Last week . . 16 years previously, nearly 50,000 captives had returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbaal and Joshua. They made a good start, Ezra 3:1-7. The altar was rebuild, sacrificing recommenced and the foundation of the new temple laid, Ezra 3:10-12. However, the work soon slackened off. Comparisons with former temple discouraged the people. Ezra 3:12-13, Hag 2:3. Despondency is a plague that spreads fast. Sadly, they saw glory only in the value of the materials employed in building! Jesus came to this temple therefore its "glory" was much greater than Solomon's temple. This week . . . The opposition of the enemy hindered the work. "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel . . Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, Ezra 4:1, 4. The self-centred attitude of the people hindered the work. "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Haggai 1:4. All too many were happy to comply with the enemy's demands and to concentrate on their houses and money-making. These were given priority over God's work.