Rebuilding of the Temple

Transcript

GRS 144
Rebuilding of the Temple
2/9/97
Ezra 3-4
Gil Rugh

We’re going to be in the book of Ezra in your Old Testament, the book of Ezra. It’s a time of great blessing in Israel’s history, but it’s a time of great trepidation. It’s a very difficult time, as it often the case. Times of great blessing are also mixed in with times of fear and difficulty and trial. That’s the way it is in Israel’s history. The book of Ezra is about God’s faithfulness in bringing His people back into the land of Palestine from the Babylonian exile. 70 years have passed since the southern kingdom went into captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. Now true to His word and promises, God is restoring the nation in the portion of a remnant who will return to Israel, rebuild the temple, ultimately rebuild the walls of the city and establish the people back in the land again.

Chapter 1 gave a summary of the background of the return. Verse 1 of chapter 1 gives us a couple of key foundational matters. One, God is faithful. He is acting “in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah”. The faithfulness of God is brought to the fore, right at the beginning of this book. God is acting to fulfill His word. He is the God who is faithful to keep His promises. Secondly in this verse we see that God is sovereign. He uses even pagan kings to accomplish His purposes. Verse 1, “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia”. We noted in spite of some of the ways that He says certain things, Cyrus never became a believer, at least not in recorded history, but he is used of God. Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC. The following year he issues a decree. In the first year of his reign in 538 BC, he issued a decree that the Jews could return to their land. It was the practice of the Persians to allow conquered people, who had been deported by the Babylonians or other empires preceding them, to allow those people the option of returning to their homeland, and reestablishing themselves there.

Chapter 1 goes on to record the material provision that God made for His people. As the Jews that were going to return, asked from their neighbors, gifts, and were given them. Cyrus returned the temple items that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar and put in his treasure store house, so that they would have those for the temple.

You come into chapter 2 and you have an extended list of the various groups that made up the returning number of Jews. We note that what is absolutely essential for us to recognize in this chapter, is the connection between the physical decedents of Abraham and the physical land of Palestine. Chapter 2 makes a clear identification that the same physical people who were deported out of Judea, were returned to Judea. There is an inseparable connection between the physical land of Palestine and the physical decedents of Abraham. At the end of the chapter in verses 64 and following, we find the total number who returned was about 50, 000. Obviously more people did not return than did return. Those who returned, returned under the moving of the Spirit of God. Chapter 1 the last part of verse 5 says, “everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem”. It was the moving of the Spirit of God upon these people, that caused them to step out in fear and in faith, and return 900 miles back to a land that had been removed from 70 years before. Many of these have been born in exile. Here now, they will make this extended trip of 4 months or more in traveling back and starting over, if you will. When chapter 2 closes, additional financial provisions in verses 68 – 69, are made for the rebuilding of the temple.

We are ready, as chapter 3 begins for the construction of the temple. As we noted, the book of Ezra is about the construction of the temple and the book of Nehemiah will be about the construction of the walls of the city of Jerusalem. We come into chapter 3. The first 6 verses talk about the altar and the sacrifices. There not going to start rebuilding the temple itself, but they are going to start with the altar, because the altar is the focus of the worship of Israel. It centers where God will meet His people at this altar, where sacrifice is made for the nation.

The first 3 verses give us some of the details. We’re told, “Now when the seventh month came”. The seventh month was called Tishri, it’s our September-October. We are in the fall of the year. We know where we are month wise, but it’s not clearly stated what the date is. We know the decree was given by Cyrus in Chapter 1:1, in 538, but it would have taken some time for the Jews to make their preparation to go. The decree is given, but it doesn’t mean the next day, 50,000 people walk out to return. If you’re going to take a trip with 50,000 people, you have to have provisions made. They have things they have to divest themselves of and so on. You realize they are not going back to Babylon. This is a trip that would be arduous. 900 miles and it would take 4 months or more to make the trip. When they pack up, it’s with the idea, we won’t be back here. The time that would be involved here, most think the exit out of Babylon took place the following year, 537. Some even project a two-year delay, but most would say 537, the following year. These exiles would be ready to return.

