When Israel was released to return to the Promised Land from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple, their enemies decided to have a go at them. They wanted to make them afraid to go on building the temple and even hired “counselors” to work again them to frustrate their plans. And it worked. They put down their axes and hammers and walked away from their mission. [Ezra 4:4-5]
“Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.” [NIV]
Discouragement. Ugly word. Ugly concept. Here the word used is OT:7503: raphah (raw-faw’); meaning to be weak(ened).
The enemy is wily, he is still hiring all kinds of ‘discouragement counselors’ to try to stop the work of the people of God. We must be aware that discouragement can blindside us. We are walking or working and suddenly the unexpected happens … something we thought we were past, something we thought would never hinder us, something that takes our minds off God in the work and places them on the difficulty in the work, something that cause us to stop and move from triumph into fear.
It wasn’t until years later that a couple brave Jews picked up their axes and hammers again and began rebuilding, and only after they did so, did a letter come from the king with his approval and protection to rebuild.
