The people of God have always had their enemies. We observed that last time as we were looking at the fourth chapter of the book of Ezra. In the days of Zerubbabel and Yeshua, their particular antagonists had gathered at the site of the temple in Jerusalem. They had sought to intimidate them and though the temple was nothing more than a new foundation which the returned exiles had laid by the decree of Cyrus the king of Persia, he himself having commissioned them to rebuild the temple so that prayers might be offered to their god on his behalf, The threats of the people of the province were so severe and so forceful and so repetitive and so intimidating that it had caused fear to enter into the hearts of the people. And they ceased to build the temple. The months went by. The years went by. Sixteen in all. where the foundation was bare and the walls remained unbuilt. And so we enter the fifth chapter. These events are taking place, we're told, at the end of chapter four in the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia. Cyrus has died. Cambyses has reigned for about ten years in his place and now Darius has ascended the throne of the empire of the Persians and Medes and he now is reigning without perhaps all of the knowledge and the background of the circumstances in the far-flung regions of his realm. And it is this fact that the enemies of the Jews are relying upon and taking advantage of. I want you to see three things as we observe this passage this evening. The first is that the work that they were engaged in, it is the Lord's work. It isn't something that they have decided to do, that they have determined, well it would be a nice thing if we went back to Jerusalem and if we were to rebuild the house of God in which our fathers worshipped before us. It isn't even the decision of a king in Babylon or Persia that he has determined that it would be a very good idea if all the people who his predecessors had captured and brought to Babylon were sent to their homes to rebuild their temples that all through the Persian Empire prayer might be made to numerous gods in numerous temples for their blessing upon the king of Persia. Now, humanly speaking, that was what was happening. But behind it all, as far as the Israelites are concerned, it is the Lord's work. And so as this work has ground to a halt under the intimidation of the enemies of the Jews in the province beyond the river, the Lord is not content. The Lord stirs up his prophets to speak to those people, to challenge those people, to spur those people on in their task. We're told that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Edo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. It wasn't that these men had witnessed the slow work, progress of the work in Jerusalem and decided, well, those Jews in Jerusalem, they need a good kick up the posterior, they need to be encouraged on their way with some challenging words. It isn't their idea, it isn't their decision, but they are under the authority of God. And it is God who has stirred them up. It is God who has sent them to Jerusalem. It is God who has spoken His word through them to the people. And so, turning to the book of Haggai, and in the first chapter we read, in the second year of Darius the king, well those are the words we read at the end of chapter 4 of Ezra, isn't it? In the second year of Darius the king. In the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai, the prophet, to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Thus says the Lord of hosts. These people say, the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough. You drink, but you never have your fill. you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages does so to put them in a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways, go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it, and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little, and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts, because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce, and I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on their labours. Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message. I am with you, declares the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Yahshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. on the 24th day of the month in the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king. So the enemies of the Jews They had succeeded in bringing the work of building the temple to a halt. Their intimidation, their threats had so sown fear into the hearts of the Jews that they had ceased their work. They had gone away from Jerusalem. They had gone to their own towns and their own villages and they had devoted themselves to the tasks of building their own homes, their own houses. sowing their seed in their fields, taking care of their flocks. And it seemed to them to be too hard a task to build the house of the Lord. And so they convinced themselves, as it's so easy for us to convince ourselves, it isn't the right time to build the house of the Lord. It's not the right time to do this task, that work for the Lord. It's not the right time to speak a word to a sinner concerning Christ, their only Saviour. It's not the right time and so excuses were made. And they gave themselves to fulfilling their own wishes, their own dreams, their own ambitions. But it is apparent from the words of Haggai to the Jews that God was not inactive through all these 16 years. He showed his disfavor to them. They sowed, but their harvests were pitiful. When they cooked a meal, they weren't satisfied at the end of it. Their clothing was threadbare and worn and wouldn't keep them warm in the winter evenings. Those who went out to work found that their wages wouldn't meet the cost of living. And so the Lord was working against them. But at last the Lord sent his prophets to them. and his prophets challenged them, his