When The Enemy Comes In (Nehemiah 4:1-14)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
A. Preliminaries
A. Preliminaries
Good Morning.
Please turn with me in your Bibles to the fourth chapter of Nehemiah. The text for the sermon this morning is verses 1 through 14. You can find it on Page 469 of the Bibles in your pews.
I would like to extend my thanks to Eddie Ramer for his able preaching of the word last Sunday, which allowed me to travel to bless the saints at New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Mandeville, and they’ve asked me to return greetings to all of you.
As we said last time, the central plot line of the book of Nehemiah is the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. We saw in Chapter 3 that the work began, and in Chapter 4, the work continues, but in this Chapter, the enemies show up, and start stirring up trouble. So let’s pick up there, in verse 1.
B. Sermon Text
B. Sermon Text
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 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?” 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!” 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. 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. So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. 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.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “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.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God!
C. Opening Illustration
C. Opening Illustration
One of my favorite events at Grace Christian School is the Grace Race.
I confess I did not run it last year, but in the years past when I have run it, I’ve always been fascinated by the route. Because whosever designed it, I am convinced, hates runners. Because we start early in the morning. No problems there. We run through pleasant neighborhoods with lots of trees and shade. Lovely. And then comes the last stretch, when you make that left turn onto Versailles. And the timing is such that the sun is right in your face.
And so the moment that you hit that final stretch, that’s when it gets the hardest. And at that point it feels like you’re in an entirely different run than the one you’ve been participating in for the last 20 or 30 minutes. And you might wonder is this still the Grace Race? Because there is nothing gracious about this!
We tend to think that opposition means we are doing something wrong, when in fact the opposite can be the case.
Nehemiah saw that assumption taking shape in the hearts of his people. At one point in our text, they start to wonder—is it supposed to be this hard? This is really hard. Maybe we’re doing the wrong thing. And Nehemiah had to assure the people that what they were doing was right, and that Satan was seeking to destroy it.
D. Sermon Points
D. Sermon Points
So I have four points this morning, at least four things I want to observe in our text:
First, there is Attack by Mockery
Second, there is Defense by Prayer
Third, there is
E. Sermon Prayer
E. Sermon Prayer
Let’s Pray
Holy Spirit, come and illuminate the words of our God. Show us the wealth of glory that lies beneath the old, familiar stories. Teach us the meaning hidden in the songs of Zion. Raise us to the heights of aspiration reached by the wings of the prophet. Lift us to the summit of faith that is trod by the feet of the apostle. Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of your law, and Amen.
(Based on a prayer by George Matheson)
I. Attack By Mockery
I. Attack By Mockery
The first jeer comes from this fellow Sanballat, who is most likely the governor of Samaria.
Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
So he gets angry, and he’s joined by this fellow named Tobiah. We read in verses 2 and 3:
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?” 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!”
There’s a principle here I want us to grasp and that is that God’s people have to budget for mockery.
In the Bible, mocking (also called scoffing) is depicted as one of the sharpest weapons in the world.
It is sometimes employed by the Lord. Sometimes employed by his people. It’s certainly employed by the devil and by wicked men.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
And also,
knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
And also, the mocker or the scoffer shows up a number of time in Proverbs as a synonym for the fool.
Now, interestingly enough, there is a sanctified use of mockery, as in when wickedness gets so absurd the only thing left to do is poke fun at it.
Like Elijah with the prophets of Baal when he’s saying “Cry louder! Maybe your god can’t hear you! Maybe he’s on the toilet!”
There was also that time in John 10, when people pick up stones to stone Jesus, and he says “I’ve done many good works, which of those are you guys stoning me for?”
He was poking fun at them, and boy what an odd time to be a comedian.
But such uses of mockery require a prophet’s skill. That’s not saying they are off limits, but it doe suggest that we should use it as a technique to expose the absurdity of evil already on display, and not just any old time we feel like being snarky.
And how is the mockery being used here? To demoralize. To make the ones following God feel stupid. And this is why this text is such an important one for us today. Do we face mockery today? Just a little maybe.
