Written by: Rob Barker
Nehemiah 4 v 21-23
So we continued to work with half the men holding spears from sunrise till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night. They can be our guards at night and workmen during the day.” Neither I, my brothers, my workers, nor the guards with me ever took off our clothes. Each person carried his weapon even when he went for water.
Notes
Imagine the picture a group of people, supporting and protecting one another as they work together rebuilding Jerusalem. It’s a great picture, a real encouragement and challenge to us today. We should support one another, play our part. What a great privilege it is, working towards building God’s kingdom. No matter how clever or talented we think we may or may not be. God loves us, trusts and equips us, to play our part within his church in the world today.
There are some other important points we need to learn. This faithful group needed to carry their weapons night and day. Whenever God’s people stepped out in faith, someone would try to undermine the work. There were as many party poopers back in the Old Testament as there are today.
Today we may not be in danger of physical attack (though in some places this does happen), but when we step out in faith, there is often some opposition. Our weapons are not to be spears and swords, but God’s word, Prayer and each other.
His word; shows us the way and will protect us when the enemy tries to put us off following Christ (try and read it regularly).
Prayer; the promise that when we call out to God he hears and answers, and provides all that we need to accomplish what he calls us to do.
Each other; friendship is a great strength. So don’t neglect each other.
Use each of these wonderful weapons as much as possible and watch each other grow in faith.
Oh’ and don’t get too stressed out at the thought of opposition, rest in the fact that the one who loves and calls you is not called Almighty God for nothing. Nehemiah finished the task, stay faithful and you will too.
Nehemiah 5 v 1-5
The men and their wives complained loudly against their fellow Jews. Some of them were saying, “We have many sons and daughters in our families. To eat and stay alive, we need grain.”
Others were saying, “We are borrowing money against our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain because there is not much food.”
And still others were saying, “We are borrowing money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. We are just like our fellow Jews, and our sons are like their sons. But we have to sell our sons and daughters as slaves. Some of our daughters have already been sold. But there is nothing we can do, because our fields and vineyards already belong to other people.”
Notes
Are you one of the complainers or the one being complained to? I suspect that we have all been on either side of complaints. Often when people complain they are looked at in a negative way and can be quickly labelled as moaners and groaners. But before we label people, (which is never right) we owe it to each other to listen. All complaints come about because something is perceived as being unfair, rightly or wrongly. We need to remember that we are all made in God’s image, and that the God we believe in is a God of justice. Therefore there is a built in desire for justice within each of us. Justice is most definitely the will of God. So listen to each other and if an injustice is happening, support that person or persons through your words and actions, particularly if you are the cause of that injustice. Complaints can be very negative, especially when they are all self- centred, such as, “I want this, I want that, I want it now and it’s not fair if I can’t have it now ”. But complaints are not always a negative thing, they can be a launch pad to positive change and action. If something is unjust pray to your heavenly Father, ask yourself what would Jesus do and what would he want me to do and ask for the courage to speak out to those who need to hear.
Nehemiah 5 v 6-11
When I heard their complaints about these things, I was very angry. After I thought about it, I accused the important people and the leaders, “You are charging your own brothers too much interest.” So I called a large meeting to deal with them. I said to them, “As much as possible, we have bought freedom for our fellow Jews who had been sold to foreigners. Now you are selling your fellow Jews to us!” The leaders were quiet and had nothing to say.
Then I said, “What you are doing is not right. Don’t you fear God? Don’t let our foreign enemies shame us. I, my brothers, and my men are also lending money and grain to the people. But stop charging them so much for this. Give back their fields, vineyards, olive trees, and houses right now. Also give back the extra amount you charged—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine, and oil.”
Notes
“I was very angry”. I bet you’ve heard that anger is a wrong emotion within the church. Well there are plenty of examples of anger within the Bible that are far from wrong. God the Father and Jesus himself like Nehemiah experienced and expressed strong anger. But there are also plenty of examples where anger is definitely wrong. Was Nehemiah right or wrong to feel anger in this instance? Before Nehemiah reacted he thought about it. He weighed up the situation, he listened to the complaints and he listened to himself, why was he feeling this anger? He thinks before he acts. After he had come to the conclusion that the complaints were justified, he channels his righteous anger into positive, constructive action. He goes and speaks clearly and sensibly to those who need to be told.