prophets corrected them, his prophets told them the reality and caused them to rethink their priorities. God stirred them up and spurred them on to the task through the preaching of his prophets. And as his prophets preached, as they spoke the word of God to them, the Spirit of God stirred within them. This is the Spirit of God who had stirred their own spirits years earlier when they were back in Babylon and the decree of Cyrus called for volunteers from among the Jews to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. That spirit that had stirred Cyrus to make that decree stirred in the hearts of the people to return and now that spirit of God stirs in them again under the word of the prophets so that they are reinvigorated and their zeal is renewed for the task of building the temple and so we're told that Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Yeshua the son of Josedach arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem and the prophets of God were with them supporting them. Now the record of the Prophet Haggai and his ministry among them only covers a few months but the work that they undertook would take four years to complete as we see in chapter 6 and in verse 15 but all through it Haggai and Zechariah we are told were with them supporting them, reminding them, this is the Lord's work. He stirred up Cyrus to decree that you might return. He stirred him up to devote a sum of money and resources for the building of this house. It is he who stirred within you to return from Babylon to Jerusalem. This is the Lord's work. And the Lord's work must be done. He will stir up his people to do it. And he stirs his people by his Word and by his Spirit. And that is why it is so, so important to regularly come under the preaching of God's Word, under those whom God has called, God has gifted, God has equipped to speak His Word. And that Word isn't the Word of man, it isn't the idea of a man. It is the Word of God for our hearts and for our lives and the Spirit of God accompanies the faithful preaching of his Word and stirs within our hearts, convicting us of our sin, drawing us to repentance, directing us in the way that we ought to live, giving us a zeal to overcome the obstacles that may be in our way, no longer allowing the intimidation of the world and of the enemies of God to frighten us, that the God whose work it is should have his spirit in us, working among us to do his work in this world. And so the Gospel progresses in our communities, in our families, in our country, in our world. As the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, moves the people of God to do the work of God. It is the Lord's work. The second thing that I want you to see from this passage is that it is the Lord's watch. The Lord, we're told, was watching over them. Even though there was still opposition there, we're told about Tatenai, the governor of the province beyond the river. and other men, associates of him, who were obviously influential men, who came to them and started asking questions. What are you doing? Who gave you the authority to do what you're doing? Who is it that's responsible for the work that you are doing? And we're told, but the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews and they did not stop them. until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. The Lord was watching over them, he was guarding them and he was guiding them even though they were in the midst of enemies, they were in the midst of people who questioned what they were doing, who who thought to stop the work that was being undertaken. Now these enemies, we must acknowledge, were not quite the same as the enemies of Chapter 4. The enemies of Chapter 4 were the people of the land who who were envious perhaps of the Jews and the refusal of Zerubbabel and Yeshua to allow them to participate in the work of building the temple and how they had turned against them. It was their intimidation that caused the people to be afraid so that they stopped building the house. Now these enemies are more subtle. And perhaps it's not in their own mind to actually stop the work as such, for they didn't stop the work, they allowed it to continue while their report went back to Darius and until they should receive a reply from Darius as to what they should do about the work. But we can see underneath and behind this investigation, the hand of the devil. Satan is seeking to manipulate the people to bring an end to this work which has now been resumed. But the Lord is on his watch, the Lord is in their midst, the Lord is guarding them and the Lord is guiding them and he is filling them with the courage to continue, to carry on with the work while these other people go about their investigation and send word back to Darius and wait for a letter to come back from him. And so they've given their information, they've said who was responsible for the work as Cyrus the King some years earlier had sent them by decree to rebuild the temple and all of the circumstances surrounding that and a letter goes back to Darius and investigation is sought into the reality of those claims. but the Lord is watching over his people. And whether it's overt intimidation, as in chapter 4, or the more subtle threats of chapter 5, God is guiding and God is guarding. We have similar language in the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy chapter 11, before the children of Israel enter into the promised land where they must defeat their enemies who lie before them and enter into that land and take possession of it, Moses speaks to the second generation of Israelites and he says to them in Deuteronomy chapter 11 and verses 11 and 12, the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. he makes a contrast between what things were like in Egypt, in Egypt well their land had flourished but in Egypt they had had to irrigate the land, they had to water the land, they had to ensure that