The month of Tishri, the month of September, October is one of the most important in the Jewish year. The civil calendar of the nation begins. Here we are at the beginning of a new year for Israel. Several significant feasts take place, including the feast of trumpets, which celebrate the new year. The day of atonement, Yom Kippur, takes place in the seventh month as well as the feast of tabernacles. The feast of tabernacles was a 7 day feast following immediately upon the day of atonement, where people lived in tabernacles or booths, temporary huts they built to commemorate their journey out of Egypt to the land of Palestine. It’s a very significant month in the calendar of Israel.

Note, three things that characterize the people at this time. At the end of verse one, first, unity. “The people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.” They had come back, they had time to settle into the various areas around Jerusalem and now they gather together at Jerusalem. There’s a unity characterizing the people at this point. Second, obedience characterizes the people. Verse 2, “Then Jeshua”, Jeshua is the priest. He’s called Joshua by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who will prophesy at this time. Zerubbabel, who becomes the key figure in the first 6 chapters of Ezra. Chapter 3:2, “Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priest, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.” The second thing that characterized the people was obedience. The building of the altar and building it according to God’s instructions in the Mosaic law. The desire here is to be obedient to God. Thirdly, verse 3, “So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands.” The third thing that characterized them was fear. They’re characterized by unity, they’re characterized by obedience, but they are also characterized by fear. They were terrified because of the peoples of the land.

You realize that when the Assyrians deported people out of the land, they moved new people in. That had happened in the northern kingdom. Those people moved into that land in the time around 722 BC. The land north of Jerusalem, that region. Then the Babylonians deported the key people, left only the poorest in the land, with their final of 3 deportations. Now, after 70 years, people come back to claim their territory. You know what happens, the people have moved in. You have to understand that the people around, and particularly the people to the north in Samaria, are a mixed people now. They are made up of the people who were deported into this area, by the Assyrians who have mixed in with the people of the area, are not friendly toward them at all. Here you have people moving back into a rather hostile environment, carrying all their belongings with them. They are terrified. It’s hard for us to maybe appreciate. We read the account, and we read it from beginning to end, but these are people who are in very frightening situation.

They’ve started with the altar. You can jot down Exodus 29:43, because concerning the altar, God had said, “I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory.” What they are starting, is at the very center and heart of their worship. The place where God said He would meet with them. The place that would be consecrated by His presence, his glory. Note in the context of verse 3, they set the altar up on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands. They recognize the need for God’s protection, God’s provision for them in this very difficult time. They are a relatively defenseless people. They don’t have a city to retreat into, with walls to protect them. They are somewhat exposed and open to any violence that the enemy would chose to bring upon them. They start with the altar, where God will meet with them, recognizing their need for Him.

Interestingly, they build the altar on this site. They set it on its foundation in verse 3. I take it, it’s being constructed on the exact site where it had been before. The altar of the temple had been destroyed, but they can begin with that foundation. This would have been the place in the book of Genesis where Abraham took his son Isaack to Mt. Moriah, with the intention of sacrificing him at the command of the Lord, till God intervened and provided His own sacrifice. This had been the place where in 2 Samuel 24:25, David had purchase a threshing floor and constructed the altar here. Ultimately the altar was built in connection with the temple. Now it’s being reconstructed on this site.

They offer burnt offerings at the end of verse 3. Burnt offerings morning and evening. Burnt offerings in Israel, the book of Leviticus unfolds this, emphasize dedication, commitment, consecration. They were an expression of the people’s commitment to God. Dedication to Him. The whole animal was burned in the burnt offering. It was a symbol of total consecration to God. You see something of the heart of the people at this point. These were the first sacrifices that had been made since the temple had been destroyed 50 years earlier. This would have been a time of great celebration for the people as this was accomplished. Then with verses 4-6, they began at this time, a pattern of observing the feasts that had been instituted in the Mosaic law. But at this time all they have it the altar. They don’t have the temple itself as the work had not begun on the temple. Verse 6, “From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid.” They had begun their worship in the sacrificial system, but the temple itself has yet to be constructed.

With verse 7 and following down through verse 13, you have the beginning of the construction of the temple. This is just the beginning, because this is going to take a while to get the job done. Not because the job itself was that long, but the people are going to end up taking a break for 15 years from the project that we’ll see that as we move along. They get the mason’s and the carpenters and all the necessary materials in verse 7. Verse 8, we’re told, “Now 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.” The second year of their coming. The decree was given in 538, the return probably occurred in 537, this would have been the spring of 536. If you date the captivity from the first deportation in 605, 536, 70 years have passed. There’s another way to mark the 70 years, we’ll note later in Ezra, but here the one clear way if we mark the beginning in 605, then here 536, 70 years have passed. The foundation of the temple being laid would be the official end. They’ve had the altar, but the temple is the structure itself that marks their permanent return to the land. The Levites from 20 years and older are involved in the work.

