The nations that had been living in the land while the Israelites were in exile were not happy at their return. They attempted to stop their work on Jerusalem and the temple by throwing obstacles in their path. The returned exiles allowed this opposition to turn them from their great task, and the work of the Lord was stopped for 16 years.<\/p>\n
We should not be surprised when we find God allowing opposition to come against us, even when we are doing exactly what He wants us to do. It seems He uses obstacles to form our character, forging us on the anvil of life. American author James A. Michener touched on this human and spiritual fact in his historical novel, Chesapeake<\/em>. He wrote:<\/p>\n A ship, like a human being, moves best when it is slightly [hindered by] the wind, when it has to keep its sails tight and attend its course. Ships, like men, do poorly when the wind is directly behind, pushing them sloppily on their way so that no care is required in steering or in the management of sails; the wind seems favorable, for it blows in the direction one is heading, but actually it is destructive because it induces a relaxation in tension and skill. What is needed is a wind slightly opposed to the ship, for then tension can be maintained, and juices can flow and ideas can germinate; for ships, like men, respond to challenge.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n “LORD, help us to face the wind today and grow to become the men and women of God that You want us to be.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ezra 4 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel;\u00a0\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye\u00a0do;\u00a0<\/em>and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6<\/sup>\u00a0And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they\u00a0unto him<\/em>an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a08<\/sup>Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:\u00a0\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0Then\u00a0wrote\u00a0<\/em>Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>the Elamites,\u00a0\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest\u00a0that are<\/em>on this side the river, and at such a time.\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0This\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>the copy of the letter that they sent unto him,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls\u00a0thereof<\/em>, and joined the foundations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up\u00a0again, then\u00a0<\/em>will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and\u00a0so\u00a0<\/em>thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0Now because we have maintenance from\u00a0the king\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king\u2019s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;\u00a0\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0We certify the king that, if this city be builded\u00a0again\u00a0<\/em>, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river. 17<\/sup>\u00a0Then\u00a0<\/em>sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em>Shimshai the scribe, and\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em>the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and\u00a0unto\u00a0<\/em>the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.\u00a0\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>rebellion and sedition have been made therein.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all\u00a0countries\u00a0<\/em>beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until\u00a0another\u00a0<\/em>commandment shall be given from me.\u00a0\u00a022<\/sup>\u00a0Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? 23<\/sup> Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes\u2019 letter\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.\u00a0\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0Then ceased the work of the house of God which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The nations that had been living in the land while the Israelites were in exile were not happy at their return. They attempted to stop their work on Jerusalem and the temple by throwing obstacles in their path. The returned exiles allowed this opposition to turn them from their great task, and the work of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7333"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16395,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7333\/revisions\/16395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n