#596 God Speed Towards Resistance

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.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.[a] 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace[b] and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

The King Orders the Work to Cease

17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”

23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Ezra 4 ESV

Sometimes the greatest adversary to the church are those that want to be associated with it in name, claim that this is the same God that they worship, yet we do it differently. Just like in the days of Jeroboam, they have been sacrificing to what they call the God of the land, the God of Israel, and they had a remnant there, blended with those settlers sent from Assyria to occupy. It's important, really important actually to understand that these people are the Samaritans of old, they like Jewish traditions, mysticism and have their own superstitious form of religion. You sacrifice, but not where or how you should, not based upon the command of myself, because that doesn't matter, but rather you violate the command of God. You not only disobey God's command, but you want to be commended and accepted for it, that this is the measure, this is the bar. We have voted, come to our decision, that God is not Who the Word says, but rather he is like this, wanting these things and experiences, we feel good about our religion. Zerubbabel and the other leaders of Judah and Benjamin rightly decided to worship God in truth, and placed that above unity, and this is where more than half of the church today would fall off and walk away. Wouldn't it be easier to lower the standard and yet call it Christianity, say we believe the Bible is God's word yet not proclaim it? The Jews returning from Persia at the decree of Cyrus must be like sore thumbs to their surroundings, and wouldn't it be easier to just fit in, accept this alliance, gain more hands for labor, craft and security? There was a right approach then, and guess what Jesus said, for all those who would have it their own way, that "He is so different from the God of the OT?" He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me." He didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets, but rather to fulfill.

“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him…John 4:21-23

So here is the wrestling within my own mind, that exposure to such a long blade, piercing my heart, opening my head, exposing the delusions I had of self. These are the notes of a child, a spoiled brat, masquerading around as a man, blogging about things too grand for him. I wish I could explain this better, simply, ah, but Jesus did. I may have mentioned and hopefully will more often, that all these things point to Christ. We have been talking a lot about government, kings and religion, and so think of it not as either or in this, but of the same coin with two sides that make one piece. We spoke of the law, and it is divided into parts, the same law, but half talks of man's relation to God and the other half his relation to man. Look here:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40 ESV

Now this did not get them notoriety of the kind that men prefer, playing to the audience, no, Zerubbabel honored God well in this, his heart and soul set to do right, and His mind prepared by knowing the truth. Do we fear God or men, would you the approval of men over God? It is the same coin, so look at it again, if I choose men by denouncing God's right over His creation, His way, have I helped them? If I say that I decide the approach then I did not even choose the other side of the same thing, but rather thinking that they were separate I chose neither. Look again, who am I? If God said this, then I am not very well choosing you, in taking your word over His, but rather knowing what God said and choosing your words instead, I have condemned us both. There is no room for pragmatism here, as much earthly benefit as I may perceive in our relationship, no matter how much I want you to fill the pews, to love me, it is not my words that will stand. I have not loved you more than the man who told you that you were inadequate in yourself, that you cannot bargain with God, your ways are not His. 

They did not like being told no, that we are not the same in our worship, yet this is the kindest thing to tell the rocky soil, that you need to be tilled, your ground broken and prepared. They wrote letters, bribed counselors, even told the truth up until a point, where it benefited them. Yes, there were times when those that lived in this city rebelled, but you leave out Who they really rebelled against. There was a time in their history where they were rebellious, so much so that the land wanted to spit them out, and at that time, they were more like you. They worshiped in the high places, incorporated the gods of the nations around them, they defiled the temple, wanted God to be for them when they refused to be for Him. You are worse than the pagans, you claim the Creator, but don't walk in His ways, you want riches to rain down on you, for the heavens to open, and you think that comes from the blood of bulls, yet your hearts are far from God. 

How many times and how many ways have we heard this story today? I use to say I had no use for those in church because the head deacon had a trunk full of porn and yelled at his son, my friend. Other revered members in the church, their kids made fun of our clothes because we were poor, but they called themselves Christian. The white man came with Bibles and then took our land. Remember the Spanish Inquisition? Look on the television, there are dozens of them selling religion, false hopes, self esteem and they all claim to know God, to love the Bible. Yeah they all want to claim God, but they all want it their way, and I assure you that they know neither side of the coin because they don't have one. They don't even realize it exists because they are so happy looking at the one they made. 

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:5-8

Oh, so this will continue all the way till the very end, there will be phonies, and remember, Jesus told you there would be. Wow, there is a lot here, and I think I should probably save it because this is getting long and I trust the opportunity will present itself soon enough. God help me to say it more clearly then, to open my eyes and ears, let me proclaim the truth of Your word. Thank you for every precious sentence You have written to us, and sending Your Son to walk among us.