December 15, 2010
Sanballat and Tobiah continued their opposition. In Jane's (Her Name Was Jane) KJV Bible, Scofield divides the opposition into sections.
Opposition by Ridicule: They make fun of the Israelites. Sanballat calls them weak and incapable. Tobiah belittles them by saying, "If a fox climbed up on the stone wall they are rebuilding, it would break down." Totally discounting who they were or their abilities. A complete hatred of them.
Response: Nehemiah prays. "Hear us God. We are hated. Turn the insults of Sanballat and Tobiah back on their own heads." (Cross Reference Psalm 140:9) "Let them be captured and stolen like valuables. Do not hide their guilt or take away their sins so you can't see them..." (Cross Reference Psalm 140:10–11) So they continued building the wall to half of its height.
Opposition by Anger: Sanballat and Tobiah were angry at the Jews success at getting the wall half done. So they made plans to go to Jerusalem to fight and stir up trouble.
Response: The Israelites prayed and set up guards to watch and protect them day and night.
Opposition by Discouragement: The Jews were facing a monumental task in rebuilding the wall in order to defend themselves. They were tired. They knew their enemies were lying in wait for an opportunity to attack. "Everywhere you turn the enemy will attack (you)." (Verse 12). They (the Jews) won't know we are coming until it's too late. We will kill them and stop the work. (Verse 11) They felt surrounded and discouragement set in.
Response: Nehemiah reminded them of "whose" they were. (Verse 14) "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and powerful..." Faith. They couldn't do it, but they knew the ONE who could. Their enemies heard they knew about their plans and that God had ruined their plans.
So they went back to work rebuilding the wall. Half would work on the wall while half was standing guard, ready to protect themselves at any time. Those who carried material carried the material in one hand and carried a weapon with the other. The people were spread out along the wall so they were far apart and vulnerable. Nehemiah had a man with a trumpet stay beside him at all times. He told the people, "Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble there. Our God will fight for us."
They clearly understood it would be God who gave the victory. But they also understood they needed to be wise, diligent, and prepared at all times.
Joshua 1:9 - "Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't be afraid, because the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Jeremiah 29:11 - "I know the plans I have for you..."
James 1:2-4 - Have troubles? God can give you joy—faith—patience—everything you need.
Addendum: Two things stood out to me again today (12/18/14). The first is a step-by-step outline of what to do whenever you are facing opposition for being obedient to God's plans. Nehemiah 4:9: 1) Prayer—take whatever the issue is to God; 2) Plan—follow God's leading; and then 3) DO—what He has shown you to do. That should always be our response and it should always be in that order.
The second thing that stood out today is found in Nehemiah 4:10–14 - "The workers are getting tired. There is so much trash we cannot rebuild the wall..." Trash, junk, and toxic material. All terms we have used to describe enormous amount of lawsuit paperwork, files, and other debris "the storm" has generated. Trash, junk, and toxic material. It literally is poison. Psalm 140:3 describes it as venomous; the "poison of vipers is on their lips." The lawsuit my sister and brother-in-law filed is particularly vile and vicious. Oh, how grateful we are that we removed all the lawsuit "debris" from our home in 2012. While the junk will always be swirling around somewhere in cyber space, it is no longer taking up space in our home or in our lives.
How are we supposed to move on and complete the tasks we're supposed to do when the "junk" is in the way? The Jewish people wondered the same thing. They were threatened. They were getting tired. How was the rebuilding of the wall ever going to work out? Ten times they were told by their own people that this won't work and that they were setting themselves up to be harmed. When God began to reveal our next steps to us (See LORD - What Am I to Do?) the fear of the "junk" raised its ugly head. "There is so much trash we cannot rebuild the wall." What they were feeling wasn't foolish. It was very real. But when God calls—God provides. Nehemiah followed the blueprint:
That is exactly what we will do. We will not hide. We will not quit. We will not be afraid. We will Pray. We will Plan. We will Do. We will share our story, which is HIS story.
When God calls—God provides.
