Ezra 4
“Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel,…” (1) God’s people always face opposition in their desire for restoration. Here the rebuilding of the temple caused their enemies to try to insert themselves into the process feigning support but with hidden motives of undermining it. Leadership saw through this realized this asserting they would continue to do as the Lord spoke through Cyrus (3). However, their enemies [and our’s] are persistent. “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and bribed advisers against them to frustrate their advice all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (4-5) This indicates a long term opposition making accusations during the rule of Ahasuerus. During the reign of Artaxerxes, their enemies united in writing a letter accusing them of being a rebellious city which if they finished the project would result in the loss of power and finances! Rather than focusing on Cyrus’ command from God, the insecure leader Artaxerxes uncovered supporting evidence of the accusations causing a halt to all building. Insecure leadership uses fear, frustration, and intimidation to halt the progress of God’s people. Later we will see when insecurity is removed, progress prevails.