Just a note, because we sometimes talk about the Levites and the priests, they begin their ministry at 30 years of age, and the age was given at 30 in Numbers 4:3, Numbers 8:24-25. It may be that they had a five year apprenticeship starting at 25, and entered actually into the ministry at 30. But, David in 1 Chronicles 23, reduced the age to 20. That may have been because of a shortage of Levites, that the age was reduced to 20, and 20 is the age that is used here. It was the beginning point for the Levites in their ministry.

The foundation of the temple is laid, and it’s laid with celebration. The temple itself is not completed, but the foundations are laid out and established. Then in verse 10, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, the Levites cymbals, all joined together. In verse 11, “according to the directions of King David of Israel. And they 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.” A tremendous occasion here, as the people recognize the goodness, the kindness of God. That word, lovingkindness, key word in the Old Testament, ‘hesed’. We have it over in English, hesed. It’s a word that means, God’s covenant love. God’s steadfast love for Israel, His people. They declare God’s goodness and His covenant love for His people. It’s an acknowledgment that this event is a result of the faithfulness of God to them. That the foundation of the temple should once again be laid. This declaration of praise to God for his good, His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever, as repeated numerous times in the New Testament. This is according to the instruction of David in Psalm 136. That probably forms the foundation, Psalm 136:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” You see that declaration of praise and thanks to God, for His is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting. This Psalm was used in the first dedication when the first temple was dedicated. In 2 Chronicles 5:13, Solomon’s temple they declared the same thing. The goodness of God, His loving kindness, His covenant faithfulness, His covenant love to the nation Israel.

Jeremiah 33:11, Jeremiah the prophet, the one who prophesied the 70 years captivity. He prophesied the return to the land and the declaration of this ascription of thanks and praise to God. They would ascribe the thanks and praise of Psalm 136:1 to the Lord. So here it is, being carried out, in the praise of God’s people. Yet, within this, there’s a mixture, verses 12-13 tell us. The old people are crying, the young people are rejoicing. The reason, the old people here, remembered Solomon’s temple. Now these are old people, because, keep in mind, 70 years have gone by. They would have had to be old enough, before Solomon’s temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians, to have been able to remember what it was like. Then to have spent 70 years in Babylon, make the trip back, and they recognize that it’s not going to be on the same scale of grandeur as Solomon’s temple. We’re told in verse 12, “Yet many of the priest and Levites and heads of father’s 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; so 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.” Basically, for those who hadn’t seen Solomon’s temple, this is just a great time. For the first time in their entire lives, the temple is going to be built, they’re the foundation for the temple. This is cause for great celebration and excitement. But as often, what happens as with the passing of years, we remember how it was. I find myself already getting to that point. I talk to younger men going into the ministry, I tell them how it was. Well, that’s a little bit of what was going on here. It’s true, this temple will be nothing in comparison, but that should not minimize the joy and celebration, because that was then and this is now. God is at work now. This is the work of God now in the lives of His people. It is a cause for genuine celebration. We’ll see a little bit more of that when we look into Haggai in a future study.

We come to chapter 4. What we have had is, the altar has been set up, the sacrificial system has been reinstituted, the observance of the feasts of Israel established in the Mosaic law have begun. The foundations of the temple have been established, and now the opposition to the work comes, Chapter 4. Chapter 4 is about the opposition to the work that is going on. The Jews faced ongoing hostility in their work of rebuilding the temple. What he’s going to show in Chapter 4, is that this opposition is not just a passing event, but it went on for 80 or 90 years. Not only was there opposition to the building of the temple, but then there was opposition in the days of Nehemiah to the construction of the walls of the city. In chapter 4, he'll jump ahead to those days, just to show that the opposition they were experiencing was an ongoing event. It went on down, even to the time when the walls were under construction. One person put it, very clearly, no work of God will proceed unchallenged. Chapter 4 is a clear illustration of that truth.

