A Lesson From the Exiles: part 3

Nehemiah 2:9–20 ESV

Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. 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.” 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 they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 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?” 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.”

In our lives, we have difficult times.

We see political leaders rise up that we don’t agree with.

And we see policies put in place that are just plain wrong.

We see the moral decay going on around us.

Even people who claim to be Christians live their lives according to the world’s standards rather than God’s.

If we take a stand for holiness, we are called intolerant and out of date.

We see a rise of other terrible circumstances all around us.

Earthquakes.

Storms

Disease

And in the midst of all this, we have to wonder what God is doing and what he expects of us.

How are we supposed to react to all this?

It’s so easy to feel discouraged, and even afraid.

But discouragement and fear are tools the enemy would use to tear us away from God.

Discouragement robs us of our hope.

Fear kills our faith.

When we dwell on these things and allow them to rule us, we quit trusting God to take care of the situation.

We turn our attention on ourselves rather than on God.

Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at the exiles of the Old Testament.

These were the Jews who had been driven out of Israel by foreign invaders.

Many of them had been forced into slavery.

They were separated from their families and friends for the rest of their lives.

Many never saw their homeland again.

But among these exiles arose heroes.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Nehemiah, Ezra

In the mist of this unimaginable time of their lives, they remained faithful to God.

And God used them to bless those around them.

Restoring the Jews to Jerusalem.

And leading others to God.

As we look at these men, and how they dealt with the situations around them, we can learn exactly how God wants us to live in these uncertain times.

Last week, we began looking at Nehemiah.

A Jewish man forced into service for King Artaxerxes.

While he seemed unimportant, he was actually positioned to make a great impact on the future of the Jews.

He was a highly trusted servant in constant company of the king.

He was someone the king had actually come to care about.

So when Nehemiah got word that Jerusalem had been destroyed, its gates burned down, and its people humiliated, he prayed for God’s help.

God caused Artaxerxes to notice Nehemiah’s sadness and want to help him.

Nehemiah had asked God to give him favor with the king, and he got that favor in spades!

The king gave Nehemiah permission to go to Jerusalem and restore it.

He also gave Nehemiah all the resources he needed to get the job done!

Today we want to continue looking at Nehemiah as he goes to Jerusalem and sets about the work God has given him.

Working with Wisdom

When the king asked Nehemiah what he needed, Nehemiah requested travel documents and letters that would provide him the resources he needed.

He also traveled with officers of the king’s army and horsemen.

When God gives you a task, you need to make sure you are prepared.

You can do whatever he calls you to do, but sometimes it takes a bit of a journey.

Make sure you have the right tools.

Get the necessary training.

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

All of Nehemiah’s time with the king had taught him diplomacy.

He had seen the king deal with officials and hold meetings.

So he was prepared to deal with the governors of the territories he would have to pass through to get back to Jerusalem.

When Nehemiah got to Jerusalem, he needed to inspect the city and walls.

But he also knew that there would be opposition.

So he did his inspection in secret.

Only a handful of soldiers went with him.

He went quietly at night.

He didn’t even tell the Jews what he was doing until after he had done the inspection.

When you get a vision or idea of something God has for you to do, you need to be careful who you share it with.

First, you need to take time with God to get a clear understanding of what he is telling you.

Then you need tell only those who need to know until the time is right to reveal it to everyone.

When looking for the ones to tell, you want someone who will honestly go to the Lord in prayer and will give you wise counsel.

Avoid the one who always tells you what you want to hear—everything is GREAT.

You also need to avoid the perpetual nay-sayers.

Even among Christians, there are those who resist change or are afraid to make waves.

They care more about maintaining the status quo than following God.

There are also those who can’t keep a secret, and word will get out before you are ready to do what you need to do.

There were men who hated the Jews and would stop at nothing to keep Israel from being restored.

If they had known about Nehemiah’s inspection, they would have killed him that night.

And that inspection was the last piece of what Nehemiah needed to plan the reconstruction of Jerusalem.

But once the inspection was done, Nehemiah gathered all the city leaders to tell them God’s plan.

Because he was properly prepared, Nehemiah was able to gain the support of the people and help them prepare to get to work.

Dealing with Defiance

Nehemiah 2:19–20 ESV

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?” 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.”

