Thursday 7th May
Read Ezra 4:1-5
“When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, ‘Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.’
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, ‘You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.’
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (NIVUK)
These verses summarise the state of affairs from the laying of the foundations through to the arrival of Nehemiah many years later and sobering reality of constant opposition to the people and word of God.
We may feel tempted to wonder about the offer of assistance from those already in the land. Does their opposition arise because they were rejected so forcefully? Would a more inclusive approach have been successful and avoided the trouble that would follow? Is this the price one pays for an exclusive approach to the faith?
Ezra would have us reflect on those questions earnestly. The last four chapters of Ezra will address this question of ‘accommodation’ with those around us far more deeply. The first tactic attempted by those who oppose God’s plans was to corrupt the people with sugar – a sweet approach that looks wonderful on the surface but leaves a bitter aftertaste. When that fails, standover tactics and legal battles begin. These few verses challenge us to ask the question though – do we choose the easy, accommodating path when asked to work alongside those who are no friends of God.
Jesus, John and James all provide similar warnings…“don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) (NIVUK)
