The Cupbearer Who Rebuilt a City

January 27, 2014 at 3:17 pm | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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The Book of Nehemiah reminds us that, even when things seem to be at their worst, there is never a reason for God’s people to throw up their hands and quit. Even in Chapter 13, which deals with separating out those who were forbidden by law to enter into the congregation, Nehemiah saw opportunities rather than obstacles, and was not afraid to face problems head-on. He believed he was doing a great work because he was doing it for the great God. Here is a list of links to the previous lessons on Nehemiah:

1. Petitioning the King
2. Scorn, Schemes, Scoundrels, Schizophrenics, and Scares
3. The Strait Gate and the Wall that Will Not Fall *
4. Defeating Slander, Intimidation, and Discouragement
5. Beware Familial Fidelity
6. Power in Many Voices (Nehemiah 5:7)
7. Just Say (O)No *
8. Learning, Loving, and Living the Word
9. Confession and True Revival
10. The Connection between Giving and Trusting
11. Getting Kicked to the Glory of God

* most-read posts in series

Getting Kicked to the Glory of God

January 8, 2014 at 10:51 am | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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The Book of Nehemiah demonstrates the greatness of God. God chose Nehemiah to do a great work. He didn’t choose him because of his training, background, or aptitude, but Nehemiah did recognize the greatness of God.

And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

Nehemiah 1:5

And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Nehemiah 4:14

And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 8:6

In Nehemiah God’s people go from great affliction and reproach to great joy.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

Nehemiah 1:3

Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

Nehemiah 12:43

Difficult situations are opportunities to show God’s greatness. We see obstacles when really they’re great opportunities. Nehemiah could have heard the bad news about Jerusalem, and seen a big problem. Do you look at the seats in your local church and get discouraged about how many are empty? Or do you look at those empty seats and get excited about the great opportunity to see them filled? One of the ways that Nehemiah recognized the greatness of God was not because God made it so that Nehemiah had no problems, but rather because God caused Nehemiah to overcome his problems. If Nehemiah had done it on his own, he would have received the glory, not God.

Some people say, “If God is so great, why is he letting my enemies kick my behind?” They forget that getting your behind kicked means you are walking in the lead. Some of us need to start something for God that’s too big for us to finish on our own – so everyone will know it’s God and not us when it gets accomplished.

Nehemiah recognized the greatness of God because he was attacked by enemies.

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

Nehemiah 2:18 (emphasis added)

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. 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?

Nehemiah 6:2-3

Nehemiah recognized the greatness of God, and this caused him to say, “Oh yes,” instead of “Oh no.” Don’t go down there into the plain of “Ono (Oh no).” If you are doing the work of a great God, you don’t have to compromise with the world to get it done. How do you think those mocking, scorning enemies of God felt when they saw the celebration – even standing on the very wall they had tried to prevent? They felt ashamed, but they must have also thought, “What a great God.”

The Connection between Giving and Trusting

December 12, 2013 at 3:32 pm | Posted in Nehemiah | 2 Comments
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It is important for Christians to support the work of the Lord with financial offerings.

For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

Nehemiah 10:33

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). Giving your best to God shows trust, but it also keeps your focus on God.

In Nehemiah Chapters 11 and 12 the people, having dedicated themselves to the Lord, dedicated the walls and the gates and the city to the Lord. Chapter 13 shows that when the promises made to God – and our part of the covenant – are broken, it’s a serious matter, but not a reason to throw up our hands and quit. Standing with God is a fight, and problems must be dealt with: sometimes with separation, but always with love.

Confession and True Revival

November 15, 2013 at 11:05 am | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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Nehemiah Chapter 9 contains one of the great prayers of confession found in the Bible. (Ezra 9 and Daniel 9 are two others.)

As the the people remembered God, they remembered that:

God is good.

And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;

Nehemiah 9:9

God is great.

Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Nehemiah 9:6

God is gracious.

And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

Nehemiah 9:17

God is generous.

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:25

God is glorious.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

Nehemiah 9:5

God governs.

Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

Nehemiah 9:27-28

Nehemiah Chapter 10 presents the evidence of the sincerity in the prayer of Chapter 9. Are you asking God for a revival in your nation? In your church? In your family? In your own heart? A revival is not a religious show or a religious exercise. It is a surrender to the Word of God.

They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;

Nehemiah 10:29

We must approach the Bible with humility, willing to admit there is much we do not yet know. We must also be willing to separate from the world as we immerse ourselves in the Word of God.

And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

Nehemiah 10:31

The test of whether you are experiencing a true revival is not what you “feel” during a church service. The test is in how we live afterward. Many of us study Bible lessons on a regular basis – and that’s good – but then we quit. We need to study a Bible lesson, and then live a Bible lesson. We expect God’s blessings for keeping “part” of the covenant, but we ignore the fact that God isn’t likely to bless a disobedient child.

Learning, Loving, and Living the Word

October 31, 2013 at 3:18 pm | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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Among other things, the first six chapters of Nehemiah deal with God’s people coming back from exile, doing the work the Lord had assigned to them, and ultimately finishing the work. Chapter 7 deals with protecting the work .

Nehemiah enlisted help in protecting the walls and organizing the city. There is always room in the work of God for Godly helpers.

That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.

Nehemiah 7:2

Can you imagine if all Christians thought we were called to be Nehemiahs, and none thought they were called to be helpers? Nothing would ever get done. Some of us are called to be Hananis, Hananiahs, Rephaiahs, or Shallums: protectors and guards. If the enemy can’t stop the work of God, he will try to come in and take over what has been built. Bright lights draw people who are interested in helping, but they attract bugs, too.

It was important that the people be able to prove their ancestry in order to go back to Jerusalem to work. It was also important to list the names of the citizens (Nehemiah 7:5-65). The assignment of jobs in an organized move of God may require formal acknowledgment of commitment. That is one of the reasons why New Testament churches may require Christians to officially “join the church” before placing them into trusted ministry positions. If God is calling you to attend a certain local church, then you need to be involved. You need to have a commitment to serve God under His ordained pastor. This shows accountability. The Church is a body, and a body is a living organism, but an unorganized organism will die. Church membership has nothing to do with salvation, and, so far as I can tell, it is not a command from the Bible. Neither does the Bible prohibit you from having a sit-down Bible study in the middle of a busy highway, but it is certainly not a good idea. The local church is important in God’s plan for evangelism and for teaching (discipleship).

In Nehemiah Chapter 8, Nehemiah called a Bible conference and invited Ezra.

And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

Nehemiah 8:1-3

When Ezra preached, the people listened for five or six hours per day and verse 7 tells us they “stood!”

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

Nehemiah 8:7 (emphasis added)

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Nehemiah 8:8 (emphasis added)

1. Nehemiah wanted to make sure the Word was learned. Ezra read from the scroll and then taught.

2. Nehemiah wanted to make sure the Word was loved.

And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

Nehemiah 8:12 (emphasis added)

3. Nehemiah wanted to make sure the the Word was lived.

Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Nehemiah 8:18 (emphasis added)

Defeating Slander, Intimidation, and Discouragement

October 14, 2013 at 11:31 am | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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In Nehemiah Chapter 5 we see an example of how the world tries to disrupt the work of God, as wealthier workers began to take advantage of poorer workers.

And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live. Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

Nehemiah 5:1-5

Nehemiah was originally angry, but he controlled his anger.

And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.

Nehemiah 5:6-7

He dealt with the problem through Biblical teaching and preaching. He used six different reasons to condemn the practice of usury, and one of them was the testimony of the people of God in front of unbelievers.

Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?

Nehemiah 5:9

Another highlight of Nehemiah Chapter 5 is the fact that the leaders worked too.

Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.

Nehemiah 5:16

When there’s work to do we need to be motivated by love. We need to do it the way God’s Word says to do it. And we need to do it – do all – to the glory of God. Do it for the right reason, do it the right way, and give the glory to the right One!

Nehemiah Chapter 6 shows that the way to overcome fear is with faith. Nehemiah wouldn’t compromise with the enemy. He would not be defeated in the work, and he wouldn’t compromise the work.

