Ezr 4:1-4 | KingComments | STEP | When the people start building the temple, the enemy comes into action. God does not intervene. He acknowledges the reign of the nations, which has come because of the unfaithfulness of His people. Although He does not intervene, He is not indifferent to what His people do and what happens to them. He waits until the time is ripe for His people to be stirred back into action. As soon as the foundation is laid, the enemies appear on the scene, as they did at the beginning of the church ( ). The first attack does not come from the inside, but from the outside. As soon as there is a blessing from God somewhere on earth, the devil with his trickery and enmity immediately comes. The Spirit of God calls the men who wish to help build the temple, “enemies”. Their words sound friendly, but the Spirit immediately shows their true character. They are enemies. They seek the destruction of the few who have returned. Their tactics are those of the devil trying to gain influence through wiles. Once they had gained a foothold in the city of God, their trickery would have succeeded and they would be able to carry out their pernicious work. Their plan is not to build, but to demolish. For the small and weak remnant, it is a temptation. The offer increases the number of hands for building. The building would be easier and faster. At least it would seem that way. The reality, however, is that their strength would diminish. The security and strength of the people lie in their separation to God. If that is forgotten, Christians will engage in worldly issues, which will be at the expense of building God’s house. The enemies claim that they call upon the same God and have also brought sacrifices ( ). They take a friendly attitude, they want to make friendship. Here comes Satan “as an angel of light” ( ), while in we see him “as a roaring lion” ( ). Esarhaddon is the son of Sennacherib and has taken away the rebellious tribes of Israel ( ). Through him other nations were brought to Samaria. A mixture of religions has arisen, in which they worship the LORD and also serve their idols ( ). According to their own confession, the adversaries do not belong to the people of God, even though they are in the land. They also know nothing of salvation through blood, they do not know God’s mighty deeds for His people. What they know they have heard of. The offer to work together is a trap. The remnant sees through the trick and unmasks them as false workers (cf. ; ). The building of the temple should not be done by anyone but members of God’s people. Their answer is: “We ourselves” ( ). This is not a narrow-mindedness, but faithfulness to the LORD. The church has forgotten that. Her history shows that she even consciously has been seeking the help of the world. We should not give up the special place of the church of God because we are only a weak remnant. We must never give up the principle that only those who are members of the body of Christ can take their place of responsibility in the work of the Lord. We must not give in to the spirit of our time. The last words of are a humbling confession of their position of bondage among the nations. Enclosed in them is the lack of former glory and the presence of weakness, both as a result of their failure and the judgment of God on it. Faith, however, counts on the grace that is present in God and that has made a new beginning possible. That is why there is also a courageous action and a refusal to connect with those who do not belong to God’s people. They speak in the spirit of what God says to the ungodly in Psalm 50 ( ). After the refusal, the true nature of the enemies reveals itself ( ). The flesh hates not to be counted in the work of God. Now the adversaries try through intimidation to disturb the work. The adversary does not consist of an incident, but persists as long as Cyrus lives ( ).

‏ Ezra 4:1-4

Introduction

When the people start building the temple, the enemy comes into action. God does not intervene. He acknowledges the reign of the nations, which has come because of the unfaithfulness of His people. Although He does not intervene, He is not indifferent to what His people do and what happens to them. He waits until the time is ripe for His people to be stirred back into action.

Enemies Want to Cooperate

As soon as the foundation is laid, the enemies appear on the scene, as they did at the beginning of the church (Ezra 4:1-2). The first attack does not come from the inside, but from the outside. As soon as there is a blessing from God somewhere on earth, the devil with his trickery and enmity immediately comes. The Spirit of God calls the men who wish to help build the temple, “enemies”. Their words sound friendly, but the Spirit immediately shows their true character. They are enemies. They seek the destruction of the few who have returned.

Their tactics are those of the devil trying to gain influence through wiles. Once they had gained a foothold in the city of God, their trickery would have succeeded and they would be able to carry out their pernicious work. Their plan is not to build, but to demolish. For the small and weak remnant, it is a temptation. The offer increases the number of hands for building. The building would be easier and faster. At least it would seem that way. The reality, however, is that their strength would diminish. The security and strength of the people lie in their separation to God. If that is forgotten, Christians will engage in worldly issues, which will be at the expense of building God’s house.

The enemies claim that they call upon the same God and have also brought sacrifices (Ezra 4:2). They take a friendly attitude, they want to make friendship. Here comes Satan “as an angel of light” (2Cor 11:14), while in Ezra 4:4 we see him “as a roaring lion” (1Pet 5:8).

Esarhaddon is the son of Sennacherib and has taken away the rebellious tribes of Israel (2Kgs 17:6-8). Through him other nations were brought to Samaria. A mixture of religions has arisen, in which they worship the LORD and also serve their idols (2Kgs 17:41). According to their own confession, the adversaries do not belong to the people of God, even though they are in the land. They also know nothing of salvation through blood, they do not know God’s mighty deeds for His people. What they know they have heard of.

The offer to work together is a trap. The remnant sees through the trick and unmasks them as false workers (cf. Rev 2:2; 2Cor 11:13). The building of the temple should not be done by anyone but members of God’s people. Their answer is: “We ourselves” (Ezra 4:3). This is not a narrow-mindedness, but faithfulness to the LORD.

The church has forgotten that. Her history shows that she even consciously has been seeking the help of the world. We should not give up the special place of the church of God because we are only a weak remnant. We must never give up the principle that only those who are members of the body of Christ can take their place of responsibility in the work of the Lord. We must not give in to the spirit of our time.

The last words of Ezra 4:3 are a humbling confession of their position of bondage among the nations. Enclosed in them is the lack of former glory and the presence of weakness, both as a result of their failure and the judgment of God on it. Faith, however, counts on the grace that is present in God and that has made a new beginning possible. That is why there is also a courageous action and a refusal to connect with those who do not belong to God’s people. They speak in the spirit of what God says to the ungodly in Psalm 50 (Psa 50:16).

After the refusal, the true nature of the enemies reveals itself (Ezra 4:4). The flesh hates not to be counted in the work of God. Now the adversaries try through intimidation to disturb the work. The adversary does not consist of an incident, but persists as long as Cyrus lives (Ezra 4:5).