When we try to live according
to God’s calling on our life we will inevitably encounter resistance. It may come in the form of other people
trying to distract us, discourage us, or even deceive us. Given that arsenal of weapons, sounds like another
Enemy we have too! Let’s continue with
our review of Nehemiah
in the sixth chapter of the book bearing his name. We will discover how he demonstrated great discernment,
fortitude, and faith in the face of resistance and saw the job through to
completion. There’s a lot to learn and
apply from his example.
Nehemiah 6:9
They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands
will get too weak for the work and they will not be completed.” But I prayed,
“Now strengthen my hands.”
Things to think about:
· You’ll recall
that Nehemiah was a Jewish layman, still living in Babylon after the captivity
and working in the king’s court when he discovered that the wall in Jerusalem had
fallen into total disrepair. He felt a
strong calling to return to Jerusalem to oversee the rebuilding of
the wall and to make sure the city was safe.
· The project was
progressing nicely but some very important work was yet to be completed – the
installation of the doors in the gates.
· Two of his
enemies, Sanballat and Geshem, sent him an innocent enough note asking him to
meet with them out of town.
o
Neh. 6:3-4 - But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them
with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why
should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the
same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
o
Here’s
the first warning sign: they were enticing him to leave his work
§ Nehemiah
immediately recognizes their intentions and discerns their desire to harm him
§ He is clear
in his response – NO
§ His
antagonists are persistent – four times they came back with the same offer
§ Four times he
said NO. Sometimes we can resist once but repeated drips can wear down our
convictions.
o
How can we recognize seemingly harmless distractions for what they
really are?
§ Are they
coming from a Godly source?
§ Are they
related to the good work you are involved in?
§ Do they
respect your refusal to cooperate?
o
What might some examples of modern day distractions be?
o
What is a proper response?
· But evil
doesn’t give up that easily so it ups the ante:
o
Neh. 6:5-7 - Then, the fifth time,
Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was
an unsealed letter in which was
written: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is
true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are
building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become
their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about
you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to
the king; so come, let us meet together.”
§ The Enemy is
persistent so he moves in with a lie that the Jews are planning to revolt and
Nehemiah is plotting to be the king.
§ It’s a small
detail, but notice how the text says “an unsealed letter”? A proper communication would have been sealed
so as to remain private. This is like
misused social media today, meant to spread a false rumor and get Nehemiah to
cower in fear.
§ Instead, he
tells them in verse 8, “Nothing like what you’re saying is happening, you are
just making it up out of your head!” He
saw what they were up to, “they were trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘their
hands will get to weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’”
§ Here’s your key verse for the day – “But I
prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”
§ The spiritual
battles we fight are not won by trying harder; they are won by praying harder.
§ How does this
principle work in your life?
· Is there an
area today you could try less and pray more for the strength you need?
o
OK, so far so good for Nehemiah but the last attack comes from an
unlikely place:
§ Neh. 6:10-13
- One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the
son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the
house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men
are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like
me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied
against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by
doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.
§ Wow, a
“Christian friend” encourages him to go to church and hide out there to be safe
from his enemies.
· Nehemiah’s
discernment knows no boundaries! He is so tuned into God’s spirit that again he
figures out this guy was trying to distract him from his calling and actually
lead him to sin through intimidation and deception.
· His
decisiveness is inspiring – “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone
like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!”
o
“a man like me” - What do
you think he meant by this?
§ As strong of
a man as he is, he prays again, this time asking for God to avenge his enemies.
· Neh. 6:15 –
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
o
It goes on to say that his enemies were afraid and lost their
confidence because they realized God had made this happen.
o
Nehemiah accomplished his task and several thousands of years
later we are still talking about him.
· What are
areas of your life where you are under attack for doing life God’s way?
o
How does Nehemiah’s example encourage you today to be more discerning,
decisive, and devoted?
