Last week we saw that the Jews
continued to build the Temple, though the foundations were much
smaller than the Temple Solomon built. They cried at the small
beginnings. But God was with them and they continued to build the
Temple despite the fact that the Temple will be less imposing and
spectacular than Solomon's was.
Yet, whilst building the Temple
they experienced severe opposition from their adversaries:
'Then the people of the land
tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in
building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their
purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign
of Darius king of Persia." Ezra 4:4, 5
The opposition grew worse and worse
and eventually they stopped building God's Temple and left it in
ruins (Ezra 4:24). But God was not happy with this. He wanted them
to finish the Temple. He sent two prophets to encourage them to
continue building, Haggai and Zechariah. Fortunately they listened
and started building the Temple again. Of course the opposition
immediately arose again and came against them with force. But God
was with them. He ordained that King Darius command the enemies of
God to stay away from the building of the Temple AND not only that
but to help them rebuild it AND pay them the full construction cost
for the temple AND to give them without fail all they need. It was
a true miracle from God's side (Ezra 6:6-12). God came through in a
mighty way and forced their enemies to help them in every way
possible. Again Ezra 7:28 and 8:31 declares that God's hand was on
them. And Ezra 5:5 declares that God was watching over the
rebuilding. The temple was finally completed in 516 BC, 20 years
after their return from exile.
You see when you walk in the will
of God, on the pathway that He has chosen for you, you can expect
opposition. Satan hates it when you are walking in God's divine
plan for your life and he will do anything to stop you/discourage
you. So when you truly know that you are on God's pathway for your
life, rejoice when opposition comes. It only means that you are on
the right route. Just do not stop with what you know you should do.
Do not give up like the Jews did. God wants you to continue even if
it is hard.
And when you do continue, He will
help you. He will cause your enemies to turn in shame and even help
you. He is mighty and will not leave you to suffer on your own. He
will always be there. He will always come and stretch out His
mighty hand. Look forward to see God's work in your life. Live a
life of expectancy. Stand up in the mornings, expecting to see good
manifesting. God is always there and loves it when His children
walk in His pathways with courage.
Father, please help us on Your
pathway for our lives. It is not always easy and the opposition
sometimes gets a bit tough for us. Thank you that You are with us
every step of the way, more than willing to help. You are an
amazing Father, standing beside Your children always. Hallelujah!
Amen