The first 5 verses, talk about the opposition of the building of the temple in the days of Cyrus, king of Persia. Cyrus was the man who gave the decree that they could go back and rebuild the temple. There was opposition to that work even while Cyrus was king of Persia. Verse 1, “Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel.” I have marked in my bible, “when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard.” The enemies of God’s people have heard of what God’s people are doing. Now they’re opposition will begin. The enemies are identified in verse 2, “they 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.” Here we are told the background of these people. Esarhaddon was the son of Senacrib. Remember the northern kingdom went into captivity in 722, the Assyrians practiced deportation of the people out of the land, and also repopulating the land with people from other places in their empire. These people say, we were brought here by Esarhaddon. Non-Jews who have come, but a mixing would have occurred over time. The Assyrians didn’t deport every single Jew. They left the poorest of the people there. As these new people came in, there was a mixing of the people, a mixing of the religion. They developed a syncristic kind of worship, which was a mixture of the worship of the God of Israel, with the worship of the gods that they had worshiped.

To refresh your mind, go back to 2 Kings 17, where the deportation of the northern kingdom is recorded. We studied this in our study of 2 Kings. Look at verse 24, here we’re told that the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and other places, to settle in the cities of Samaria, in place of the sons of Israel. The end of verse 24, they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. But the Lord sent lions among the people, so some of the people were killed. They said, we’ve offended the God of this land. We remarked about Cyrus, he honored the gods of any of the lands that he conquered. That was the thinking of the people. Israel had its God and He was God not over the whole world, He was the God of Palestine. Now we have come from another part of the empire, where there were other gods. We’ve moved into this new god’s territory and he’s upset about it. What they did, they ask the king of Assyria, verse 26, to send them some priests who could teach them how to worship the god of this land. Verse 27, “Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, ‘Take there one of the priests whom you carried away into exile, and let him go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of the god of the land.’ So, one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.” But remember the worship at Bethel and Samaria was a corrupted worship in and of itself. Calf worship and so on with a mixture of a worship required by God. Now there are additional corruptions. You have the corrupted calf worship of Bethel, with the priests of Bethel, and it will be joined to the religious practices of these people, that they have brought with them. Note at the end of verse 28, he taught them how they should fear the Lord and the worship that took place in it’s corrupted form, among the Jews in the northern kingdom before they went into captivity. Verse 29 says, “But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places.” So, you see they didn’t give up the worship of their gods, they just added the worship that had characterized the northern kingdom, to the worship that they practiced in their own land. You have the various gods that they worshiped in verses 30 and 31.

Then you come to verse 32, “They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places.” Verse 33, “They feared the Lord and served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.” You see the corruption and mixture that took place. They served the Lord, they feared the Lord, then they served their own gods. Here you have this corrupted form of worship that took place following 722 BC. Now we’re down 536 BC. We have after two hundred years have gone by this corruption. So, the mixture has become more complete. You have more of a blended religion taking place. These are the people that are the Samaritans of the New Testament.

Remember the woman at the well in John 4. The Jews and the Samaritans have no dealings. They even establish their own worship center on Mt. Gerizim with the passing of time. Jesus told her, salvation is of the Jews. Here is the background.

You come back to Ezra. You need to appreciate that, to understand the stand that Zerubbabel will take in all of this. What they do, is they come and offer their help. Ezra 4:2, “they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the 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.” Well now you have the background for what kind of sacrifices they were doing, from Kings. Now this would have been a temptation. We were told when the Jews set up the altar, they were terrified of their enemies around them. Now look, we have opportunity. We don’t have to emphasize our differences now. They’ll help us get the temple built, and isn’t that what we want to get done? Get the temple built. So, it must be God who’s opening the way for us to have unity here back in the land. Even the people of the land now, want to help us. My, isn’t God good? Note what Zerubbabel says in verse 3, “But 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.” That’s pretty blunt. In fact, some commentators said that it was a flaw. That their abruptness and rudeness created problems. You talk about missing the point of the word of God. This is something to their credit. Zerubbabel and the leaders with him are not deluded. You’re not worshiping our God. What it seems we have in common, is not in common at all. They could have emphasized the same things, because there were things in common. It wasn’t the things they had in common that were important. It was the things they had in conflict that were important. You have nothing in common with us, in building a house to our God, because you don’t worship our God. The line is drawn clearly. This is crucial for the purity of the people. A crucial event. You can just jot down 2 Corinthians 6:16-18. There Paul speaks and he quotes from a series of passages. Interesting that we come here, because Paul selects verses from the Old Testament to establish his point. Verse 14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers.” Isn’t that clear? Not clear to some people today. We have a lot to share together. We may not agree on salvation. We may not agree about justification by faith, but we agree on abortion. We agree on…. Wait a minute, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.” Now in New Testament times, the spirit of God does not dwell in a physical temple constructed with, He dwells within each believer, and then with us as the people of God. Then you note the quotes from the Old Testament. You can look in the margin of your bibles to see where each of these are drawn. Verse 16, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” God’s intention for His people, weather Old Testament Israel or New Testament Church, to walk in separation to Him. Here is a test, as Israel comes back into the land, to violate that purpose of God, to fall back on human means and ways. To join hands with our enemies, because they say they worship the same god, they want to help build the temple we want to build. Let’s not emphasize our differences and make trouble where we don’t have to have it. No, we have to be the people of God. God’s plan for His people, is to be separate. God will make provision. A lesson we need to keep in mind today.

