February 16 2025 // Nehemiah 4:1-14
APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to Nehemiah 4:1-14
Nehemiah 4:1-14
How to Respond to Opposition When Doing Kingdom Work.
1. When negative talk happens vs. 1-3
Sanballat
a) He “hears”
b) He “jeers”
c) He ridicules
d) He looks for support (Tobiah)
The response vs 4-6
a) Prayed
A prayer for God to judge and reproach his enemies
b) Continued
2. When threats are made vs. 7-8
a) Opposition looks for like minds
b) Opposition looks for answers
a) Prayed
b) Protected
Things to resist falling in to: vs. 10-11
1) Fatigue - weakened
2) Frustration - “too much”
3) Failure - “we will not be able”
4) Fear - “we will not know”
3. When the rumors start vs: 12
a) Its discouraging
b)Can come from the people closest to us!
Note: In Nehemiah it was the Jewish people living outside the walls who were fearful of the
armies. In our case it could be our families, friends and fellow church members. The ones closest to you can be the ones who hurt you the most.
The response: vs 13-14
a) don’t panic - fortify
b) Surround yourselves with likeminded family/ fellow workers
e) Fight if you have to
Closing
Life Application:
The Colonel Sanders Story
Here’s a man sitting on his porch in Kentucky. He’s only recently retired from the post office, and he’s sitting there when his first Social Security check is delivered. He’s very, very discouraged. He thinks to himself, "Is this what life is going to be from now on--sitting on the porch waiting for my check to arrive?"
He decided he wouldn’t settle for that, and so he made a list of all of the things he had going for him all the blessings and the capacities, the unique things that were in him. The list was long because he listed everything he could think of and in the list was the fact that he was the only person on earth who knew his mother’s recipe for fried chicken. It used eleven different herbs and spices.
So he went to a nearby restaurant and asked if he could cook the chicken, and they said yes. It soon became the most popular item on the menu. So he opened his own restaurant, and then others, and a string of restaurants. Eventually Harland Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise across all of America.
He finally retired a second time (all this happened, you remember, after he had retired from the postal service), and he continued in the service of the company as a public relations representative for a quarter of a million dollars a year till his death. Now here was a man who did not allow himself to be defeated by discouragement. He took a look at it recognized it was there, but then went on to look at what he had with which to deal with it and used that.
-- Bruce Thielemann, "Dealing with Discouragement," Preaching Today, Tape No. 48
Digging Deeper:
Sanballat
Sanballat ridiculed or “mocked” the Jews (see Neh 2:19). In his anger, he made fun of the Jews. He “jeered at” them (neb). cev says “he started insulting” them. In some cultures insults are expressed in a certain formulaic manner. Here, the meaning is not simply that Sanballat hurled insults at the Jews, but rather that he belittled and heaped scorn upon their actions. Later he decided to try to stop them (see verse 8). Sanballat is mentioned first in each statement in the account of the events. He was the main instigator of trouble against the Jews.[1]
Tobiah and Foxes
Tobiah the Ammonite was by him: Tobiah was a close ally and friend of Sanballat (see Neh 2:10, 19). gnt makes it explicit that “Tobiah was standing there beside” Sanballat.
Yes … if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!: Tobiah also resorted to ridicule. Yes emphasizes the intensity of his ridicule. The construction of the wall would be done so fast and so poorly that even if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall! The exclamation point emphasizes the strong ridicule of this statement. Two interpretations of Tobiah’s scornful remark are apparent in the various translations. In one interpretation, the focus is on the fox who will break down the wall or will make a breach in it either deliberately (gnt, nbs) or accidentally (rsv). In the other interpretation, the focus is on the wall that will be so weak and so poorly built that even a fox happening to climb on it will cause it to break down or crumble (frcl, nlt). This Handbook prefers the second interpretation. gnt restructures Tobiah’s words into a rhetorical question followed by a statement.
