Ezra 4 - bottom of the hill

For this next two weeks of study, I'd like for everyone to read the fourth chapter of Ezra.
You'll do that?
Promise?
Great!
We're going to meet some peeps we know pretty well now, like Zerubbabel and the Jewish people. We're also going to meet some "nosy" neighbors, some tattletales, and a gullible leader -- and we will see how they are used by the devil -- and we'll see how the devil can make some messes in our lives, too!
Hang on, OK?
It may be a bumpy ride!

Have you ever heard the expression (in some form or another) that talks about progress as being "two steps forward (or three, or four) and one step back"?  That sounds like the book of Ezra, does it not? God moved the idol-worshiping ruler, King Cyrus, to decree that the Jewish people should return to their land and rebuild. Huzzah! That's one step forward . . .
Thousands of Jews respond, and give up their established lives in Babylon to journey back to the land. Huzzah! Another step forward!
Wow! They rebuild the altar and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and even lay the foundation for the new temple! Huzzah yet again! A third step in the right direction!

Oops.
Then the enemies hit them.
The work on the temple stops. One step back.
The work stopped for sixteen years. Another step back.
They are still in the land, but there is no center of worship in Jerusalem.
The people are intimidated by their enemies and they settle into a routine. Lives that get along without temple worship or praise of YAHWEH.

Then when they are so low, God stirs up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Things will get moving again!
You know, we discussed new beginnings with God. They are filled with grace and hope, and we are excited. But many times our new beginnings hit setbacks. Bumps in the road. Potholes. The spiritual high is followed by an extremely deep spiritual low, if we aren't prepared. Do we really want to ride the roller coaster back up? After all, when you get to the top, there can be another really sharp drop . . . we are tempted to settle into mediocrity. It's uneventful. It's safe.

That's what happened to the people in Ezra, chapter 4.
How can we apply this to our lives? Whenever we make a commitment to the Lord, we must be prepared for the enemy's work to set us back.
Relentless.
Subtle.
Then aggressive.
In Ezra 4:1, we read:

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, (v 1)

Whoaaa, it doesn't take long.
We can't start a new beginning with our Lord without the devil hearing about it. He's prowling about, remember? Looking. Searching. Observing.
And he hates it when we start afresh and anew, and close to Christ. He will be relentless in his opposition. We cannot assume that since we are close to the Lord now, things will go well from here on out. We must be vigilant to see when the enemy will hit.
And we must be aware of the tricks the devil has in his toolkit.
More on this, this week!