Nehemiah 6 Facing opposition in God's strength.
Notes
Transcript
Text - Nehemiah 6
Subject - Opposition
Theme - Facing opposition
Thesis -
Principle - God will strengthen us to face opposition in life when we seek Him.
We will all face opposition in our lives as Christians, the question is how will we respond?
Intro -
Intro -
Jumping back in to the book of Nehemiah.
It has been a few weeks so I want to give us a quick overview and remind us of where we.
We launched into this book last fall after seeing some awesome things happening here around the church.
Some new steps, fresh paint, some really wonderful physical things happening.
Those things are a wonderful representation of what I believe is happening here within the church as well.
My prayer, and I believe I see it to be true, is the same thing is happening within us.
That we are being refreshed and revitalized.
If you have trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I guarantee that He is working in you.
He is sanctifying you, making you look more and more like Jesus each and every day.
Doing a mighty work in you.
The book of Nehemiah is a wonderful example for us to look at of God placing a burden upon a mans heart to do His work.
To bring not only physical restoration to His people, but spiritual restoration as well.
A quick overview of where we have been so far.
Nehemiah’s brother came to him in the capital city of Assyria with some disturbing news.
3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
Nehemiah became deeply saddened for the state of his fellow people.
He felt a burden for the city and for the people.
A burden that was placed upon his heart by God.
God had strategically placed Nehemiah in the position he was in for that time, for the purpose of rebuilding Jerusalem.
This burden drove Nehemiah first and foremost to prayer.
He sought God. And then with his position, sought permission from the king to do the work.
Nehemiah, with the permission of King Artaxerxes, king of Assyria, returned to Jersualem for the purpose of not only rebuilding the city, but to restore the people.
The task ahead of him was great, the destruction in the city was vast.
Some parts of the city were impassable.
And the spiritual state of the people, while not completely barren, was bleak.
They were being heavily influenced by ungodly outside sources.
But as Nehemiah knew and said, God’s hand was upon the project.
That did not mean everything was easy and smooth sailing though.
Opposition arose against Nehemiah from all sides.
North, South, East, and West, the other local governors did not want to see Jerusalem and the Jews prosper once again.
In a previous sermon I mentioned how some of this stems from a feud that had already been going on for centuries.
Nehemiah rallied the people together to build,
However the opposition also intensified.
Nehemiah’s enemies began by ridiculing the people and the work they were doing.
They sought to tear them down with their words.
When that didn’t work, they turned to threats of physical violence against the people.
God though provided Nehemiah with the wisdom to know how to deal with this external opposition.
The trials were not only external though.
In Nehemiah 5 we saw that there was also trouble in the ranks.
Due to a famine in the land and the difficult circumstances of life, the wealthy Jews were persecuting their own people for financial gain.
Doing the exact opposite of what was commanded of them in scripture.
Lending money to fellow Jews and requiring interest.
Enslaving their fellow people when they could not pay their debts rather than treating them as brothers and sisters.
Nehemiah condemned this activity and spoke directly to the people.
He didn’t skirt around the conflict, he faced it head on and dealt with it in a biblical manner.
Not only that, but he also showed by his own example, through his great generosity, an example of how the people ought to be living.
Up to this point in the book all of the opposition, all of the recorded trials and situations have been external to Nehemiah.
He had not been directly attacked.
In this chapter, things change.
The trials of chapter 6 now become personal and directed at Nehemiah himself.
The enemy has not been able to break Nehemiah with outside pressure, so now they turn to assaulting Nehemiah himself.
We have a lot that we can learn from this man.
Nehemiah was a great leader, he was a godly man, but he was not super human.
We all know that it hurts when things get personal.
What we see in Nehemiah though is focus and perspective.
We see through Nehemiah’s example in this chapter that God will strengthen us to face opposition in life when we seek Him.
Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),
Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.
And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.
And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”
Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”
For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.”
But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.”
And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
In chapter 6, we arrive at an exciting time in the progress of the building project.
The wall no longer has any breaches, but the doors had not yet been set in the gates.
The walls are up!
But the city is still vulnerable without gates.
The opposition changes its strategy because this is the final opportunity they have to put a halt to the rebuilding.
We begin with not one, but 5 messages sent to Nehemiah from Sanballat and Geshem.
Nehemiah 6:2 (ESV)
Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.”