Have you an issue that causes feelings of anger? Is it a righteous anger or is it for the wrong reasons? Take time out to listen to your own emotions, who if anybody or what circumstances are causing this anger. Who can I share these feeling with. Is there a person that you can trust to share these feeling with and who won’t try and brush them under the carpet? Try your local youth leader if you’ve got one. They should have some insight and experience in how you can deal with it, or at least have time to listen to you and help you explore the issue. What is wrong, is to bottle up your anger, whether it’s wrong or right anger. It needs to be dealt with, but in the right way.
Nehemiah 5 v 12-13
They said, “We will give it back and not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”
Then I called for the priests, and I made the important men and leaders take an oath to do what they had said. Also I shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out everyone who does not keep his promise. May God shake him out of his house and out of the things that are his. Let that person be shaken out and emptied!”
Then the whole group said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. So the people did what they had promised.
Notes
Today we hear of a group of people who have been ill-treating their neighbours. Nehemiah having considered the complaints of those wrongly treated speaks out to the perpetrators of the abuse. The result is a wonderful transformation. When the perpetrators are confronted with the facts, and reminded of the God in whom they are presumed to believe in. They are convicted of their guilt and turn to the God who they know to be one who forgives, when repentance is sincere. They then together cry out a loud ‘Amen!’ And proceeded to live out their life as promised, as changed people.
This is a very positive picture of what can happen when someone has the courage to speak out the truth. Sadly, not all people like being confronted with the truth and they can refuse to listen and change their wrong attitudes and behaviour, even when God has promised to give us his Holy Spirit who will give us the strength to change. I’m sure we could all point to someone who we think needs to change but refuses to. But what about you and me? Are we any more comfortable with being confronted with the truth about ourselves? Are we walking the walk as well as talking the talk. Do we need to be reminded of our promises and of the God to whom we made them? Are we a people who are changing daily to be more Christ-like in all that we do? Don’t forget our Holy and Heavenly Father is still the one who promises to forgive, but only if we are prepared to sincerely ask, and that will almost definitely mean change.
Nehemiah 5 v 14-19
I was appointed governor in the land of Judah in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ rule. I was governor of Judah for twelve years, until his thirty-second year. During that time neither my brothers nor I ate the food that was allowed for a governor. But the governors before me had placed a heavy load on the people. They took about one pound of silver from each person, along with food and wine. The governors’ helpers before me also controlled the people, but I did not do that, because I feared God. I worked on the wall, as did all my men who were gathered there. We did not buy any fields.
Also, I fed one hundred fifty Jewish people and officers at my table, as well as those who came from the nations around us. This is what was prepared every day: one ox, six good sheep, and birds. And every ten days there were all kinds of wine. But I never demanded the food that was due a governor, because the people were already working very hard.
Remember to be kind to me, my God, for all the good I have done for these people.
Notes
Do you know of any leaders like this today? I hope so, for those called by God into positions of leadership, are called to serve, not to lord it over others. That’s a strange saying isn’t it ‘Lord it over others’. I suppose it’s what we normally expect of people in positions of power today. We are often force-fed images of wealth and fame through the various media. Those with wealth are usually the ones with fame, those with both are held up as modern day hero’s to look up to, and attributed with power and a platform to state their opinion above that of the ‘ordinary’ person’. When we think of political leaders, what words first comes to mind. Honesty, self-sacrifice, or sleaze and greed?
The Lord I know as my saviour, the one who has all power and authority, exercised his power in a most wonderful way. Like Nehemiah, he was not self-seeking, but used his power in self-giving, he was confident in knowing who he was without the praise of people. The Lord of the whole of creation was able to kneel before others and wash their feet. He was able to allow himself to look foolish and weak, as he painfully dragged his cross towards his own death.
