2 Esdras

Over the last few days I have been reading the books Ezra and Nehemiah. Originally Ezra and Nehemiah were compiled as one book, 2 Esdras. It is believed that they were compiled from partial writings of Ezra and Nehemiah. I hadn't read them in a while, and honestly I read through Ezra puzzled looking for something to jump out at me, but nothing did. I didn't know if I was not in touch with the Spirit, or if a poor week of quiet times previously was hindering me. But this morning as I began reading Nehemiah a light bulb went off.

"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (Nehemiah 4:14)

What I realized around this point was this: Christians will face opposition. Our opposition will come from many sources, yet it is Satan's work. God, true to his promise, returned the exiles from Persia in the first year of the reign of King Cyrus. Also true to the word of God were the 70 years. It was 70 years from the initial exile to the building of the new altar in Jerusalem,(605 BC-536 BC) as well as 70 years from the destruction of the Temple to the completion of the new Temple. (586 BC-516 BC)

In Ezra 1, the exiles begin returning to Judah to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. (By proclamation of King Cyrus) At first things go great and they make progress on the construction, but then they face opposition and stop. They may have stopped for about 10 years. With another proclamation (This time from Darius) the construction is finally back on track and a few years later the temple is completed. It took 20 years, but it could have been 10.

In Nehemiah 1, Nehemiah, cup bearer to King Artaxerxes is distraught when learning that after many years of the Israelite return to Jerusalem, the walls had still not been rebuilt. The temple was built, but they stalled and did not finish the work that needed to be done. Nehemiah returns (he had never actually been to Jerusalem as he was born in Persia) to the land of his fathers, in an effort to rebuild Jerusalem's walls and the city. Initially like with the temple, construction goes well, and they face more opposition (notice a trend). Finally they stand up and do the work that needed to be done to finish the walls.

After all of that background here is my initial analysis: When someone makes the decision to walk with God, there are challenges. At first it is great, but then Satan realizes he is losing his grip on you and the attacks come. At this point many people stall, not fully realizing what they are sacrificing in stalling, or who the attacks are really coming from. For me, it was past unconfessed sins that I didn't want to deal with. I liked them where they were buried just fine. But I wasn't going anywhere. The foundation was laid, but there was no temple. I finally overcame my fears and Satan's opposition and finished building the temple.

But what happens next? I'm a Christian, I'm saved. I'm GOOD. But you're not growing, and you haven't built your defenses. You have to grow as a Christian, because Satan will flee from you when you stand up to him, but he will come back with a better strategy. It took Nehemiah coming back to build the wall in Jerusalem, and it takes a fully committed effort by every Christian, to build their walls against the evil one. The Christian walk takes faith, determination, perseverance and a good measure of armaments to battle Satan.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:10-18)