To give us some visual context -
We have been hearing in the news today about the conflict that Israel is in with Hamas in the Gaza region.
Ono is just north of that ares.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Shephelah
Geographic region in Palestine between the coastal plain and the heartland of Judah.
The first threat Nehemiah faces in this chapter is a threat of physical harm.
Verse 2 ends
English Standard Version Chapter 6
But they intended to do me harm.
For Nehemiah’s opponents, this is do or die time.
Their tactic shifts from intimidating those doing the work, to seeking to take out the leader.
In a sense it is surprising they have waited this long.
Or perhaps they had, but this was such a blatant attempt that now it could not be ignored.
Nehemiah caught wind of their plot because he knew what they were up to.
Perhaps the Lord revealed it to Him, or he had men willing to share information with him.
There was however still protocol to follow.
Ezra-Nehemiah Intimidation and Distraction Tactics from Sanballat and Geshem (6:1–4)
In keeping with the official nature of the relationship between two Persian officials, Nehemiah is obligated to respond
In verse 3 Nehemiah tells us that he sends messengers - plural - more than one - to respond to their request.
Perhaps had their been only one, it would have been easy to kill them and say that he never responded thereby verifying their claims that Nehemiah was up to something.
They did this 4 times!
Talk about persistence, and patience on Nehemiah’s part.
Nehemiah used the importance of the mission God had given him to steer clear of this distraction and threat.
When those first four attempts didn’t work, a fifth letter was sent.
This letter was different than the first.
The first four were sent as priority mail so to speak.
They were sealed with the official stamps of the leaders who sent them.
In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
This message was a group letter.
Have you ever accidentally sent an email by reply all, or sent a message in a group text that you meant for one person.
Well this was no accident.
Since they could not kill Nehemiah, they went now to a purposeful assault on his character.
In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.
And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”
An unsealed letter would have been read in every town square that this servant passed through.
Allowing everyone present to hear and know the contents.
These other leaders were trying to shift the story from being about Nehemiah restoring the dignity of his ancestral city.
To instead rebuilding to start a political revolt.
To declare himself king.
The letter also makes the allegation that there is evidence of some sort.
It came from Sanballat, and Geshem also says it.
They are trying to claim this is common knowledge among the nations.
The fabricated evidence has an aura of truthfulness, since it comes from multiple witnesses.
The response we see from Nehemiah provides for us a great example once again.
Nehemiah’s addresses the allegation head on but most importantly, He turns once again to the Lord.
Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”
For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Nehemiah shuts down the allegations straight away.
The only reason he can do this is because of his character.
He is already known as an upright and honest man.
Remember he was one of King Artaxerxes most trusted advisors - being his cupbearer - he had held the kings life in his hands.
If Nehemiah did not have this, it would have been no more than a game of he said - she said.
Nehemiah had courage because he knew who had given him the work to do.
He knew that they needed to be aware of the trouble, but did not need to be afraid because God would be with them in the work.
So that is who he turns to.
He turns once again to God.
Another of his bullet prayers.
O God, strengthen my hands!
Verses 10-14 move on to a different personal assault.
Nehemiah goes to visit this man Shemaiah.
He is confined to his home for some unknown reason to us.
Nehemiah doesn’t give us much information about him apart from his lineage.
Through reading we can guess that he was likely a priest, and someone who was considered a prophet amongst the people.
Perhaps this man had gained some of Nehemiah’s trust, which he did not give lightly.
Remember when he entered the city, he did not share any information about the purpose of his visit until he had gathered everyone together.
He did not know who he could trust.
Nehemiah ventured to his home for some reason.
Shemaiah felt he had the standing with Nehemiah to say the things he says.
Nehemiah 6:10 (ESV)
“Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.”
His words should strike us with a sense of urgency.
Nehemiah, you need to do this or you will die, tonight!
The specific nature of Shemaiah’s prophecy is what caught Nehemiah’s attention.
Nehemiah knew the law, he knew the rules.
He knew that no one is allowed in that sacred part of the temple, let alone to be confined inside the temple with it’s doors closed.
he interior of the temple is sacred space. It belongs to the priestly class for sacrificial rituals, for which a person like Nehemiah would have no part.
