A WORD FOR TODAY, April 19, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 19, 2021
“Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this: he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun. Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.” Psalm 37:1-7, WEB
Today’s question is “Should a man like me flee?” from Nehemiah 6:11.
The city of Jerusalem was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and many of the Jews were sent to Babylon. This exile was assigned by God who used the Babylonians to discipline His wayward children. God has a way of making all things right, and despite being a great nation, the Babylonians fell to the Persians. This happened just at the right time, about seventy years after the exile, the time period foretold in the scriptures. God put mercy in the heart of Cyrus the king of Persia, who wrote a decree allowing the Jews to return to their home. Unfortunately, they found their beloved city was in ruins, but we hear the story of the rebuilding, not only the buildings, but also the spiritual lives of God’s people, in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The two books were once one book, and they focus on the events following the return from Babylon. Ezra focuses on the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the Temple. It happened in the early days of the reign of Cyrus. Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem about twenty years later.
Nehemiah had been born in Babylon and was an important official in the court of King Artaxerxes I of Persia. He heard that the remnant who had returned to Jerusalem were struggling because the walls were in poor condition and foreign enemies were threatening. Nehemiah asked permission of the king to go to Jerusalem to help them rebuild. He was appointed governor and he worked to make Jerusalem safe and strong for God’s people again. He was not a prophet or a priest. He was a lay person on whose heart God placed a burden for the protection of God’s people. He was a man in the right place at the right time. He was sent to Jerusalem to do what was right.
However, there were those who did not want the city walls rebuilt. He faced opposition both from people outside the city and from within. The foreigners taunted Nehemiah and mocked the rebuilding project. Nehemiah would not let their taunting dissuade him from his work and refused to allow God’s people to become disheartened by the mocking. Then the outsiders decided to attack, to stop the building through violence and war. Nehemiah appointed people to watch the walls constantly and encouraged the people to pray. He also set people in positions and prepared them to fight if necessary. They did all this while continuing the work on the walls. The enemies learned that Nehemiah had prepared the people and they stopped the harassment temporarily.
The Nehemiah began to face opposition from inside the walls. The people were tired and the work seemed impossible. They forgot the LORD who had saved them and they were concerned only with their own pains. They wanted God to do His work their way rather than following God’s eternal plan. Then they became afraid. Taunting and mocking and threats had a psychological affect on the people. They believed that the enemy had made it inside and would kill them behind the very walls they were building. The people were worried about food and money. They complained about taxes. Nehemiah became angry because there were some within the walls taking advantage of the people. Nehemiah took care of the problem and continued the work.
Then Nehemiah faced another obstacle: people questioned his authority. Who was this lay person to have power over God’s people? He was, in essence, a nobody and yet acted as if he were a king over the Jews. Nehemiah prayed and waylaid the accusations. Finally, Nehemiah’s opponents tried to convince him that he should lock himself into the Temple for protection, but Nehemiah was not tempted. He answered their council, “Should a man like me flee? Who is there that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” If Nehemiah, who was not a priest or one appointed to the work of God’s holy house, went inside, he would desecrate the sacred space and he refused to do so. He knew that they were trying to find any excuse to defeat him, but he also knew that God was in control. He had no need to fear any opposition, whether it came from outside or inside, because he trusted that God had appointed him to the task of repairing the walls of Jerusalem for the protection of God’s people.
It might seem impossible to believe, but all that happened in just fifty-two days, the amount of time it took for Nehemiah to restore the walls of Jerusalem. And yet, we all face all sorts of opposition to the work we are doing for our God. We face people from the outside who taunt and mock and threaten us. We face people on the inside who are afraid and worried and complaining. We face people who question whether we have really been chosen by God to accomplish the work we are doing. We learn from Nehemiah to never let our enemies stop us. We answer their troublemaking with today’s question, “Should a person like me flee?” We know the answer; we answer “no” because we can trust that God will make all things work according to His good and perfect plan no matter what opposition we face.
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