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“The Enemy's Devices” • 12.16.18 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
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Paul the Apostle, speaking to the church in Corinth in II Corinthians 2:11, says, that we are not to let Satan take
advantage of us. "We are not ignorant of his devices." Is that
actually true?
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We've noted the progress that the people of God have been making upon the wall
of Jerusalem. For the first time in over a decade, they are pushing to finish
the wall in staggering time.
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Along the way, they are about to learn what you and I learn every time we
progress in the building of our faith. There is no building where there isn't
also steady opposition!
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The first device of the enemy is "Mockery."
Let's take a look at verse 1.
Text
• Nehemiah
4:1-3 : "But it so happened, when
Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant,
and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his
brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing?
Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it
in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are
burned?' Now
Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, 'Whatever they build, if even
a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.'" : The work crews have been working for a relatively short time,
but the news has already come to the ears of Sanballat in Samaria.
- You can almost see the memo, passing from his
well placed spy, to the errand boy, to the secretary and finally, into his own
hand. It read: "Jews rebuilding the wall and making progress!"
- Sanballat was furious, the word relating to
growing increasingly warm. Literally, the man was growing "hot" and
would quickly rage out of control! His rage roared out in mockery.
- Hell will always mock what heaven applauds. As
usual, nobody likes to mock by themselves! Misery always looks for likeminded
company.
- Sanballat gathered his brethren and the army
of Samaria. He was not merely informing them of the progress that was being
made. He is seeking to stir them up!
- Sanballat attacks Israel personally. They are
not strong as he is. They are feeble. He sees them as people afflicted with
illness. They are moving slow, as if they had a fever.
- He mocks their effort and their religion and
calls into question their resolve! What they would have to do wouldn't be done
quickly. In their supposed condition, the project would outlive them!
- In ancient times, builders and those that
built the wall of Jerusalem initiallly, built using limestone. These stones
that were burned were not simply charred. They were crumbling!
- This is why Tobiah mentions the weight of
fox. We might say that a feather would have brought it down! How typical and
yet, some of what the enemy says to us is true!
- That's what makes mockery so dangerous! The
people of God are weak and they have their work cut out for them. But the enemy
conveniently forgets what is also true. Look at verse 4.
•
Nehemiah 4:4-6 : "Hear, O our God, for we are
despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a
land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted
out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. So we built the wall, and the entire
wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to
work." : It is true that we are weak and
that the work if overwhelming, indeed impossible. But nothing is impossible for
the God that has sent us! This is who Nehemiah turns to when he thinks of his
enemy!
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"Lord, listen to what they are saying. Look at how we are hated!"
They were being treated with contempt and Nehemiah asks the Lord to let it
return toward them!
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Nehemiah wants Sanballat and Tobiah to experience what it was like to be hunted
like prey and taken into captivity. He wanted them to feel the pain that Israel
had experienced.
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This is reminiscent of an imprecatory Psalm, in which the people of God decry
the unrighteousness of an individuals act and call upon God to measure out
justice toward them.
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Nehemiah wants the Lord to lay the full weight of their sin upon them. God is
one that conceals and overwhelms our moral evil with His justice based upon
Christ's work.
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What could be worse than to ask God to allow that mark to remain before Him!
What a terror for a person to remain stained before the Lord! That's what it
means to be "blotted."
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To be "blotted out" would mean to utterly erase the stain to the
point of looking as if it never existed! Nehemiah wants this grease stain to
stay on Sanballat and Tobiah.
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Their actions against God's people had brought offense to the Almighty! Verse 5 is a little confusing. Is it an
offense toward God or the builders?
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The NASB says, "for they have
demoralized the builders." The NIV says, "they have thrown insults in the face of the builders." Either
way you slice it, it's true!
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When you insult the Lord, you are insulting His people and vice versa! When
Jesus stopped Paul on the road to Damascus, He introduced Himself as the One
that he was persecuting! (Acts 9:4)
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When a person lifts their hands against the Lord's people, they are attempting
to touch the apple, the most sensitive portion of God's proverbial eye! (Deuteronomy 32:10)
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What an example! Nehemiah vents all in prayer and then what do we have?
"We built the wall!" They kept going! They left their complaint in
the hands of God and didn't stop!
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That's the victory within and before the victory! They kept building and soon,
there was good, steady progress all around them! The people kept their minds on
their work!
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That's how we overcome our trials, difficulties, bouts of depression. We take
our mind off of our own circumstances and fears and we put it on what we can
do! Verse 7.
•
Nehemiah 4:7-9 : "Now it happened, when Sanballat,
Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of
Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that
they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem
and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them
we set a watch against them day and night." : The
enemy's second device is to "create
confusion," to disturb the order of the work that is being done. Look
at Israel's enemies now.
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Sanballat and Tobiah are now joined by the Arabs, Ammonites and the Ashdodites,
the old remnant of the Philistine nation!