The Horonites, Ammonites, and Arabs were all longtime enemies of Israel.

When God was establishing Israel in the Promised Land, the Israelites conquered these people.

There were centuries of resentment and jealousy built up.

These people knew how to hold grudges!

When Persia came in, they conquered all these people.

But while having to submit to Persia, these other countries’ one consolation was that Israel had been taken too.

And, for the most part, the Persian king left control of the areas to the governors.

If the appointed governor didn’t care, it was easy for these other countries to come in and kick the Israelites while they were down.

They were allowed to destroy the city and burn the gates.

They were allowed to persecute the Jews.

With Nehemiah’s arrival, all that was about to change.

They thought they could bully Nehemiah, like they did everyone else.

But Nehemiah was ready for them.

So Sanballat, Tobiah, and others tried to oppose them.

First, they tried to accuse Nehemiah of rebellion.

Nehemiah didn’t even respond to their accusation.

He simply told them that God was on their side, and that they had no business there.

Then they tried intimidating them by showing up with their armies.

Rather than cowering or seeking revenge, Nehemiah simply asked God to deal with them.

Then they planned to outright attack Jerusalem while they were busy building the wall.

The enemy discovered that Judah had the weakest defense, and they planned to attack there.

But God revealed the plan to Nehemiah, and the Jews worked together to defend the city and walls night and day.

Half the people were positioned with weapons while the other half repaired the walls.

Those who repaired had weapons strapped on their sides.

When that didn’t work, they bribed false prophets to try to make Nehemiah afraid and do something that would discredit him in the eyes of the Jews.

When there is work to be done, Satan will always send opposition.

These days, the internet is filled with so-called prophets and such spending all their time condemning the government and spreading theories about COVID, the vaccine, and other stuff.

We are caught up in debates about whether or not the COVID vaccine is the mark of the beast.

We worry about whether the Democrats will usher in Socialism and shut down churches.

We wonder if we need to stockpile necessities in case we are put into a long-term lock-down.

In the meantime, the world is filled with lost souls who need to hear about Jesus.

There are frightened people who need to be encouraged.

Hurting people who need healing.

There are people that God wants us to reach.

Of course, Satan doesn’t want us to do any of that, so he distracts us with all this other stuff.

We need to be prepared for opposition, but we cannot let it keep us from doing what God has called us to do.

While the Israelites were prepared for opposition, they kept rebuilding.

The Blessing of Obedience

Nehemiah and his people refused to be distracted from rebuilding Jerusalem and its walls, as God had led them to do.

And in the process, the Jerusalem was being rebuilt in other ways.

Under Nehemiah’s direction, unity among the people grew.

The wealthy Jews quit oppressing the poor.

The people began living in a way that truly honored God and each other.

Exiles returned home.

The people began confessing their sins and returning to the laws of God.

They renewed their covenant with God.

People were restored to their ancestral properties.

And the wall, the defense of Jerusalem, was completed and dedicated to God.

All of this happened because Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, kept his eyes focused on serving God.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what your title is.

If you are a child of God, he wants to use you.

We aren’t called to solve all the world’s problems.

There is only one real problem—sin.

And there is only one answer—Jesus.

We need to quit trying to make the Word of God fit our lifestyle, and start conforming our hearts to the Word of God.

The Jewish High Priest Eliashib tried to make peace with the enemies through gifts and treaties.

He gave Tobiah the Ammonite rooms in the temple to make an apartment.

He let his son marry the daughter of Sanballat.

All he ended up doing is defiling the temple and getting kicked out of the priesthood.

We cannot use the world’s methods to solve our problems.

We need to be people of integrity, especially before our God.

In the midst of all this craziness of life, we need to keep our focus on our relationship with God.

Letting him direct our steps.

Trusting him to provide for us.

Knowing the Word of God and listening to God’s voice so that we have discernment regarding all the conflicting messages that swirl around us daily.

Even if someone claims to be a prophet, don’t just take what they say as truth.

See how it lines up with the Word of God, and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

In all things, respond in a way that honors God.

Remember that, no matter how the rest of the world sees you, you are a child of God. He lives in you and has given you authority in heavenly matters.

We are to be imitators of Christ.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, and that is not our job either.

We stand up for truth and righteousness, but we also share the hope that Jesus brings.

Just keep your eyes on God!