You people think God made the world in six days? Cue studio laughter. You guys believe in a virgin birth? Don’t you know how biology works?
You guys think sex has to wait for marriage? That’s so outdated!
You guys think wives should submit to their husbands? That’s so regressive!
You guys discipline your kids? That’s terrible!
You guys think a man rose from the dead? That’s foolishness.
What are those feeble Christians saying?
And that’s what’s in verse 2: What are these feeble Jews doing?
Notice the emphasis on weakness. Mocking the weakness of the people and the weakness of their work.
“Ah, it’s so pathetic. So small. If a fox jumps up on that wall, it’s coming down!”
Notice also that they mocked them with the length of their task.
And I think the more we hope in renewal and reformation in our day, the more we will be mocked.
“Do these Christians really think Jesus can win Alexandria? Do these Christians really think that this city can go from a place of great wickedness to the greatest place to raise children? Who has time for that? They’re going to get worn out!”
What should we take from this?
In short, I think you should be aware that the devil would rather make you feel stupid rather than unholy. He knows that the forgiveness of sins that flows from the cross is too powerful. He can make you feel unholy or dirty, but the moment you flee to Jesus for cleansing, that’s over.
He’d much rather make you feel dumb and demoralized for having faith in the first place.
So how does Nehemiah answer the mockery?
II. Defense By Prayer
II. Defense By Prayer
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. 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.
What I want you to notice First is that prayer is Nehemiah’s reply. He doesn’t toss insults back. He tosses prayers up. He entrusts this to God because he understands that prayer is not retreat. Prayer is the artillery. When we gather on Sunday Nights for prayer we are not mainly applying salve to our own worries or anxieties (though that is a byproduct and blessing of praying together).
We are calling on the vast resources of heaven and the answer of God into the midst of our trouble and our blessing.
Second, I want you to notice the immediacy of the prayer. There’s not even a word of introduction! There’s no “Then Nehemiah prayed to the Lord and he said...”
We just BOOM jump right in. This is an urgent word. He’s asking God to come down now and act now. And demonstrate his sovereignty over Israel’s enemies.
Third, I want you to notice that Nehemiah’s prayer is an imprecatory prayer. That is, it is a prayer that calls down a curse.
And some commentators get to this verse and they say “Ah well, poor old Nehemiah. He’s a bit of a drama queen. Jesus told us to love our neighbors after all.”
Which absolutely misses the point.
We are called to love our neighbors. But this is a prayer for real justice in a situation of real sin.
Think about it this way.
Let’s say that you were watching the news and heard a terrible story. Something really depraved, like a rape and homicide case. Now let’s say that next Sunday I prayed “Lord, let the perpetrator of these crimes be caught and let him feel the full wrath of the justice system.” Would anyone have a problem with that?
Now, as a Christian Pastor, I would also pray that he is converted. But not that justice would be ignored.
I want God’s justice against horrific wickedness to be firm and public. So that when other would-be criminals are watching the news they are thinking “Oh wow. If I’m going to break the law, I’m certainly not going to do it in Rapides Parish!” Yes, I want that. Because I love my neighbors!
Most Christians have forgotten how to speak this way because we stopped singing the Psalms. This sort of language is all over the Psalms.
Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment...Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
Derek W.H. Thomas says of this passage
“If we have problems with the idea of God’s taking vengeance on his enemies, we have adopted a view of God that he Bible knows nothing about. Our problem then is with the Bible itself.”
That is why it would be entirely appropriate to add imprecatory prayers to our pastoral prayer. Pleading for God’s right judgement so that people would be reminded there is a God in heaven.
That is what Nehemiah is praying for. He’s saying “Lord, give it to our children to tell stories of what happens to foolish men when they mock God. God hears them and he acts.”
So what happens after he prays
So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
All the mockery comes to nothing.
And the result is their enemies go from angry to really angry.
But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
Now the story is heating up. Now we’ve gone from mockery to a plot. We’ve gone from insults to threats. And what does Nehemiah do?
Spoiler alert. You already know.
He prays and he acts.
