The wrong kind of help
This week is on Ezra 4:1-5:
Sometimes "helpers" aren't very helpful. There was a recent geek discussion I was reading about whether to reject the help of people who are so incompetent that they end up costing more work than they produce. Some people were like "help is help, plus it's mean to send them away" and others were like "if it leaves you worse than when you started, it's not help, plus it's mean to make them do useless work and think they're helping."
The Israelites were in a similar situation in Ezra. A bunch of people came up to them and were offering to help them build their temple. The thing is, their help would have come at a greater cost than any benefit the Israelites would have gotten from it. Only the Israelites knew the secret requirements of the temple, so chances are they would have been arguing and explaining. And if they accepted help from their enemies, they may feel obligated to help them build temples to their false gods in return. The Israelites said "no, thanks."
As it turns out, it was the right decision. There were plenty of things the enemies of Israel could have done to help them, other than working on the temple. They could have provided food, or money, or protection. Instead they began meddling with them, spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt. They bribed public officials to work against them. They went after them with the vindictive passion of a jilted lover. They continued their hate campaign through multiple administrations in the Persian Empire. That's hatred, not love!
So, given how they reacted when their help was refused, how much genuine help could the Israelites have expected from these people? Probably not much. Maybe they just wanted to spy, or sabotage. But it goes to show that help is not always help. The Israelites probably saved themselves generations of grief by saying "no" in the beginning.
But how often do we find ourselves in the same boat? Maybe it's an unscrupulous coworker who offers to lie on our behalf. Maybe it's a sketchy friend who offers to make a problem go away for us. Maybe it's an addiction that says "I got this" when you're having problems. Maybe it's "buy now, pay later." There are as many bad forms of help as there are problems. Wisdom is recognizing the trojan horse when it gets rolled up to the gate, not waiting till it's inside.
But how can we turn down help? You might as well ask the same question at an AA meeting: "After a day like that, why would you not take a nice soothing drink? That's what it's for! I can't imagine why you would turn it down if your day was as bad as you say. You must want to be depressed, angry, stressed, etc." But if they took that "help," it would cause them way more problems than it proposed to solve. The help is not help. It's a trap.
When help arrives, and you're not sure about it, ask God for wisdom. Is this going to help? Do these people love me or do they just want what I've got? The devil loves to pose as an angel of light. God will give you discernment to tell the difference, if you like. God will lead you to the right kind of help. Don't fall for the wrong kind.
When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”
Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials 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.
Sometimes "helpers" aren't very helpful. There was a recent geek discussion I was reading about whether to reject the help of people who are so incompetent that they end up costing more work than they produce. Some people were like "help is help, plus it's mean to send them away" and others were like "if it leaves you worse than when you started, it's not help, plus it's mean to make them do useless work and think they're helping."
The Israelites were in a similar situation in Ezra. A bunch of people came up to them and were offering to help them build their temple. The thing is, their help would have come at a greater cost than any benefit the Israelites would have gotten from it. Only the Israelites knew the secret requirements of the temple, so chances are they would have been arguing and explaining. And if they accepted help from their enemies, they may feel obligated to help them build temples to their false gods in return. The Israelites said "no, thanks."
As it turns out, it was the right decision. There were plenty of things the enemies of Israel could have done to help them, other than working on the temple. They could have provided food, or money, or protection. Instead they began meddling with them, spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt. They bribed public officials to work against them. They went after them with the vindictive passion of a jilted lover. They continued their hate campaign through multiple administrations in the Persian Empire. That's hatred, not love!
So, given how they reacted when their help was refused, how much genuine help could the Israelites have expected from these people? Probably not much. Maybe they just wanted to spy, or sabotage. But it goes to show that help is not always help. The Israelites probably saved themselves generations of grief by saying "no" in the beginning.
But how often do we find ourselves in the same boat? Maybe it's an unscrupulous coworker who offers to lie on our behalf. Maybe it's a sketchy friend who offers to make a problem go away for us. Maybe it's an addiction that says "I got this" when you're having problems. Maybe it's "buy now, pay later." There are as many bad forms of help as there are problems. Wisdom is recognizing the trojan horse when it gets rolled up to the gate, not waiting till it's inside.
But how can we turn down help? You might as well ask the same question at an AA meeting: "After a day like that, why would you not take a nice soothing drink? That's what it's for! I can't imagine why you would turn it down if your day was as bad as you say. You must want to be depressed, angry, stressed, etc." But if they took that "help," it would cause them way more problems than it proposed to solve. The help is not help. It's a trap.
When help arrives, and you're not sure about it, ask God for wisdom. Is this going to help? Do these people love me or do they just want what I've got? The devil loves to pose as an angel of light. God will give you discernment to tell the difference, if you like. God will lead you to the right kind of help. Don't fall for the wrong kind.
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