Nehemiah 4:1-6 Christian Standard Bible
Progress in Spite of Opposition
4 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews 2 before his colleagues and the powerful men[a] of Samaria and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” 3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!”
4 Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered[b] the builders.
6 So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
We Saw State of the Wall. So, Ergo, We Rebuilt the Wall
Are there piles of rubble and brokenness around you somewhere in your life?
You look around at the condition of things on your streets, your neighborhoods and see what Nehemiah saw all those thousands of years ago – wreckage, ruin?
The Walls of the City of Jerusalem were that vision of wreckage and ruination.
Nehemiah, the Kings Cup bearer, was told of this vast wreckage and ruination.
He cried for days on end.
He prayed for days on end.
He was touched by the Spirit of God to go and back home to rebuild and restore.
He went to the king, the king sent him, he walked away from everything he had.
The king gave him everything Nehemiah ever needed to finish that sacred task.
Nehemiah trusted God to to the same – Give Nehemiah all he needed to succeed.
Nehemiah went home with a plan – and with the discouraged people now ready to give all themselves to their restorative work – the wall is fixed in record time.
Much to the discouragement of their enemies – there was complete restoration.
The book of Nehemiah reminds us that the Lord creates, redeems and rebuilds.
The Lord is fully and completely aware of what needs to be redeemed, restored.
We see the news, we read the newspapers, we have the internet, social media.
We see the wreckage and ruination in every which direction the compass points.
We can often see destruction and discouragement in these moments; however, in God, we can always have that hope that He can work things out for His glory.
In response to the opposition of what they were going to be doing for the name and sake of God and out of recommitting their labors and their lives to Him, the Israelites faced a lot of mocking and threats of death and of hatred from others.
Suddenly we read in verse 6 of Nehemiah 4 the word ‘so’.
In other words, in response to these threats and persecution, the people of God threw off the threats, were inspired to work harder and harder, rebuilt the wall.
Touched by the Spirit of God, the spirit of freedom which came with that sacred touch, they did not allow the chastisement from their enemy to hold them back from fulfilling the will of the Lord, the summons of God, to restore the broken.
In this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, in what area(s) of your life do you feel the Lord is summoning you into doing a new work of restoration but the enemy is interposing himself, mocking you and trying to get you down?
The truth is that no matter what the time of year, we have to take action with the help of the Holy Spirit to ignore the words of the opposer and to take steps of faith with Christ to accomplish rebuilding and restoration for His name.
Till All of it Reached Half Its Height
Half its height indicates that during this verse, the wall was not completed.
Maybe you are in a season where you feel that God is not done with you or your loved ones or your personal ministry, your church’s ministry, mission project.
What I love is that even without our awareness, God is always in the process.
He is always working and providing meaningful lessons within the journey.
Even though we might feel that we are at “half height” right now, we can know with 100% confidence our Lord is the God who brings everything to completion.
Though I stumble or walk or sprint deep into the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
God WILL preserve my life from the anger of my enemies!
God Will extend His hand down to me and God WILL save me!
The Lord WILL fulfill His Purpose for Us!
Because His faithful love endures forever!
God WILL NOT abandon nor forsake the Works of His Hands!
Psalm 138 Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Of David.
1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.[a]
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.[b]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.[c]
4 All the kings on earth will give you thanks, Lord,
when they hear what you have promised.[d]
5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted,
he takes note of the humble;
but he knows the haughty from a distance.
7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.
Paul in Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
By our heartfelt confession of faith (Romans 10:9-13) Jesus gives us eternal salvation, then refines, molds us more into His image through the Holy Spirit.
We are all on spiritual journeys.
We all have our own personal stories of wreckage and ruination to bring to God.
We all know we need to “wave our white flags of surrender,” know that we will not be completed on this side of heaven, but one day, only by the grace and the will of God, we will be made fully whole with God our Creator, Father, forever.
And that work is already happening now as we gather together, to celebrate His forever presence with all who believe.
For the People Worked with All their Heart
I heard recently that obedience never leads to love, but love leads to obedience.
When we encounter the love of Christ, it changes us.
Our hearts become His, and we belong to Him forever.
There is confidence and joy in being children of God.
The ancient Israelites knew how far they had fallen and how often they and to what lengths their ancestors had rejected the Lord and ran into idol worship.
Because of His great redemptive love, and the awareness of brokenness God gave to His people they were motivated to work with all their hearts for Him.
We, too, can be made aware of our brokenness, have this kind of motivation.
It is Christ who came to us – not for condemnation – but for our restoration.
Jesus Christ cares so much for us, and with literally everything He is, He gives all the empowerment, inspiration, strength to accomplish His kingdom work.
From our places of rebuilding and restoration, what are we working towards?
Remember that the Lord needs us to be an active part of your service to Him.
Anything we do in our own efforts is in vain.
We are to be resting in Him and delighting in Him to know His ways.
As individuals, as families, and as communities, as the Body of Christ, as God’s churches, we are both covenanted, invited to work for God with all of our heart.
This removes the duty mindset and welcomes us to join in the work that Christ is already doing.
It takes away our sense of pride or arrogance and humbles us that the Lord would include us in His plan.
Jesus renews lives, changes our hearts, and out of the work of the Holy Spirit, we can have the abundance of His clarity of direction as He calls us to rebuild.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
What or Who is God rebuilding in your life or those around you right now?
How has the all-tempting voice of the enemy tried to get you down lately?
How can you find joy and purpose in the process in the midst of the work?
In what ways can you find delight in Jesus to work from a place of His love?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Wesley Covenant Prayer – Traditional
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
Psalm 23 King James Version
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 