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;) 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. 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? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.

Nehemiah 6:1-4

Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 2:20

By faith that stands firm we can stand up to: (1) slander (Nehemiah 6:5-9); (2) intimidation (Nehemiah 6:10-14); and (3) the discouragement of no end in sight (Nehemiah 6:15-19). As Christians, our “end” is not “in sight.” We live by faith and not by sight. We “walk in the Spirit,” and a walker is someone who has a place to go.

Throughout all the distractions, Nehemiah never stopped working:

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 2:4

So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

Nehemiah 2:11

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

Nehemiah 2:18

So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:6

So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

Nehemiah 4:21

So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.

Nehemiah 6:15

Scorn, Schemes, Scoundrels, Schizophrenics, and Scares

September 25, 2013 at 1:30 pm | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.

Nehemiah 2:5 (emphasis added)

Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

Nehemiah 2:7 (emphasis added)

Nehemiah’s “send me” became his “give me.” Perhaps it would be good for us to sometimes pray as volunteers before praying as beggars. “Let my friend be saved” becomes “give me an opportunity to share the Gospel with him.” “Heal my eyes” becomes “Lord, I repent of using my eyes to look with lust; help me to use them to see people’s needs.” I’m not saying we should try to bribe God. He knows our hearts. But Nehemiah had been fasting, praying, and planning for four months before his emergency prayer to God in the presence of the king.

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 2:4

The journey to Jerusalem took approximately two months, and Nehemiah traveled with a military escort, including some of the king’s officers. It must have been discouraging for him to see that there were enemies waiting for him when he got there, but there will often be enemies waiting when we set out by faith on a journey to do the will of God. We must not mistake the successful arrival at the place of battle for the victory itself. Recovering from an illness is not the victory; it’s only the successful trip to get back into the fight.

These were Nehemiah’s enemies:

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

Nehemiah 2:19

Sanballat held an official position in Samaria, and it is very common for worldly officials to oppose the work of God when money is at stake. Tobiah was an Ammonite: a sworn enemy of the Jews (Deuteronomy 23:3-4). The devil opposes anything and everything Godly. Tobiah was related to some of the workers by marriage. Therefore, he had a “foothold” to try to interfere with the work, and he gathered intelligence. The devil is in the intelligence-gathering business. He can’t read our minds, but he doesn’t need to do so. He can learn everything he needs just by hitching a ride in the back seat on our way home from church. That’s why it’s important to prepare your weapons for battle in church, not just to have a party. The devil can spoil a party, but he can’t overcome a vigilant Christian warrior. Too many professing Christians are like dogs after a bath. They feel like they’ve been scrubbed clean during church and they can’t wait to get back in the mud.

wet dog shake

Geshem represents the flesh. The devil and the world will always try to enlist the flesh. Our flesh is weak, and it is a burden which must be borne and battled throughout the life of a believer.

Notice the tactics of opposition in which the world and the devil enlist the flesh to help attack the work and the workers of God:

Scorn

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Nehemiah 4:1-2

Mockery and ridicule must not deter the work of God.

Schemes

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

Nehemiah 4:7-8

In spiritual warfare, our enemies will set traps. They spend time and effort planning and plotting.

Scoundrels and Schizophrenics

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Nehemiah 4:10

A scoundrel is someone who is deceitful and unreliable – someone who will lie to get out of work. A schizophrenic is someone who is afflicted by the coexistence of disparate or antagonistic elements. Christian workers can be infiltrated and influenced by lazy and double-minded enemies of the work of God.

Scares

And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.

Nehemiah 4:11-12

Fear of God is the friend of faith. Fear of failure is the enemy of faith. Nehemiah and his helpers had started a project so big and so daunting that only God could finish it, and they trusted Him to use them to do so. Don’t be ignorant of the devices of your enemies. You know who they are (world, devil, flesh), and now you know their tactics.