Next entry: Nehemiah 5:1–19
Sanballat and Tobiah continued their opposition. In Jane's (Her Name Was Jane) KJV Bible, Scofield divides the opposition into sections.
Opposition by Ridicule: They make fun of the Israelites. Sanballat calls them weak and incapable. Tobiah belittles them by saying, "If a fox climbed up on the stone wall they are rebuilding, it would break down." Totally discounting who they were or their abilities. A complete hatred of them.
Response: Nehemiah prays. "Hear us God. We are hated. Turn the insults of Sanballat and Tobiah back on their own heads." (Cross Reference Psalm 140:9) "Let them be captured and stolen like valuables. Do not hide their guilt or take away their sins so you can't see them..." (Cross Reference Psalm 140:10–11) So they continued building the wall to half of its height.
Opposition by Anger: Sanballat and Tobiah were angry at the Jews success at getting the wall half done. So they made plans to go to Jerusalem to fight and stir up trouble.
Response: The Israelites prayed and set up guards to watch and protect them day and night.
Opposition by Discouragement: The Jews were facing a monumental task in rebuilding the wall in order to defend themselves. They were tired. They knew their enemies were lying in wait for an opportunity to attack. "Everywhere you turn the enemy will attack (you)." (Verse 12). They (the Jews) won't know we are coming until it's too late. We will kill them and stop the work. (Verse 11) They felt surrounded and discouragement set in.
Response: Nehemiah reminded them of "whose" they were. (Verse 14) "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and powerful..." Faith. They couldn't do it, but they knew the ONE who could. Their enemies heard they knew about their plans and that God had ruined their plans.
So they went back to work rebuilding the wall. Half would work on the wall while half was standing guard, ready to protect themselves at any time. Those who carried material carried the material in one hand and carried a weapon with the other. The people were spread out along the wall so they were far apart and vulnerable. Nehemiah had a man with a trumpet stay beside him at all times. He told the people, "Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble there. Our God will fight for us."
They clearly understood it would be God who gave the victory. But they also understood they needed to be wise, diligent, and prepared at all times.
Joshua 1:9 - "Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't be afraid, because the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Jeremiah 29:11 - "I know the plans I have for you..."
James 1:2-4 - Have troubles? God can give you joy—faith—patience—everything you need.
Addendum: Two things stood out to me again today (12/18/14). The first is a step-by-step outline of what to do whenever you are facing opposition for being obedient to God's plans. Nehemiah 4:9: 1) Prayer—take whatever the issue is to God; 2) Plan—follow God's leading; and then 3) DO—what He has shown you to do. That should always be our response and it should always be in that order.
The second thing that stood out today is found in Nehemiah 4:10–14 - "The workers are getting tired. There is so much trash we cannot rebuild the wall..." Trash, junk, and toxic material. All terms we have used to describe enormous amount of lawsuit paperwork, files, and other debris "the storm" has generated. Trash, junk, and toxic material. It literally is poison. Psalm 140:3 describes it as venomous; the "poison of vipers is on their lips." The lawsuit my sister and brother-in-law filed is particularly vile and vicious. Oh, how grateful we are that we removed all the lawsuit "debris" from our home in 2012. While the junk will always be swirling around somewhere in cyber space, it is no longer taking up space in our home or in our lives.
How are we supposed to move on and complete the tasks we're supposed to do when the "junk" is in the way? The Jewish people wondered the same thing. They were threatened. They were getting tired. How was the rebuilding of the wall ever going to work out? Ten times they were told by their own people that this won't work and that they were setting themselves up to be harmed. When God began to reveal our next steps to us (See LORD - What Am I to Do?) the fear of the "junk" raised its ugly head. "There is so much trash we cannot rebuild the wall." What they were feeling wasn't foolish. It was very real. But when God calls—God provides. Nehemiah followed the blueprint:
- Pray
- Plan
- Do
That is exactly what we will do. We will not hide. We will not quit. We will not be afraid. We will Pray. We will Plan. We will Do. We will share our story, which is HIS story.
When God calls—God provides.
Next entry: Nehemiah 5:1–19
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