Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Nehemiah chapter 6 and verse
15. So the wall was finished in the
twenty and fifth day of the month, Elul, in fifty and two days. Nehemiah 6 and verse 15. This is the fourth in a series
we've done through Nehemiah. The first that we looked at was
the condition of Jerusalem made known. The second was the rebuilders
commission, that is Nehemiah's. The third was God's servants
in rebuilding. and then this evening to look
at the finishing in spite of opposition or completing the
rebuilding. You would remember that Nehemiah
has been brought, this is some 71 years after the temple had
been rebuilt at Jerusalem after they'd come back from Babylonish
captivity. The temple had been built, but
the walls were all broken down. There was much rubbish in the
city. And so Nehemiah is the rebuilder. Jerusalem is a time. of the Church
of God can also be a time of the individual people of God. We've looked at it in three ways,
really, with the state and condition of man by nature in the fall,
and how the Lord Jesus Christ, of which Nehemiah is a type,
he has done by his work on the cross restored again that which
was taken away by the fall. And in the broken law is restored
that glory. Everything stems from what the
Lord Jesus Christ has done at Calvary. But then we have also
the condition of an individual believer who has backslidden
and the Lord has chastened them. Perhaps they have got so worldly,
so far off from the Lord, so removed from the true faith of
God. And it is like all the walls,
all the separation between the world and their soul is all broken
down. The doctrines are hardly known
and certainly not walked in. And then there's another way.
It may be viewed as the Church of God itself. Many churches,
it's so sad, they've begun very strong, the Word of God is central,
the preaching is faithful, but over the years it's weakened,
the Word of God gets less and less, the doctrine is conformed
to the world and in the end it hardly bears any resemblance
to what it once was. And the work of restoring that
and building it up again and restoring the doctrine and placing
again the Word of God in its place is a very difficult work,
a work that needs the work of God and the Lord's blessing to
be upon it. And we have, especially before
us this evening, a real illustration from what they faced in the literal
restoring of the walls of Jerusalem. They were building literal walls.
Walls that were to be boundaries between Jerusalem and the surrounding
nations. Walls that were to protect them,
was to keep the world out as it were and keep the people of
God in. Make it so that they were truly
the Lord's people. We spoke last time some of the
features of a wall, and of course in a spiritual way. However strong
a church might be in keeping the world out, she is always
to remember that the Lord's dear people have always been brought
out of the world and into the church. She must have gates and
bars. She must have a way that those
that are without are brought lovingly in, taught and embraced,
adopted, in the living family of God. So I want to look in
three ways this evening. We're looking at the building
of the wall and building of it to completion. And the first
is to note what form the opposition to the building took. because
we see many parallels in the literal building and the opposition,
and that in a spiritual way, and there's many parallels that
Nehemiah had that also was with Hezekiah defending the city from
Sennacherib. But then secondly, note some
providential helps, just a couple. of points that the Lord appeared
for Nehemiah in a providential way. And then thirdly, the course
taken to rebuild in the face of opposition. There was a reflecting
of the opposition in the actual things that were done by the
builders. And these should also be reflected
in the Church of God and in an individual's life when they're
seeking that things might be restored and built up again. So I want to look then firstly
at the opposition to the building. What way did it take? And we'll begin with chapter
four. And we see right at the very
beginning that the enemies or those that were opposed to it,
at first they wanted to have a hand in it. They would no doubt
have done things their way. And Nehemiah said they had no
part with the work of the Lord. So then they turned to be enemies. And this is Sanballat and Tobiah
and the Arabian. There are many that were joined
together. We look at some of them a little
bit later. But the first thing they have
is a real wrath and anger. And then it turns to mocking
as well. And we all know what that is
when what we are doing creates anger in another. Those of our
neighbours, whether it be in our families or neighbours, or
maybe others that are attending a place of worship or round about
us, the very idea that there be a returning to the Lord or
seeking the things of God, a restoring that which has been broken down,
is detested and it's voiced, it's actually said. And then
they turn to mocking and then to ridicule in verse three. If they build, even a fox would
go up. He shall even break down their
stone wall. Some of those things are harder
to withstand even than physical opposition. To hear people mocking
and ridiculing And this is what is set before us in the inspired
word of God as the enemies opposing this rebuilding. There's a knowledge
too by Nehemiah, they were talking about them behind their back
and yet it was known to them. We know what that is as well.
