In Ezra 4:5, the Bible says the enemies of God’s people “hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose.”
That phrase stuck out to me: “to frustrate their purpose.”
The background of this verse takes us back to the Jews returning from Babylonian captivity. For 70 years, they had been away from Jerusalem. The city had been broken down, the temple had been destroyed and the people had lived under the sorrow of judgment. But God had promised that after 70 years He would bring them back. True to His Word, God stirred the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild.
When they returned, everything was not easy. They came back to ruins. There was rubble where there had once been glory. The first thing they did was build the altar. That is important. They did not have everything back in order yet, but they put worship back in its proper place.
Soon after, they laid the foundation of the temple. Some shouted for joy, and others wept as they remembered the former temple.
Then came opposition. Ezra 4:1 says, “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel…” Notice that the enemy did not get stirred up while the temple was in ruins. The enemy got stirred up when the people began to rebuild.
That is still true. The devil does not mind rubble, but he hates rebuilding. He does not mind broken altars and weakened testimonies. But when God’s people start putting things back in order, the enemy takes notice.
At first, the adversaries came with what sounded like a friendly offer. They said, “Let us build with you.” But the leaders of Israel saw through it. They answered, “ Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God.”
That was not hatred. That was discernment. The work of God must be done God’s way, by God’s people, for God’s glory. Not every offer of help is from the Lord. Sometimes the enemy comes with a smile, not a sword.
When the enemies could not join the work, their true spirit came out. Ezra 4:4 says, “Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building.”
That is one of the enemy’s favorite tools: discouragement. He wants to weaken our hands. He wants God’s people tired, troubled and tempted to quit. He may not always be able to destroy your purpose, but he will try to frustrate it. He can’t take away your calling, but he will try to take away your courage.
Then verse 5 says they hired counselors against them “to frustrate their purpose.” This was organized opposition. They wanted to slow the work, stop the progress and discourage the people from finishing what God had given them to do.
Good news, we do not have to let the frustration finish us.
Later in Ezra 6, we read that the house of God was finished. The enemy tried to frustrate it, but God finished it. The enemy tried to complicate it, but God completed it. The enemy tried to weaken their hands, but God strengthened them again!
That is a word for us today.
Maybe you have been trying to rebuild something in your life. Maybe it is your walk with God, your family, your testimony, your faithfulness, or your joy. And just when you started moving forward, opposition showed up. Do not be surprised. A great door often comes with many adversaries.
But do not quit.
Galatians 6:9 says, “ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
The enemy may frustrate the process, but he cannot overthrow the purpose of God. If God has called you to it, stay faithful. Keep praying! Keep building! Keep serving! Keep trusting!
The adversaries tried “to frustrate their purpose,” but God still finished the work. And He is still able to finish what He started in you.
Jimmy Barrett is a resident of Blackshear and pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Waycross.
