Ezra 4-6 and Psalm 137

Opposition.

The temple work stops for a time.  It took decades for the temple to be rebuilt after the exile.  Opposition was fierce.  Eventually God prompted another king to endorse the rebuilding and for the people to finish the work.  Through the years of uncertainty, God was still at work.  Governments come and go.  Laws change.  But God is still at work and in time the temple will be completed.  Like those of old, there are days of uncertainty.  We see laws and government forces at work.  We may erroneously believe that God doesn’t care.  He is still working and as people of faith we live our lives in light of that reality.  We trust that God will bring about his will in our time or in later generations.  The timing is His.  The faith is ours.