Nehemiah 4
As the Jews began making progress with rebuilding Jerusalem's city wall, so their enemies' anger increased against them. Sanballat, governor of Samaria, publicly mocked them before his peers and the Samaritan army. Tobiah, the Ammonite, likewise mocked at their efforts, and when they saw that their mocking had no effect they formed an alliance with the Arabians, Ammonites and Ashdodites planning to come suddenly upon the Jews, kill them and stop the work.
When Nehemiah heard their taunts, he prayed to God, but the work continued. When he heard of a plot to attack them they continued to pray, but additionally set a watch day and night.
As the rumours of the planned attack increased Nehemiah armed the people and encouraged them to trust in God. He organised half of his own men to work whilst half were armed and ready for action. Similarly the people who were rebuilding kept a weapon on them whilst working. Because they were working at some distance from each other, Nehemiah instructed them that if attacked they should blow a trumpet to alert the others for the need to come and help.
The people worked long and hard and on Nehemiah's advice stayed in Jerusalem overnight, fully dressed, so as to be able to protect the city.
(Written Spring 2021)
As I re-read this chapter this morning the taunts of the Jew's enemies reminded me of yesterday - the clocks had just changed, and getting up at the new 5:30 am (4:30 am old time), coupled with some matters on our minds seemed to really tire and depress us. We were both out of sorts and somewhat crabby! It seemed to me that the devil was really mocking us, 'Call yourselves Christians? Look at you now! Where's all your gentle sweet talk on the Lord gone?!'
So we read here, '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?...Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall' (verses 2,3).
Do you recognise this voice, dear reader? It might not be an external person making fun at you, but what you think are your own thoughts rubbishing and condemning you. I believe this is often the devil - he is a 'wiley' enemy (Ephesians 6:11). Bunyan* illustrates this in his Pilgrim's Progress when Christian is walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He writes,
'I took notice that now poor Christian was so confounded, that he did not know his own voice...I perceived ...one of the wicked ones got behind him, and stepped up softly to him, and whisperingly suggested many grievous blasphemies to him, which he verily thought had proceeded from his own mind. This put Christian more to it than anything that he met with before, even to think that he should now blaspheme him that he loved so much before...but he had not the discretion to block his ears, nor to know from whence these blasphemies came.'
Bunyan here suggests blocking our ears to whispered blasphemies - refuse to listen to them, urgently pray to the Lord for help. But when the thoughts are directed against ourselves how should we react? Should we try to fight back? As William Gadsby answered one who taunted him that a drunk man in the gutter was one of his converts, so perhaps we agree with that taunting, mocking voice. 'Yes', said Gadsby, 'he is one of my converts - if he was the Lord's he would not be in the gutter!' And 'Yes', we have to answer, 'we are weak, we are failures, we mess up', or as Newton** penned it:
We recognise our weakness, we recognise our need for divine help and that we cannot prevail against the enemy on our own.
But.....we have a great God in heaven who is greater than the devil and all his schemes, and he has given us the great weapon of prayer - as in verse 9 of this chapter we read, 'Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God' and as in the next verse of Newton's hymn he writes,
As Nehemiah and the Jews did here, we encourage ourselves in the Lord, 'Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible' (verse 14), and in this situation they set a watch day and night and were to physically fight if necessary, working with a weapon at their side.
So when you next experience that mocking voice dear reader, recognise where it is coming from - not your loving Saviour! Be on your guard, for these taunts may come to you at anytime, and you may start to listen to them, not realising at first where they are coming from. 'Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God'...acknowledge your weakness and lift it up to the Lord in prayer. Use the 'armour' he has given us, 'praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...(Ephesians 6: 11, 18). Encourage yourself in his promises and that knowledge which we read in his word and experience in our lives. Humbly expect and trust he WILL help you! Nevertheless...
"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear..." (Hebrews 13:5,6).
And if you cannot with assurance go to the Lord claiming him as your helper and your Saviour, take courage. Do you feel your need of him? Does your heart ache with sorrow because you cannot stop sinning and this mocking voice is more than you can bear? Or perhaps you do not understand how you are a sinner, but you are so tormented by thoughts of failure, inadequacy and perhaps even to end it all.
Listen...'The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit' (Psalm 34: 18). See and hear the love of God, 'For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost' (Luke 19:10). Jesus is everything that you need. He is love, strength and power. He is greater than that voice. He says, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11: 28).
*The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Page 78 Baker Book House, USA 1984 edition
**Hymn 397 in 'A selection of hymns for public worship' by William Gadsby. The Gospel Standard Societies Publication.
Enjoyed this post?
Subscribe for weekly content
Comments
Post a Comment