Persecution Stings: Ezra 4

Victories: 1. Thanks to the Outreach team 2.

Prayer: Pierce Church Pastor Chad Yoder

Missionary Prayer: Matt & Katie Dooney / Word of Life: Pray for their family

Intro

Today I want to start out by describing to you a tree. I know, most of you already know what a tree is so what use is my description? Well, specifically this tree is called a larch tree. Maybe you know this tree and maybe you don’t but let me explain it to you a bit. It is a deciduous tree meaning that it looses is leaves in the winter but it is also a conifer meaning that it is like a pine tree having needles instead of leaves. It is prized for the toughness and relative durability of its wood which is used in boat building, decks, outside furniture and fences and it’s resin is used in many applications in food, cosmetics, and medical fields. None of that is really all that important so if you forget it I am not in any way hurt by that. However, the reason why I bring it up today is because I want to share with you an illustration using this specific tree. The Larch tree was an illustration that the great prince of preachers Charles Haddon Spurgeon used as a metaphor for the Christian. He said:

“Many years ago a larch was brought to England. The gentleman who brought it put it in his [green house], but it did not develop in a healthy manner. It was a spindly thing, and therefore the gardener, feeling that he could not make anything of it, took it up and threw it out on the dunghill. There it grew into a splendid tree, for it had found a temperature suitable to its nature. The tree was meant to grow near the snow; it loves cold winds and rough weather, and they had been sweating it to death in a [green house].”

You see what the man had neglected to understand was that the Larch is from the climates of the far north, think Siberia and northern Canada. In those climates the Larch thrives so much so that it is actually the most abundant genus of trees on earth. Think about that; this tree not only survives but thrives in places that kills most other things. What does that have to do with Christians. Let me finish with Spurgeon's illustration.

“So it is with true Christianity. It seldom flourishes so well in the midst of ease and luxury as it does in great tribulation. Christians are often all the stronger and better because they happen to be cast where they have no Christian companions or kindly encouragements. As liberty usually favors the hardy mountaineers whose rugged hills have made them brave and hardy, so does abounding grace, as a rule, visit those who endure the great fight of affliction and through much tribulation inherit the kingdom.”

What is Spurgeon trying to say? In short Christians should expect hardship and persecution for with it comes growth. Spurgeon said there a the end of the quote that it is through this fight that we gain the inheritance of heaven. Ah that sounds good. After a good hard fight we will gain the prize of heaven. I mean doesn’t that sound great? It is like those who work out often whose statement is, “No pain, no gain.” Sounds great but I want you to realize something about that statement, those who want the gain have to endure the pain, and pain is not easy to endure. This picture of perseverance in the face of persecution isn’t just a cautionary tale it is a warning of what will happen. We should expect that if we are living out our faith in Christ as we should it expect to have to face hardships and persecution. But I want to also give you this as an encouragement. You are made of stronger stuff, you can thrive where you are planted and even if you have to face the hardest of persecutions you can survive because you have the power of God at your back. You are a child of God. You are like a Larch tree; thriving even when the circumstances are harsh.

We come from a long line of those who face harsh conditions. Today our passage is the 4th chapter of Ezra and we are going to see hardship and persecution come to the recent exiles. Last week in Chapter 3 they began the process of rebuilding and this caused them to celebrated together because of the joy of seeing the work started, and they wept together, because of what they had lost due to their sin. Things were actually looking good for the returned exiles but things were about to change.

Bible Reading: Ezra 4:1-11

The Opposition

We will stop there and summarize the letter sent in opposition to the Jews rebuilding the temple. In short these men did not want the temple rebuilt so they wrote to the Persian king about how rebellious these people have been in the past and how they will continue that rebellion going forward if they are able to complete their task. They weren’t necessarily wrong but they may have been overly derogatory. These men, in being told no when they asked to help, became embittered. They weren’t allowed to do things the way they wanted to, so now they are going to take their grievance to the next level. They decided to cause problems and send a letter to the king.

Timeline

What we first need to know that some time has passed. There is some weirdness going on in this passage with the historic timing and possible literary artistry but it really doesn’t factor into the truth of the scripture. Therefore let me try to set the timeline for you the best that I can.

King Cyrus released the exiles and sent them back to Jerusalem with his blessing back in 538 BC. Zerubbabel and around 50,000 exiles return to Jerusalem 2 years later in 536 BC and really get to work on the rebuilding in 535 BC. But the ancient world being what it was with uprisings and wars, kings were never really secure in their positions for long. Cyrus was deposed around 529 by Ahasuerus , so named in verse 6, took over and then possibly another king named Artaxerxes or as verse 7 calls him. Here is some of that weirdness because we aren’t sure if these are two different kings or one king called by 2 different names. Nonetheless, apparently all the decrees of Cyrus were forgotten or nullified because if you look down at the end of the chapter with me you will read.

Bible Reading: Ezra 4: 18-24

The opposition worked and the rebuilding of the temple was brought to a halt until as verse 24 puts it: Ezra 4:24 “Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” The 2nd year of King Darius’ reign was around 520 BC making this a work stoppage of around 9 years.

