United against Oppositions

Unified in Opposition

Nehemiah 4:1-9

We all face opposition throughout life. Nobody is immune to some opposition. These past few days, I had the privilege of spending time at Niagara Falls with some young men. What I learned is that if one man, Frederick Law Olmstead, had not stood up to and against the opposition, Niagara Falls would not exist in the way we know it today. People and companies were using the energy produced by the rushing water. They built factories that were destroying the beauty of what God created. Olmstead faced opposition, but he and those who believed in what they were doing stayed united.

I remember learning about the Civil Rights movement in school and how God used some men and women to unite and stay united to bring about the right for all people in this country to be treated fairly. Our forefathers stayed united against a tyrant king and won independence. We can go on and on about people who stayed united and overcame opposition. I read how Nehemiah and the Israelites stayed united against the opposition and finished the task God gave them.

But you know what we will never read? How those who did not stay united overcame opposition!

How do we stay United against the Opposition? We need to know five strategies.

1. Opposition will happen.

2. The opposition will try to unite.

3. Pray as One.

4. We can stand firm.

5. Keep working together.

Opposition Will Happen

The enemy is not going to stand by idle while we are restoring the wall. He is not going to stand by and allow you to put back together your life, family, marriage, or relationships. He has moved in and put up a residence in your life or community. Opposition begins the moment they hear great things that are happening. Sanballat heard about what Nehemiah and the Israelites were doing.

People will become offended and will run to tell the leader about you. This leader may not ever see what you are doing, but by gossiping, they will hear. It will cause them to become enraged and angry. Why? Because they are about to lose power.

Anytime we become a threat to someone’s power, they will create opposition. Sanballat went from disturbed (2:10) to leading ridicule against them (2:19), to eventually becoming enraged. If one tactic won’t work, they will move to others that will until eventually you give up.

The opposition will Unite.

He does this by going to the controlling class of Samaritans and enticing them not to allow this to happen. He asks them five rhetorical questions. Each question is a direct attack on the lives of those who he is enticing. The enemy will unite by creating a false narrative.

These Jews were under your control, but if this wall is built, you lose that control.

If they fortify themselves, they will be able to defend themselves and cause us great harm.

They will try to call on the One true living God who can and will defend them.

They are working quickly, so we have no time to waste.

They will be taken from your stockpile.

We see Sanballat get his trusted sidekick involved in the ridicule.

Pray as One.

When we pray as One, it helps us stay united, fighting the good fight. Nehemiah does not use first-person singular nouns in his prayer for the people. Nehemiah knew and understood the power of unity. The world is creating such a division amongst each other that we are not able to stop them from ruling over us.

Could you imagine what would have happened if Olmstead, MLK, Hank Aaron, Wilber William Force, George Washington, Martin Luther, the Apostles, and Jesus stopped? The world we know would not be what we live in now. If Nehemiah and the Jews had succumbed to the pressure, the wall would never been finished.

When we pray, we should do as Nehemiah, David, Moses, Isaiah, and the other great Patriarchs who came before us. I love how David prayed to the Lord, in Psalm 30:8-9. Just like Nehemiah, David knew who his Protector, Refugee, Redeemer, and Avenger were.

Psalm 30:8–9 ESV

To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Stand Firm

We read how, after they prayed, they continued in their work. Prayer does something to keep the body united and the work at task. Nehemiah tells us that the ‘people had a mind to work.’ Why? Because they knew if God was for them, who could be against them? Who else can boast that the One True living God is with them? Moses told the Israelites this, Deuteronomy 4:7

Deuteronomy 4:7 ESV

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

This remembrance allows us to keep working as the Jews did for the wall.

Keep Working Together

The people did not stop working. They set before them to watch day and night, so as one was working, the other was watching.

Application:

1. We have to be unified with One goal in mind.

2. We must not allow strife to invade our lives.

3. We can accomplish more together than we can apart.