there was enough nourishment for their crops to survive and to produce fruit for them but here they were entering into that land that is described as flowing with milk and honey, it is a land that the Lord cares for. He has his eye upon it. And here we have similar language. The eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews. He was caring for them. He was watching over them. He was protecting them. He was providing for them. They need not be intimidated by this inquisition. from the governing authorities of the province beyond the river they could have confidence in the Lord for the Lord was on watch and that doesn't just mean that the Lord is seeing everything that's going on but the Lord was actively engaged in watching over them to protect them and to provide for them and so it is for us that the Lord is on watch over us, if we are his people. We do not need to fear the overt intimidation of the enemies of Christ all around us, nor do we need to be swayed by the subtle threats of the world around us, for God guards and God guides. His eye is on his people to do them good, to care for them in the midst of their enemies. So David in his 23rd Psalm says that a feast is prepared for him, a table is laid out for him in the presence of his enemies. And you can imagine it, you can imagine David sitting down at this banquet, this table loaded with good things from God and he digs into this kind and gracious provision from God and all around him are his enemies. those who would seek his life to kill him. You think of Saul who in his derangement and jealousy of David sought time and time and time again to take his life but never could, never could. He came within a hair's breadth of succeeding at times but God was watching over David. God was providing for David, God was nourishing David and protecting David, not a hair of his head could be touched, not by Saul, not by the Philistines, not by any others of his enemies all around him. He was safe and he was secure under the Lord's watch. And so it is for us, we can trust in the Lord. If we are engaged in the Lord's work, we are under the Lord's watch. And we need never fear anyone around us. No one will be able to harm us. No one will be able to do us any ill, except by permission of God. And God's permission is always for the good of his people. for the progress of the gospel in this world, for the prosperity of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And in that we can rejoice. If the progress of the kingdom of Jesus Christ and the spread of the gospel in this world means suffering for me, well so be it. May I submit to God's purpose for my life in progressing the gospel and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. If it means trouble of one kind or another, if it means that I must endure in his mysterious providence some sickness, some disease, some hardship, then so be it if the kingdom of Jesus Christ may be prospered as a result. For all of God's work is intended to honour and glorify the Son, that every knee might bow down to Him and acknowledge Him as Lord. And He uses us, He brings us into this work, not as slaves under His whip, but as sons to share in His glory. And so for a time we find ourselves humbled in this world. For a time we find ourselves burdened in this world. For a time we find ourselves suffering servants in this world. But we will never suffer as much as our Saviour. who was the great suffering servant, who humbled himself from the glories of heaven to the wretchedness of this world in order to redeem our souls, that we might be his own precious possessions. and as he has been highly exalted to the right hand of the Father so he promises that we too will be exalted with him and together with him we will be heirs of the glory of God and receive this glorious inheritance. It is the Lord's watch. He is looking after his people. And this is all true because it is the Lord's Word that is at work. It is the Lord's Word. Oh, there's lots of words in the Bible. Lots of words of men. Lots of words of governors, of kings, of princes. But you know the words and the works of kings simply fulfill the words and the works of God. It is he who orchestrates all of the events of the history of the world in order to bring about his purposes. And so there is this great and glorious symphony. that is being played out as it were in the history of this world as different instruments play their parts which by themselves wouldn't make any sense but when you hear them all together what a glorious sound it makes and when we have eyes to perceive that all that is going on in this world is God's work according to God's word It is His will that is being accomplished. Even the works of wicked men are sovereignly controlled by a holy God in order to accomplish His purposes. And we see it unfolding in these events in the book of Ezra. God is working out His word. He has chastened His people because they rebelled against Him. because they went and worshipped other gods even though he had drawn them out of slavery in Egypt and brought them into a land that he cares for, flourishing with the riches of produce. And yet they turned their backs on him and they went to worship the Baals and the Ashtoreth, the gods of the people who had dwelt in the lands before them. And so the chastening rod of God had fallen on his people Israel. And he had sent them into Babylon, he had sent them into captivity. He had sent them for a period of time to humble them in their sins, but always, always with the purpose of restoring them. And so the word of Jeremiah was spoken to them, warning them, telling them what was to befall them and what would unfold for them. And in Jeremiah chapter 25 and in verse 11, We read, the whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the King of Babylon 70 years. And later on in chapter 29 and in verse 10 we read, for thus says the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. So