Satan’s Work

“Then the people around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building” (Ezra 4:4).

When the exiled Israelites came back to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the city, the wall and the temple, there were opposition from “the enemies of Judah and Benjamin” (v.1).  The enemies tried to discourage the people of Judah and to make them afraid to go on building (v.4).  They hired counselors to work against them and frustrated their plans (v.5).  Then later on, some of the people wrote a letter to Artzxerxes king of Persia in order to stop the Israelites from rebuilding the house of God (v.7).  And in that letter, they referred Jerusalem as “the rebellious and evil city” (vv.12, 15, 19).  They wrote to the king that since the city is rebellious and evil, the people would “not pay tribute, custom, or toil, and it would damage the revenue of the kings” (vv.13, 15, 22).  As the result of the letter, King Artaxerxes wrote a letter and was read by Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates (v.23).  And they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop (v.23).  “Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill …” (v.24).  You see, this is Satan’s work – to stop rebuilding the Lord’s church.  Satan always tries so persistently to destroy the church.  But as Ezra chapter 5 teaches us, God’s work overcome Satan’s work.  God prevails.  No matter what, God builds His church in the midst of opposition by Satan.  Therefore, we must be discouraged by Satan’s work.