Although the Hebrew word rendered fox can also mean jackal, here most translations take it to refer to the Foxes and jackals are similar animals. They are like dogs in appearance and habits. A fox is often alone while jackals are often in groups. If the fox is not known in the receptor culture, the term for jackal may be used, or it may be described as “an animal that is like a wild dog.” The animal referred to here should be distinguished, however, from the animal that is sometimes called the “wild dog” or the “hunting dog”[2]
4:13 [4:7]
So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places …: Nehemiah’s response to the threat by those opposed to the rebuilding of the wall was to arm the people and place them where they could be seen from outside the wall. This showed the enemy that they were armed and ready to resist. The lowest parts refers to the lowest sections of the wall where the enemy could see over the wall from the outside. The open places were where there were gaps in the wall.
I stationed the people according to their families means that Nehemiah placed or assigned the people in family groups to the locations where they would defend themselves and the city. gnt makes it clear that families does not refer to the nuclear family but to the larger social group of the clan.
WEAPONS
With their swords, their spears, and their bows: three weapons are cited. Swords were for hand-to-hand fighting. In some languages there may be a choice of terms for different types of swords. Here the more common straight, single-edged sword should be used. Some languages will call them “great knives.” Spears were used as a stabbing weapon in close range fighting. They were not decorative spears for ceremonial or ritual use. The bows were wooden bows with a leather string that shot iron-tipped arrows made from reeds. They shot arrows over a range of about 650 meters (710 yards), but were accurate only up to about half that distance. The Hebrew text mentions bows only, but cev says “bows and arrows,” which is the common English expression.[3]
Questions to Consider:
Prayer:
[1] Philip A. Noss and Kenneth J. Thomas, A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2005), 323.
[2] Philip A. Noss and Kenneth J. Thomas, A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2005), 325.
[3] Philip A. Noss and Kenneth J. Thomas, A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2005), 333–334.
Nehemiah 4:1-14
How to Respond to Opposition When Doing Kingdom Work.
1. When negative talk happens vs. 1-3
Sanballat
a) He “hears”
b) He “jeers”
c) He ridicules
d) He looks for support (Tobiah)
The response vs 4-6
a) Prayed
A prayer for God to judge and reproach his enemies
b) Continued
- “So, we built the wall” vs. 6
- When you have a people with a mind to do kingdom work there’s nothing to do but move forward with God’s will.
2. When threats are made vs. 7-8
a) Opposition looks for like minds
b) Opposition looks for answers
- Fight
- Cause confusion
- No thought that it might be God willed.
a) Prayed
b) Protected
- Set a “watch” or a guard day and night
- They not only prayed but acted as well
Things to resist falling in to: vs. 10-11
1) Fatigue - weakened
2) Frustration - “too much”
3) Failure - “we will not be able”
4) Fear - “we will not know”
3. When the rumors start vs: 12
a) Its discouraging
b)Can come from the people closest to us!
Note: In Nehemiah it was the Jewish people living outside the walls who were fearful of the
armies. In our case it could be our families, friends and fellow church members. The ones closest to you can be the ones who hurt you the most.
The response: vs 13-14
a) don’t panic - fortify
b) Surround yourselves with likeminded family/ fellow workers
- He grouped them by their clans so they would make a stronger unit
- This is God’s work
e) Fight if you have to
Closing
- Kingdom work must continue
- When you know its God’s will, you can have the confidence to continue past opposition
- If God’s calling you to kingdom work, stay the course, continue the work
- “We as believers cannot be afraid to anger the enemies of our souls
- Nehemiah or Tobiah? “If you’re on the fence-the devil owns the fence too”
- 2 Corinthians 13:5
Life Application:
The Colonel Sanders Story
Here’s a man sitting on his porch in Kentucky. He’s only recently retired from the post office, and he’s sitting there when his first Social Security check is delivered. He’s very, very discouraged. He thinks to himself, "Is this what life is going to be from now on--sitting on the porch waiting for my check to arrive?"
He decided he wouldn’t settle for that, and so he made a list of all of the things he had going for him all the blessings and the capacities, the unique things that were in him. The list was long because he listed everything he could think of and in the list was the fact that he was the only person on earth who knew his mother’s recipe for fried chicken. It used eleven different herbs and spices.
So he went to a nearby restaurant and asked if he could cook the chicken, and they said yes. It soon became the most popular item on the menu. So he opened his own restaurant, and then others, and a string of restaurants. Eventually Harland Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise across all of America.
