Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 181 - Nehemiah, God's Builder - Part 3 (Nehemiah 2:9-20 NKJV) Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. {10} When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. {11} So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. {12} Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. ....{17} Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach." {18} And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work. {19} But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?" {20} So I answered them, and said to them, "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem." What a hopeless situation! A ruined city, treacherous opposition, desolation, despair and discouragement. But Nehemiah was solid faith from the top of his head to the toes of his boots. His reply to the opposition was terse: "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem." Many a missionary has looked on pitifully few resources and a great need and despaired, and then, deep down, this strange faith arises and the conviction grows that: "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build." God built the Universe out of nothing and the Kingdom out of a mustard seed. Zechariah tells us "not to despise the day of small things" (Zech 4:6-10) and that God is a mover of mountains. Most of the building in the Kingdom of God starts with nothing, or very little - so that God gets all the glory. Nehemiah did not look at the desolation but at the potential and the promise. Nehemiah knew God was with the enterprise, knew that his prayer had been answered and knew that what God had begun, God would finish. Nehemiah went around the walls at night, he surveyed, he planned, he met with the leaders, he set things in motion in a proper and sensible way. He arose and built and set his hands to the work. For this the local Arab leaders treated him with scorn. They jeered and despised the work. Anyone who builds for God will face opposition from the accuser, the hinderer and the despiser of the saints. Satan has many lips in his service, and many tongues that speak evil words calculated to tear down, demolish, discourage and destroy. Note that Nehemiah does not answer their question or reason with them. Their question "Will you rebel against the King" is just an accusation in disguise. Never reason with the Devil. Rebuke him. Which is precisely what Nehemiah's reply does. Satanic accusation, lies, false charges and discouragement do not need to be dignified with a proper response. Nehemiah knew he had the King's permission and God's permission and that was enough. You will find plenty of critics and plenty of people willing to judge your project. Just brush them aside and move on. You don't have to answer every envious or hostile question. The enemies "were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel." Whenever you seek the welfare of Christians, of Israel or of the Kingdom, you create a disturbance. The kind of disturbance John the Baptist created, or Jesus created, or Paul created. Whenever you go to a neglected, broken, burned out bit of God's vineyard and start putting it in order and taking back Satan's control, you create a fuss in Hell. Many a pastor has come to a church in disarray and started putting it in order and seeking its welfare and found that in doing so that he created a disturbance. Many a missionary has gone to a neglected field and put it right - and found himself opposed. But such people have God with them, and if they stay strong in heart they are inevitably victorious. Nehemiah shares a principle of beginning such works well: "I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem". Often its best to be silent and just get on with it. This is especially so if leaking your plans will create opposition. I have found that when I share an idea too much it seems to "die". Satan seems to hear about it and stop it - so much so that my wife begs me not to talk about our plans! On vital spiritual projects it should be a "need to know" basis. When the time does come to share Nehemiah starts with a testimony of grace: "And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me." People need to know two things a) that God is in a project and b) that they have permission - or at least that they won't get in trouble with high authority. The vast majority of people need security and a clear path. They need to feel that it will work, that it is from God, that it is legal and good and fine and OK. Once they have that, then they will start coming on board - and they did. Nehemiah also appeals to their sense of honor and esteem. "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach." He generates a reason for them to agree, a reason that affects them personally - to end their distress and reproach. He doesn't appeal to theology or history or abstract principles. He brings it home to them personally and to their situation that needs fixing. The Jewish leaders received Nehemiah's plan positively: So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work. For Nehemiah the building of the wall was not just another project, it was God's project, a "good work". It was something that deserved diligence and energy. It was something that people should "set their hands" to. Solomon advocated energetic activity during one's lifetime: (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NASB) Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might... Paul makes it a principle: (Colossians 3:23 NASB) Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; God's work is a good work and deserves our best. We should set to it heartily and do it with all our might. Whether its building a wall or leading a bible study we should do the best that we can. We should also seek to improve continually. There is no place for sloppy, half-hearted work in the Kingdom of God. To sum up: Christians are to rise up and build by faith, even in the most daunting of circumstances and they are to do vigorously knowing that God's work is a good work and that he will make them prosper. Blessings, John Edmiston Were you blessed by Eternity Daily Bible Study? 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