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When one consults a Bible map, they will see that God's people are surrounded
on all sides by their enemies, all of whom are unhappy with what is taking
place!
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The news of the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem was the front page story
throughout the region. It was reported that the walls were being restored and
the gaps were beginning to be closed!
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The word "restored" used in other places refers to wholeness, to
healing. When a physician used this word, he'd be calling for a long bandage!
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The wall was being bandaged and so was the soul of Jerusalem. The gaps or
breaches were being stopped up. Those within the walls were rejoicing. Those
without were cursing!
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At the sound of this news of health and wholeness, the enemies of God became
increasingly incensed, again the nations were burning with the same anger that
Sanballat displayed earlier!
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What kind of sick person would look upon another's blessing with this kind of
response? These enemies of God's people are twisted, like their Father, the
Devil!
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Instead of gathering to thank the Lord, they literally bound themselves
together to plan an attack upon Jerusalem, not necessarily to conquer it, but
to cloud it.
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The NKJV translators gave us the word "confusion." The idea however,
is to provide a hindrance. The NASB uses the phrase "to create a
disturbance," the NIV, "to stir up trouble."
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Ultimately, the enemies of God were going to do whatever they could to bring
the work to a halt! This was their goal and desire. What would you do against
such an irrational response?
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"I say fight fire with fire!" "Let's vomit our feelings in a
facebook post!" Please listen: "Nevertheless, we made our prayer to
our God!"
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In verse 4, Nehemiah prayed alone.
Here, make note of the word "we." To know to go to prayer was becoming
contagious! I love the way the various translations render this.
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They thought to stir up trouble, "but we prayed." They thought to
create a disturbance, "so we prayed." God's people are combating the enemy's plans with prayer! This
is a formidable defense!
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Notice though that that isn't
where that concluded. They also put a plan of action together.
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They prayed and then they assigned people to stand watch over the people of
God! Friends, you and I must learn to pray and act! The two work together. We
pray and then we act. Verse 9.
•
Nehemiah 4:10-12 : "Then Judah said, 'The strength of
the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to
build the wall.' And
our adversaries said, 'They will neither know nor see anything, till we come
into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.' So it was, when the Jews who dwelt
near them came, that they told us ten times, 'From whatever place you turn,
they will be upon us.'" : The tactics of the enemy
did not stop the work, but they did have a psychological effect. By the
overtures of the enemy, the people became "Discouraged."
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The leaders of the people of Judah came to Nehemiah to report that the
laborer's strength to work was beginning to wane. We don't know how much time has elapsed.
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One has to consider that enough time has passed for the honeymoon to be
over. In any new venture, there is
an excitement that drives us and a willingness to expend ourselves.
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But then, as you get past that and the work is still as overwhelming as when
you began, you begin to see the work for what it actually is.
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You start to miss out on what has been built, the progress that has been made
and you focus on how much left there is to do! "There is so much rubbish
here!
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The truth is, that rubble was there when they got there! Nothing had changed
that way. So what had? The external pressure and ever present threat from the
enemy!
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The Jews were physically exhausted and mentally challenged to fight off fear
and anxiety at the same time!
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Their adversaries were throwing around legitimate threats, promising to deal
with them in a time that they wouldn't expect it! They hadn't just heard this from their enemies.
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The Jews that lived in their enemy's countries came back to share the threats
and that's about all that they would share! They told them 10 times, a
euphemism for endless broadcast.
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What would you do if all you heard was, "It doesn't matter where we go,
they will be upon us before we know it!" Verse 13.
•
Nehemiah 4:13,14 : "Therefore I positioned men behind
the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to
their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to
the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of
them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your
sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'" : Nehemiah didn't reply to Judah's comment, either to validate it
or dismiss it.
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The implication of taking time away from the building of the wall was out of
the question for any reason! Nehemiah knew what they were dealing with.
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If they kept working, it was POSSIBLE that they might be killed. If they
stopped working, it was PROBABLE that they would die!
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They can't quit, but he can assign extra security to allay their fears so he
took men and posted them at stategic locations and he armed the people, notice,
according to their families!
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How much more vigilant will you be if you are guarding the wall and your
family? I could certainly leave a wall undone, but I could never leave my
family in an unsafe environment!
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Additionally, the family would now be much more inclined to work quicker
together! Family communicates in a natural, understood way.
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Many of the barriers to the work done by unfamiliar relationships would be
dealt with through this arrangement. These are excellent moves by Nehemiah as
the leader.
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He sees that the goal is not expendable, but the people's hearts cannot be
sacrificed either. In arming them, he also makes sure to remind them that this
was not the source of their strength.
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"Don't be afraid of them because you are now armed and dangerous!"
No, that misses the point! Don't be afraid of them because the Lord is great
and terrifying!
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Do you want to be delivered from your fears? Do you want to find yourself free
or at the least unhindered by anxiety? Remember the Lord! Recall who He is!
