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Responding to Opposition -4

Introduction

o As mentioned briefly in our introduction to the book, the theme of ‘building’ is relevant for us as believers today—namely, in that the NT describes believers living between the comings of Christ as engaged in a temple-building (and kingdom-building) work

o As we will see in our text for this lesson, Nehemiah and the people of God faced very real opposition to their work of rebuilding from the rubble and ashes of the Babylonian exile

o We too face opposition, in various forms, to our ‘building’ work today

o Of the many things mentioned in chapters 3-4, I want us to focus on two questions:

o How did Nehemiah and the people respond to opposition?

o What can we learn from their response, as we face opposition as believers today?

Responding to Opposition

1. Rebuilding the Wall (3:1-32)

a. When we come to chapters like this in the , we often think, why is this in here? Isn’t there more exciting stuff to include and pay attention to? (and so, we tend to skip over such passages)—so, how can we answer this kind of question? 2

b. In many ways, chapter three unfolds what we read at the end of chapter two, when Nehemiah responded to initial opposition:

i. ESV :19 But when and 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?" 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 claim1 in Jerusalem." (cf. v.18; 1:8-9)

ii. In chapter three, we see ‘his servants arising and building’ (i.e. it is proof of Nehemiah’s words in the face of opposition)

c. Other important aspects to the itemized building list in chapters three:1

i. Note—the description generally follows a counter- clockwise survey around the walls of the city

ii. All different types of people (having various vocations and skills) are working together in unity (Note—41 separate groups mentioned)

1. For example, the priests (not normally engaged in this type of work) were involved, as well as officials, merchants, women, whole families, perfumers, etc.

2. Note—one exception is the ‘nobles from Tekoa’ (v.5, 27), who are portrayed negatively: ESV

1 Cf. Thomas, Nehemiah, 237-247. 3

a. Nehemiah 3:5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.1 (Note—it is possible, considering the location of Tekoa [southeast of Bethlehem], that Geshem may have had an influence on them)2

b. Application—are we willing to ‘stoop’ to labor for the Lord? (Note—again, perspective is important for rightly making sense of things—according to Scripture, there is nothing negative about ‘stooping’ for the Lord; in fact, laboring for the Lord is always ‘gain’ for the believer—never in vain [1 Cor 15:58])

c. Think of Christ’s example—came to serve and suffer for our sakes (though He was the very Son of God!)— ESV 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

3. Not surprisingly, the NT describes the functioning of the Church as expressing unity in diversity:

a. Ephesians 4:11-13—God gives a variety of gifts to His Church for the work of ministry, to build it up in unity and maturity

i. Application: ‘every member ministry’ (SAPC)

ii. Note—even those gifted for more prominent teaching roles are said to

2 Thomas, Nehemiah, 241. 4

equip the saints for the work of ministry (i.e. not just the clergy!)

iii. Illustration—Boice: many churches resemble a football game played in a large stadium—"there are eighty- thousand spectators in the stands who badly need some exercise, and there are twenty-two men on the field who badly need a rest”3

b. Also, relevant to the context of Nehemiah, consider the following exhortation to the church at Philippi—ESV Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy1 of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

2. Opposition to the Work (4:1-23)

a. Taunt of the enemy (v.1-3)

i. ESV :1 1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of , "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?1 Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?" 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Yes, what they are building - if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!"

3 Boice, Nehemiah, 68. 5

ii. God’s people faced psychological intimidation—they were ridiculed as weak and their work as laughable; they were mocked

iii. How does the world engage in psychological intimidation with us today? (e.g., media, news, entertainment, institutionalized persecution, etc.)— intimidated to give up

b. Nehemiah’s response (v.4-6; cf. 2:19-20)

i. ESV Nehemiah 4:4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

ii. Nehemiah prays—versus how we often respond (in anger, frustration, victim mentality, conspiracy theory, thinking it’s merely a political war, etc.)

iii. Making sense of his imprecatory prayer (calling for judgment / covenant curses upon enemies)

1. Not taking personal vengeance into his own hands—calling upon God for justice

2. Not because the Jews were insulted, but because God’s work was ridiculed (His glory in view)4

3. According to God’s word and covenant promises

4 Fensham, Nehemiah, 182. 6

a. Gen 12:3—God’s promise to bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you

b. ESV Psalm 7:14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. 16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

c. Cf. Ps 139:21-22; Rev 6:10; etc.

