1Now 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), 2Sanballat 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. 3And 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?” 4And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. 5In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshema 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. 7And 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.” 8Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God,b strengthen my hands.
How did Nehemiah deal with these new types of challenges? Do you face similar challenges in life at all?
Share your observations and prayer requests with your group today
These [former] enemies suddenly become Nehemiah’s friends and invite him to a conference down on the plain of Ono. It is located down on the seacoast near the Gaza strip. But Nehemiah senses danger: they were scheming to harm me he says (Nehemiah 6:2). Some commentators suggest that they were trying to trick him into leaving Jerusalem, where he had armed support, to come to a conference where they could set upon him and perhaps kill him. Nehemiah evidently senses this. He firmly declines, saying, I am carrying on a great project, and I cannot go down.
That is a great answer. Note the reasons he gives. On the surface it seems a surly response to their invitation to meet together. It sounds brusque and blunt. But Nehemiah sees through their scheme and refuses to go along, even though they pressure him four different times.
You too may experience continuing pressure to change your mind and go along with something that is wrong. Many have fallen after a proper refusal simply because they gave in to repeated pressure. But Nehemiah persists in his refusal. Here is his reason: I am doing a great work, he says. I have a great calling. God has committed a tremendous project to me, and if I leave, it will be threatened.
One of the most helpful things that we can do to resist temptation is to remember that God has called us to a great task. This is true of every believer in Christ. I do not care how young or how old you are in the Lord, you are called to a tremendous work today. That task is to model a different lifestyle so that those who are being ruined by wrongful practices will see something that offers them hope and deliverance. If they see in you peace in the midst of confusion, an invisible support that keeps you steady and firm under pressure, they will learn that there is another way to live than the destructive way they have chosen. That is the great work that God has called us to. We ought never to give allegiance to anything less.
I read years ago of a missionary in China, a capable young man who did a great job as a linguist and diplomat in his work for the Lord. His abilities were so outstanding that one of the American companies in China tried to hire him. They offered him an attractive job with a salary to match, but he turned them down. He told them that God had sent him to China as a missionary and that was what he was going to do. He thought that would end the matter, but instead they came back with a better offer and an increase in salary. He turned that down too, but again they came back, doubling the salary that had originally been proposed. Finally he said, It’s not your salary that is too little. It’s the job that’s too small!
This is what Nehemiah is saying here. He has a great work, and he is not going to forsake it for anything less. He is confronted with an offer that seems to promise peace and support and yet is filled with danger, which he successfully avoids by refusing to leave his calling.
Do we place supreme value on God’s work in us and through us? How do we react under repeated opposition or the pressure of uncertainty?
Today’s reading reminds me of the part of my clinic that is devoted to treating patients addicted to opiates (heroin, prescription narcotics).
Some colleagues told me not to bother with “those kind of people”, that it’s not worth the headache and not lucrative. “You should do Botox injections and cosmetics..it’s much more lucrative and not as risky.”
Nehemiah stood firm as his enemies tried to distract him from God’s work, multiple times.
It’s been 20 years and we’ve seen God deliver so many patients from their drug addiction and even some come to Christ (another patient received Christ as his savior on Saturday). The call is to stay focused on God’s work and not to be distracted/mislead/tempted by nay-sayers or even we’ll-intentioned people who don’t understand that there is a harvest of souls that God delights fo call is to him in.
Nehemiah dealt with the challenges by first stating the fact that he isn’t coming to claim the kingship or to call himself the new leader of the nation, but he came simply to fix the wall and through that, the wall would be rebuilt and secure again. Nehemiah pointed his response to God saying oh God strengthen my hands and help me with these persecutions and accusations that are upon me. I don’t face similar challenges in my life, ones that call me out in my leadership role and ones that question me in the position of power, but I can definitely see these trials happening in my life in the future.
From brother Anthony (let’s get him to say more about what happened!)
Some of you have heard my story and some haven’t. A few years ago, God found me at a point in my life that I thought I was at my best, but in reality, it came 1 month before my lowest point. Without getting too in depth with that, I was given a message and a path. That path although great has a chance of failure and the failure would come if I do my task too well. In that sense, the message was that tread lightly. The world in front of our eyes is not what it seems and when you progress and disrupt, the evil snake will come out of its hole and strike you down. So there are two takeaways. Fear not when doing God’s work for you will be rewarded. Do it really well and you will go to heaven. Maybe sooner than you want.
Nehemiah really said “Stop the cap”. Nehemiah was tempted and persistently pressured against the the plans God had for him. But he stood firm in the Lord’s promise, with his faith as his firm foundation to see through the lies of his now “friends” and enemies. There are many times where people will tell me I should go into this concentration, this major, do this and do that. Not saying it’s not good advice, which some are, but it has been hard to distinguish God’s plan for me and how He wants to use me in my future career. I feel like I’m a little behind and that pressures me to go faster and pick up the pace which, in turn, can cause me to feel pressured to choose something quick rather that pray on it and allow God to speak to me. Lord I pray that I would not lose faith in your promises and will for me. Lord help me have the patience to faithfully follow the ministry God has in store for me.
I feel that I have faced similar challenges in my life, but for the longest time did not respond as Nehemiah did. Even when the “enemies” offer something that may sound like it offers peace and support, he refuses to give in and comes to God first.
For myself in the past, when tasked with important things, when others would offer opportunities that seemed fun (peer pressure) I would take the easy route and have fun. I pray now to act as Nehemiah did, and not succumb to the true enemies will, and to put God first and understand he’s the one who will lead me toward my calling.
reflection from ruby:
Nehemiah deal with the new challenges by focus on doing God’s great work and pray to God for strength and not to give in to the enemy’s constant pressure. We face similar challenges when experiencing negative peer pressure, in which our desire to be accepted by the world overcame the desire to serve God
Nehemiah dealt with the challenges by first stating the fact that he isn’t coming to claim the kingship or to call himself the new leader of the nation, but he came simply to fix the wall and through that, the wall would be rebuilt and secure again. Nehemiah pointed his response to God saying oh God strengthen my hands and help me with these persecutions and accusations that are upon me. I don’t face similar challenges in my life, ones that call me out in my leadership role and ones that question me in the position of power, but I can definitely see these trials happening in my life in the future.
It’s scary to think that Satan can work through others to get to you, threaten you, even challenge & test you. However, in Nehemiah’s case, he demonstrates firm and relentless faith in the Lord by coming to Him with the challenges and troubles he encounters with Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.
Even when Nehemiah is falsely accused and his name/reputation are slandered, he still knows his worth and identity in the Lord. Because of that, he knows his mission and purpose are righteous and glorifying to God, and it grants him the confidence to move forward and silence the threats from others.
I’m encouraged by Nehemiah’s example of true confidence in the Lord, and pray that I continue to understand my worth and my identity are in Him and Him alone.
daniel shared:
I think it’s important to note that Nehemiah had enemies and that they meant him harm. I tend to forget, as a Christian, that there are such things as enemies and evil and I have this idealized view of this fallen world where anyone can be saved or turned around. It’s like that old saying where you can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. The sad reality is that not everything can be so honky dory, that not every person brought to the water will drink. As such, we can’t just assume that anyone who calls us friend really means us well, like it was for Nehemiah when his enemies called out to him in a friendly manner. Right away he knew they meant him harm and answered accordingly by rebuking their falsehood and stood his ground. For myself, I need to operate under the same caution, but not too much or that’d be like paranoia or something. It’s a nice thing to keep in mind, though, when something seems too good to be true.