When it comes to church life, it feels like we are heading into trouble, in the middle of it, or heading out of it. The reason is that any faithful church which is trying to glorify God and grow in sanctification is a target for the devil. Spiritual warfare is a reality for us all, not just a weird plot line for some movie.
Nehemiah’s building project certainly caught the devil’s attention. Here God’s People were rebuilding the walls to protect God’s temple, and Satan couldn’t have that! So he marshalled his minions to threaten and intimidate Nehemiah and the Jews as they laboured on the walls. This episode teaches us the reality of spiritual attack but also the response; trust in God to deliver.
The construction programme was a mass event, with Jews of all backgrounds and professions participating. From the lowest to the greatest, all were united in the restoration of the broken walls.
God’s enemies were not happy at this turn of events. “Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews” (v.1). Sanballat was introduced in 2:10 and may have been the governor of Samaria.
Sanballat’s attacks were insults and threats, designed to suggest the fear of an attack. Whether this would have actually happened is unclear, since Sanballat would have known that the Persian King sent Nehemiah with troops.
Sanballat’s words were spoken to his fellow countrymen, but the intended audience were the workers of Jerusalem. “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” (v.2).
These insults suggest that the Jews are weak and attempting something beyond their ability. They seem to think that a few timely prayers will raise the walls, in an unrealistic timeframe.
Fellow haters also joined in the fun, suggesting it would fall down at the first breeze (v.3).
Nehemiah’s first response was not to write a stern letter or complain to the Persian King, but to pray. “Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders” (vv.4-5).
Nehemiah asked God to prevent their intentions, and side with the Jews. In other words, God would see Sanballat’s insults as insults against God. He also asks for justice. While the words sound vengeful to us, Nehemiah was asking for Sanballat and his followers to be held accountable for their sins.
The second response was resolve. “So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work” (v.6). If the intention was to stop the rebuild, it backfired! God’s People responded to the taunts with continued resolve to keep building.
This resolve did not go down well with Sanballat and his followers, who plotted to attack the workers (vv.7-8). But Nehemiah and God’s People prayed, and continued (vv.8-9).
The fear of violence kept growing, and concerns rose from both within Jerusalem’s unfinished walls and the unwalled towns surrounding that perhaps the building project should stop (vv.10-12).
But Nehemiah’s resolve held firm. He armed the townsfolk and posted them in the gaps, and told them “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight…” (vv.13-14).
Nehemiah understood that God was in control and would watch over the Jews. But also, that they had a role to play in that happening. They needed to labour, and they needed to resist the opposition, both while trusting in God to deliver.
The same is true today when the Devil fires his darts. It should not surprise us that spiritual progress for Christ finds resistance from those that oppose him. All too often, the Devil is sitting behind ensuring the darts are aimed and fired.
Like Nehemiah and God’s People in his day, our response to opposition should not be discouragement and defeat. Instead, we should first turn to God in prayer, asking him to see attacks on us as attacks against him, and to deal with them accordingly. That may be through judgement now and the last day, or it may be through judgement on Christ at the cross and a miraculous conversion!
The second thing we should do is resolve to continue. Continue labouring on in good deeds. Continue proclaiming Christ. Continue building God’s Kingdom in our little patch. Arm ourselves, not with physical weapons but with the spiritual armour of God (Ephesians 6) to resist the devil’s attacks.
Remember God, who is great and awesome, and sent his son Jesus for our salvation to conquer. Pray, and continue to serve with resolve.