Opposition from
Enemies
Book of Nehemiah
Chapters 4 thru 6
The one thing we
will always see as we are involved in the work of the Lord is, we
will always be opposed by those in the world! Persecution is a fact
of life for those who are believers and follow the Lord Jesus Christ!
Most of the younger
generation have never heard of the Ten Commandments but that does not
mean they are free to live as they want to.
This next generation
has been led to be against anything that is good, because it carries
with it a high price and they are only interested in things that are
free, when nothing in this life is free!
None of these things
change what the Lord has given His followers to do!
Nehemiah had
returned to Jerusalem with the blessings of King Artaxerxes but the
king was 900 miles away and did not realize how the enemies of Israel
would act.
The spirit of
antisemitism flowed heavily through those nations that surrounded
Israel just as it does today!
This comes because
these Jews served Jehovah God, who requires obedience and who rejects
sin!
God was beginning
again to show favoritism to the Hebrew children and the neighboring
nations wanted to stop anything they did!
*****Neh 4:1 But it
came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he
was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
Before we see who
this Sanballat is lets see who Eliashib is.
Eliashib was the
high priest at that time, he did assist in the rebuilding of the
walls of Jerusalem but only that portion that connected to his house.
The truth is he and
his family sided with the enemies of Israel.
Neh_13:4 And before
this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the
house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah:
Neh_13:7 And I came
to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for
Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.
Neh_13:28 And one
of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son
in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.
Tobiah was an
Ammonite and a Gentile and a partner to Sanballat but married into
the Jewish family of the High Priest.
Sanballat was a
Moabite but his daughter was married to the son of Eliashib and would
also be a priest of Israel, and what did God say?
Neh_13:1 On that
day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and
therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should
not come into the congregation of God "for ever";
We should remember
Gentiles could not enter into the Temple grounds.
Sanballat was a high
ranking official of Samaria and would have been much better off
trying to make Samaria a proud nation but he wasted his time seeking
the destruction of Israel.
*****Neh 4:2 And he
spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do
these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice?
will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of
the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
When we see those
who have a sickening hatred of the Jews today, we can know it is
hereditary and is from a long history.
These that have
hated the Jews have seen what Jehovah has done for this tiny nation,
but they have also seen how God has loved them and the prophecies of
them, yet they have no fear of God and it will cost them dearly in
the end.
Gen_12:3 And I will
bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This world of today
is just like the those of the day of Nehemiah, and should be trying
to get the blessings of God instead of the cursing of God!
Those who hate
Israel will see complete destruction less they repent!
It had taken many
years by great kings for the walls of Jerusalem to be built, no one
could believe that these ordinary people could accomplish what
Nehemiah had encouraged them to do.
When we seek God's
blessings, we can accomplish great things because He is always
willing to help!
Now we see that
Tobiah was also an enemy of Israel even though he was also in the
family of the high priest.
*****Neh 4:3 Now
Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they
build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
One of the first
things people filled with hatred will do is to mock those they hate!
Tobiah was an enemy
of the Jews but was married into a Jewish priestly family.
He actually had a
room in the Temple that was reserved for the priest. This went
against the Laws of Moses.
It was a mockery to
the laws of God!
Remember the Jews
wanted Titus stoned to death because they thought Paul had allowed
him into the Temple
His son Johanan was
married to Meshullam the daughter of another high-ranking Jew. They
were also linked to Sanballat in causing problems for Nehemiah in
rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.
These two Jews and
their families did not approve of what Nehemiah was trying to do.
The Samaritans and
the Jews were already enemies, and these things just made the Jews
hate them even more, so that by the time of our Lord Jesus, the Jews
would not even walk through the nation of Samaria.
They mock and
threatened the people of Jerusalem trying to stop the construction of
the walls of the city.
Neh 13:4 And before
this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the
house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah:
Neh 13:5 And he had
prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat
offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the
corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to
the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of
the priests.
Neh 13:6 But in all
this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year
of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain
days obtained I leave of the king:
Neh 13:7 And I came
to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for
Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.
Neh 13:8 And it
grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of
Tobiah out of the chamber.
Neh 13:9 Then I
commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I
again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the
frankincense.