Keep thinking about His character!
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Remember Him while you fight for your lives! The two things can be necessary at
times. You will need to fight, but you must fight while remembering the Lord!
Verse 15.
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Nehemiah 4:15-18 : "And it happened, when our enemies
heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing,
that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. So it was, from that time on, that
half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the
spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all
the house of Judah. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens,
loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with
the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he
built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me." : Look at that. All of that energy and fear and the enemy never
actually attacked!
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Our enemy is great with threats and the inspiration of fear, but unless the
Lord allows something to occur, he really can't do much! Israel's enemies
wanted the element of surprise.
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Once that was gone and the entire work crew was deputized, their plot was
naught!
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I'm sure that they had alternate explanations, but our author gives credit
where it is due! God had brought their plot to nothing! He had frustrated or
made their plan ineffectual!
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How many times have we watched Israel's enemies hatch their wicked plan,
threaten the security of Israel, only to have God flip the script? Once again,
God vetoed their plans.
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The Psalmist asks the question: "Why
do the nations rage? Why do they plot and scheme? God looks from heaven and
laughs!" (Psalm 2:1,2)
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Now that this phase of the enemy's attack was thwarted, God's people went back
to work. From that point, Nehemiah deployed his servants in two different
directions.
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Half took on the task of aiding in the construction of the wall. They joined
the effort at the various stations throughout the wall.
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They acted as extra hands, giving strength where people were losing theirs.
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Nehemiah's other servants were used as the primary security force. They held
weapons and wore their armor to signal their function. With their minds at
ease, look at how the people followed.
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Verse 13 reported that the people's
hands were heavy and ready to fall. Look at the people whose minds have been
eased by Nehemiah's actions.
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Not only are they back at work carrying burdens from the wall upon their own
shoulders, but they have effectively doubled their output by packing some heat
as well!
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"With one hand they worked at construction. With the other, they held a
weapon!" What a great example to us! We must work and we must be ready to
defend our work!
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That is the life of the Christian! We are building a life that God intends for
our blessing. While we are doing that, we are defending that life with all of
our heart!
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We stand with our sword, the Word of God in one hand, and and a trowel in the
other!
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Nehemiah wasn't exempt from this. He was out there getting his hands dirty as
well. A leader that doesn't want to work with his people is a leader that isn't
worth following!
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He stood with the people and he stood ready to sound the trumpet for war. Look
at Nehemiah's instruction. Verse 19.
•
Nehemiah 4:19,20 : "Then I said to the nobles, the
rulers, and the rest of the people, 'The work is great and extensive, and we
are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the
trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.'" : Nehemiah readied his people for battle! He covered the entire
nation, from the richest to the poorest. There is no socioeconomic divide.
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When it comes to the survival of a nation, the defense of what God values here
upon the Earth, there are only able bodied servants of the Most High!
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The admission that Nehemiah makes remains true today. Whatever we are assigned
to in the Kingdom is greater and more difficult than we could ever maintain
without His strength.
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Like the people of Israel, we too are often separated from other strong, able
bodied believers. We're all working on the wall, but you have to have strong
people everywhere at once!
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If something were to go wrong, the plan was to work and listen for the sound of
the trumpet.
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Because they would not all be working together, it was necessary for all to
rally to a specific area. When they did God would do the fighting for them!
Verse 21.
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Nehemiah 4:21-23 : "So we labored in the work, and half
of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. At the same time I also said to the
people, 'Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may
be our guard by night and a working party by day.' So neither I, my brethren, my
servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except
that everyone took them off for washing." :
Look at verse 21 and take note: We labored in the word. It wasn't easier. It
was still time consuming, but the people kept at it!
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Are you laboring at the work? Some have let mockery, confusion or
discouragement have it's way. Today, you must decide otherwise!
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Interestingly, the work of God continued and if anything, the threat of attack from
the enemy made them a more efficient force.
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It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't easy. It required very long days and an
incredibly diligent group of watchmen who stood guard all night and day.
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Nehemiah wasn't sitting in his home, sipping on his tea. He was out there with
his servants and none of them left their duties.
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The only time they took their clothes off was to wash them in order to put them
right back on!
Conclusion
- God's work in
your life will not ever be celebrated by your enemy.
- He will never
quit mocking you. He will always seek to stir up trouble to keep you from the
Lord's goal. His threats are meant to bring discouragement, to cause your hands
to grow weary.
- Let each
attack send you to prayer! Let each new wave remind you that Your God stills
the storm and resolve in your mind to ever move forward. He will fight for us
when we do!
- Today, you
and I are not called to build a physical wall, but a spiritual one, which
protects us from outside influence and provides an environment for identity in
Christ to be established.
- You and I are
called to be faithful to build until we hear the trumpet sound! When Christ returns,
we will be with Him, as He vanquishes all of our enemies at once!
- May He find
us building until then! Let's pray!