And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
Now that’s a bit different, isn’t it?
There’s a principle in play here. Faith always leads the way. And real faith gets to work.
This is an important text for us, because too often (I think especially in Evangelical Protestant circles) we confuse faith with passivity.
We think that having faith is the same thing as not doing anything. Don’t work too hard. Don’t push yourself. Don’t take precautions. Don’t exercise wisdom. Just let go and let God!
When the Biblical call is trust God and exercise wisdom. Trust God and get to work. Trust God and run after him in glad obedience. Trust God and build for the next generation. Ours is a both/and faith.
But what happens next is important...
III. Weakened Faith
III. Weakened Faith
Nehemiah has held fast. But not everyone is making as good a showing. The pressure here to doubt was real. And the text actually shows that the people’s faith was beginning to waiver.
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.”
This work is too much for us. Have you seen all this rubble? These stones seem to come tumbling down pretty easy when our enemies give them just a little push. Is this worth it? Is it worth it to talk of a rebuilt wall?
It’s always tempting to hear the false sermons of your immediate circumstances. What’s right in front of your face can preach some loud and lying sermons.
Is it worth it to talk of a renewed Rapides Parish? Is it worth it to hope for the Spirit to work here? Pastor Bryan doesn’t know what he’s talking about--we’ve been waiting for years and it hasn’t gotten any better.
Is it worth it to keep praying for my prodigal kids? Is it worth it to do family worship (that’ll feel so awkward)? Is this work before me really worth my energy, my discipline, my joy, my investment, when it’s so much easier to just coast and hope for the best?
The threats were real. And the people were scared.
And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”
That sentence is awkwardly phrased in Hebrew--basically what it means is that Jewish people who lived outside the city were saying “Why don’t you guys just give up, and come where we are?” In fact, they came ten different times to the people on the wall. These were their own countrymen, trying to get them to quit. Their own family. Their own fellow laborers. Ten times. You guys should stop. You guys should quit. You guys should give up.
And how does Nehemiah respond?
That is the last point
IV. A Call to Faithfulness
IV. A Call to Faithfulness
So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “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.”
To inspire the people, he put the focus on who their God was and what they are fighting for. This is not a call to belligerance. It’s a call to covenantal courage.
This is precisely where we must rest our hope and focus our God-given strength today.
First on who our God is.
Whatever fair designs we have for our work in this city, for thriving families, for healthy marriages, for faithful evangelism, for a stronger church, a stronger school, a healthy church budget, a more beautiful and safe city that thrives under the Lordship of Christ—all of it must be rooted in the reality of who our God is.
What do you need faith for right now?
Your kids? Your marriage? Your work? Your future? Your victory over some besetting sin like lust or anger or bitterness?
Do not be afraid.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.
That is what must come first. Who your God is, and Second, what you are fighting for.
You are fighting for your family. Your present family, or your future family. Or your church family.
One of the greatest lies that men were ever sold is that the calling of a husband and a father is boring, and it has to be supplemented by something else to soothe a sense of adventure.
Now I am not saying that men can only be husbands and fathers and have no other vocations. That would be dumb, since they have to feed their families. But brothers, if you want excitement in your life, if you want to be driven by a sense of mission and risk and reward and triumph, then you need to understand that there is a war in your home and a war in your church.
And Satan hates healthy marriages and strong churches. He hates glad fellowship. He hates well disciplined and happy kids. He hates intimacy and meaningful connection between husband and wife. He hates confessing of sin. He hates victory over besetting sin or addictions or obsessive behaviors. He is at war.
And most of all he hates it when you realize that, and when your heart is reassured by the good words of God.
Your sins are forgiven.
Do not fear. I am with you.
You will face trouble, take heart, I have overcome the world.
I am working everything for your good.
When you realize that you are promised strength by a sovereign God who can’t lose, you will fight like you can’t lose, and that is when hell begins to tremble. When dead men brought to life realize they cannot die, they fight like immortals. We start with the sin in our own hearts and households, and we move out from there.
So do not be afraid, little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Do not be afraid.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