God does call his people to positions of leadership, but remember his kingdom holds different values to the ones portrayed in Hello and OK magazine. To be truly powerful as leaders we have to be prepared to loose our selves for the sake of God’s kingdom, remember you are called to serve as a precious child of the living God, not to be served. Be confident of how valuable you are to God and go for it. Serve to the best of your ability.
Nehemiah 6 v 1-4
Then Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and our other enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there was not one gap in it. But I had not yet set the doors in the gates. So Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, Nehemiah, let’s meet together in Kephirim on the plain of Ono.”
But they were planning to harm me. So I sent messengers to them with this answer: “I am doing a great work, and I can’t come down. I don’t want the work to stop while I leave to meet you.” Sanballat and Geshem sent the same message to me four times, and each time I sent back the same answer.
Notes
Here we read that Nehemiah has completed the wall. Great, well-done Nehemiah and all involved. However, the wall was built but the work was not fully complete. The doors had not yet been put in place. His enemies see this as their last chance to spoil the work and so put in a greater effort to do so. Nehemiah in his wisdom is able to see through their plans to thwart him, and refuses to leave the work until it is complete.
The Christian life calls for the same wisdom and commitment. Yes, through Christ we have been rescued from sin. That job is most definitely done (Here’s a big word to impress your friends, ‘Justification’). Yet in Christ the work in us continues. He hasn’t finished his work in us yet, and we must assist in this by being committed to that work, through listening to and following Christ daily
There’s plenty in the world trying to call us away from Christ. It can come to us disguised as all kinds of attractive things. It can also be very crafty and try to fool you into believing some things are wrong when they are not, and try to make you feel that God is a killjoy. But God most definitely is not, he created every good thing. But we need to be vigilant and trust in God’s word, the Holy Spirit and his Church to help us make the right choices and allow God to complete this work within us. Be confident that if you do this, no matter what life may throw at you, God will most definitely finish his work in you. (Another big word to impress, ‘Sanctification’).
“I am saved, I am being saved, I will be saved”.
Nehemiah 6 v 5-9
The fifth time Sanballat sent his helper to me with the message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter. This is what was written:
A report is going around to all the nations, and Geshem says it is true, that you and the Jewish people are planning to turn against the king and that you are rebuilding the wall. They say you are going to be their king 7 and that you have appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem: “There is a king of Judah!” The king will hear about this. So come, let’s discuss this together.
So I sent him back this answer: “Nothing you are saying is really happening. You are just making it up in your own mind.”
Our enemies were trying to scare us, thinking, “They will get too weak to work. Then the wall will not be finished.”
But I prayed, “God, make me strong.”
Notes
Here we have Nehemiah’s enemies in the last throws of defeat, desperately still trying to thwart Nehemiah’s and God’s work. They use lies, gossip and the threat of blackmail to scare Nehemiah into meeting with them to discuss the issue together. They use fear to try and get Nehemiah to compromise. Compromise sounds quite reasonable doesn’t it. We live in a world to day when mutual respect for different beliefs is demanded. The person who stands proclaiming to know the truth is often called a bigot.
Jesus made claims too, not only to knowing the truth but actually to being the truth. “ I am the way, the truth and the life”(John 14 v 6). He was crucified for refusing to compromise with the religious authorities.
The devil, who Jesus called ‘the father of all lies’ (John 8:44), has from the very beginning tried to tempt God’s people with lies and fear. As Eve stood in the Garden of Eden, he said. “Did God really say you should not eat from any tree in the garden” (Genesis 3:1-7). He will try to weaken us telling half-truths and twisting the word of God, causing doubt, in an attempt to cause us to compromise between the world and God’s truth.
When Jesus himself was confronted with that same temptation, he overcame it with the word of God.
Nehemiah does something similar. He prays to the one true God, “ God, make me strong”. God’s word and his promise to answer our prayer can always be trusted.
In this world of varying beliefs, some of which hold only part truth, others none at all. Don’t mix respect for other people with the need to compromise the truth. Respect is to listen and speak truthfully and it must include respect for yourself, maintaining your own integrity.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version
(Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes