Seeds for 09/30/2024 - Nehemiah 6:1-4
Scripture:
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.”
But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
Observation:
Unfortunately for Nehemiah, facing opponents was an ongoing theme. Dealing with them was not a “one and done” affair, but an on-and-off challenge. The unholy trio are back. What do we see?
First, seeing Nehemiah and friends reach significant milestone stirs up Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the rest. Nehemiah cannot count on his progress and victories dispiriting them. Sometimes that happens, yes. But other times not. Sometimes his victory will rile up his enemies because they simply want to see the Jews suffer rather than thrive.
Second, having failed in previous attempts to thwart the project, Sanballat and Geshem try something else—a meeting. If they can’t destroy the Jews, they will draw their attention and energy away from the rebuilding project. It is distraction and derailment thinly disguised as dialogue.
Third, Nehemiah sniffs out the true purpose of the meeting. Nehemiah is clear about the value of the work he is doing versus the value of meeting with people who only mean to harm him and undermine the work. His response is well worth memorizing.
“I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.”
Fourth, Nehemiah remains clear about his purpose and theirs. His purpose is to fulfill the work that God laid on his heart. Their purpose is to—to borrow a description of the ultimate enemy of God’s people— “steal, kill, and destroy.” Though they try again and again and again, Nehemiah perseveres in the same response. He is doing a great work and has no time for those who oppose its advancement.
Application:
When has God called you to a great project?
What sort of distractions popped up to potentially thwart that work?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, give me clarity of heart and mind concerning the great things you call me to, that I may resist the forces that would derail them. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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