Neh 13:10 And I
perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them:
for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every
one to his field.
Neh 13:11 Then
contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God
forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.
Nehemiah prayed to
the Lord against these evil men.
*****Neh 4:4 Hear,
O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their
own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
Neh 4:5 And cover
not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before
thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
What is the strategy
of the devil? Mockery, Scorn, Insult, Making fun of, Taunting,
Ridicule, among other things in an attempt to cause us to give up the
work of the Lord.
So many who begin a
work for the Lord, fall into this trap and become dishearten and will
just quit on the Lord.
So, what is an
imprecatory prayer? It is a prayer that is prayed for some evil to
fall upon an enemy.
Psa 5:10 Destroy
thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out
in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled
against thee.
Psa 5:11 But let
all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout
for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy
name be joyful in thee.
Psa 5:12 For thou,
LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as
with a shield.
This prayer is for
those who are wicked, reap exactly what they sow!
Without repentance
this is exactly what will happen because this is truth of the Word of
God for us all!
Job_4:8 Even as I
have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the
same.
We must understand
that God will execute justice on all those who reject Him.
This one thing is
hated by all those who are lost! They cannot stand anyone who will
not allow them to do as they please!
Those who reject us,
as we seek to do the work of the Lord, are not rejecting us they are
rejecting God!
Nehemiah was not
praying for emotional vengeance, Nehemiah was praying for God to
deliver His people from these wicked people!
This is the only way
this prayer should ever be prayed, for our deliverance from evil!
Jesus Christ gave us
this example.
Mat 6:9 After this
manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us
this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead
us not into temptation, "but deliver us from evil": For
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen
What is
perseverance?
1Pe 1:5 Who are
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye
greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the
trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise
and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Perseverance is when
we know we are kept by the power of God till He takes us home, and we
just need to keep going with the work God has given us to do, no
matter what opposition we face!
What did Nehemiah
and those with him do? They continued to build the wall ignoring the
threats of this enemy.
*****Neh 4:6 So
built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half
thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
What does it take to
do a work for the Lord?
We need a mind for
the work!
What is earnestness?
We could say that earnestness is an intense desire to please the
Lord.
Earnestness is a
zeal to accomplish what we set out to do for the Lord!
What is the truth of
this world? Our world is full of Sanballats!
All the Sanballats
are not dead yet, in fact there may be more now than there have ever
been!
When we criticize
the work of the Lord, we have become a Sanballat ourselves!
Sanballats stand up
and say, "we as Christians are not able".
Sanballats offer
active opposition even when the work of the Lord is going on.
Sanballats even
cause despair to their friends who are involved in a work of the
Lord.
Sanballats refuse to
pray for certain works of the Lord to succeed!
How are we to react
to Sanballats?
We are to work
together to succeed.
We must be willing
to strive for success.
We must pray to the
lord for His help.
We must set our
minds to the work.
We must have a
courageous trust in the Lord!
Php 2:13 For it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14 Do all
things without murmurings and disputings:
Php 2:15 That ye
may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as
lights in the world;
Php 2:16 Holding
forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that
I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
When the Sanballats
of the world have been ignored and that work is near completion, then
we as Christians must be prepared for a frontal attack!
*****Neh 4:10 And
Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and
there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
Neh 4:11 And our
adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in
the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
The truth is, the
more we know about our enemies, the better we can resist them.
What does the Holy
Spirit say?
Eph 6:10 Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
We must always
understand, we will never have the strength to stand against this
evil world alone, we must have with us, the Power of God!
Praying and standing
guard are the very first things we must do to protect against the
enemy's attack!
We must understand
that the enemy cannot take away our salvation, so we should know that
our enemies want to ruin our testimony, and stop or hinder any
progress we may have in our ministry for the Lord.
Knowing these
things, then we know what to prepare for!
Satan is a
persistent foe, but he is also already a loser, so we must understand
a wounded lion is still a very dangerous enemy.
1Pe_5:8 Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
We must never forget
we are in a war!
*****Neh 4:14 And I
looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and
to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the
Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your
sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
Neh 4:15 And it
came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and
God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us
to the wall, every one unto his work.
We should get one
thing very clear as we approach the Rapture and the Second Coming of
the Lord.
