#615 Sword and Trowel

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”

4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.

16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”

21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.”23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water. Nehemiah 4 NIV

Sanballat was angry that the Jews were closing up the wall, restoring the gates. It would no longer be easy to kill, to steal and destroy. First he makes fun of them, to his fellow naysayers, his echo chamber. 

He calls them feeble, which probably bears some truth. They live in a city with broken walls and are at the mercy of these Samaritans, who are not like the Samaritan in Jesus parable. The labor we see in the past chapter is not the most skilled, not a lot of carpenters and masons mentioned. It's the first part of his attack, and it works on some, I have seen it countless times. "You don't really believe that? What are you going to do, sacrifice, pray? Hey look at these idiots, they are praying about a wall, praying for God to hear them, deliver them. Walls don't work, even a fox could knock it down." Then why do you care? Why are you taking the time to make fun of the builders, to demoralize them, to mentally break them down? This is where a lot of people fail, maybe part of the noble's problem as well, you let the words of those who hate you and hate God get to you. It is like Gideon and the lapping of water, don't worry, whoever is left standing is all you needed anyway, and God needed none of you, so be excited, be encouraged, that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

The Jews take it to the Lord in prayer and continue building the wall, which makes the enemies to their security mad again. "What, me making fun of you wasn't enough? You saw through it, so now I have to plot deeper and bring in others, lie about you, start a movement, threaten violence." The men arm themselves against this, they put up a watch after they pray. Prayer was not the last resort for Nehemiah, true to how he got here, he remains. He also has the edict from the king, he is not here on a whim, Sanballat knows that this is sanctioned from higher up than he. "God, I believe this is what you sent me here to do, so I am going to trust You to deal with these men, we will plan on evil, prepare for attack, but we are going to keep building the wall." I guess even knowing that the king has commissioned this, Sanballat is far enough away that he feels free to stir up trouble. The people continue with prayer and watch. Remember, faith without works is dead, if you really believe it enables you to work. If you are a fig tree then I will find figs in your season, but remember, they didn't just pray and have a wall appear. Nehemiah prayed and planned for months before he even arrived. You will one day look back upon the labor, the opposition, the jeering and the tears, and thank God that He gave you any part in this that belongs to His honor and glory alone.

Now they have been busy about their work for some time. They have not gone out to antagonize the enemy, only to improve the protection of their city. The builders are half way there, but they are tired and there is much that needs to be cleaned and put away. It is also at this time that the enemy has realized the only way to stop them is to kill them. The threat of it has not been enough to do more than discourage them for a while, and this Nehemiah always has an answer. He does not seek their harm, he gives that to God, but he arms himself against their attack. When you attack someone else and they defend themselves, it is upon your own head, it is self defense. Having done all to stand, it is now time to put on your armor, to engage in warfare if they insist. Be ready for the sound of the trumpet, with the trowel in one hand and your sword in the other. 

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.…Ephesians 6: 11-13