Neh 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)...
The Wall was finished, game over, right? Not even. I've come to believe there are two kinds of 'thorns in the flesh' we face. Some people come to Christ through addictions and habitual sin and suddenly find the desire for it removed, as if by a miracle. Perhaps these are people who have been tested beyond their means, and God removes it as a factor. But others fight the problem every day, every moment. They wonder if something is wrong with them, because they hear the stories of the first kind and wonder why they still have the weakness, the desire. I'm thinking that these people haven't hit that threshhold of "being tempted beyond their means." They simply haven't fought the battle to the end of their means in the Lord.
That's me, by the way. Just so you know. This is the whole point of step-by-stepping through Nehemiah. I am trying to hammer into myself the whole sequence of how Nehemiah persevered. I have learned many things- some I use quite well, others I am still learning. But what happens next? Let's see what happened to Nehemiah.
Neh 6:2 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.
Neh 6:3 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?"
Neh 6:4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
Temptation keeps coming. And keeps coming. And every time I follow it, I leave the work I'm to do undone. I have to learn refusal. Last week, I saw this pattern:
Seek out people who DON'T do things the way of the world. ISOLATE what is evil and cut the ties. GO to God and have Him examine you.
But learning to do it is the hardest. And once I do, the game gets stepped up:
Neh 6:5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
Neh 6:6 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.
Neh 6:7 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."
The spin. "If God knows your heart, what harm will a slip up do?" "You can't be perfect, God told you that". But to use that as an excuse to yield? That is conquest by erosion. Nehemiah's response to this was a quick, firm prayer: Neh 6:9 ... But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
That doesn't stop them, either. The next attack is, "A reasonable man would do this..."
Neh 6:10 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."
Neh 6:11 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."
Neh 6:12 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.
Shemaiah plays 'the reasonable man,' afraid to leave the confines of his House, 'because they might kill us', and tells Nehemiah to do the same. How does this play out to me? "Chris, for pity's sake, don't you realize by sharing these things, people will ridicule you? Everything you're trying to do will fall apart. No one will listen to you. Just keep it between you and God" But again, Nehemiah's answer was a prayer:
Neh 6:14 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.
Neither Shemaiah nor Noadiah are ever mentioned again; But the names mean "God has heard" and "Convened with God"; indicating 'keeping it just between God and me'. But Jesus's brother James puts the lie to that:
Jas 5:16 Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much.
If I learn these things, and share them with you, without telling you the WHY behind my learning, I am being self-righteous. And I gain nothing.
And there I am- the wall is built, the confessions made, the prayers offered. What can they throw at me next? The worm:
Neh 6:17 And in those days the nobles of Judah were increasing their letters going to Tobiah; and Tobiah's came to them.
Neh 6:18 For many in Judah were sworn to him because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
Neh 6:19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and told my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
I am not safe within the wall, because I am still me. Fallen man, sin nature, flesh and blood. Envy, jealousy, false pride, the 'good life' still look attractive. What am I missing out on? The fears are still there. But curiously, Nehemiah now goes on a genealogy binge. How does this connect to me and my 'worm'? Well, when you ask Nehemiah the why of this genealogy, he tells you:
Neh 7:4 The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
So I have a wall, but what lies within? Are there the people who don't follow the way of the world, to replace those who did? Are there structures- new habits, regular devotions- to replace the old, bad habits? Like Jesus explained:
Mat 12:43 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.
Mat 12:44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.
Mat 12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."
It's got to be rebuilt from the inside as well. So what did I need to learn from this week?
-Learn to say NO to the temptation. Flat out.
-Learn to say NO to the excuses.
- Learn to EXPOSE the dark.
-Work the inside defenses as well as the outside.
Next week, we'll find out what happens "when the cat is away".
