In the Crossfire of Attacks

Scripture

Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of d Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and e the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8lThen I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Opening Prayer

(This was preceded by a moment of silent prayer for the seriously ill, for family troubles, and in preparation for Pentecost.)
Our Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us here this evening. We ask that none of us leave empty-handed. We ask You to give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, and to enlighten the eyes of our understanding so that we may comprehend the riches of Your calling. Amen.

Sermon

Time and again we see that the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which God entrusted to Nehemiah and for which Nehemiah sought the help of his companions, continues. Amid many difficulties, the rebuilding continues. God grants His servant obedience and perseverance; He does not forsake him, and above all, He does not deliver him into the hands of his enemies. This is God’s work, and it is evident in every detail. So much so that Nehemiah can say, “I rebuilt the city wall, and there was not a single gap left in it; only the doorposts had not yet been set in the gates.” (’79 translation)
So the wall was built. Let us remember how they complained that there was too much rubble and they could not carry it away, what attacks came against them from outside and inside when the wall was already half-built. The enemy did everything to prevent it from being built, and yet, behold, it was built. What God begins, He brings to completion. It is indeed true that He brings to fruition with a sure hand what is still hidden here. It is indeed true that the Lord works in wondrous ways and His ways are hidden. One day His enemies will be amazed to find that what they had so desperately wanted to prevent is now complete.
Nehemiah also realizes that saying “I rebuilt the stone wall” is only half the truth. A few verses later, we read: “The wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days.” When our enemies heard this, the peoples living around us began to fear, and they were greatly humbled in their own eyes, for they realized that this work could only have been accomplished with the help of our God.” (’79 translation) Anyone who fails to see this in the small and great matters of life will inevitably fall into some form of idolatry, the most terrible form of which is self-worship, self-glorification, and boasting. If this were the only thing here—that I built the wall—we would all have to ask ourselves, “What happened to Nehemiah? Can he no longer see clearly?” But here it is also stated that the stone wall was built with the help of our God. In fact, it is stated in the previous chapter and in the following ones as well that our God built the stone wall. He was the driving force behind this entire work; He also gave Nehemiah the strength to do it.
So what should we do now?
After such an effort, people like to relax. To let loose a little, to let themselves go, and this is something that is never possible in following Christ, in the life of a believer. Nehemiah cannot allow himself to do this either, because just when he is almost finished—the stone wall is complete, but the gates are not yet in place—another attack is launched against them. The enemy is relentless, and we must never forget that Satan is such a stubborn, persistent enemy of our faith and the new life that has begun within us that he will not give up the fight until the very last moment. Truly, until the very last moment. Even when his defeat is certain, he will still try to destroy or deceive God’s children. This is what happens here as well: Nehemiah and his companions face an attack more cunning, more sophisticated, and more devious than any before. It is indeed true that we must pass through many trials to enter the kingdom of God.
These nine verses describe three attacks. They try to tempt Nehemiah into stopping the work; they try to wear him down so he won’t have the strength to continue and finish; and they try to intimidate him again—this time using different methods than before.
First comes the enticement. They send him a message: come, let’s meet in Kefirim, in the valley of Ono, to talk. So they’re inviting him to a secret meeting, on neutral ground, in a nearby village. Nehemiah doesn’t know exactly what it’s about, but he senses that their intentions aren’t pure. He suspects an assassination plot against him, and that is precisely why he does not go there.
Why doesn’t he go? Is it wrong to talk? Or is he arrogant, proud, haughty? Are Tobias and his people beneath him in rank? Does he not speak to such people?
No!
He has no such feelings at all—as his answer makes clear—and it is certainly not a matter of not being allowed to talk. It is not a bad thing to talk. It’s just… As a child of God, one must ask certain questions whenever faced with such an invitation. Who wants to talk to me? When do they want to talk to me? Where do they want to talk to me, and what do they want me to talk about instead? Instead of obeying God? Then thank you very much, no. They’re really nice, but there’s no way. Do they want to talk to me so I’ll stop building the wall? No! I’m not mad at them. Maybe another time, somewhere else, I’d be happy to talk with them. But when someone has a task given by God, when their path is clear and they know where they must go, then they must not stray from it to the right or to the left, listening to any kind of friendly invitation or enticement. Then the most important question must always be: Does what they are asking of me now align with God’s will, or not? If it does, so be it. God has surprises in store for His own. If it does not, there can be no question of it.
You see, God isn’t one to rush into things. He doesn’t change His instructions every minute. Not even every year, or every thousand years—and if He once told Nehemiah to go and rebuild the wall, then Nehemiah had no other business to attend to until he had finished it. Especially not if God’s enemies are calling him somewhere. Besides, it’s very nice to meet people, and it’s good to talk with the enemy too; talking in general can be a very pleasant thing, but if it’s so important to them—Nehemiah thinks—let them come here. I’m at their disposal here. I’ll interrupt the work for a short time, but I won’t go traveling—who knows what might happen there, and the work might come to a halt.
Well, I don’t want to go into too much detail here, but it would be very good if this question were to arise very clearly within us right now: Do we have the discernment to know whether we are doing what God has entrusted to us? And when anyone says anything, do we compare it with what we have heard from God? Do we even know where our place is? What is our task? What is the mission God has given us? Are our senses refined enough to immediately notice if someone is trying to lead us astray from this?
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