Nehemiah 3 and 4: Unity and Opposition

Verse for opening

Philippians 3:12–14 “12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

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Today we are going to be looking at Nehemiah chapters 3 and 4

But before we do that, I would like to draw our attention to a verse from 2 Timothy 3, a verse that we know well

2 Timothy 3:12 “12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

In this passage, Paul is encouraging Timothy to follow the example that he, (Paul) has set for him

And he draws Timothy’s attention to things that happened to him while he was out preaching the Gospel and allowing himself to be directed by the Holy Spirit

And he says, “Remember what happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra”. Remember the persecution that I endured at these places

What happened to him?

Well, in Acts 14, we read that Paul and Barnabas were stoned and left for dead when they preached the gospel in these areas

And Paul reminds Timothy that, hey, you know what? When God gives you direction and puts you on His mission

You can expect some serious opposition

God’s mission, God’s cause, is never an easy one

There is an enemy who will always oppose what God has directed to take place

And he will always oppose God’s mission

a couple of weeks ago, we talked about one way that he does this

He makes us apathetic, uncaring, unmoved

We fall prey to a sense of, “Well, what really can we do about it? We’re a small church out in the country. Surely God would be more effective if He used someone else”

That’s one way that Satan can oppose the work of God

sometimes he does it by bringing circumstances into the lives of Believers that hinder them or make it very difficult for them to continue on doing what God has led them to do

IN our lives as a family, we have often found health to be a big way that satan tries to oppose what God is doing in our lives

It often seemed that when God’s direction was clear in our lives, we would be hit with health issues

For some people it might have just seemed like bad luck, but for us, we really felt like Satan was trying to derail us or discourage us from doing what God had led us to do

Now I realize that God is still sovereign in those situations. Nothing happens that is outside of His control

But many times, Satan opposes what God is doing in our lives by bring people into our lives that are...

naysayers

scoffers

people who might say things and do things to make us think that we are crazy

Because often the work of God in our lives is something that, humanly speaking, we may not have ever chosen to do ourselves (e.g. moving back from Africa to be a pastor)

And many times, Satan will direct people to scoff or, worse yet, to make you feel like

perhaps you are crazy

or maybe you didn’t hear right

Or maybe this whole thing is going to end up in disaster

And everywhere you go, you imagine that people are looking at you like you’ve gone ‘round the bend and spilled all your marbles

In short, we are talking about shame.

And shame is a powerful tool of the devil

This is what we are going to see in Nehemiah today

PRAYER

Nehemiah chapter 3

I’m not going to read this chapter.

You can look through it, and at first glance, it seems sort of repetitive.

Nehemiah 3:1–2 “1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.”

And so on and so on

And we read it and the temptation might be to think

Well, what’s the big deal? IT’s just a bunch of people building a wall

But I think that would be missing something very important.

Because what I see in chapter 3 is actually something very powerful

And that is an entire group of people catching hold of God’s vision, God’s plan to have the city of God rebuilt

You know, to me, this is amazing

In chapter 2, Nehemiah had gone out at night in secret, without anyone knowing, and he had surveyed the walls and taken note of all the work that had to be done

And he had worked out a plan

And then he called the Jews, the priests, the nobles and officials together

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.

And after I said this, the people folded their arms and leaned back and said,

“Well, it might seem like a good idea to YOU, Nehemiah. But who are you anyway? Why should we listen to you?

NO!

And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

There it is right there

Nehemiah presented the vision to them: Come let us build the walls so that we may no longer suffer derision

Not only that, but he shared with them his testimony

that this vision was not just his idea!

No, this vision was from God Himself!

“I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good”

He shared with them how God had called him to this work

He shared with them his testimony of how God had interrupted his life back in Susa, and had led him back to Jerusalem to

Not only had God called him to this work, but this mission had been endorsed by the king

“I told them of the words that the king had spoken to me”

And what was the response of the Jews?

You know, they could have said...

Who are you anyway? We’ve been back here for the last 14 years and we’ve never seen you around before

Look, yeah you know things aren’t great, but we’re making it! We’re doing OK.

Ooh, GOD called you, did He? Well, He didn’t say anything to us about it!

Really? You want us to build a wall?—that sounds like a lot of work! And where are we going to get the timbers for the gates and the frames? And where are we going to get all the blocks to build up the wall?

We don’t have any experience in this. Look at us! We’re priests, we are nobles. We aren’t stone masons or brick layers

Nehemiah, I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all, but why don’t you just get on out of here and let us make our own decisions?