The Adversaries

The 2 men who appear to be the leaders of the opposition are Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and they come to Zerubbabel at first in order to inquire about helping. These men represented the people who are living in the land surrounding Judah. Specially they were coming from the region which had been known as Israel or the Northern kingdom. They had been living there for a long time for they were part of the generations of people who were sent there after the Jews of the Northern kingdom were dispersed back in 680 BC. So, around 140 years later these people would have married into the Jewish remnant bringing with them their gods and cult practices. They were a mix both ethnically and religiously and because of that they were never accepted or liked by the returning exiles. As history unfolds they are known as the Samaritans and they are very much a mixed bag of problems for the more pure of lineage Jews.

They say that they wanted to help. They even claimed to worship the same God, but this does not seem to mesh with how their offer of help was received. Zerubbabel and Jeshua gave them a resounding no in verse 3 and that is interesting considering the Jews precarious position at the time. The returned exiles were a relatively small number of people and in a place where security and help were desperately needed. Therefore it seems to make sense that this help would be gladly accepted especially if it is true that they were indeed worshipers of Yahweh. I’d want to make friends with as many people around me as possible if found in a similar position, because what I don’t need is hostile neighbors. However, Zerubbabel and Jeshua gave more importance to appeasing God than appeasing their neighbors.

The Response

Now it becomes abundantly clear that Zerubbabel and Jeshua made the exact right decision because the words are barely out of their mouth before. Ezra 4:4 “Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,” They made the right decision but that didn’t mean everything went their way. Zerubbabel and Jeshua were doing what they were supposed to be doing. In fact, the opposition came at them because they were doing what God had called them to do. They are confronted by these adversaries but if they wouldn’t have been doing what God wanted them to be doing they wouldn’t have been opposed.

The Lessons Learned

That is the lesson I think we should learn from this scripture today. Here it is: Doing things God’s way will not always bring you success, but opposition does not always mean you are wrong or in sin.

Let’s break this down: There are 2 reasons why you might be having a hard time in your life. Either you are in opposition to God or you are in cooperation with God.

Opposition to God

If you joined us on Wednesday night you have already heard this truth. There is no neutral person. You are either attracted in love and devotion to God or you opposed to God there is no middle or neutral ground. With this in mind we need to determine if our actions are either of God or opposed to God. That opposition is sin and sin, as God tells us, must be punished, Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death, ” When we face a hardship our first thought should be, “Has my actions, thoughts, or words caused this?” Namely is this a consequence of my sin. This is at the very least a good place to start as we seek to be transformed by God into the faithful follower that He wants us to be. When you are in sin and your life is in rebellion to God He will allow you to fall by your own hand. You will face the consequences of your sin, “For the wages of sin is death, .”. Therefore, if you find yourself to be in opposition to God the correct response is repentance, for it does us no good to deny that we are sinners. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Cooperation with God

By contrast we have, Cooperation with God - We tend to look at persecution, opposition, or hard times as a personal affront to us, and as we just discussed that isn’t exactly a bad thing as we want to know if the cause is our own sin. However, in the midst of it we can throw a pretty good pity party. Why Lord? How could you be doing this to me at this time? But here is the truth to it all; the persecution, opposition and hard times might be there BECAUSE you are doing what God has asked of you. James tells us that we should look at the trials of our life differently, James 1:2–4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Let me remind you of the Larch Tree that thrives under the harsh conditions. We are to thrive under these persecutions, we are to be made better through the trials that produce in us a deeper faith that is seeking to be perfect and lacking nothing.

It would be great if we were found to be obedient to the Lord that everything in our lives would just run smoothly and there would be no problems. However, that is not the world we live in. Remember the prayer of Jesus for His followers from John 17:15–18 “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

If you are in the midst of hardship, no matter what kind, let this be your action. Pray that God would show you either your sin or your obedience. If God makes you aware of your sin take action to repent of your sin. If God shows you your obedience then rejoice in the testing of your faith just as the apostles did when they were beaten for their faith by the religious leaders of Jerusalem council said, Acts 5:41 “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

In the end there will be times where we are forced into submission as Zerubbabel and Jeshua were here but we should never stop being obedient or trying to be obedient to the Lord. It may be hard, it may cause persecution, and hardships, but through all of it you will grow. Thriving because God has placed you in exactly the conditions that make you thrive.

Gospel

Jesus died for our sins, and because He did, we can place our belief in that sacrifice. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We have the promise of God that if we ask for forgiveness and believe in the saving power of Jesus, we will be saved. And from the saving power of Jesus, we become new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” This means that as Christians, we get a fresh start, we aren’t who we used to be, and we have the power of God behind us to change who we are becoming. Glory to God in the highest, for He has saved my soul, and He can save yours too if you will let Him. If you aren’t sure, then you can confess Him as your savior. If that is your desire today, you can say this prayer with me. Bow your heads.

Dear Lord, I know that I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sin, and I ask you to forgive me. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I repent of my sins, and I ask you to come into my life and take control. I make a commitment to follow you, and I trust you as my Lord and Savior.

Friend, if you prayed that prayer today, I ask that you come and speak to me after the service.

Benediction: Kings Tres.