Ezra 4:12-15 Excerpts: “Be it known unto the king that the Jews … are come unto Jerusalem… (I)f this city be builded … then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom and … shall endamage the revenue of the kings… this city is a rebellious city …”

Around 534 B.C., the Jews were returning from their Babylonian Captivity. They were trying to rebuild their destroyed city, Jerusalem, and their enemies (given in 4:7) wrote a letter to Artaxerxes, the Persian king, warning them that it was not a good thing to allow them to do so. Jews should not go free and launch a rebuilding campaign. The Jews had not asked for governmental assistance; they labored with their own hands to rebuild their beloved city. The bureaucrats, who depended on subject people regularly sending “toll, tribute, and custom” money hated this idea, fearing they might lose some of their luxurious lifestyles. So, they tried to put a stop to it. Fortunately for the Jews, these enemies were not successful. The wall and Zerubbabel’s temple were rebuilt, and the work went on.

Satan hates to see the progress of God’s people in this world. He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn. 10:10). But he uses a very shrewd approach, which has been copied by evil rulers throughout history. He seeks to make the victims look like the persecutors. The Jews were not just trying to rebuild their homeland – they were seeking to weaken the Persian Empire! Paul wasn’t seeking to spread the gospel – he was a vagabond troublemaker who wanted to turn the Roman world upside down (Acts 17:6)! The Jews were not God’s chosen earthly people – they were God’s revenge on the world and Christ killers! (Read the statements of Robert Ley, Joseph Goebbels, and numerous other Nazis.) The natural outgrowth of this propaganda was the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

So, it is today: Christians aren’t trying to save babies – they want to control a woman’s body! They’re not in favor of lower taxes and cutting government spending – they just don’t want to pay “their fair share” (whatever that is!) The message here is for us not to be dismayed that we are often portrayed as the enemy of common sense. There are higher powers at work, and we know who will come out on top when the last page is written. Till then, may we serve the King without faltering and continue despite false accusations and, if necessary, brutal persecutions. The Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel command are more than worth it.

As Winston Churchill said when London was being bombed nearly into oblivion, we must never, ever, EVER give up!