Nehemiah 4:15-23: Facing Opposition (Part Two)

Nehemiah 4:15-23: Facing Opposition (Part Two)

Please turn with me in your Bible to Nehemiah 4. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 322. We’ve been going passage by passage through the book of Nehemiah, and last week we saw that as Nehemiah was pursuing the mission God had given him of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, he ran into some heavy opposition. He discovered that his enemies from the surrounding regions were planning a surprise attack against him in an effort to stop the building project. So he temporarily halts the work on the wall and organizes his people for battle. And even though his chances look pretty dismal from a human perspective, Nehemiah trusts God to take care of him. In verse 14, he says to his fellow Israelites, “Do not be afraid of them [the enemy]. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” So instead of throwing in the towel, Nehemiah decides that he’s going to stand up against the opposition so that he can keep building the wall. And the source of his confidence, as we see in verse 14, is God. He’s trusting God for protection. All of that was last week. And yet, as we’ll see this week, Nehemiah’s trust in God doesn’t diminish the need for him to be prepared in very practical ways to defend himself. And that’s where we pick up with Nehemiah 4:15-23. Nehemiah 4:15-23:

15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” 21 So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. 22 I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” 23 So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand. 

If there’s anything we see here in Nehemiah 4, it’s that there’s no inherent conflict between trusting God on the one hand and being practically prepared on the other. For example, Becky and I are striving to trust that when it’s time for us to retire, God will take care of us. We believe we can count on him to provide for our needs. And yet, as we trust God, we recognize it’s also probably a good idea for us to be saving up money for retirement. I was actually on the phone just this past week with our investment advisor asking questions and making plans. There’s no inherent conflict between me making that phone call and, at the same time, trusting God. And I believe that’s the main idea we see here in Nehemiah 4. Nehemiah’s trust in God includes thoughtful preparation. Nehemiah’s trust in God includes thoughtful preparation. And that’s a good thing for us to keep in mind as we think about the enemy we face. Because just like Nehemiah faced a physical enemy, we face a spiritual enemy. The Bible teaches that we have an enemy named Satan who’s actively seeking our destruction. So we also, like Nehemiah, need to be prepared. And there are three aspects of Nehemiah’s preparation I’d like to look at that are especially instructive for us. First, Nehemiah’s preparation is intentional. Second, Nehemiah’s preparation is continual. And third, Nehemiah’s preparation is communal.

Nehemiah’s Preparation Is Intentional

So number one, Nehemiah’s preparation is intentional. That means it didn’t happen by accident. Nehemiah took some very specific steps to make sure he was prepared. In verse 16, he directs a significant portion of the people—in fact, half of the people—to hold off working on the wall and simply stand guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And according to verses 17-18, even those who were working on the wall were still ready for battle. Those who carried materials did so in such a way that they were still able to hold a weapon with one of their hands. And those who built had their sword strapped to them the entire time. Then in verse 22, we read that Nehemiah had organized a portion of the people to stand guard at night. So you can see that this was all very intentional. It required intentional thought and intentional effort. None of it happened by accident. Nehemiah didn’t just accidentally stumble into doing all of these things. And neither will we as we face the opposition we face. Now, sometimes, good things do happen by accident. Last week, one of Caleb’s teammates on his soccer team scored a goal by accident. He was just standing somewhat close to the goal and another soccer player kicked the ball pretty hard in his direction and the ball somehow ended up bouncing off of his chest and going into the goal. And since the kid was only five years old, I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to do that. So this kid’s goal was almost entirely accidental. But that’s not the way it works as we fight against Satan. A lot of Christians often act like it does, but it doesn’t. You’ll never be ready to take on Satan unless you take some very intentional steps of preparation. It would probably be a good idea to remind yourself of that every morning when you get up. There’s a very good chance you’ll face spiritual opposition that day that you won’t be ready to handle without intentional preparation. 

And if we look at Ephesians 6, we get a helpful picture of what that preparation looks like. Ephesians 6:10-18: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

So let me briefly give you two very basic steps to spiritual preparation from this passage. These are sub points under our first main point. Number one is to immerse yourself in biblical truth. I actually believe that all the various components of the armor Paul mentions here basically relate back to this practice immersing yourself in biblical truth. The belt of truth is obviously talking about the truth of the Bible. The breastplate of righteousness refers to reminding ourselves of the righteousness we have through Jesus, which is a core component of biblical teaching. Shoes of the readiness given by the gospel refers to the having the gospel—the core of the Bible’s message—on the very forefront of our minds. The shield of faith refers to exercising faith in the promises of God we’re given in the Bible. The helmet of salvation refers to cherishing and resting in the salvation revealed in the Bible. And then the sword of the Spirit is the Bible itself, as we learn to wield it and handle it effectively. So I believe that all the elements of the armor of God come back to this central practice of immersing yourself in biblical truth. The Bible is your greatest asset in the fight against Satan. Because think about how Satan works. The main method Satan employs is lying to you and twisting and distorting the things God’s said. So the best way to counter Satan’s attacks is to immerse yourself in what God’s actually said so that you’ll be able to immediately recognize it whenever Satan plants a deviant thought in your mind. 