When we think people are speaking about us and behind our back
and we don't know what they're doing and how they're undermining
what we're doing. But then they used words in verse
11. Our adversaries said, they shall
not know, neither see, till we come in the midst of them and
slay them and cause the work to cease. Actual words that have
been spoken against Nehemiah. And it is not now just words,
but threatened actions as well. In verse 22, we find that it
is a constant threat, not just in the daytime, but night as
well. And it's another thing that we
are to be very mindful of. If there's ever a rebuilding
or restoring, is not just a little here or a little there. We have
the world, we have the flesh, we have the devil. We fight not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers,
spiritual wickedness in high places. The church of God is
God's church. And the Lord says in John 17,
I've given them thy word and the world hath hated them. And
every reformation, every restoring will begin with the word of God
and will then draw that same opposition as to what was here
by the enemies of Nehemiah and those that were working with
him. But not only had he to deal with
those that were without, the things that they were doing to
put them in fear. And this was one of their main
strategies, to try and put them in fear. And we think with Hezekiah's
day, when Sennacherib came, and Rapture Quay, and the elders
of the land wanted them to speak in their own language, in the
language of the Chaldeans, because they said, we understand it.
But they said, no, they were speaking to those on the wall.
They wanted to discourage those that were defending the city
then in Azikiah's day. And it's the same way here. how
we need to be so mindful that the way the enemy of our souls,
the way the adversary will work, is to mock, to ridicule, to discourage,
to put us in fear with words and threatened actions on a constant
basis. If the work is of God, we can
be sure it will be opposed, and certainly Nehemiah's it was. But not only is this happening,
Nehemiah has domestic trouble as well. It is the chapter we
didn't read, chapter five, which speaks of that which was going
on that Nehemiah had to contend with as well as building the
wall. Do you know, in a literal way,
It is not only where there needs to be restoring of the true faith
or doctrine or practice in a church or individually, but there are
other things to be attended to as well. And with Nehemiah, there
was those that cried unto him, the poor of the people were being
oppressed by those that were rich. and so oppressed that they
had to mortgage their own lands. They had to pay interest, which
was against God's law, from their own brethren to exact usury on
them. And so their very walk and their
very conduct was really a reproach to those about them. It was in
the sight of the world, even, they walk in contrary to the
ways of the Lord. And so, Nehemiah, he had this
going on as well. And this had to be dealt with
in the middle of the work of repairing the wall and restoring
the wall. And how many of us know about
many things that may be pressing the turn away from the work in
hand, from that which concerns our own soul or the Church of
God. And it's a great example here,
and maybe look at it a little bit later, how Nehemiah dealt
with this, but to be mindful of this. This is Chapter 5. It
is not sand-ballad, it is not the enemies, it is not without.
it's within. And whether it be with our own
soul, whether it be in a church, whether it be in a family, but
it's those very close at hand. And what had been going on for
a long while is suddenly raising up its head. Those things are
described in this chapter, the mortgaging their lands and brought
into bondage already, their sons and their daughters. This is
something that had been going on for a long while. When those
things have been going on for a long while, it's very hard
to put a stop to it and to change it. Well, here is another one
of those things then that was in opposition to the building.
