Nehemiah 4
Notes
Transcript
Opposition
Opposition
Remember back in Nehemiah chapter 2...
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.
That is when we first met Sanballat and Tobiah. They were deeply disturbed that someone was seeking the well-being of the children of Israel. Then when Nehemiah told the Jews in Jerusalem what he planned to do, we hear from Sanballat and Tobiah again, plus a new guy, Geshem the Arab.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”
Obviously, these three liked the fact that Israel was a defeated people.
And I’m not sure if this accusation of rebellion was a projection of their own feelings, or just another attempt to scare the Israelites.
But that was just the start of the role these men would play.
Now that the repairs of the wall are underway, we hear from these opponents again.
But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”
This reminds me a little of Haman from the story of Esther.
When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath.
We aren’t told why Sanballat and the others are so angry that the wall of Jerusalem is being repaired.
They may believe that Israel will rebel against the king.
And since they appear to hold positions of authority in the area, they may be held responsible.
They, like Haman, may simply hate the Jews.
Maybe they cannot stand to see something good happening to them.
We don’t always know why people hate the children of God.
But there are many who do.
For whom the idea of something good happening to them, or their beliefs being advanced makes them furious.
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”
Have you ever noticed that when people don’t have a legitimate argument they resort to name calling and ad hominem attack?
Tobiah doesn’t point out why what the Israelites are doing is wrong,
He simply makes fun of them, saying they will fail.
Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
Does Nehemiah get up in the face of those who are attacking them?
No.
Does he point out their errors?
No.
Does he stand up and say “I’m rubber, your glue! What you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!”?
NO.
He prays to God, and asks Him to remember what they have done.
He asks God to turn their reproach back on their own heads.
To not cover their iniquity.
To not remove their sins.
Why,
Because they have provoked God to anger, not because they made fun of Nehemiah and the Israelites.
So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
So they built the wall, and joined it together.
But it was only half its height.
But they were making good progress, because the people had a mind to work.
Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
It is not uncommon for people to attack what they do not like or what they disagree with.
Those who were opposed to the walls of Jerusalem being rebuilt got angry.
They conspired to attack Jerusalem and create confusion.
Is it really any different for the churches today?
People who are opposed to God get angry when they see things going well for His disciples.
They conspire to attack and cause confusion.
They twist the Word of God, then hold us to account to their twisted views of Scripture.
They bully those in church to accept unbiblical teachings.
And they attack those who stand up for God’s Word.
But what do those in the church do?
Do they pray to God?
Do they stand watch against those who wish them harm?
Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”
Theres’ an old saying… “Things look darkest just before the dawn.”
Things looked dark for those in Jerusalem.
The workers strength was failing.
They had so much rubbish they had no place to put it.
Their adversaries kept saying they would come and kill them.
And their own brethren were reporting on what there enemies were doing.
Things were very dark in deed
Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Notice Nehemiah’s two-pronged solution to this problem.
Physically, he places armed men at critical places.
Behind the wall where it was low, and at the openings.
That’s right, these men were armed.
Spiritually, he reminded the leaders that the Lord is “great and awesome”, and to fight.
He tells them not to be afraid because God is great and awesome.
Awesome: To stand in awe of, to be afraid of.
So what does that mean for us today?
There are people who are out to get the church.
Most of them just want us to sit down and shut up,
But some of them do want us dead.
Sure, in America, that is a small number,
But it’s not zero, as recent church shooting shows.
So what are we to do?
Especially those of us in positions of leadership or with influence.
What do we do when the people get tired, or when others threaten us?
Yes, we respond physically.
We place armed men at the vulnerable places.
But we also respond spiritually.
We remind ourselves, other leaders, and all the people that God is AWESOME!
He CAN protect us, in ways we could never imagine.
Remember, when Saul defeated the Philistines, it started with Jonathan and his armor bearer walking up and attacking by themselves.
We need to be reminded every so often, of the need to stand up and protect our families,
Our brethren, our wives, our sons & daughters, and even our homes.
Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
There will be times when we need to defend ourselves.
We should never instigate violence,
But as Jesus told the disciples, he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
Might we say the same thing today about a firearm?
And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
Have you ever heard that the best defense is a good offense?
When their enemies found out that their plans had been discovered,
That God had brought their plans to nothing,
They apparently decided not to attack.
Were they bullies, only willing to attack what they thought was a weak opponent?
Or had God changed their minds.
We don’t know.
What we do know is how Nehemiah reacted after this incident.
He made sure the workers were armed, and ready for battle.
Half the people worked, the other half guarded them.
Everyone was armed and prepared to defend themselves.
Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
The leaders made plans to come to each others defense.
How many church leaders have plans to come to each others defense?
How many of us would rally to a call from another congregation, prepared to defend it?
Not only against physical threats, but attacks on their rights and liberties?
Their ability to exercise their religion without interference?
So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
Nehemiah made plans to protect those working on the wall.
Not only having half the men as guards,
Having the workers stay inside Jerusalem for guard duty.
And Nehemiah didn’t just give orders and go home.
He and everyone else kept themselves prepared to jump to their defense.
Call it the ancient Israel version of the Minutemen.
Conclusion
Conclusion
There will always be people out to get the Children of God.
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
So what is a disciple of Christ to do?
If Jesus told His disciples to be armed to protect ourselves, shouldn’t we?
Should we not prepare ourselves, both physically and spiritually?
As Jesus said:
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
There will be times when the threat is more readily apparent, more pronounced.
Then we may need to have some of us standing guard.
There will be times when the attack is legal or spiritual, rather than physical.
Are we prepared to stand up against those who mock us and our beliefs?
Sometimes, others will be attacked.
Are we prepared to come to their aid?
To help defend them physically, legally, and spiritually?
Most of the time, we just need to be ready.
To defend not only ourselves and our families,
But others in the name of Christ.
Are you ready to defend yourself?
Are you ready to defend your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Are you one of God’s “minutemen”?
