Nehemiah

Nehemiah Chapter 6

Conspiracy Against Nehemiah

• Nehemiah 6:1  Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) 
• 2  That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. 
• 3  And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? 
• 4  Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. 

Many leaders and people throughout history should have done as Nehemiah did here. We cannot compromise and make deals with the enemy that is out to destroy us. World leaders have always tried this. Look at the world today. Has it worked? There are still wars, fighting and trouble as I write this letter. Treaties can be broken, deals can fall apart and they just do not work. So what will?

Preaching the gospel that changes the hearts of all of us from the inside out. God has to do the changing when we come to Him. Until then, we can't make agreements with the devil who is out to steal, kill and destroy.

If Balaam had of listened to God the first time and not tried to compromise with the king of Moab who asked Balaam to curse Israel, he wouldn't have gotten in the mess he did. He ended up figuring out a way to get God to curse Israel by instructing the king of Moab to send in women to entice the men of Israel. Had he listened to God's word the first time telling him not to go, it wouldn't have happened.

• Nehemiah 6:5  Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; 
• 6  Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. 
• 7  And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. 

Now Sanballat uses lies and tries to put fear into Nehemiah that some will come against him if he doesn't meet with him. Thankfully Nehemiah does not listen to this nonsense. Sanballat tried to convince Nehemiah that a rumor was going around that he (Nehemiah) was going to make himself a king and rebel against the king of Persia. Sanballat even threatened to send the same letter to the king of Persia. All this was to get Nehemiah to come to straighten things out but it was really to be able to kill Nehemiah and stop the work being done.

• Nehemiah 6:8  Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. 
• 9  For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. 

Fear will make people stop what they are doing and hide. Nehemiah wasn't giving into fear so he asks God to strengthen him. This reminds me of the time the 12 spies were sent into the land of Canaan to spy out the land God had given them. When they saw the giants and how powerful and strong they looked, 10 of the spies stirred up the congregation of Israel with fear. Only two, Joshua and Caleb believed in God enough to know that with God they could go in and conquer the land. The unbelief and fear in the congregation at that time caused the delay of 40 years until all over 20 except Joshua and Caleb did not inherit the promised land.

• Nehemiah 6:10  Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. 
• 11  And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. 
• 12  And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 
• 13  Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 
• 14  My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. 

Fear would cause Nehemiah to doubt God and that would cause him to sin if he gave into that fear. Nehemiah perceived that this so called prophet was not representing God but hired by Sanballat to stop the work and get Nehemiah in a place where he hides in fear. Others would then be fearful and also cower in fear. Nehemiah saw through this deception. Jesus said He sheep shall know His voice. Although this was years before Jesus came to usher in the perfect way of salvation, Nehemiah's faith in God's deliverance was why he was able to overcome and see through those that tried to deceive him.

The Wall Is Finished

• Nehemiah 6:15  So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. 
• 16  And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. 
• 17  Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. 
• 18  For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 
• 19  Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. 

So the walls were finished even though some of the nobles began to communicate with Tobiah but Nehemiah refused to give into fear. Sometimes those that work for God have enemies from the outside and from within. This is why to really be able to build a church and worship God, it takes faithful people that have the same mind and one accord. Powerful meetings where they gather in prayer and worship can build a strong church avoiding division and arguments. Praying always in the Holy Spirit must never stop. God will honor that.

Trouble comes to try to stop every revival for instance. The devil sends in those that are there to find fault and report exaggerated instances where someone may act a little different than what they think is normal behavior. Sometimes the news media outlets will bring a false report, the Internet is bad for that. Then the nay sayers will accuse it of being a false revival.

I say though, how can a group of people that come to pray, sing and worship God be doing anything wrong? Even if someone gets overwelmed and behaves strangely doesn't mean the whole revival is fake. Some people are more emotional than others. I grew up around people that shouted, ran, spinned around, jumped and showed a lot of emotion in the worship of God. I saw others cry and others very quiet. What does it matter? If they are in worship and praise, God gets the glory. Leave them alone. Who are we to judge what is of God and what is not. Let God arise and the enemies be scattered.

Look how crazy people get when their team makes a touchdown at a football game? Isn't loudly praising God worth more than winning a football game? Let us be full of faith and just trust God to let us know when things are not quite right without going out to look for faults hoping to find something to gossip about. DC

Nehemiah Chapter 7