Come back to Ezra 4. They true character of these people is revealed, because the response is not, we recognize then that, if that’s what you believe God would have you do, we respect that. No, verse 4, “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building.” So, the true character of the enemy is revealed. They are the enemy. If we can’t infiltrate you and together, which will bring its own corruption, now we will oppose you and do all we can to dishearten you, discourage you, make you weary in the work. Cause you to fear and be frightened. That becomes their tactic. The enemy, under the leadership of Satan, is flexible. If I can get you to join hands, and corrupt you that way, make you ineffective for the Lord that way, beautiful. Can’t do it that way, then I’ll take you on, head on. Then there is a third plan, verse 5, “and they 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.” So, hire others, people who we say aren’t directly involved in the conflict, but for money, they’ll help. What they do is hire counselors to represent them before the king, who’s 900 miles away. They constantly bring false reports before the king, to cause him to think that what’s going on here, is bad for his empire. They try to infiltrate, so they can undermine from within. They attack directly from without, they attack indirectly from without. The opposition is relentless. We are told at the end of verse 5, that this went on until the end of the reign of Darius king of Persia. We’ll see in the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia, the construction will get underway and be completed. What he does in verse 6 and down through verse 23, is he jumps ahead in time. Really, chronologically, in just the flow of events, you go from verse 5 to verse 24. Verse 6 and following will take you on into future events just to show that the opposition to the work that God was doing, wasn’t just against the temple. It was against the work of rebuilding the city as well. In other words, it’s a general opposition to the work of God through His people. It’s not an isolated event. It’s not limited to a certain period of time. It is opposition to what God is doing through His people.

Verse 6 deals with the reign of Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is also known as Xerxes. If you’re looking for an unusual name for a son, you could name him Xerxes. He probably would be the only kid in his class so named. He reigned from 486 to 464 BC. It was during his reign that the events of the book of Esther take place. He will be the king on the throne that we will get familiar with when we study the book of Esther. Sometime during his reign these things took place. Verse 6, “Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.” That’s all that is said about that. We’re familiar with some of the opposition that took place against the Jews. From the book of Esther but of this event, this is all we know about it. Early on, there were accusations written against the Jews in order to have the building at Jerusalem stopped. It was effective and the opposition continues.

Jump down to verse 7, in the days of Artaxerxes. Now we come to Artaxerxes, he’s the follower of Ahasuerus, and he reigns from 464 to 424 BC. During his reign, the substance of verse 7 to 23, talk about what happens during his reign. What really happened, during his reign was, the Samaritans sent a letter to the king. They say, somethings going on that you ought to know about, the Jews are rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. This is not good, because these are a rebellious people. You search the records and you’ll find out that they have been trouble down through their history. If you let them rebuild the walls, you know what’s going to happen? They will become a center of opposition and rebellion against your reign. This won’t be good for your empire.

That letter was effective. The king issued a decree down in verse 21. “So, now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that the city may not be rebuilt.” That was the decree of the king. But there is a qualification put on it. “Until a decree is issued by me.” Under Nehemiah, this same king will reverse himself and issue the decree for the walls to be rebuilt. We are down to the days of Nehemiah with this king. What the writer of this chapter has done, is just shown us that this opposition against the temple, doesn’t stop with the temple. It goes on, down into Israel’s future history, against the rebuilding of the city. These people are just opposed to the Jews and to the God of the Jews.

