Answering Those Who Desire You Harm
Toby DeHay
Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted
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But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”
I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
Why Would Someone Oppose Us? (19)
Why Would Someone Oppose Us? (19)
We can talk about many different reasons, but in the end they can be boiled down to two main reasons.
We are in sin.
We’ve done something Biblically offensive.
Our actions or words have done damage.
And this sin can either be intentional or unintentional.
And the second is what we are focusing on today.
2. They are in sin.
They’ve done something offensive.
They’ve wronged us Biblically.
Their words or actions have hurt us.
Let’s take a look at the case in point today:
Why do these guys oppose Nehemiah?
First, these guys described are in sin, not Nehemiah.
Second, we see two types of opposition:
Individual and corporate.
These men are individually against Nehemiah and the Jewish people. You have a Horonite, an Ammonite, and an Arab.
They are also corporately against Nehemiah. Not just as a group, but each people group represented.
Jerusalem was surrounded by them on the north, east and south.
They remembered the “heyday” of Jerusalem. They knew the power of the God they served each group wanted more and more power.
Why would people oppose us?
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Sometimes people simply need to oppose something, and those walking with the Lord are an easy target.
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
They aren’t listening to God.
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
1 John
The daily walk of the Christian is oftentimes bothersome.
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
Galatians
Christian speech is convicting.
and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
Believers represent that which they know to be true in their hearts.
since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
In a nutshell, why do people oppose us? We walk with Jesus.
What Are The Characteristics of Those in Opposition? (19)
What Are The Characteristics of Those in Opposition? (19)
It is a good sign when envious people combat a work; for one can conclude from that that it provokes the devil, and that makes us the more joyful. ; . The devil is never idle: therefore when he can undertake nothing actively against the people of God, he makes use of poisonous tongues; but whoever fears God has a secure fortress. , . One should be firm in his confidence in God, and allow nothing to be abstracted from it.
It is a good sign when envious people combat a work; for one can conclude from that that it provokes the devil, and that makes us the more joyful. ; . The devil is never idle: therefore when he can undertake nothing actively against the people of God, he makes use of poisonous tongues; but whoever fears God has a secure fortress. , . One should be firm in his confidence in God, and allow nothing to be abstracted from it.
How Can We Remain Strong? (20)
How Can We Remain Strong? (20)
John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Nehemiah (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 13–14.
John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Nehemiah (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 13–14.
They are lost. Lost people do lost people things.
They are jealous. “Biblical and extrabiblical accounts show that Arabs became dominant in the Transjordanian area from the Assyrian to the Persian Periods.” The map we’ve looked at shows their areas of influence.
They are condescending. “they jeered” ESV, “mocked” NIV, “laughed” NKJV
They are angry. “Ridiculed” NIV “Despised” ESV, NASB, CSB. The NLT says it the most interesting way. “They scoffed contemptuously.”
They have hidden motives. Tobiah the Ammonite servant. His loyalty was to Sanballat AND his country. There’s no telling what he might have done had he the chance.
They have a need for power. “What is this you are doing?” This is a formal accusation in the ancient Near East.
John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Nehemiah (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 13–14.
How Can We Remain Strong? (20)
How Can We Remain Strong? (20)
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Nehemiah Homiletical and Practical
It is a good sign when envious people combat a work; for one can conclude from that that it provokes the devil, and that makes us the more joyful. Gen. 37:4; 1 Sam. 17:28. The devil is never idle: therefore when he can undertake nothing actively against the people of God, he makes use of poisonous tongues; but whoever fears God has a secure fortress. Sir. 14:26, 31. One should be firm in his confidence in God, and allow nothing to be abstracted from it.
I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
“Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
Notice how Jesus says we should behave:
Be shrewd.
Be on your guard.
You will be brought before men, but to witness to them.
Trust the Holy Spirit.
There will be betrayal, hatred, and persecution.
Run if you can, but stand firm in the faith.
Continue to learn from the Master-we don’t know more than Him.