The first attempt by the accuser to thwart the rebuilding God’s temple was to come as a friend and try to destroy the work from within as in Ezra 4:1-3 (see Spiritual Warfare). When that failed they harassed them and attempted to slow the work as best they could Ezra 4:4-5. The next phase was to complain to the authorities and accuse them of their past behavior.
Send in the Accuser
Ezra 4:6, “In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.”
In verse 6 the word accusation comes from a primitive root saw-tan, Strong’s H7853 which means adversary, resist, oppose. It’s the same word used to describe the Adversary/Satan.
When the accuser cannot sneak in, he’s going to do what he can to resist and oppose you. He’s subtle and is manipulative. While he’s got his minions harassing the workers, he’s drafting a letter to the King himself to halt the work on God’s temple.
And he’s persistent. This harassment went on from the time of Cyrus until the second year of the reign of Darius, about 37 years.
In Job, we see the Accuser come before God challenging Him that Job would curse Him the moment he lost everything. Satan goes before God twice (Job 1:6-12 and Job 2:1-8) asking permission to test Job. When that doesn’t work, he uses Job’s wife to discourage him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die.” She says to him in Job 2:9. Even through this, Job worshipped and praised God and would not curse Him for his afflictions. Then Satan sends in the big guns; he sends Job’s “friends” to counsel him through his grief.
Satan’s greatest weapon to use against you will be the words of others who mean well.
Call in the Posse
Ezra 4:7-10, “In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion: From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River—and so forth.”
Here, all the leaders of the land gathered together and plotted out a letter to the King to get him to call an end to the rebuilding of God’s temple. This is how much God’s Church frightens the enemy. A Church that knows who God is and who they are in Him cannot be defeated.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, the Art of War
The leaders here that came together would be like a Governor of a state, along with all the County Councils and Sheriffs coming together and writing a letter to the President to stop a church building from goin up. This is the amount of desperation in the enemy to stop the Church.
Rehashing the Past
Ezra 4:12, “Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations.”
Just as Satan does with the Church, these leaders brought up the past of the Israelites. Here they are, desperately trying to Return to God. Rebuilding the temple, sanctifying themselves, endeavoring to remain holy just as God has asked of them and Satan sneaks in and blasts your past to all the world. Sound familiar?
Israel was a rebellious and evil city. Israel had a history of rebelling against foreign powers through much of its history and Persia had struggled with several rebellions recently.
As the Church we must remember that once we surrender to Christ, our past is dead and no more. God does not remember who we were, only who we are to become.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Ezra 4:13, “Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished.”
Just to ensure the King took their “warning” seriously they claimed that if the construction was allowed to complete that Israel would rebel and Persia would suffer financially. They would lose all their tribute from the land.
Conclusion
If the accuser cannot get into your camp and work from within to destroy God’s work, he’s going to come at you from every direction and hard. He’s going to use the full force and every resource available to him to stop you. To stop God’s purposes in and for you.
He will attack you, your reputation, and your family. The accuser will send people to lie about you to everyone you ever meet. He will make others believe the absolute worst about you before they ever meet you. All to stop you from completing your assignment.
If you enjoyed this post consider Buying Me a Cup of Coffee