He finally retired a second time (all this happened, you remember, after he had retired from the postal service), and he continued in the service of the company as a public relations representative for a quarter of a million dollars a year till his death. Now here was a man who did not allow himself to be defeated by discouragement. He took a look at it recognized it was there, but then went on to look at what he had with which to deal with it and used that.
-- Bruce Thielemann, "Dealing with Discouragement," Preaching Today, Tape No. 48
Digging Deeper:
Sanballat
Sanballat ridiculed or “mocked” the Jews (see Neh 2:19). In his anger, he made fun of the Jews. He “jeered at” them (neb). cev says “he started insulting” them. In some cultures insults are expressed in a certain formulaic manner. Here, the meaning is not simply that Sanballat hurled insults at the Jews, but rather that he belittled and heaped scorn upon their actions. Later he decided to try to stop them (see verse 8). Sanballat is mentioned first in each statement in the account of the events. He was the main instigator of trouble against the Jews.[1]
Tobiah and Foxes
Tobiah the Ammonite was by him: Tobiah was a close ally and friend of Sanballat (see Neh 2:10, 19). gnt makes it explicit that “Tobiah was standing there beside” Sanballat.
Yes … if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!: Tobiah also resorted to ridicule. Yes emphasizes the intensity of his ridicule. The construction of the wall would be done so fast and so poorly that even if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall! The exclamation point emphasizes the strong ridicule of this statement. Two interpretations of Tobiah’s scornful remark are apparent in the various translations. In one interpretation, the focus is on the fox who will break down the wall or will make a breach in it either deliberately (gnt, nbs) or accidentally (rsv). In the other interpretation, the focus is on the wall that will be so weak and so poorly built that even a fox happening to climb on it will cause it to break down or crumble (frcl, nlt). This Handbook prefers the second interpretation. gnt restructures Tobiah’s words into a rhetorical question followed by a statement.
Although the Hebrew word rendered fox can also mean jackal, here most translations take it to refer to the Foxes and jackals are similar animals. They are like dogs in appearance and habits. A fox is often alone while jackals are often in groups. If the fox is not known in the receptor culture, the term for jackal may be used, or it may be described as “an animal that is like a wild dog.” The animal referred to here should be distinguished, however, from the animal that is sometimes called the “wild dog” or the “hunting dog”[2]
4:13 [4:7]
So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places …: Nehemiah’s response to the threat by those opposed to the rebuilding of the wall was to arm the people and place them where they could be seen from outside the wall. This showed the enemy that they were armed and ready to resist. The lowest parts refers to the lowest sections of the wall where the enemy could see over the wall from the outside. The open places were where there were gaps in the wall.
I stationed the people according to their families means that Nehemiah placed or assigned the people in family groups to the locations where they would defend themselves and the city. gnt makes it clear that families does not refer to the nuclear family but to the larger social group of the clan.
WEAPONS
With their swords, their spears, and their bows: three weapons are cited. Swords were for hand-to-hand fighting. In some languages there may be a choice of terms for different types of swords. Here the more common straight, single-edged sword should be used. Some languages will call them “great knives.” Spears were used as a stabbing weapon in close range fighting. They were not decorative spears for ceremonial or ritual use. The bows were wooden bows with a leather string that shot iron-tipped arrows made from reeds. They shot arrows over a range of about 650 meters (710 yards), but were accurate only up to about half that distance. The Hebrew text mentions bows only, but cev says “bows and arrows,” which is the common English expression.[3]
Questions to Consider:
- What groups of people were opposing the rebuilding project?
- What did they decide to do?
- How did Nehemiah hear about this threat?
- How did Nehemiah respond to this new threat?
- Besides praying, what else did he do?
- Where did this saying come from in verse 10? Why does Nehemiah reference it here?
- How did Nehemiah encourage the people?
- What changes did Nehemiah make to prevent future attacks?
- What lessons can we lean from Nehemiah? About leadership? About planning? About responding to opposition?
- When we work for the Lord, what kind of adversity or opposition may we face?
- How can we persevere and not give up?
Prayer:
[1] Philip A. Noss and Kenneth J. Thomas, A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2005), 323.
[2] Philip A. Noss and Kenneth J. Thomas, A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2005), 325.
[3] Philip A. Noss and Kenneth J. Thomas, A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (New York: United Bible Societies, 2005), 333–334.