June 25, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Nehemiah? Here’s today’s reading:
Nehemiah 6 (NIV)
Further Opposition to the Rebuilding
1 When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”…..Continue Reading
A great chapter to understand that people will come against us and try to discredit us or try to make us go stray and what is important is how we react to those people. Nehemiah stays faithful to God and the work he knows he needs to do. He is always seeking God in prayer and obedient to His words and therefore is not easily lead astray or frustrated by the opposition.
Life often gets difficult and many times it feels like everything is working against us, however, this is no excuse to give in to temptations, to sin, or to doubt….these are the times we lean in to God and dig deeper, pray more, and obey and control OUR reaction instead of getting caught up in the drama of the opposition we face.
Nehemiah 6, the named enemies of this book made every effort to stop Nehemiah, treachery to entrap and kill, deception by trusted insiders, and outright lies and coercion. Nehemiah had no time for them, saw through the ruse, and did not grace an answer to their lies.
Nothing has changed today. If the Work of Christ in Rhode Island will be thwarted, it would be by these methods, and more.
One method is particularly destructive, but quite effective. Tell other Christians not to quote Scriptures, lest you offend, and definitely don’t tell someone you do not agree with their lifestyle.
Many, most, will never agree with Christ, but we should still be a steady witness to them. We can engage, but we don’t have to agree, and we should say so. Love the lost, listen to what they say, comprehend their heart, and tell them of Christ crucified. Seek opportunity, be ready to answer NOW. It is all we can do. I Peter 3:15. -gordy
All good comments so far. As I read this chapter and others like it, I wonder why the “nations” don’t adopt the God of the Jews if they fear Him so much. Rightly so of course.
Many ways the enemies of Nehemiah tried to stop the work from finishing. They kept making false accusations. They were making up things in their own heads and saying that was the truth. They were even hiring false prophets to get Nehemiah to react in fear and make wrong decisions. But every time they lied, etc. he went to God in prayer and asked God to strengthen his hands for the work.[ verse 9] Nehemiah responds to the enemy by stating in verse 3b [ 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/] He and people were afraid though but called out to God. Even latter when false prophets came to him he perceived that God had not sent them. Walking with God the Lord helped him to understand what was really going on with these false prophets. With God`s help and the people being unified together to finish the walls he knew that God`s blessing was upon him and the people with him doing the work. The wall was finished in fifty two days. What is also interesting is that the enemies realized that God had been behind Nehemiah, and workers with His blessing. The enemies were cast down in their own eyes. [ 16 ] Our God is an awesome God. May we be more aware of His presence in our lives and call upon Him right away in prayer. Especially in a crisis situation. For He is our refuge and strength. May God grant us all His wisdom as we seek to follow Him.
Dennis M., I caught what you said, Nehemiah walked with God and was therefore able to perceive the hidden thoughts and intents of the false prophets. How much pain we can avoid just by allowing God to work through us, and in return for our faithfulness, to open our eyes to the world’s ensnarements around us. Nicely put! Gotta be a verse for that…. -gy
Nehemiah 6
Our enemies at times will stop at nothing to trip us up, discredit us or even harm us. How important for us to be wise as serpents and meek as doves. We shouldn’t be shocked when they even do as they do here to just make stuff up. Nehemiah again shows good leadership to stick to his guns and discern what the enemy was doing, even using the people in Israel to come against him. And really it is neat to see how readily he turns to pray…which is the most important quality of a leader. He also shows courage and faith here not to hide away and by doing so give his enemies ammunition against him. Enemies love to pounce on anything that can be used to discredit so we are wise to maintain a good witness and not give them anything to work with. Prayerfully their lies will be exposed for what they are. And how nice when the plan of God comes together and the work is completed giving our enemies pause to see the real One that they are coming against.
Nehemiah 6
A clear example, that when we walk with God, He can enlighten our understanding of things we might not otherwise know through our senses and how to respond to the world around us with wisdom…..in this case keeping him from harm and from wasting his precious time.
The enemies of Nehemiah resort to false accusations to distract him from the work of God. The same thing is happening today. Our enemies throw out lies and distractions. Fake accusations, indictments and lawsuits that all come to nigh and are a waste of time and money and progress.
Nehemiah had the wisdom and discernment to pray and think carefully about what he was going to do about his enemies who were taunting him. And when he felt afraid to continue to rebuild the wall, he asked God to give him the strength he needed to complete it. And the Lord answered his prayer and then his enemies were afraid because they knew it was God who helped him. I’m really liking this guy; he is a great example of a man of faith, wisdom, and courage because he trusted in God to do His work. My hope is that I can respond like this when people try to intimidate me to stop obeying and serving Jesus. And I love the insightful comments being shared, thank you all!