We will have to
fight for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We will have to
fight for our sons and daughters.
We will have to
fight for our spouses.
We will have to
fight for our homes.
We will even have to
fight to keep our nation, remembering our true home is in Heaven.
The war with Satan
and his followers is getting closer every day. In fact it has been
going on since the time of Christ!
When these things
are firm in our minds, then we can continue on with the work of the
Lord because He wants us to succeed!
If we are too scared
to fight then that fear did not come from the Lord!
2Ti_1:7 For God
hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and
of a sound mind.
We cannot allow the
works of Satan and those rulers in high places, to cause us to fear
for our lives because our lives are already in the hand of the Lord!
It is well that we
should know our enemies then we can better resist them!
We must understand
that some of our greatest enemies are already inside the Church!
Neh 6:10 Afterward
I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of
Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the
house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the
temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they
come to slay thee.
Neh 6:11 And I
said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I
am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
Neh 6:12 And, lo, I
perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this
prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
There was only one
answer then, and there is only one answer now!
*****Neh 4:16 And
it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants
wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears,
the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were
behind all the house of Judah.
Neh 4:17 They which
builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that
laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with
the other hand held a weapon.
How did Nehemiah
counter the enemy?
Nehemiah placed
people to work whose sole job was to look out for the enemy, and be
prepared to fight to preserve the Children of God!
Every working soul
was also given a weapon to keep near him or her.
We must be very
clear. our God is much mightier than all the foes of the Church and
if we will make our stand on the Word of God and not give in to the
world, God will show His might to our enemies!
Confidence and faith
go hand in hand!
Dan 9:25 Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
We must clearly
understand that as far as life is concerned. salvation is much
stronger than anything our enemies can throw at us!
Php 1:27 Only let
your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that
whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your
affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving
together for the faith of the gospel;
Php 1:28 And in
nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident
token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
What is the truth of
our world?
*****Neh 4:18 For
the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so
builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
Throughout history
life has been to work and life has been warfare.
Most of these things
are because of the curse of Adam.
Gen 3:17 And unto
Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou
shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns
also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat
the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return.
These things will
not change until after the Rapture of the Church and the Second
Coming of the Lord.
As Christians we
will face these things every day, but we will find that our greatest
enemy is ourself.
Our internal wars
are our most severe battles and the most painful.
If we overcome this
our greatest enemy, we will be ready for the Lord. If we cannot
overcome these things, then all our lives we will be subject to the
fear of this world.
Our enemies of the
world are all those who oppose the Word of God, and reject the Lord
Jesus Christ even though some of those we may call our friends and
even our family.
The one thing we
need to remember when the trumpet sounds, we will be going home.
1Th 4:16 For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.
Our strength will
always be the Lord!
*****Neh 6:15 So
the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty and two days.
Neh 6:16 And it
came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the
heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down
in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of
our God.
There are things
that happen today that when the world observes them, they can only
say that it had to come from God.
It is the job of the
Holy Spirit to hold back the evil in this world and He cannot do that
when the children of God are either too lazy to do the work or the
church has quit on God.
We can say what we
will, but both these things are happening in our Church today.
There is in reality
a great falling away from the Church.
2Th_2:3 Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son
of perdition;
There should be no
doubt that we are in the day of that "falling away".
Since this is true,
then we could see the "man of sin", the Antichrist come
onto the scene at any time and he might already be here and has gone
unnoticed.
The enemies of
Israel in the day of Nehemiah had missed a great opportunity to cause
harm to God's people, not because they were afraid of Israel, but
because they were afraid of the King of Persia.
Today the Children
of Israel are safe from a true attack because they are allies of the
United States of America.
If America ever
withdraws the help to this tiny nation, or if America becomes too
weak to help defend Israel, we will see that Israel will be attacked
and then we will see that the prophesies of God will become a
reality.
The job of the
Church, at least here in America is more important now than ever,
because we need to place our watchmen and gird up our loins, for we
are in a war with the evil in our own nation.
We are foolish if we
do not let our voice be heard.
God does not need
any of us nor does He need our nation, His plan is going forward
every day, but if we are on the Lord's side, then we need to get
busy!
Amen
Let's Pray!
