Tactics of the Enemy
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Some of you have served in our armed forces and you have been sent off to basic training to get fit and learn how to function as a military unit. You know that when you get to basic, you often find that mean drill sergeant who tries to break you down. By the end of basic training, these guys are often looked on with a lot of respect.
The purpose of these drill sergeants is to help you loose your sense of “me” and start learning to function as a unit.
Some of you may have even gone further in your training by moving on to officer training school. One of the major differences is officer training school is that these future officers learn and study war and battle tactics. They learn the way enemies move and study their tactics to get an edge over them in combat.
It is not any different for those of us who are in the Lord’s Army. We may not be shipped off to basic training, but hopefully we have had training in the basics of the faith and have learned how to put on the armor of God and wield the sword of the Spirit.
Some go on to be commanders and generals in the Lord’s Church in ministerial positions.
However, all of us, whether officers or not, need to learn the enemies tactics. We need to know how Satan works and be on the alert so that we are not taken by him and defeated.
Tonight we are going to see some of these tactics in action as we take a look at how the enemy sought to attack Nehemiah.
Look with me tonight in your Bibles in Nehemiah 6.
1 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),
2 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.
3 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?”
4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
6 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.
7 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.”
8 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.”
9 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.
Pray.
1. They draw you away from the work (vv.1-4)
1. They draw you away from the work (vv.1-4)
1 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),
2 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.
3 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?”
4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
They wanted to get Nehemiah away from the work
Nehemiah says that he cannot stop the greater work of the Lord to deal with petty issues
2. They seek to isolate you (v.2)
2. They seek to isolate you (v.2)
2 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.
They wanted to get Nehemiah away from help
Satan seeks to isolate Christians so that He can defeat them
Lion’s don’t usually attack the center of the herd. They attack the sick and weak on the outside. They isolate one member and then work as a pack to bring it down.
3. They make up false accusations and challenge our motives (v.5-8)
3. They make up false accusations and challenge our motives (v.5-8)
5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
6 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.
7 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.”
8 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.”
Most letters to a dignitary were sealed in the ancient world
By having an unsealed letter, two things were being communicated.
Anyone could read the letter and word could spread falsely that Nehemiah was trying to get himself declared King
The open letter was a slap in the face. Dignitaries always sealed a letter to someone of higher rank. Sanballat is basically saying that he does not recognize Nehemiah’s authority by sending an unsealed letter.
4. They seek to frighten with threats (vv.7, 9)
4. They seek to frighten with threats (vv.7, 9)
7 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.”
9 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’s enemies sought to use the threat of accusing Nehemiah of treason to get them to stop the work
5. They try to get us to sin concerning the Lord (harm your reputation) (vv.10-13)
5. They try to get us to sin concerning the Lord (harm your reputation) (vv.10-13)
10 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.”
11 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.”
12 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.
13 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.
Nehemiah’s enemies sought to harm his reputation by getting him to run. They wanted the people to see him as a coward.
Even more so, they wanted Nehemiah to sin against God.
It was against God’s law for Nehemiah to enter the temple.
Conclusion
How should we respond to these tactics of the enemy?
Turn it Over to the Lord (v.14)
Prayer is the greatest weapon we have against the enemy. There ar two truths to remember when we respond to the tactics of the enemy.
You cannot change a heart, only God can.
You cannot give true justice, only God can.
Nehemiah rested in the sovereignty of God’s plan. He constantly took things to the Lord and sought out God’s answers and His deliverance.
Don’t let the enemy get you down either.
Learn the tactics of the enemy and take it to the Lord in prayer.
Conclusion