TACTICS OF THE ENEMY

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 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 4:1-5, NKJV)

The Israelites returned from exile to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. When the colonists, transplanted by the Assyrians, were denied the opportunity to build with the Israelites, they tried to undermine their efforts in other ways. We can learn a few things about the tactics of the enemy from this narrative.

The enemy will try to stop God’s work through deceit.

Although they offered to help, the colonists really had ulterior motives. They wanted to hinder the building of the Temple, not help. Sometimes people claim to support God’s work and God’s people. But they stir up trouble.

The enemy will try to stop God's work through discouragement.

When attempts to infiltrate the project failed, they tried to discourage the people doing the work, in order to slow down or stop the project. Some people interrupt God’s work by discouraging people. They cause unnecessary drama among the members of the church, and among family and friends.

The enemy will try to stop God's work through disruption.

When attempts to infiltrate the project and discourage the workers failed, they tried to disrupt the project through litigation. They hired "counselors" (lawyers) to go to court to stop the building project. Increasingly, churches and individuals are hindered in their work by lawsuits. Every time something is said or done that someone disagrees with, a lawsuit is filed. Christians should not sue other Christians. (I'm referring to civil litigation, not criminal charges - we should not cover up crimes, such as theft or assault. ) Sadly, some sue their Christian brothers and sisters anyway. Churches and individual Christians have to carefully navigate legal issues these days with believers and unbelievers.

These are just a few ways the enemy tries to interrupt God's work and torment God's people. We must be on guard for such tactics, just as the leaders of Ezra's day were. We must prayerfully and biblically discern the right course of action and not allow the enemy to deter us.