Ezra 3:1 - 4:24

This passage narrates a time where God called particular people to do particular works for His glory. He does this sometimes, calling key people to do dramatic things - look back over history and you can see Him doing this over and over again. We appear to be in such a time today. What is God calling us to do for Him now? Sometimes it can be quite a personal thing for us. God might be bringing about a new season where you can take new responsibilities.

In this instance, we can see how these callings can bring particular testing and fire from the enemy to put us down. We should learn from these examples so we don't trip up in the same way.

Free to live a life of worship

We start by seeing God's people freed, and the first thing they do is worship. They have been freed to live a life of worship.

As they collected the materials, you can feel the excitement building. They were excited to continue their worship to God. Hope was building. They were worshipping at every milestone, being thankful to God for His faithfulness.

Stealing joy from the future

Enter the first tactic of the enemy. While most were overjoyed, some were disheartening and underwhelmed. They were comparing to what they remembered. There were significant differences to what Israel was like in Solomon's days. The enemy was using the trap of comparison. A backward glance has the temptation to steal the joy of what God is doing now. It takes away the hope for what God might do in the future.

Fear of opposition

The second tactic of the enemy that we see here is a more direct one. Opposition from their neighbours lead to fear of what they were doing. In this case they used leverage and politics to stop the project.

This works so well because it is so easy under opposition to just put your head down and stop. Many people are easily silenced by opposition. Reading Paul's words about the opposition he faced is a great encouragement for this. Keep going, don't let fear weigh you down.

Roadblock to apathy

At the end of Ezra chapter 4 the work is halted by the emperor. But reading around the prophets you can see that that roadblock eventually lead to apathy from the people. The people slipped away to not caring about the temple. This was a gradual change in their passion that came about from inactivity. They came to enjoy not having to worry about the temple. If we fall into inactivity there is a danger that we will stay there. Be aware of you are in a lull. Make sure you are ready and motivated to get back up and work for God's glory when the time is right. 1 Peter 5:8 puts this very well.

Consider where God has put you, and what He wants you to do in that place. Look out for the tactics of the enemy as you strive to do what God has called you to do. Peter knew that the solution when you are caught in the traps isn't to pull yourself up, but to come to God and ask Him to strengthen you and push you forward.