This time, we watch Nehemiah assess the scope of the task ahead. Anytime we try to do a work in the Lord- even a repair job on our own lives- we are going to be faced with the Job, and the Enemies. For Nehemiah, job one was just getting to Jerusalem- a trip of several months. But Nehemiah was not alone:
Neh 2:9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
The commentators note something interesting here. For when Ezra came back 17 years before...
Ezr 8:22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him."
But not Nehemiah, and we have two lessons there. First, while it is good to have faith in God, it is also bad to "put The Lord your God to the test." Don't be afraid to ask for help- Only the first of things this post will strike ME on. Second, you aren't alone in starting the work- God will always have His angels around to keep you as safe as He wills. And this is BEFORE he/we starts the work! But, before you go getting cocky, this also happens before he gets started...
Neh 2:10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
Just seeking the welfare of the people set the enemy to work- and seeking your own welfare before God will, too. This is why starting your day with Prayer is so important. As soon as your intent is to do good, Satan and his lackeys are ready to overthrow it. We are going to deal with these particular enemies in a moment. But Nehemiah isn't quite there yet.
Neh 2:11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.
Nehemiah doesn't tell us any more of those three days. Being a Persian official with a military escort, he was probably recognized, feted, made contact with the movers and shakers. Chuck Swindall pointed out that it may have been a period of rest, of getting his feet underneath him after the long journey. I think it was Charles Stanley who taught me the acronym HATE- never act when you are hungry, angry, tired, or emotional. Nehemiah had to start the work with a settled mind.
Neh 2:12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
Why the secrecy? For Nehemiah, he was going to need to have the facts in front of him before he announced his grand project. And, he had to convince HIMSELF it could be done, before he came to those who would do the work. This is a "dark night of the soul" moment- whether you can trust God in doing the thing, enough to make the attempt, and enough to tell others you're trying to make it. Think of the alcoholic who announces at a party, "I'm giving it up," only to have his 'friends' tell him, "Aw, come on, be serious,"- does he shrug and say, "Aw, you're right," or, "No, seriously!" Before he could start the thing, he had to be sure that he could go from cup bearer to construction supervisor. How does this work for me? Let me tell you: After I typed the word "project" I had NO IDEA where to go. But I prayed, and God whispered in my ear the next line. I had to trust God I wasn't just "going around the wall" for no reason.
So now, he sees the project, and has steeled himself in the Lord it can be done. And, he goes on and convinces those around him to go along- even makes them enthusiastic! But now, the enemies come out in force:
Neh 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"
Now I need to explain about Nehemiah's enemies- and ours.
Sanballat was from Moab; we know this because, one, Horon was "a place of two caves" in Moab; second, his name- based on the moon-god Sin, from Babylon- shows the connection that had come from Babylonian rule in Moab. Some speculate it might have been a title, and he was "the Sanballat" from Moab. That he was the main enemy to speak makes him, for me, the Lust of the Eyes.
Tobiah was an Ammonite; both these two enemies had a shared heritage of springing from Lot's incestuous daughters. My folks might call them "shirt-tail relations" of the Jews, which will be important later. Josephus names him the progenitor of a wealthy dynasty that would later cause problems for the Hasmonean rulers of Jerusalem. Nehemiah says he had wormed his way in to the power structure of Jerusalem to a point he was married to the High Priest's daughter and had an office in the Temple itself! He is quite obviously my Lust of the Flesh, having wormed his way deep inside like a cancer.
Geshem was not just "an Arab" (which of course, made him also "shirt-tail relations", as the Arabs spring from Abraham's other son, Ishmael), he was likely king of a tribe known as Kedarites, which had influence in those days even up to Israel. Where Sanballat was the leader from a nearby lackey, and Tobiah was a worm inside the apple, Geshem was a distant but powerful force from outside- the Pride of Life.
These three had little in common, other than the one thing- not wanting to share their power over the area. While the walls were down, they had a say in things. But Nehemiah had a word for them:
Neh 2:20 Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem."
Shirt-tail relations had no portion among the people of God. Just so, I am saved; these sins have no claim on me. They cannot tell me what to do, cause me to fear, make me do nothing.That DOESN'T mean they aren't going to INFLUENCE me, and that's where we go next.
