Building Back Bolder: Dealing With Your Adversaries
Ezra 4:1-8, 24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy
Faith Fellowship – October 15-16, 2022
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8
Last Week – “When Things Bog Down.”
• There are two reasons that we can see the plans of God stymied:
- Our Priorities - Haggai addressed a community that needed to examine their priorities.
- Our Adversaries - Ezra focused on the Adversaries they faced in the land.
• It is important to deal with both.
Today we will learn to recognize, resist, and repel the Adversaries that come against the plans God has for us.
Ezra 4:1-8, 24 (ESV)
[1] 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. [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. [8] Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows…
[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.
There is a difference between
• Adversity is not personal. It is the stuff that happens, and much of it makes us stronger.
• James 1:2-4 - Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
• Romans 5:3-5 - We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
• 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 - We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; [9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
• Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Adversaries are
• They study your vulnerabilities and then scheme, connive, or betray you.
• Adversaries have one goal– to slow or stop what God is doing in your midst.
• We will have both adversity and Adversaries.
• Some will say: “What doesn’t kill you will make you strong.”
• Someone posted: “I’ve had about enough of this stuff that won’t kill me, but makes me strong.”
The Israelites faced Adversaries.
• [1] Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel…
• Hebrew: Tsar - tsawr – A narrow or tight place, a distress, or enemy; to cramp, crowd, besiege, narrow, or bind.
• root word - a pebble, or hard stone. We get the image of a stone in our shoe.
• An opponent or one who brings anguish and affliction.
• NIV, NASB, NLT – translates “enemies.”
The Bible says you must be
• 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
• He opposes the plans that the Father has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
• Job 6:23 - ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
• Job 16:9 - He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
Dealing with Adversaries:
• Matthew 4:1-11 – The Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness:
- Jesus recognized the devil and his schemes.
o 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.- Jesus resisted the temptation offered to him.
o James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.- Jesus repelled the Adversary with the Word of God.
o Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
• “The people around them…” [4]
• Most of the exiles were from the tribe of Judah with a small number from Benjamin.
• The people of the land were from the area of Samaria, and were mixed remnants of the ten tribes in the north.
• The northern kingdom called Israel fell in 722 BC. Almost 200 years before this point in time.
• The Assyrian kings kept importing inhabitants from conquests in Mesopotamia and Syria “who fear the Lord and served their own gods” (2 Kings 17:24-33).
• The northern area of Israel had become a dumping ground for displaced people who were now of mixed religion that combined beliefs with the incoming people.
Five tactics reveal five Adversaries you need to recognize:
1 – The
• They claimed to be friends offering to help.
• “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.” [2b]
Not everyone who claims to be your friend is your friend.
• In this case, the scripture tells us they are Adversaries, but this is a difficult one to recognize.
• We tend to think “I don’t have any enemies.”
• We want to begin with a posture of trust, but we must beware.
Scripture warns us.
• 2 Corinthians 11:14 - … Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
• 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober-minded; be watchful.
• Do not be seduced by the need to have people “like you.”
• The people of the land were not interested in helping.
• They wanted to infiltrate the rebuilding process to slow it down or stop it entirely.
Beware the phrase “We worship the same God as you…”
• It sounds so good, but often is far from the truth.
• This is the sounding bell of many ecumenical movements.
• We hear the same thing very often from cult groups.
• We can be overly eager to gather help, resources, coalition.
Somehow Zerubbabel and Jeshua discerned the difference.
• Jeshua was a priest and Zerubbabel was the building contractor.
• Neither was a prophet, but leadership has different giftings.
• Together, they knew that this was not a good deal.
They said: “No way.”
• “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.”
• If you worshipped the same God, He would have stirred the heart of Cyrus to command you to rebuild the Temple.
• If God wanted us to partner with you, He would have told us to do so.
Ephraim was the largest and most influential tribe in the north.
• They were also the most prone to worship foreign idols resulting in the judgment that came upon the north.
• The Prophet Hosea warned “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone” (Hosea 4:17).
Repel with the Word: Do not partner with the enemy.
• Exodus 34:12 - Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst.
• 2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Our temptation to make alliances reveals a lack of faith in God.
• God needs our help so we will make an alliance.
• Truth: God is perfectly capable of completing the plans He has for you.
2 – The
• [4] Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah…
• Hebrew: raw-faw - “discourage” – to slacken, consume, weaken, or make feeble.
• KJV translates “…weakened the hands of the people of Judah…”
• There are some around us that “weaken our hands.”
• This Adversary wears us down.
There are many ways to discourage.
• This probably first took the form of discouraging talk, negative rumors, and gossip.
• “You’re never going to finish.”
• “You don’t have enough people, resources, money…”
• “You should just give up.”
Resist… Don’t listen to
• Proverbs 23:9 - Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.
• Proverbs 18:6-7 - A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. [7] A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
• Proverbs 14:7 - Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
Repel with the Word.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV) [11] Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
• Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) [31] but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
• Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV) [8] It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
3 – The
• …and made them afraid to build… [4]
• Hebrew: Baw-hal – cause to tremble inwardly; be alarmed or agitated.
• They used fear. Possibly threats.
• Similar to what we see today when outside money is poured into an area to sway an election or discourage a decision that the people are trying to make.
• This harassment continued for 35 years! From 521 to 486 BC.
Repel with the Word.
• Isaiah 41:10 - Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
• 1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
4 – The
• [5] … and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose…
• NIV -They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans.
• Hebrew: paw-rar – break up, dissolve, make void.
• Sabotage the process by breaking up the team.
Repel with the Word.
• Galatians 6:9 - And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
• 1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
• Proverbs 30:5 - Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
5 – The
• [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 rest of Chapter 4 talks about these letters.
• These letters are out of place chronologically, but they represent the long opposition used by the Adversaries.
• Artaxerxes was king later during Chapters 7-10.
The letter was filled with lies.
• “They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. [Ezra 4:12b]
• “They are finishing the walls and foundations.”
• “If this city is rebuilt, they will not pay taxes.” [13]
• “If Jerusalem is fortified, the Jews will take back the territory.”
Proverbs 10:18-19:
• The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. [19] When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
The king commanded that building projects stop.
• [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.
• In the next chapter we learn that the construction resumed.
• The plan of God will not be thwarted.
Repel with the Word.
• Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”
• 1 Peter 3:16 - Having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
How do you keep from bogging down?
• Keep your Priorities straight.
• Keep your Adversaries in check.
DISCUSSION
1. Was there something new in this study that you had never thought about before, or that helped you in a particular way?
2. How would you explain to a new believer the difference between adversity and an Adversary?
How does adversity actually help you?
3. Which of the five Adversaries would you say was new to you?
4. Which of the Adversaries do you find easiest to deal with?
Which is the most difficult?
5. How would you say it is helpful to have fellowship, prayer partners, good counsel, and Word of God in dealing with Adversaries?
6. How can your group pray for you this week?