April 23 - Ezra 4-6
As the children of Israel began to rebuild the Temple, the other peoples in the area tried to stop the work. In fact, they sent a letter to the king, and the work did stop for a while. However, God triumphed in the end, and the Temple was completed. There are several lessons for us here.
When a person or a group of people are trying to do God's will, there will always be opposition from those who are not believers, because they do not understand the ways of God. We must never let this type of opposition stop us. We must realize that God will give us the victory when we are attacked in this way. In this case God prepared for these attacks from the very beginning. Cyrus wrote in the protection in his original decree. That is how God works. When He is doing His will, He thinks of all of the details in advance, but we must be sensitive to follow His way and not try to proceed in our own way.
The children of Israel did stop the work for a while. They let the enemies deter them. However, God sent His prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to direct the people to complete the work of God and not fear their enemies. The prophets called the people to have faith and not fear. They reassured the people that God would protect them, if they were trusting the Lord. God does the same thing today. He sends a prophet or a preacher to prod the people into believing the Lord and doing His will.
The main lesson here to me is that unbelievers can't stop God's work, it is only the believers that can stop God's work by their lack of obedience. When God wants something to be done, He provides the victory over all of the obstacles, but His people must receive the provision in faith and act on it. If God's people don't follow through the work is hindered. Isn't that ironic? Most people are afraid of Satan stopping God's work, when that is impossible. The only one who can stop God's work is a disobedient believer. Now, ultimately God will find someone to do His will if you and I refuse, so His ultimate will is always done in some way. However, we hinder God's work when we don't do our part. We slow down the work or sometimes we stop the work for a while, when that is not God's perfect will. I pray that we will learn this lesson and move from fear to faith, so we can see God's perfect will done in our lives and in our churches all the time.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 7-8.
When a person or a group of people are trying to do God's will, there will always be opposition from those who are not believers, because they do not understand the ways of God. We must never let this type of opposition stop us. We must realize that God will give us the victory when we are attacked in this way. In this case God prepared for these attacks from the very beginning. Cyrus wrote in the protection in his original decree. That is how God works. When He is doing His will, He thinks of all of the details in advance, but we must be sensitive to follow His way and not try to proceed in our own way.
The children of Israel did stop the work for a while. They let the enemies deter them. However, God sent His prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to direct the people to complete the work of God and not fear their enemies. The prophets called the people to have faith and not fear. They reassured the people that God would protect them, if they were trusting the Lord. God does the same thing today. He sends a prophet or a preacher to prod the people into believing the Lord and doing His will.
The main lesson here to me is that unbelievers can't stop God's work, it is only the believers that can stop God's work by their lack of obedience. When God wants something to be done, He provides the victory over all of the obstacles, but His people must receive the provision in faith and act on it. If God's people don't follow through the work is hindered. Isn't that ironic? Most people are afraid of Satan stopping God's work, when that is impossible. The only one who can stop God's work is a disobedient believer. Now, ultimately God will find someone to do His will if you and I refuse, so His ultimate will is always done in some way. However, we hinder God's work when we don't do our part. We slow down the work or sometimes we stop the work for a while, when that is not God's perfect will. I pray that we will learn this lesson and move from fear to faith, so we can see God's perfect will done in our lives and in our churches all the time.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 7-8.