Scripture: Ezra 4:1-5, Nehemiah 2:11-20, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
Living and serving in God’s will and way is a
constant struggle for many people.
Either they don’t quite understand what the Lord desires of them, or
they don’t know how to even begin discerning the Lord’s desires for their
lives, or for some, they just don’t care!
The truth is that scripture should always be able to put us on the right
track toward faithful obedience, IF, that is, we read it and study it honestly.
But unfortunately, there are always those who know
what scripture tells them, but because the word of God doesn’t always fit with
their personal understandings of what “truth” is, they decide to reinterpret it
to suit their own desires. As we all
know, societal truth is no longer an absolute issue!
In striving to make everyone feel as though they are worthy and included
in society and culture, “truth” has become a relative quantity – that
your version of what fact is, whether it matches mine or not, is just as
acceptable and right as anyone else’s is!
What they forget, though, is that Jesus and His Truth is for everyone, and He welcomes
all who seek a relationship with Him!
And His people should be making the same offer to those who feel that
they are on the “outs”.
As committed Christians, we need to appreciate that
what society is referring to as “truth”, is actually “opinion” or
“desire”. But when it comes to accepting
absolute truth, there is only one source, and that is the author of
complete truth - our Almighty God. And
in God’s truth, it becomes the only acceptable way to live this life and to
love one another. In this, our 3rd
topic of living, building, and growing in the way of Jesus Christ, we will see
how non-believers will sometimes make offers to join our efforts, even though
they obviously have no intention whatsoever to work in unity with the Lord’s
way.
Read Ezra 4:1-5
The opening verse of this chapter of Ezra speaks of
the “enemies” of “Judah and Benjamin”. But just who were those enemies? In those days, the conqueror of a nation, in
order to keep descension and rebellion to
a minimum, they would export people from one conquered nation and
exchange them with people from another one.
By mixing culturally different people, they could dilute religious
beliefs, destroy national pride and allegiances, and, especially, interbreed
family identities, all of which made control of the region a much easier
effort.
So who were these enemies of Judah and
Benjamin? In short, they were third or
fourth generations of “re-educated” Hebrew slaves, or half-breed descendants of
Jews who had been left behind, or residents of other nations who had been
brought to Israel. In general, they were
anything but true, God fearing Jews.
When these unbelievers approached the leadership of
the temple restoration with their offers to assist in the work, we have to
wonder as to the purpose behind their desire to be part of the rebuilding of
the Jewish Temple. As we read further in
this passage, we discover that their offer had absolutely nothing to do with faithful
service, and everything to do with bringing a halt to the reestablishment of
Israel’s house of worship!
This is the conundrum that we also find ourselves in
today. Are the words that call us to
remain in unity with the Church honest and faithful, or is there more behind
their motives? Is it financial? Is it authoritative? Is it intended to bring
a halt to the growth of a new denomination?
Or is it something even more insidious?
Only time will tell, but for now, the Church must move forward, while remaining
faithful and obedient to the word of God in our lives.
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20
Nehemiah wasted little time after arriving in
Jerusalem. But after only 3 days, he began
conducting a survey of the city’s walls to plan the work that would be required
to make the city strong and safe and viable once again. He started on the southeastern end of the
city, and as he moved north and west, he discovered that the destruction was so
complete that he couldn’t even travel all the way around the wall that had once
stood so strong and formidable.
He kept the intended project quiet at first, to
minimize the opposition, and to gain time to initiate plans and preparation for
the project. But soon after he informed
the city’s leadership of why he was actually there, and began the development
of plans and preparations for needed supplies and workers, the occupation’s
leadership began to hear details of Nehemiah’s project, and opposition to the
Lord’s call on the faithful servant began to grow.
The regional governors had already received the
letters that Nehemiah had brought from Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:7-10),
so the project shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. As a matter of fact, Sanballat and Tobiah
knew very well that Nehemiah was coming to address the plight of the Israelites! But the first accusation that was directed
toward the project’s leadership was one of rebellion toward the king! Didn’t they already know that the king had
approved the work? But they made the
charge, just the same.
Tactics that those who oppose the Lord’s truth will use
always come from every direction, as long as it suits their purpose – even if
it’s an intentional fabrication!
Read 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
We will remember from our first three lessons from
Nehemiah, that he had a full and faithful prayer life with the Lord. And he attributes the support that came from
king Artaxerxes to the “gracious hand of my God” (Nehemiah 2:8).
When the Lord’s people are faithful and obedient to His call on their
lives, it is God’s great pleasure to shower us with His gracious,
supportive, and blessed nature.
And Paul reminds us to not only pray for the Lord’s
intervention in every matter, but also for release from the evil that
wickedness will always try to pile up on our lives. He tells us that this release doesn’t come
naturally and spontaneously, but again, only in the Lord’s response to our
prayers. Nehemiah knew that lesson
perfectly! Jesus also knew it perfectly,
and in several instances, reminded us of the importance of staying in
connection with Him! (John 15:4-6)
And what does that connection do for us? In John 14:13-14,
the Lord tells us that whatever we ask for in His name will be granted. And what does it mean to ask in His
name? It doesn’t mean that we should
simply use a phrase such as “Jesus, I need you to ….” Asking in the name of Jesus means that a
relationship exists between the two of us.
It means that we live in Him, and He lives in us. It means that a level of trust and dependency
in the Lord Jesus exists and even thrives in our heart and soul. (John 14:19-21)
But what about those who refuse to follow the Lord’s
way? In the verses that preceded this
passage, Paul tells the Church that those who refuse Him will perish, and that
God will ensure their sentence by filling them with delusions that will make
them truly and fully believe the lies of Satan.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) And those lies will hold fast to them until
the day of their confession and repentance from the ways of the world.
It's all about having confidence in the Lord and His
word, and our following His word faithfully.
When Nehemiah heard the reports of danger and dishonor being forced upon
the people of Jerusalem, what did he do?
He turned it all over to his Jehovah God through his fasting, prayer,
and heart-broken mourning for their plight.
He knew that he had no power or ability to do a thing to relieve the
city of their dilemma, but did know without a doubt that his God absolutely,
and positively, could. And when the
pagan king provided all that the Lord’s servant requested, Nehemiah never took
any credit for the victory that would soon come for the people.
Evil will never stand a chance when we turn it all
over to the Lord, and willing follow in all that He asks of us in return. What a blessing – to know that our Almighty
God wants to work His ways through and with our involvement.
Are all of us prepared to see all that the Lord
Jesus is willing and ready to do through our faithful lives? If we aren’t on the Lord’s side, and not yet ready
to work in the ways that He requests, then we can only expect to be on the
outside of His grace and hope. And that
will never be an enviable position to be in!