we come to chapter six, and again we have those external enemies
and adversaries, Zanbala, Tobiah, Gishon, the Arabian, the rest
of our enemies. They are seeking to use fresh
ways to stop that war being builded. And this is, as it is progressing,
and they're seeing it is progressing, then they're taking renewed efforts
to stop it. May we be encouraged, I believe
I have been at times, where Satan has made renewed efforts against
my soul, or in the church of God, or in our path that we'd
walk in the ways of the Lord. And here we see the why that's
renewed is because progress is made and they see it so. And in a way that is an encouragement
to have the enemies actually acknowledging that the gaps are
being made up, the walls are being built up again. So then they try a different
way And they try to get, and four times they try this, to
get Nehemiah to meet together in one of the villages in the
plain. They draw him away from the work
and meet together, have a meeting and discuss things and talk things. But really it was a conspiracy. And yet they don't take no for
an answer four times. They go in the same way, same
manner. And then we have a fifth time,
and this time they come with false accusations. The devil
is a very clever one at false accusations. Read how many times
Bunyan in his Pilgrim's Progress speaks of the False accusations
designed to separate between chief friends, to drive a wedge. But here they come with the accusation
that actually what Nehemiah wants to do is to build up these walls
and then he will rebel and he'll make himself a king and his appointed
prophets will preach of him at Jerusalem. And really we can
look through it and we can see And Nehemiah is preaching, there
shall come the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah shall come
through them. He's not setting himself up at
all. And of course he has the authority
of the king to do what he is doing. But these are false accusations
and yet they're real accusations. So maybe be mindful of that as
well. that if a work is of God, a restoring
work, a rebuilding work, a work that brings us back to God and
the true worship and a true defence of the Church of God, then there
will be false accusations. And those acts, they are to weaken. Verse 9, For they all made us
afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, let
it be not done. Maybe remember that. When we
feel our hands weakened, and we may have reasons why they
are being weakened, think of what Nehemiah went through while
he was building the wall. Then there was, in verse 10,
one that came and wanted Nehemiah to go into the temple And to
lock himself in the temple, make himself safe because there were
threats on his life. He was in danger. So don't go
and work, but shut yourself up. Spare thyself, as it were. Again,
an element of fear with the end result that it is stopping the
work. Then we read at the very end,
of this chapter, that there are actually traitors in their very
midst. There were those that were on
the side of their enemies, even the nobles, not just a few, the
nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah. There were many
in Judah sworn unto him of their own people. And then we see the
reason is because there's family ties there and connections of
families, no doubt, an important family in Judah that is actually
joined in marriage to the adversaries as well. You think how many tentacles,
how many adversaries and different aspects of it are hindering or
seeking to hinder Niyamaya. He has those that are telling
the enemy what he is doing, and then telling him what the enemy
is doing, going backwards and forwards, one to another. Don't
we know what that is? Sometimes in the, say in the
Church of God, or even amongst relatives, force of gossip or
going backs and forwards, those things that you hear and then
you find things that you said are reported to someone else.
And we see this picture given to the Church of God in the book
of Nehemiah. And this is what I just want
to highlight in this first point to really notice what those adversaries
are. And you can take them and away
from the literal, where we're not building a wall, a literal
wall, we're not in Nehemiah's position, we haven't got the
named abdicatories, but in what they are typical of, and how
they are descriptive of, is very much that we can identify with
whenever the Lord has got a work, a good work to do, and maybe
take notice of that. So I want to then look secondly,
and just at a brief point of where we have some providential
helps. And what I mean is this, that
these are not things that Nehemiah is actually doing, but in God's
providence, he brings them to pass. And they were something
that we should really watch in our lives. is to how the Lord
works. The children of Israel, they
saw it in their conquest of Cain and again and again, when they
saw the Lord even used hornets to drive out the enemy before
them, or sometimes he cast down hailstones from heaven, and things
that were happening, taking place that work for their good and
We see this here with Nehemiah. We find in chapter 4 and verse 11. And the adversaries
were saying that they wouldn't know and neither see till we
come in the midst of them. They were laying secret plans
And their idea was to come in a way and take them by surprise. But what Nehemiah had happened,
and we don't know, it's hard to discern really, there is the
Jews that were with them and with their enemies. And they
reported, they said to them that they shall come 10 times in verse
12, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said
unto us 10 times from all places, when she shall return unto us,
they will be upon you. Now whether those Jews were on
the side of the enemies and trying to put them in fear by that,
or whether they were really giving them warning, the end result
of it was what we read in verse 15. came to pass when our enemies
heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their
counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every
one to his work. It was a great discouragement