The objections could have been numerous

And that often is the response when God is moving His people into something new and asking them to pull together for His cause

Sort of this...”really? Are you sure God is asking us to do this? I mean, who put you in charge? We’ve been here a long time and He’s never asked us to do anything like this before!”

But that’s not what the Jews did

Nehemiah told them what was on his mind

And the Jews said

“Let us rise up and build!”

And they strengthened their hands for the good work!

What does that mean?

Does that mean they went to the store and bought some of those springloaded gripper things that are supposed to strenghten your hands?

They started working out?

In Ezra, it is describing their initial efforts to rebuild, and they ran into opposition, and they became discouraged.

In Ezra 4:4, in the KJV, it says that

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

Which means that they were discouraged from doing what they knew they were supposed to do.

The ESV says

Ezra 4:4 “4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build”

So, previously, they had been made to be afraid and they were discouraged from continuing the work of God

But now, in Nehemiah, they strengthen their hands for the good work that is in front of them!

And I just love that. I find it to be so powerful

That they were able to to agree. They saw the wisdom in what Nehemiah was suggesting

And, I believe, even though they had not personally heard from God on this vision, they recognized God’s hand in what Nehemiah suggested, and they said, “Yep, let’s do this! Nehemiah, we are with you 100%!”

And in chapter 3, they get to work as a group

Church, I’m just being honest with you here.

Is there something that God is leading us to do that we, as a church, can get a hold of like this?

Something that would make us say, “Let us rise up and build”

Let’s do this! We are together on this!

And I’m talking about a project that seems bigger than us, like buidling a city wall would have been

Something that would make us say, “I don’t know how this is going to get done, but we are 100% together on this, because we see the hand of God in this suggestion”

We’ve done things like

Feed the hungry

Shoeboxes

knotting comforters

As we look to the future, is there another way that God might lead us,

Something that might stretch our faith,

Something that would make us say, “I don’ t know how this is going to work, but let’s rise up and build”

And then we would strengthen our hands for the task

Something to think about

And as the unity of the people strenghtens, the opposition to the work also strengthens

And you would expect this, right? We’ve already established that there is an enemy that will (not might. But will) always oppose the work of God

Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 19 the main enemies of this work show up.

Sanballat the Horonite

Tobiah the Ammonite servant

Gesham the Arab

These are guys that have been living in the land of Israel during the captivity, and they have some sort of ruling authority there

And they are not the least bit interested in seeing God’s work go forward

And we are going to see the various tactics that they use to try to derail this work

False accusations

Nehemiah 2:19 “19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?””

Ohhh, man. Accusing Nehemiah of treason; rebelling against the King.

The King of the Persian empire sure wouldn’t stand for that!

Heres the thing

Whenever you or I commit to doing what God has led us to do, be prepared for accusation. False accusations

satan will deliver those accusations through the mouths of other people,

or, in our own hearts

The Bible calls him “the accuser of the brethren”.

Who are the Brethren? It is those who are members of the family of God through faith in Christ Jesus

Jesus was falsely accused many things

Blaspheme

false teaching

And it should come as no surprise to us, when after we have said “yes” to God’s call on our lives, satan will bring accusations against us

But Nehemiah basically just tells them to mind their own business

Nehemiah 2:20 “20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.””

When the accuser comes to you and brings false accusations

Tell him that he has no claim on you.

He has no right to bring accusations against you.

You don’t belong to him.

You belong to Jesus.

And you have been purchased by His blood sacrifice,

and you are clothed in His righteousness, a

But, after Nehemiah and his crew make their plans, things really get ramped up

2. Slander and Shame

It says that Sanballat was very angry. (4:1)

In fact he was greatly enraged

The Hebrew word here means “provoked”

And if someone is provoked, that means they aren’t satisfied to just sit by

It has the idea of being moved to action

So, the pressure is going to be ramped up here

And it’s at this point that he and his cronies leave off accusing Neh of treason and start to use slander and shame

and try to embarrass them into giving up the work

Nehemiah 4:1–3 “1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!””

he calls them weak

he calls into question their ability to finish the job

he calls into question their ability to do a good job

Yeah, this crazy wall you are building…what’s the point?

There is no way that they have enough gumption to finish the work

And even if they finish, there is no way that this wall is goign to do anything to protect them

Even a fox could knock that dumb thing down!

They try to use shame and slander to discourage Nehemiah and the others from continuing on with the work

Now, the accusation of treason…that wasn’t going to hold up in court.

