Whenever God calls us to rebuild an individual life or a nation, that rebuilding process will be met with opposition. When the Israelites were instructed by the Lord to rebuild the Temple they started with the altar – a place of worship. The book of Ezra details the return of the exiled Israelites from captivity in Babylon and the rebuilding of the Temple. Here’s what happened during the initial stages of the rebuilding process.

The construction of the altar was visible to the surrounding population. So was the worship and sacrifice in a city where the reconstruction, sacrifice, and worship of God were not welcomed or appreciated. The rebuilding process was not done in silence or secrecy. For those obeying the instructions of the Lord, it was a project that did not make life easy for them. “Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord each morning and evening” (Ezra 3:3).

Public sacrifice began on the altar before the foundation of the Temple was laid. “The priests had begun to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord. This was even before they had started to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple” (3:6). Worship on the site of future reconstruction prepares the way for what is to follow. It also sends out an alarm signal to those in power who stand to lose their control over a population.

Before our nation can be rebuilt it must return to the place of its original foundation. The same holds true for a believer whose life has been dismantled and destroyed. That return will create conflict for the ruling spirits who have motivated those they have manipulated to walk brazenly over the principles the previous foundation represented without regard and respect for what stood on the site and represented sacrificial worship to God.

When the foundation was laid it became obvious to those who opposed its reconstruction that their existing order and ruling control was being challenged.  The heat of opposition increased using all means of persuasion. “Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne” (4:4). If we are going to be used by God to engage in a reconstruction process we will have to first deal with our fear and discouragement no matter how intense it becomes.

The work of reconstruction and restoration that honors God, will not go unchallenged. Fear, bribery, and outright violence will be used to hinder what God has planned. Do not be surprised in the coming days when the same tactics are employed in our nation and used against the Church.  In those trying times, we will be called by God to love our enemies, to speak the truth in love when people have been groomed to believe lies, and to not waver in courageously establishing God’s Kingdom influence in our personal lives, our workplace, and among the nations of Earth, all for His glory.