Observation: Just as the rebuilding of the temple begins, these people - "old enemies" - arrive and offer help. Zerubabbel will tell them 'no', and in response they will do the opposite of helping. They will harass the people of Jerusalem and conduct a campaign to have the building stopped. In hindsight, it seems their original intent was shallow at best, and perhaps a veiled attempt to undermine the effort all along, or it could have been sincere but being turned away made them hurt and angry.
So ... did Zerubabbel do the right thing? Should he have accepted the offer of help, with a possibility that such help would have either greatly expedited the entire effort OR created a major problems internal within the project that could have destroyed the effort? Or should he have rejected the offer as he did, guaranteeing hardship and delays?
This feels like a common problem. We even have trite expressions that metaphorically address this topic. We say to "keep your friends close and your enemies closer", and "a wolf in sheep's clothing", and a few others like this ... phrases we have heard, but are the right? Is it "biblical" - a teaching of God - to keep our enemies close?
The short answer is ... no. For Israel, in fact, the teaching of God is quite the opposite. In the promised land, they are to purge their lives of foreign influence. They are told over and over to destroy such influence, reject intermarriage, and be very careful of such input. At the individual level, we often see short-term good but long-term harm every time someone allows an individual who is opposed to the Lord (or the plans the Lord has revealed) into their inner circle.
Zerubabbel had people offering to help, but they were enemies and showed their true colors, for no people-group who truly loved the Lord would actively undermine the temple project. At best, they would have imposed their own ideas, independent of the Lord's instructions, resulting in a corrupt version of the temple. It was better to endure their harassment and the roadblocks they created out of hate and jealousy, than to collaborate and realize their 'help' actually derailed God's plan.
Application: We all have enemies, and it is very, very difficult to understand God's instructions about how to interact with them. Jesus teaches us to love everyone, and even very clearly says to "love your enemies". So there is an explicit instruction to interact with enemies with love and kindness. However, that is different than being "close" to them, and it is absolutely different than inviting them into the Lord's work when they have no relationship with the Lord themselves.
Understanding who an "enemy" is can itself be unclear. An enemy isn't just a non-believer, or even someone who, in their ignorance, adopts practices and lifestyles opposed to God's teaching. An enemy is someone who stands in conflict and opposition to God, to anyone obedient to God, and to faithful individuals even outside of their God-obedient practices. And yes, I have enemies that meet this definition. So does every Christian. Maybe we aren't being killed by terrorists right now, but we can discern the difference between a person who questions our acts of faith in Jesus out of ignorance, and a person who denies Jesus and thus criticizes or even attacks our activities and attitudes.
It is important to walk in the world, finding and reaching the lost, without allowing enemies to influence our work. They absolutely will attack our work - that can never be avoided - but we cannot allow them to influence it from the inside.
Prayer: Lord, may we all care for your sheep, while guarding against the wolves. I know that, especially this week, there will be enemies among us. May we have your wisdom in how we all act and speak and respond, listening to your will as we delivery the gospel to so many lost souls. Amen.
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