reflect on what was going on, but here they have just started the work...the foundation was just being laid. I believe originally the thought was that they would stop the construction at each level and celebrate God’s goodness. We will discuss why this did not happen at the end of this chapter and all the way through chapter 4. Second, they celebrated in answering each other regarding the goodness of God in the work (v. 11a). Most scholars note that the Hebrew here is giving the idea that one choir stood on one end of the foundation while the other stood at the opposite side. The first group would say, “For He is good,..” and the second group would answer back, “…for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” It was a constant reminder of God’s greatness even though they as an independent nation no longer existed. It also reaffirmed God’s will in the situation.

The second thing which the celebration does is it signifies a reason. In verse 11 the word “because” is used. The celebration was an act of gratefulness and gratitude toward God. In Psalm 24 it says, “1 The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. 3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face--{even} Jacob. Selah. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! 8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift {them} up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.” Notice how the Psalmist is grateful toward God for creating the world, moving against deceitfulness and bringing salvation. It is no different in our lives we should always be a people who are thankful for all that God has done and even better yet thankful for who He is.

So what can we learn from this section? First, while we oversee the work of God we should not be negligent of rejoicing over the work which God is performing. Too often I believe we do one of two things: We rejoice over the work which God is doing alone or we attempt to over emphasis His person. What I mean by this is that by rejoicing over God being at work alone means we live more by what we see and feel than acting on faith. The other extreme leads to dry dullness which has no expression to our faith. There is a balance we must strike and that balance is found when we choose to rejoice at what God is doing because of who He is. Second, we should celebrate with a reason. The Lord should always be the center of our lives without question. If we focus on the work itself we will become weary of what is going on, loose interest and often despise what we are doing. When our focus is on Jesus Christ and the work He has done for us then gratefulness pores out of our souls. We do what we do for the sake of the Kingdom and for no other reason.

Please let me know what you think and ask any questions you may have so that we can dialogue about these thoughts.

Lord Bless,

Steven

(All verses used is from the New American Standard Version)