We come to verse 24, “Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” Backup to verses 4 and 5 with me. “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah”. So now we’re back with the construction of the temple. Verses 6 to 23 are a parenthesis, just to show how the opposition went on in future times. Now let’s get the flow of what’s going on with the opposition to the rebuilding of the temple. They offered to help, their offer is refused, so now they oppose it. Verse 4, “and they frightened them from building, and 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.” Verse 24, “Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased.” You know what? They were effective. The most effective thing about the Devil is he keeps coming. He does one thing. He attempted to get the Jews to join together with the Samaritans. To have a syncretistic kind of worship, a mixture. That didn’t work. The Devil doesn’t just go away. He’ll just hammer at them, to discourage them and frightened them. He wore them down. They gave up and they diverted themselves. It just got to discouraging. You know what they did? They concentrated on building their own houses. Nobody was opposed to them building their own houses, developing their own homesteads, so to speak. The enemies of the Lord didn’t care if they did that. It will take the coming of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, verses 1 and 2 of chapter 5, to get the work back on track. With the verse of 24, the work stops, and it stops for 15 years. We’ll see when we pick up with chapter 5, Ezra mentions the opposition from the outside, that brought discouragement and disheartenment and ultimately brought the work to an end for a time. When Haggai comes on the scene and Zechariah, you know what they’ll say. They’ll deal with the spiritual problem of the people. They’ll say they took this as an occasion to concentrate on building their own houses. You’re dwelling in paneled houses while the work of the Lord goes unfinished.

There is a rebuke to show there were some problems within. What happens when I wear down, that’s a sign of a spiritual problem. The strength of the Lord has not waned, my willingness to draw upon that strength has waned. Let’s back up and look at a few points out of these two chapters. Some very simple and obvious. In chapter 3:1, God’s people should be united in doing His work. That’s a good statement at the end of verse 1, they gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. We ought to be gathered together with one heart and one mind as the people of God. Raised up, particularly in this local church or in other local churches that have been raised up there. God’s people should be united in doing His work.

Number 2, God’s work should be done in accord with His word, the end of verse 2, they are operating according to what was written in the book of the man of God, Moses. God’s work should be done according to His word. They didn’t just come back here and all get together and decide what kind of altar should we build, where do you think it ought to be, how do you think it ought to look? No, they went to the word of God. God’s work, should be done in accord with His word.

Number 3, God’s work must be done, even in the face of intimidating circumstances. The people, verse 3, are terrified, but they do the work. That’s crucial.

In that same context, number 4, we must recognize our complete dependence upon God for the accomplishing of His work. They are building the altar for a reason, that’s the place where they meet with God, and God meets with them. With sacrifices that reflect their relationship to God and their commitment to Him are made. We must recognize our complete dependence upon God for the accomplishing of His work. Jot down 2 Corinthians 3:5-6. Paul says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant.” We must recognize our complete dependence upon God for the accomplishing of His work.

Number 5, we must see God’s goodness and grace in all that is done. Verse 11, with the altar being completed, the foundations of the temple having been laid, what? They declare their thanks to God for His goodness, for His lovingkindness, so we must see God’s goodness and grace. Everything that is done, ought to cause us to worship God in a fuller, deeper, richer way. To declare His goodness, His lovingkindness. So often, we cry out to Him when things aren’t going as we would like. But often we fail to be filled with praise and thanks for His grace in all that is done.

Number 6, we must appreciate what God is doing today. I took this from verses 12 and 13. We praise God for what has been done in the past. In the past, He may have done far greater things than He is doing in our lives or in our work today. But this is today. We’re not called to live in yesterday. We’re called to do the work of today, and appreciate what God is doing today. I don’t want to miss God’s blessing today because I reflect back and think, O, I don’t think this work that’s being done today, is as great as what was being done back when. My God is at work. This may not be Solomon’s temple, but this is a great work of God being done. We don’t want to miss that.

Number 7, no work of God will be without opposition. This is all of Chapter 4. I wish we could write that on the inside of our foreheads, so you could close your eyes and read it. I need to remember that, because I’m constantly fighting the thought, that if I’m faithful to God, everything will go well. You realize, if you’re faithful to God, there’s a good chance everything will go wrong, humanly speaking. You would think, for example here, when Zerubbabel and the leaders join with him and said no, we won’t join hands with you in building a temple to our God, you don’t worship our God. God would have honored that and remove the rest of the opposition, to show how He honored them. We have commentators today that think they blundered here. What do you think these people had to put up with in their day? Why did you have to be so hard nosed? Why did you have to be so narrow? Now all we have is more opposition. We need to be careful, God’s work will always have opposition. New Testament repeats it. Jesus said in John 15, they’ve hated Me, they’ll hate you. Paul said to Timothy, everyone who is godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It’s just a fact in an ungodly world.

