His opponents try again and again to stop the work with lies
and treachery. They first try and get
him to come out of the city for a "private" meeting with them and he knows
their intent is to do him harm. Then
they send letters publicly that are filled with lies that if they were sent to
the king could indeed be problematic but Nehemiah knows they dare not do such
things as they will be exposed as liars and cannot take the risk of losing
their own positions in the government for doing so. They also try and get prophets in the city to
cause Nehemiah to act like a coward and violate the temple by living in its
precincts for protection. Nehemiah has
too close a relationship with the Lord to allow himself to be tricked from the
task he was given to do, his trust is in the Lord for the work and, lo and
behold, in just over seven weeks time the work was completed. What an amazing public works project under
incredibly difficult conditions. He
knows that all the surrounding nations know that this was only possible because
God was with them in the work. If they
can do this, what is impossible for them?
Jesus tells us some things here that certainly should cause
us to pause and think. The evil one has
sons is perhaps something most people never consider. He has sown them among the wheat. Does that mean in the church we have a mixed
crop? There are many things that would
change in our thoughts and theology if we make room for these truths Jesus
teaches. We must be aware of the
spiritual realities but what counsel does Jesus give us concerning courses of
action? He says know it and leave it to
God. We don't have to do anything, we
don't generally have the expertise to know for certain and we don't know when
His timing for harvest might be, some things take longer to develop than
others. We do, however, need to be
vigilant and we need to know the Word of God to know what is true so that we
can drive away falsehood. Nehemiah knew
the truth, so he stood steadfast in that truth.
I wonder how surprised he was to find so many prophets collaborating
with his enemies.
The vivid pictures John paints for us tell us that what he
saw was indelibly etched in his heart and head.
A mighty angel, who must have been enormous, comes down with a little
scroll in his hand. He stands with one
foot on the sea and one on the land and when he speaks it is like the roar of a
lion. When he speaks the seven thunders
resound and as John begins to write what he has heard a voice from heaven says,
"No." That one isn't to be
shared but there will be no delay between the announcement when it comes and
the judgment itself, no time to repent first.
That day has passed. Then the
voice tells John to go get the scroll from the angel. I would bet he was a bit timid in that task
considering how fearsome this vision had been.
John does so, however, and is instructed by the angel to eat the scroll,
a la Ezekiel, and it will have the same effect it had on the prophet. In the mouth the words will taste sweet but
in the stomach will turn sour. You may
want to prophesy concerning judgment on an enemy or sinners but the reality of
that prophecy is difficult to swallow no matter how angry you might be. Nehemiah was careful to leave the judgment to
God concerning his enemies.
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