to the enemy that their plans had been found out. And we should
always take it as a really encouraging thing where the Lord shows us
the snare before we fall into it. When he shows us the danger,
when he makes known to us that which we would otherwise have
fallen into it and not known, we might think sometimes to actually
know what adversaries we have. And maybe it was that the Jews
thought this, that would be a discouragement. But as we know from the wartime,
The element of surprise is a great, great advantage. And when we
were able to invent the radar in the Second World War, and
we were able to get advance warning of the coming of the enemy, that
gave us a tremendous advantage. And may we prize the word of
God, may we prize the kindness of the Lord in providence, or
bring so that we are forewarned. How many times the Lord spoke
to his dear disciples that they might be forewarned. And what
shall happen in the last days, the great falling away, and how
men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And
that there shall be even false brethren amongst you, shall turn
away those from the truth, that Satan shall come in as an angel
of light and shall, if it were possible, deceive even the very
elect. The Holy Sacred Word of God is
full of those warnings in which the Lord himself opens up these
strategies, these things that are going to happen. And it is
our privilege and blessing that we take note of them because
we see with Nehemiah what a privilege that gave him and a disadvantage
for the enemy. And may we watch with providence
in these things. Sometimes we have baits laid
for us and those that have invited us to do something or tried to
get us to do something have done it with a full intention. that
should we go along with it, then they turn around and accuse us,
or have a reason to blacken the name of our Lord, or accuse us
of inconsistency, and it is a mercy then to be delivered out of their
hand. So may we watch, watch the providence
of God, the hand of God, those helps that we have that hasn't
been what we have put our hand to, is what the Lord has kindly
done for us. And I'd add to that, in a way
of encouragement too, where we find providences go for us, where
we discern we've been perhaps helped on our journey, got to
a place on time, we've seen answers to prayers, to whether a thing
was right or wrong, and those things that only encourage that
the Lord is with us and he knows the way that we take. I want
to then look thirdly at the course taken in rebuilding in the face
of opposition. What difference did it make? The first thing and what reoccurs
many times through these portions here, is prayer and watchfulness. We have in verse 4 of chapter
4, Hear, O our God. Nehemiah, he just goes straight
into prayer. Hear, O our God, for we are despised. He's taken the very thing that
tells the Lord we're despised. turn their reproach upon their
own head, give them for a prey in the land of captivity. Now he turns it into prayer and
we have it again in verse 9, nevertheless we made our prayer
unto our God and set a watch against them day and night because
of them. How much do we watch and pray? How much are we mindful of our
adversaries and suit our watching and praise, our besetting sins,
sin that does so easily beset us, those worldly snares, the
inclination of our hearts, the world without Satan's temptations. When we're mindful of those and
we fall so often again and again in the same way, Do we watch
and do we pray? Do we register and think, this
is the same situation that I fell before. This is the same temptation. And watch, notice it, and then
pray, and pray against it, and beg the Lord to help and to strengthen,
instead of just going headlong into it and falling. Many times
we know a doctrine, we know what we should do, but we don't put
it into practice. How many times our dear Lord
pointed us to the path of prayer. The path of prayer He trod, and
He bids us walk the same. The next thing that was done
is set suitable defence. We read in verse 13, when there
is the threatened attack upon the wall, therefore set I in
the lower places behind the wall and on the higher places I even
set the people after their families with their swords, their spears
and their bows. The defence was suited to what
the adversary was, not just prayer. but prayer and defence. And again, we think of Hezekiah,
how much he was a man of prayer, spread the letters before the
Lord, prayed and prayed with Isaiah. But he also built up
the wall and he also changed the water courses and he also
strengthened the defences. The two went together. We think
of when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, And then came
Amalek, and Joshua was to fight with Amalek. Yes, with a sword
and a spear with normal weapons. But Moses was to hold up his
rod, and Aaron and Hur were to hold up his hands and strengthen
him. A beautiful type of prayer joined
with action as well. And so we have this. Then we have as well that encouraging
in The Lord. In verse 14, we read what Nehemiah
is saying. Be not ye afraid of them. Remember the Lord, which is great
and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters,
your wives, and your houses. What a word, remember the Lord. With Hezekiah, he used exactly
the same. And we read, the people rested
themselves on the words of Hezekiah. And may we be an encourager of
the brethren that cause us not to forget the Lord our God, but
to remember him and to be strengthened in the Lord. Those here were
trying to discourage away from the Lord and his work, but wherever
the work is of God, we're to remember the God whose work it
is. and not to forget him. And Nehemiah
certainly didn't. And so we find that every opportunity
we have scattered through these portions, descriptions of the
adversary and how they dealt with them, but then we have their
returning to the work as soon as they could. What a strategy
that that is. Sometimes we could think, well,
spend all the time in defence and no building up at all, some
have said, regarding the state of the churches in our land at