Number 8, the tactics of the enemy, vary. This comes from Chapter 4:2-5, three points under that. They may try to blend with God’s people, that was we’ll come and help you, let’s do this together, we have a lot in common. That’s so effective today. Roman Catholics, evangelicals, talking about what we have in common. We, haven’t agreed on salvation yet, but we agree on certain cultural issues. We agree on certain moral issues. We need to stand together for the survival of western civilization. Says who? The enemy may try to blend with God’s people. Secondly, they may discourage and frighten God’s people. It can be discouraging when we work for the Lord. There is something about the relentless opposition that wears you down. We grow weary. Sometimes we grow afraid, what’s going to happen? Thirdly, they may use others to hinder our work. They hired counselors. So, the tactics of the enemy vary. It’s not enough to be alert to one area. We must be alert in all areas.

Number 9, God’s people must maintain purity in doing God’s work. We’ve backed up to verse 3. We must do God’s work, God’s way. Not think that we can come up with a better way to get God’s work done. God’s work can not be done, except in God’s power. When we don’t do God’s work God’s way, we forfeit God’s power. They may have built a beautiful temple here. Maybe a temple on a grander scale, in concert with the people of the land, then they were able to do on their own. But it would not have been a temple to the worship of the living God. It would not have been a temple to His honor. We must maintain purity in doing God’s work. There is no reason to believe that would be any more popular today, than it has ever been down through the history of God’s people.

Finally, number 10 in my list, some of you are saying, how in the world did he get 10 with what he’s told me so far? Number 10, God’s people must not grow weary in well doing. It does impact me, that while the blending did not work on this occasion, the relentless opposition, in a variety of ways did. Verse 24 tells us, after verses 4 and 5, “The work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased.” Not just for a few days, not just for a few weeks, not just for a few months, but for 15 years, the work was stopped. Amazing, here’s a people who packed up and left a foreign land, left behind what they had known for 70 years, make a trip of this duration. Come back to a hostile environment and it doesn’t take a year, and they are bailing out. They’re discouraged and give it up for 15 years. We want to learn a lesson from that. Distractions, as we’ll see, as we move into chapter 5, became a major problem. Don’t think anything has changed. Galatians 6:9 “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.” We want to take a lesson; these things have been written for our admonition. I want to learn from this. God, I want to take these lessons to heart. I want to be faithful in the service You’ve called us to.

What a privilege we have to be the people of God today. The people in whom God is working His purposes. We are not Israel, we never will be Israel. God has a purpose and plan for the nation Israel, but we are the people of God today. We want to learn some of the lessons that would be applicable to us as we carry out the work of the Lord. That we might have a work that honors Him. A work that accomplishes His purposes, and a work that will be a testimony to His goodness and His lovingkindness, that is so abundantly displayed upon us as His people.

Let’s join in together in prayer. Thank you, Lord for Your work in the lives of Your people. Thank you for bringing Israel back to the land after 70 years of captivity. Thank you, Lord for the commitment of these people, as they join together in difficult circumstances, to raise up the altar. To establish that center of worship and fellowship with you their God. For their desire, good intentions, to see the temple rebuilt. It’s the focus of the worship of the reestablished nation. Thank you for their stand against the enemy, who attempted to corrupt and infiltrate them. Lord may we take heart, that we might not grow weary in well doing. As the enemy relentlessly seeks to undermine Your work. Who relentlessly brings discouragement and disappointment to our lives and to ministry. Lord, may we not give up. May we not turn our energies to those things that are safe, building our own houses. Doing those things which are natural before the world, and so do not stir up opposition, persecution, the hardship that comes with it. Thank you, Lord that you are a faithful God. You did not abandon your people, even when they became discouraged and turned from the path. But in your grace, you sent your prophets, Haggai, Zechariah. In your grace, you turned the heart of your people, that they might complete that which they had begun, as a testimony again, to their God and to our God, who is indeed a God a God who is good. Who is filled with lovingkindness in His dealings with His people, Who is gracious beyond measure. Lord, we rejoice to know, that your work continues today. We are privileged to be part of that work. May we be faithful, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen