Wolves in Sheep's Clothing - ANB W1, D5 - 3.8.13

Friday, Mar 8                                                              Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Ezra 4.1-6

Progress is being made on the temple and there is great rejoicing in the land of Israel. But, as we see many times throughout Scripture, the Jews are met with a bit of opposition. However, this adversary did not appear to be launching a destructive campaign against Israel. See, the devil always has and always will oppose the work of God. Here, he gets in the hearts of these men and they go and offer to help. They even go as far as to say that they, themselves, worship the same God as the people of Israel, making it appear that they have been grafted into the nation of Israel through their sacrifices to God. But, Zerubbabel responds by saying, “You have no part with us.” Mervin Breneman makes this observation, “This attitude of exclusivity displayed by the Jews is somewhat troublesome for our modern society, where one of the highest virtues is the willingness to accept and cooperate with persons whose beliefs and practices differ from one’s own. If we are tempted to think that Zerubbabel and the other leaders were sinfully separatistic or mistaken in their evaluation of those who offered their assistance, we must observe that these outsiders are identified as ‘enemies’. Their motives were clearly subversive” (New American Commentary, vol. 10, p. 97).

What is more important is the keen eye of the leaders of the people of Israel. Because Jeshua and Zerubbabel had taken the time to prepare the people of Israel and purify themselves before the LORD, they were now able to see the evil lurking in the shadows. Would it have been so great of a sin for the Israelites to accept help from outsiders? No, probably not, but that is not the issue that Ezra is addressing here. It is once again pointing to the purity of the temple and the necessary purity of Israel. 2 Kings 17.33 speaks of these people that populated the land around Jerusalem. They are described as men who feared the LORD but still served their own gods. It is the fact that these people had set their hearts against the God of Israel that defiled them in the sight of God and rendered them useless for the work God had for Israel.

Their next step was then to try and intimidate the people of Israel. While Ezra does not go into deep detail, it is clear that some fear tactics were used to try and prohibit the Israelites from following God’s plan for their people. Remember, these were the “friends” that came to help, but now their true colors were exposed. As we will see in later verses, they went as far as having royal restraining orders placed on the progress of the temple building. Their concern was not the worship of God as they had previously claimed rather it was to prohibit the work of God in their land.

It would be unwise for any of us at Hopewell to think that these wolves will not interfere with us as we seek out God’s vision for our church. It would be proper for us all to point the finger at ourselves and inspect our own hearts, attitudes, and agendas in order to root out any evil that could be lurking within. Remember how perceptive the Israelite leaders were as to the real intentions of the people of the land? They had sought out personal purity for themselves and for the entire nation of Israel, desiring only the glory of God in all things. In return, God had given them the ability to discern the true character of these people. These leaders were to protect the people of Israel and they fulfilled their duty. Peter tells us in his letter that our adversary, the Devil, is on the prowl like a hungry lion and he is looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5.8). Those that he devours he will turn against the work of God at Hopewell. He might not make it so painfully obvious. It is more likely that he will employ similar subversive tactics as he did in Ezra 4. It is up to each of us to do two things: 1, remain pure and 2, snub out the adversary. We must pray for each other, but also respectfully hold one another accountable to the task at hand. This means that if we come across negativity to the work God has called us to, we must address it, not ignore it. It also means that we must daily submit ourselves, mind, body, heart, and soul to the Lordship of Jesus Christ so that we can fulfill the work of God at Hopewell.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, please examine me throughout. I do not want to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing at Hopewell. Please purify me to make me usable for your purpose and give me the ability to protect our church from the deceptions of the devil.