ezra 4
A hundred years ago when WonderHubs and I were just two kids dating, I went fishing with him and his brother. I need to preface this story by explaining that WonderHubs loves fishing but has an uncanny ability to get into a bit of a mess when he's fishing. The man has literally been caught in quicksand while wearing chest waders after being nearly swept downstream. So we're out on this rowboat on this beautiful lake. Something happened to the motor (of course) and we had to row. We'd been fishing in one spot for a while when we decided to move on. My brother-in-law who was sitting in the back began to row. All of a sudden we came to a halting stop. It was like we hit an invisible force field. WonderHubs and I, for some reason, said nothing as his brother began to row again, only to have the same thing happen. Finally, exasperated after one more futile attempt to row away, my brother in law said, "Does anyone else feel that?!?!" We all cracked up! Of course we felt it! No one had remembered to pull the anchor up and it was doing a great job of keeping us where had put it down.
Sometimes life feels like that, doesn't it? Sometimes we just hit a wall. It could be in any area of your life. Maybe it's nursing your baby, or potty training your toddler. Maybe it's helping your child learn to read or trying to remember the math you learned in fifth grade. Maybe you don't know how to help your middle schooler navigate the complex social world they live in. Perhaps it's how to communicate with your teenager. It could be in the midst of a creative endeavor. Maybe that wall is in your marriage or a friendship. It could even be in your walk with the Lord. We are all vulnerable to hitting that proverbial wall.
We can be so sure that we are in the center of God's will, doing what He has called us to do, and hit a wall. It doesn't make sense to us. That's what happened to the returned exiles in Ezra 4. We left them at the end of chapter 3, praising God for the newly laid temple foundation. In chapter 4, some adversaries show up on the scene. Their first tactic is as old as it is familiar. They offer their assistance, after all they worship God too. At least that's what they say. But they are counterfeits, enemies looking for a way in and in the end, the leaders see right through them and decline their offer.
Their second tactic is also familiar. It's like a scene out of an old mobster movie. Intimidation. Bribery. Ok, they didn't have the machine guns or the fancy suits, but you get the picture. God's people are afraid of these thugs. They're afraid to go on building the temple. They're afraid to fulfill the purpose God has for them. But still they persevere.
Tactic three. They take it to the king, to the earthly authority over their land. There is a new king now. Cyrus, who commanded that the temple be rebuilt, has died. His son, Cambyses or Ahasuerus, has taken the throne and will rule until his own death, 7 years later in 522 BC. Ezra 4:7 then refers to Artaxerxes. There seems to be some debate about whether this was just another name for Cambyses or if upon his death, an interesting character, known by many names but here in Ezra 4:7, referred to as Artaxerxes, cons his way to the throne, claiming to be Cambyses' brother, and ruling for a short, but wild 7 months,l. Their first letter to Cambyses seems to go unanswered, but their next letter to Artaxerxes does the trick. Artaxerxes orders that the rebuilding of the temple stop immediately. For the next two years the exiled remnant that has returned for the purpose of rebuilding the temple, are not allowed to lay a single stone.
Can you relate? Two years! And that's following the 7 years of intimidation and bribery. Have you ever felt like just taking the easy way out, the path of least resistance? I think there was probably a segment of the returned exiles that thought that they should have just let those guys help build the temple. I mean, what could it hurt? They probably would have finished sooner. But wouldn't there have been a cost? My guess is that there would have been and it probably would have far outweighed the two years they lost in the end.
I bet there were some folks who just wanted to quit during those years of intimidation and fear, when nothing seemed to go their way, because someone was making sure it didn't. And I can only imagine the tears shed when that letter was received. Cease and desist. After traveling 900 miles, returning to the home that they had been exiled from to rebuild this sacred place, they hit a wall.
Opposition is hard. Whether it's things just not working the way you want them to or whether someone seems to have it out for you. Can I be honest? Sometimes it feels like I'm my own worst enemy and my kids are determined to throw road blocks up wherever they can. They don't like that dinner and they don't want to help pick up because they'd rather see how much toothpaste is in that tube or watch videos about how to make slime. They leave their dishes in completely random places and put clean laundry in piles of wet towels. There are days I want to give up! Days that the folded pants and the shirt still on it's hanger laying in the midst of the wet towels reduce me to tears. I know. It's not even close to the Israelite's cease and desist order, but it's still a wall. When we hit a wall, when fear grips us, there's only one direction to go, up. You won't make it over that wall by yourself. But God is faithful to finish what He's started. I love how chapter 4 ends because we get a sneak peak at what's to come, what the devastated remnant could only hope for.
“Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
Tip: When you feel like you're not making any headway, pray and start simple. Here are some ideas to get you started!
- Choose an easy win. Make it something that's visible.
- Clean out the sink.
- Wash the bathroom mirrors. While you're in there, wipe everything else down and hang a new towel.
- Make the bed.
- Clear the table.
- Set a timer and spend 15 minutes in a room just putting things away. (Don't leave the room, just collect the things that don't belong in there in one place and put them away when the 15 minutes at up).
Tool: Two really great ways to get your glass clean:
- Norwex window cloths are amazing (I don't sell the stuff, but it's pretty awesome). You just spray some water on your windows and wipe all the dirt and streaks away. This is great for kids too!
- Sprayway Glass Cleaner is a foam spray. You can get it at Walmart for under $3 and it really does get your glass clean and streak free.
