Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezra+004
CHAPTER 4 (ESV)
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.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
REFLECTION:
It is inevitable for Christians to encounter difficulties in doing works for God. Unbelievers and evil spiritual powers will often attack God and His people. They put forward a friendly gesture (4:2) as to seek for partnership, but the underlying purpose is to take the opportunity to defeat and threaten us (4:4-5), and even to frame us (4:6). If you can see through their tricks, the enemies will not prevail. When difficulties come, we should boldly act according to God’s plan, trusting God and looking carefully at how He leads us to overcome the difficulties. Remember in all eras throughout history, God’s people would always encounter difficulties. We just have to rely on the Lord and He will lead us into victory. When you are in despair and fear, you can surely overcome the difficulties and fulfill God’s will through the mutual support of brothers and sisters in Christ.
PRAYER:
Ask God to guard your life and you works, not to let you suffer from enemy’s attack and fall into Satan’s trick. Ask God to give you courage and faith so that you can put your hope in God and boldly fulfill His will in difficult times.
HYMN:
“Before the Throne of God Above” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ6QaZcPphM