Nehemiah: An Expositional Commentary Opposition by Intimidation
It was a temptation for Nehemiah to do two wrong things: (1) to put his own safety ahead of the work and (2) to break God’s law in order to save his life.
Nehemiah knew this was wrong, because God would not contradict himself.
God would not say - “Hey Nehemiah, you know that rule I have about not entering the holy place in the temple, well you can break it just this one time so I can save your life.”
That is a principle we must understand from God’s word.
God will not contradict himself.
If we think we feel God leading us to do something that goes against His word, we must know right away that it is false.
But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.”
Nehemiah recounts for us that Sanballat and Tobiah hired this man to cause Nehemiah to sin.
If Nehemiah had done this, he would have lost all credibility with the people he was there to lead.
Nehemiah is not afraid to lose his life.
His greatest concern is not his own personal safety as a sitting governor of the province, but for God.
Nehemiah displays his courage by saying, in effect, that he would rather die than sin against God’s purity laws for his sacred space in order to save his life.
He’d rather confront those who are seeking his life directly in a face to face confrontation than cut and run.
This man’s godly character is once again shown, and at a critical time as well.
Verse 14 is once again another quick prayer to God.
Nehemiah asks God to remember these people.
But it also goes to show us that Shamaiah was only one of multiple influential people seeking to bring him down from within.
How can we apply this as believers today?
We don’t have a wall to rebuild.
We don’t have enemies trying to kill us.
We don’t have people claiming that we are trying to be kings or queens of nations.
But as Christians, we are called to be building something.
We are called to be building God’s kingdom.
And though you are not seeking to be a king or queen of a country, there is the temptation for each of us to be the king or queen of our own lives.
The temptation is for each of us to build our own little kingdoms here.
And the world around us tells us to go for it!
Do it!
Build that portfolio.
Something that I want you to know this morning, and entering into this new year is that as a Christian, God is call you to something.
He is placing a burden upon your heart.
A burden that lines up with His word.
A burden that will build His kingdom.
That means growing yourself spiritually, and seeing other enter into the kingdom through faith.
God is calling you to that mission.
And there will be opposition.
Looking to the examples provided for us by Nehemiah here.
How do we respond to opposition in our lives.
Nehemiah provides us with examples to follow.
Remember the importance of our work -
the work God has given each of us to do is more important than even that of Nehemiah’s.
Christian, you are not building a physical wall.
You are helping to build God’s kingdom!
One soul at a time!
When opposition comes, turn to the one who has given you the task.
Turn to God.
Remember Nehemiah’s short prayer But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Turn as well to the one who has given you the task when those close to you let you down.
The people in Nehemiah’s circle did much more than let him down.
The sought to disgrace him.
Jesus knows what it is like to have those close to him let him down.
He took 12 men, lived with them, taught them.
And yet one of them betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver, and the rest fled and denied even knowing him.
Perhaps you have had a friend or family member let you down.
If you have lived any amount of time, I am certain it has happened.
Hopefully not to the extent that Nehemiah had happen.
A friend who turned out to be an enemy.
Shemaiah was probably one of the ones relaying the information of what Nehemiah was doing to Tobiah.
But if you have, God understands.
And if we look to Jesus example, what did he do with Peter.
He loved Peter, he recommissioned Peter in his task.
As a Christian, you will face opposition.
Take courage, seek the Lord.
God will strengthen you to face opposition when you seek Him.
To help us as a reminder this morning of the strength we have in facing opposition, and to help set the tone for the new year, I want to take the time to share in the Lord’s supper together.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are referred to as sacraments.
These acts are visible representations of God’s promise.
Scripture grounds the sacraments and gives them their meaning,
the sacraments reinforce or accentuate Scripture.
Baptism and Communion present to us in visible, touchable form the good news of Jesus Christ.
God uses the bread, the cup, the water of baptism to work in us.
Whenever these visible words of the gospel are celebrated in the context of the gathered body, our Lord invites us—
all of who we are, soul and body—to come to him.
And when we come to him in faith, we become more enamored and transformed by him.
The sacraments immerse us into and fill us with Christ and allow him to continually work on us.
They enable us to behold, to look on and embrace, him.
The only requirement of partaking in the Lord’s supper is that you have trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Of course you can, and I hope you take the time to refocus upon the Lord on your own, this is a time for us as church to gather together corporately and do so.
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.