for their sins, they were being sent into Babylon, into captivity. The chastening hand of God was upon them according to his word. He had promised it. He was being faithful to his promise that if they forsook him, he would forsake them. But in his grace, in his mercy, his forsaking of them would only be for a time, in order for their restoration. And here in Jeremiah he gives a specific time, 70 years would pass. and then their captivity would come to an end and they would be restored. Well here they are, they're in Jerusalem, they're in Judah, they're in the land from which they had been taken captive and they have been restored to the land but what a sad situation, what sad circumstances they find themselves in. The temple which they were to have been built is but a foundation. No walls have been constructed. The temple hasn't been finished and year after year goes by and what provision is there from field and flock? There is such little productivity in the land that the people are suffering. They're hungry and they're cold and they're poor. And then those who know God, and those who know the Word of God, begin to pray. In Daniel chapter 9, hear what Daniel was doing. In the first year of Darius, now that sounds similar to what we read earlier from Haggai and from Ezra, in the second year of Darius, Haggai began to preach. But in the first year of Darius, Daniel began to pray. verse 2 of chapter 9 of Daniel, in the first year of his reign I Daniel perceived in the books the number of years that according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. So there's Daniel in Babylon and he gets out his abacus And he begins to flick the beads across and he works out 70 years. Well, it's more than 70 years now. And people have gone back, people have gone back. 16 years ago, 15 years ago, people went back and they began to build the temple. And he goes on in his prayer in verse 16, Oh Lord, According to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and do his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear, open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by your name. We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention and act! Delay not! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name. and within a few months Haggai is there in Jerusalem and he's preaching to the people and he's stirring them up by the Spirit of God to resume the work. God has heard the prayer of Daniel and Daniel has prayed his prayer not because he thinks it's a good idea. He has prayed his prayer because he has determined it is the will of God. God has decreed it. It's not about Cyrus and his decree. It's about the living God and his decree. It's about his word. For the words and works of kings simply fulfill the words and works of God. And so Daniel prays in accordance with the revealed will of God in his word. He's calculated the years. He knows the time has come. The people in Jerusalem is saying, it's not the time for building this house. Daniel in Babylon is saying, this is the time, Lord. Stir in the hearts of your people, send your prophets to your people, cause the work to resume. For God's word is certain. and he will work in the hearts of men and women to accomplish his word. Or sometimes it's in amazing ways, God stirring in the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia. Sometimes it's in ordinary ways, a man of God preaching the Word of God to the people of God, so that the Spirit of God stirs in their hearts to do the work of God under the watchful eye of God. And that is how the Lord usually works. There's never a moment in all the events of history when God takes his eyes off this world. He never slumbers nor sleeps, the psalmist says. Nothing takes him by surprise. But more than this, he is superintending all things to accomplish his purposes and fulfil his word. And through his word, he makes promises. And through His Word, He accomplishes those promises. And by His Spirit, He seals those promises and secures them for His people's good and for His own glory. And so God has promised redemption for this world of sinners. And he accomplished it when he sent his own son into this world. And he has applied it to individual lives as he has sent his spirit to this world to regenerate and to renew and to apply the sacrificial offering of his son to their lives, providing atonement for their sins and justifying them before God. He has promised inheritance to those who are renewed by the Spirit of God, and he has secured it for them through the ascension of his Son, to have all authority in heaven and on earth, and to prepare a place for his people at last. And he has given the seal of his Spirit in their hearts, a guarantee that his word will work His will under His watch for His glory and for their good. And so our God and Savior is worthy of our trust. Today, do you feel that there are enemies on every side and you do not see the way ahead? Trust the Lord. Rest in Him. Serve Him according to His revealed Word. and give your life as an offering of praise to him and you will see his glory and you will know his presence and at last you will see his face. May God be praised. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, thank you for your word. This faithful word that is sure and steadfast. Thank you for your watch, your watch over us, your people, whom you have purchased by the blood of your Son, how you care for us. O may we May we know it in our hearts. May we be convinced of your care for us in the darkest of days, in the most difficult of circumstances, in the deepest griefs and sorrows of our lives. May we know that you are watching, that your eye is upon us, that you are caring for us and that you are working, working out your will in our lives to glorify your Son in us. So fulfil your word and so complete your work, we pray. and glorify yourself among us. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.