Petitioning the King

September 3, 2013 at 2:01 pm | Posted in Nehemiah | 4 Comments
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Lord, help us to be active doing Your will, executing the decrees of Heaven. I pray that we would be like the workers in Jerusalem, holding our trowels in one hand, and our swords in the other – working with one hand, vigilant and prepared to defend against the enemy with the other hand. Let us not be slothful in business, but let us be fervent in spirit, serving You. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Nehemiah’s name meant “the Lord has comforted.” He was a very successful man. As a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes Longimanus (the Long-Handed), he was in a trusted position. He was trusted to protect the king from danger, and he was trusted to give advice. He was trusted to be presentable, and trusted to be prepared. In this way he was a good example for Christian managers and employees today. Can your employer trust you to give good advice? Are you someone that people can trust to be presentable? Do you run when there’s danger, or is that when you can be counted on most?

Perhaps Nehemiah was taught by his father, Hachaliah, to depend on the Lord, because he lived in a time when (despite his name) he was not comforted by the news of his people in Jerusalem.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Nehemiah 1:1-4

Nehemiah cared enough to ask someone how the people were doing, and he cared enough to get upset when the news was bad. He cared enough to admit his – and his people’s – guilt, and he cared enough to remember the promises of God.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Nehemiah 1:8-9

He also cared enough to pray.

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Nehemiah 1:11

This was a simple prayer, but sometimes it’s the strength of our prayers, not the length of our prayers, that touch God. Most of the prayer is talking about God and His Word. Nehemiah’s petition itself was very brief.

And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.

Nehemiah 2:5

Nehemiah approached both the king of Persia and the King of the Universe. The earthly king saw the sorrow on his face; the Heavenly King saw the sorrow in his heart.

Just Say (O)No

April 19, 2010 at 12:43 pm | Posted in Nehemiah, Uncategorized | 11 Comments
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The Lord God had used Nehemiah in a great way. Some of the Jewish exiles had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem under his leadership. They had finished, despite great opposition and hardship, rebuilding the city walls. Now there remained the work of installing the city gates and re-establishing the community within the walls.

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;)

Nehemiah 6:1

What a day of defeat for Satan and the enemies of God! God was clearly empowering and blessing Nehemiah’s leadership. However, Satan was not finished. Having failed to stop God’s work with overt attacks, he began to use lies, treachery, and subterfuge. These methods were dressed up by Satan as the more friendly-sounding idea of “compromise.”

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.

Nehemiah 6:2

Did Nehemiah fall for the trap? Did he heed the invitation to halt the work of the Lord, and “come down” to a meeting with those who wanted to “put aside their differences,” or “get in unity,” or “celebrate the positive?” Christians would do well today to take heed to Nehemiah’s response.

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?

Nehemiah 6:3

Do not let the work of the Lord cease. Do not “come down” to a place of compromise between the absolute truth of Scripture and the “imaginations” (II Corinthians 10:5) of men. Do not be afraid to say, “Oh no,” to an invitation to come down to the plain of “Ono.” Do not be afraid to claim that the work you are doing in obedience to God’s Word is a “great work,” because you are doing it for the “great God.”

The Strait Gate and the Wall that Will Not Fall

October 27, 2009 at 8:01 am | Posted in Nehemiah | 10 Comments
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In about 443 B.C. Nehemiah led a brave group of Jewish exiles back to the city of Jerusalem to rebuild the walls which had been destroyed by Babylonian invaders. As he systematically assigned different groups of workers to work on different sections of the walls, we can see how these different sections were divided by different “gates.” The Bible outlines these different gates in such a way that we might glean a spiritual lesson.

Among the various gates, there was a fountain gate (Nehemiah 3:15) and a water gate (Nehemiah 3:26). In Scripture water for drinking (a fountain) is a picture of the Holy Spirit. Water for washing is a picture of the Word of God. The names of the workers who repaired the fountain gate are recorded for posterity. The people of God need the power of God (the Holy Spirit) to do the work of God. However, there is no record of repairs on the water gate. This reminds us that the Word of God stands forever, and will not fall. Neither will it ever need to be “repaired” or “improved.”

LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Psalm 119:89


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