Nehemiah had paperwork from the King saying that he was authorized to do with work and that it was not treason

So, that was put to bed pretty quickly

But, slander and shame is another thing all together

You know what, the enemy will do the same thing to you and to me

because shame is a powerful tool and he knows it

he will shame you by reminding you of past failures

you know, you tried this “following Jesus thing” before, and you royally messed up

You know, you tried that outreach into Hills last year and the whole thing just kind of fell flat. Did you really think it was going to work

Hey, you know that sin that you struggle with?

You remember what happened yesterday?

come on. You really think that you can gain victory in that area, you weakling?

From my own experience, the accuser often slanders me and shames me when I’ve gone to the hospital to visit someone, or the nursing home

especially when that person is close to death

I often come away being shamed by the enemy because I wasn’t “pastoral” enough…whatever that means.

I didn’t have words that were wise and comforting enough

It is a powerful tool, and the enemy absolutely will use it when you are faithful in doing what God has asked you to

Because we will do almost anything to avoid shame

And we will be reluctant to step out in faith again

Nehemiah’s response:

He prays, verse 4

I don’t necessarily recommend praying like he does here

Remember, he is in the old covenant. He prays much the same way that David often does in the Psalms

He prays for God to bring judgement upon Sanballat and Tobiah and their cronies

Nehemiah 4:4–5 “4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.”

The point is, Nehemiah does not go out after these guys.

He doesn’t take them to court for defamation of character or anything like that

He simply turns and cries out to God. The God who says to us, “Vengeance is mine. I will repay”.

He unloads his feelings and his hurt on God and then he turns and continues the work at hand

This is a great example for us. Slander and shame will distract and derail you from following Jesus if you let it

It will sidetrack you

You will begin to obsess about what has been said to you or about you

And that’s what the enemy wants to happen

But consider Jesus

Jesus Himself was mocked and scorned, especially as He was about to be crucified

But

1 Peter 2:23–24 “23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

So, when you are slandered for following God, remember the example of Nehemiah. Remember Jesus

Entrust yourself to God who judges justly

3. Physical violence

When false accusations don’t work

When slander doesn’t work

Then the enemies of Judah resort to threats of physical violence

English Standard Version (Chapter 4)

10 In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” 11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”

People were beginning to say, “Hey, this is hard work. There is too much rubble to clear. We aren’t going to be able to finish this wall.”

They are getting tired. They are beginning to feel the effects of the hard work

And meanwhile, the enemies have been watching all of this.

And they see their opportunity

They say, “This is our chance! Let’s attack them. They aren’t going to see us or hear us until we are right on top of them. We can kill them and we can stop the work!”

Fortunately, though, the Jews who live out away from the city come and warn them of the imminent attack.

And the rest of this chapter describes how Nehemiah made a plan to ward off this attack

How he arranged the people and how he told them to arm themselves with swords and spears and bows and coats of mail

And he said to them in verse 14

English Standard Version (Chapter 4)

Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

What a great reminder, right? Remember the Lord who is great and awesome! And then fight!

And the people armed themselves and the work did not even slow up

They continued working, laser focused on the mission that God had given them

You know, there is a lot that could be said about this

I will just say that what Nehemiah commands the Jews to do, is not a command for us to arm ourselves with guns in preparation for some immanent attack

or fight back when the government comes to take our freedoms

I do not believe that is the way of Jesus

We’ve talked about the possibility of being physically persecuted for our faith

That may never happen, but the Bible makes it clear that there is a major spiritual battle happening

You know, as you look at Scripture, when the people of God were in a conflict, there were times when God sent them into battle

But it’s interesting to note that there are a number of instances when God simply told them to stand still and watch the work of God

In Exodus 14, the people were being pursued by the Egyptians and Moses said this to them:

13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

In 2 Chronicles, Jehoshaphat being threatened by a huge army from the east. God told him to go out, face the army, and He said

You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf,

And in Ephesians 6, we are told to

Stand firm

And arm ourselves with the armor and weapons that have been given to us!

And standing firm doesn’t mean that we just stand around

What it does mean is that we aren’t shaken and scared away from being faithful

It means that, just like the Jews in our chapter today, we arm ourselves and don’t give up

We continue following hard after Jesus, keeping our eyes on the goal, on the prize

This is such an encouragement

It’s not you, it’s not me that has to do the fighting.

We arm ourselves, stand firm, and watch what God does

So, this challenge today is

Let’s be unified and encouraged, not afraid to tackle the big things that God puts in front of us

And when the enemy attacks to destroy the work of God (and he will)

And let’s put on the armor of the Lord and stand firm, not being shaken.