4. “If we have problems with the idea of God’s taking vengeance on His enemies, we have adopted a view of God that the Bible knows nothing about.”5

5. It is biblical to pray that our enemies be converted and to pray that their attempts to oppose God and His church be thwarted, and for God to execute justice

c. Plotting of the enemy (v.7-8)

i. The opposition is ramped up, not only in number (Sanballat, Tobiah, and the , Ammonites, and Ashdodites), but also in intensity—not merely verbal abuse, but physical threat

ii. They physically have Jerusalem surrounded (according to the geographic areas represented by their opponents)6

iii. Things are getting ‘real’ now…what will they do?

5 Thomas, Nehemiah, 253. 6 Fensham, Nehemiah, 184. 7

d. Nehemiah’s response (v.9)

i. He prayed and took action (set a guard)

ii. Note—it is hard not to be reminded of that great prayer of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:6-12

1. Read that chapter—about his prayer and response to a situation not unlike Nehemiah’s—being surround by the enemy

2. Prayer is never a naïve response, but always necessary

iii. Though beyond the scope of this lesson, here we have an example of sovereignty and responsibility

1. Nehemiah looked to the Lord to sovereignly act in response to his prayer and he took action that assumed God would act—i.e. his prayer did not take away from action, nor did his action take away from his prayer

2. “Whereas we think our real work is our activity to which prayer is [a tack-on], our praying is our real work, and our activity is an index of how we have done it”7 (i.e. prayer and action are connected and involved in one another)

3. ESV Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13

7 William Temple as quoted in Packer, Passion for Faithfulness, 79. 8

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

4. Commit your way to the Lord and He will act (Ps 37:5) e. Weariness in the work (v.10-12)

i. The people were tempted to doubt—because of what was saying (consider where they focused their attention):

1. Looking at themselves—'their strength was failing, the work was too hard, they can’t do it’

2. Looking at the plotting of the enemy

3. The Jews living nearby came to them ten times, saying, ‘you must return’ (out of fear)

ii. How do we say and think similar things in our labor for the Lord? Where are you looking? Who are you listening to? f. Nehemiah’s response (v.13-14)

i. Again, he took action, but not to run away or shrink back!

ii. ESV Nehemiah 4:14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

iii. The proper response in the face of fear, is to remember the Lord (in faith) 9

g. Important awareness (v.15)

i. ESV Nehemiah 4:15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. (cf. 4:5)

ii. This really provides an answer to the despair of verse 10—being aware that God was at work behind-the- scenes!

iii. How did they know? How do we know?

iv. Praying according the promises of God will help us in this—the word tells us what God has done, what He does, and what He will do

v. Are you cultivating an awareness of the character and activity of God in and around your life? (OR do you assume He is not working most of the time and you attribute things to chance, coincidence, or other earthly factors?)

vi. Note—one common temptation of the enemy (and the world) is to doubt what God has said and to convince us that we are on our own h. The work continues with expectation (v.16-23)

i. Despite the opposition, in all its various forms, the work continued, being ready and prepared for battle at the same time

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ii. Nehemiah, in the midst of battle preparations, reminded the people with confident expectation: Our God will fight for us (v.20b)

1. This assertion evokes past deliverance of God’s people (e.g., Exodus 14:14, 25, etc.)

2. Will you trust God when things get difficult? Will you say, ‘my God will fight for me?’ ‘For us?’ (Maybe they already are difficult—it is never too late to cry out to the Lord for help)

3. Practical Reflections:

a. Their work was ultimately God’s work and their war was ultimately God’s war—is that true for us? In the way you see things?

b. Perhaps, we must step back and examine whether we are ‘laboring for the Lord’ and fighting on the right side of the ‘war’

c. With regard to opposition from the enemy every step of the way, we need to avoid common mistakes:8

i. We must avoid thinking that opposition signals God’s disapproval of us, and that we should change course

ii. On the flipside, we must avoid drawing the conclusion that a lack of opposition means God’s favor (when the opposite can be the case)

d. Our Plight:

8 Thomas, Nehemiah, 248. 11

i. “Any idea of getting beyond conflict, outward or inward, in our pursuit of holiness in this world is an escapist dream that can only have disillusioning and demoralizing effects on us as waking experience daily disproves it. What we must realize, rather, is that any real holiness in us will be under hostile fire all the time, just as our Lord was.”9

ii. ESV Revelation 12:17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

iii. We can expect spiritual opposition to our labor for the Lord (every step of the way)—Satan employs the world and the flesh to wage this war (as we saw with Sanballat and Tobiah and with the doubt and unbelief of the people)

iv. The question is how will you respond?

Pray to Close

9 Packer, Keeping in Step With the Spirit, 111.