May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who stretches out his hand to change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. Ezra 6:12
At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus, “Who issued you a decree to rebuild this house and to complete this structure?” (Ezra 5:3)
There is a real enemy who would like nothing more than to influence people and governments to either harm or destroy God’s people. Pharaoh ordered the death of every Jewish baby boy. Haman wanted the king to sign an edict calling for the genocide of the Jewish people. Herod ordered the death and destruction of every male child two and under in Bethlehem. The Sanhedrin ordered the arrest of many in the early Church. In the book of Ezra, the opposition was manifested by the attempts to stop the reconstruction of the Temple.
So how should we respond to this opposition? First, Paul tells us to pray. “First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Second, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:43-44). Finally, God tells us to trust Him because He is in absolute control of every situation. “Yahweh nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the thoughts of the peoples. The counsel of Yahweh stands forever, the thoughts of His heart from generation to generation” (Psalm 33:10-11).
Philip Moeller