this time. Now is not a time for building
up and expansion or enlarging the churches, but for digging
in and just confirming our position. But may we have a vision for
a viable and strengthening and building and not just remaining
as we are. And Nehemiah here, as soon as
he dealt with matters, going back to the work again, a progressing
of that work. But then we have in verse 16
and 17, how that he divided the companies, some of them were
working, some of them had their spears, they all had their weapons
of warfare near unto them. And so the adversary did have
an effect on how they built this wall. I wonder how much a mindfulness
of the adversaries we have and the enemy of our souls has an
effect on what we do day by day, how we work in the Church of
God and how we would seek to build up our own soul and restore,
have restored our own soul, that the work that we do is affected
by the adversaries. We read again in verse 20 of
how they recognize the work was a large work. It literally was. Around the walls, they were scattered. What if the enemy came in one
part? How would they relay that to
another? And Nehemiah says that the man
with the trumpet was with him. and that they would use that
means to gather them together. And it is a reminder to us that
where two lie together they have heat, that as iron sharpeneth
iron, so a man the countenance of his friend. And the Lord certainly
sent his disciples out two by two, and the people of God are
to be strengthened by not scattered, but united together. In the early church, in Acts,
we read of those things that needed to be decided, especially
with circumcision, that the church came together to that, that they
be strengthened, that they be of one mind, and that they be
not scattered. And I think there are those cases
with our churches when we have so. troubles, so instead of each
individual church, as it were, dealing with a matter and then
another, to actually gather together and deal with those matters where
we see it as the adversary attacking, dividing the Church of God. But what did then Nehemiah do
about those domestic problems? He didn't just brush them away,
he didn't ignore them, but he dealt with them. But he wasn't
sidetracked from his work. He dealt with them, as it were,
quickly, and then back to his work, and also is careful concerning
himself. He could have had many privileges
and had things which other governors at Jerusalem had availed themselves
of, but he wouldn't partake of this extra provision and make
himself stand above the people. And so he was careful in that
way, so that then he could go on. And in chapter six, we find
him resisting again those efforts to meet together. And he discerned,
he says he perceived that these false prophets that came, that
God had not sent them. How many times we might Here
I have a word from the Lord, or the Lord has told me this
or told me that, and may be contrary to the word of God itself. Well,
Nehemiah, he perceived, he was given that discernment that this
wasn't coming from the Lord. They made out it was. They made
out they were prophets, but he said, no. You may have the name
of a prophet, but this is not coming from the Lord, and I'm
not meeting with you, and then he goes again to prayer. How often he was back to that
in verse nine in chapter six. For they all made us afraid,
saying, their hands shall be weakened from the work that it
be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen
my hands. So there's the enemy saying that
they're going to weaken them. And his prayer is exactly the
opposite. How many times have we prayed
that recently? Lord, strengthen my hands, strengthen
my hands. What about verse 14? Again, he's
praying against the adversaries. My God, think thou upon Tobiah
and Sanballat. According to these, their works.
And he's making his prayer to God. Nehemiah and Hezekiah were
both men of prayer. And may we be men, women, of
prayer as well. We mentioned the other week,
except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build
it. The Lord will build his church,
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The church of God
is redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. But in the history
of the children of Israel, how many times they departed from
the true faith, how many times, as it were, the water of no use,
they even let in the idols and bail worship, how many times
they forgot the God that had redeemed them and formed them
into a nation of people, but how many times the Lord raised
up those like Nehemiah that were rebuilders, restorers and strengtheners,
Devran, don't just think, well, our day, we don't need rebuilding. Our day, we don't need restoring. Our day, we don't have adversaries,
we don't have enemies. We do. We sung of them, the old
man, the new man of grace, those enemies right within our own
heart. And we have those adversaries all the time. But historically,
the Church of God has fought against, in the world they are
but not of the world, and Satan, your adversary the devil, seeketh
to go about whom he may devour." Well, in the words of our text,
so the war was finished, or in this manner, and with this adversaries,
and dealing with them in this way, and in a path of prayer,
The war was finished, a really remarkable time, 52 days. We don't want to be an almost
Christian or have a partial reformation, a partial restoring. What is
here, it was finished. Our Lord's work was a finished
work at Calvary. And he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And
that is our comfort, the church's comfort. The Lord will finish. He'll bring forth the topstone,
crying grace, grace unto it. But may we learn from Nehemiah,
Nehemiah the rebuilder, and see our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
ordering the work, overseeing a rebuilding, a restoring, a
strengthening again, of his people, and bringing them more clearly
to be his people, separated from the world that lieth in sin and
wickedness, a prepared people for a prepared place. May the Lord then, add his blessings.