Those who opposed the building of the wall tried various tactics to stop the work. They tried to discourage Nehemiah by insulting and ridiculing his idea of building the wall. They questioned his motives by implying that there were rebellious intentions for building the wall. They plotted, unsuccessfully, a surprise attack to fight and even kill some of the builders.
They even asked Nehemiah to a meeting outside Jerusalem to discuss a fabricated report that said Nehemiah had made arrangements to be declared the king of Judah once the wall was completed. The report was an attempt to lure Nehemiah away from Jerusalem because if such fake news reached the king, that would be the end of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah refused to meet with them, they then tried to use significant people within Jerusalem to derail Nehemiah in fulfilling his task. They used prophets in Jerusalem to bring messages, purportedly coming from God, to instill fear in Nehemiah that would lead him to act improperly. They used influential people to deceive Nehemiah by speaking good of those who had opposed the building of the wall.
Nehemiah’s response to these disingenuous attacks can guide us when we face similar challenging times. Nehemiah was a person who looked to God for direction and wisdom for his life. It was out of his time of reflection and prayer that Nehemiah gained clarity about his purpose – to build the wall of Jerusalem because of his concern for the people. All he did was directed towards this end. When faced with false accusations, Nehemiah was undaunted because he knew what he had done and he had nothing to hide. He had no reason to be intimidated by false accusations. He had a practice of reflecting before God all that he had heard, all that he had seen and all his concerns. Through this habit of reflecting before God, he grew in wisdom and was able to respond to the various tactics of those who opposed the building of the wall.
May we too gain much wisdom by developing a practice of reflecting before God all that we experience.
Written by Mr. Ajit Hazra
Questions
For Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
- What was the God-given task that kept Nehemiah focused? Likewise, what is the task that God has entrusted you? Share one distraction you face while trying to complete this task.
- How did Nehemiah stay strong and true to God instead of being discouraged by gossip? Likewise, how should you cultivate the discipline of prayer and discernment to deal with intimidation?
- After seeing the wall completed in 52 days, are you strengthened and encouraged to work closely with fellow brothers and sisters as we Band Together to Grow + Serve?
Sermon
Preacher: Rev Tay Kay Leong
Series: Band Together
Topic: Dealing with Intimidation as We Band Together
Verses: Nehemiah 6: 1 – 19
The sermon will be livestreamed at the 10am English Service on Sunday, 10 March 2024.
Read the other devotionals in our Nehemiah sermon series.