Then also, notice what Paul writes at the very end of that passage. After he tells the Ephesians to put on the armor of God, he adds this requirement in verse 18: “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” So not only should you immerse yourself in biblical truth in order to prepare for Satan’s attacks, you should also devote yourself to prayer. And the reason prayer is so central in our fight against Satan is because you and I don’t even come close to being strong enough to take on Satan by ourselves. If it’s just us trying to take him on in our own strength, forget about it. Satan’s way too powerful and way too clever. We’ll never win. The only way we’ll ever be victorious is through the Holy Spirit’s power. That’s why we pray. Prayer is the way we obtain the Spirit’s help against an enemy who would otherwise destroy us.

So if you want to start seeing spiritual victory in your life—victory over Satan’s lies and temptations and distractions and everything else he tries to do to keep you from being engaged in the mission Jesus has called us to—if you want to start seeing victory over all of that, those are the two most central ways you obtain that victory: immerse yourself in the Bible and devote yourself to prayer. Pretty ordinary, right? You know, when a lot of Christians picture spiritual warfare in their minds, they often think about these grand, dramatic encounters with demons who are possessing people and making them do all of these crazy things. And it’s true that those kinds of situations do happen from time to time. I’ve personally dealt with several cases like that over the past few years. But listen to me: 95% of spiritual warfare is astonishingly ordinary. Just look at Ephesians 6. Most spiritual warfare consists of astonishingly ordinary practices that God calls us to do every day. It’s a lot like athletics. Take just about any sport there is. How does a football team or a basketball team or a baseball team win games? They practice, right? They spend countless hours doing very ordinary things like blocking and tackling or dribbling and shooting or running sprints. They do all of these ordinary things over and over and go back to the basics of their sport almost endlessly, and that’s how they win. Teams win games on the practice field. And if you want victory over Satan, the way to obtain that victory is through the very ordinary habits of immersing yourself in the Bible and devoting yourself to prayer.

Nehemiah’s Preparation Is Continual

So going back to our main text in Nehemiah 4, we’ve seen that Nehemiah’s preparation is intentional. That’s point number one. Then, point number two, Nehemiah’s preparation is also continual. He has his people constantly on guard against the enemy. At any given time, remember, half of the people aren’t even working on the wall but are instead standing guard. And even those who are working are either holding their weapon with one hand as they work with the other or at least have their sword strapped to their side. I would say that’s a pretty high level of readiness. And verse 23 even records that when they went to sleep at night, not only did they take turns standing guard, but Nehemiah and the others close to him actually slept in their clothes—the same clothes they had been working in all day—as they held their weapon in their right hand. That’s what they’re doing as they’re sleeping. So they’re prepared literally all the time. 

And if you’re wise, you’ll be prepared all the time also. 1 Peter 5:8 states, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” So there’s never a moment when you can afford to be unprepared. Satan never takes a break. According to this verse, he’s constantly prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So that means you can’t take a break either. You know, I wonder how often we allow ourselves to coast spiritually. I wonder how often we just go through the motions of our faith. I wonder how often we try to live off of yesterday’s gains and yesterday’s victories, not realizing that we’re only as good as our level of readiness today. If that’s you, wake up! Understand that if you’re not fighting the battle, you’re losing the battle. I was talking to a friend of mine not very long who does cyber security for a living. He works for a company that provides cyber security services for major corporations. So like when Target had that major breach a while ago where hackers stole millions of people’s credit card numbers, this guy’s company would go in and help them clean up the mess and try to prevent things like that from happening in the future. And as I was talking to him about all this, he told me that the world of cyber security is constantly shifting. Because the cyber security folks will figure out how to protect against a certain threat, but then the hackers will find a way to work around it. Then they’ll discover what the hackers are doing, and they’ll take the necessary measures to stop them again. But of course, it’s only a matter of time until the hackers find a way to get around those security measures also. And things really just keep going back and forth like that continually. So if my friend’s company doesn’t constantly stay on the very cutting edge of cyber security, whatever services they offer will be absolutely worthless. If you’re not fighting the battle, you’re losing the battle. And it’s the same way spiritually. A Puritan author named John Owen said it this way: “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” And you can really apply that to any of the ways Satan comes against us. Like Nehemiah back in Nehemiah 4, our preparation has to be continual. 

Nehemiah’s Preparation Is Communal

However, the reality is that, despite our best intentions, we all slip back into apathy from time to time. We’re human. We let our guard down sometimes. That’s why we need each other. So point three is that Nehemiah’s preparation is communal. So first, we saw that Nehemiah’s preparation is intentional. Then we saw that Nehemiah’s preparation is continual. Now we see that Nehemiah’s preparation is communal. In other words, they worked together to keep each other safe. They committed to have each other’s backs. Look at verses 19-20: 19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” So Nehemiah had a plan for when the enemy attacked. Whenever the enemy attacked the people on one section of the wall, they would blow the trumpet so everyone else could come and help those who were under attack. Then also, in verse 22 as we saw earlier, Nehemiah had organized a system for keeping watch at night. A few guards would keep watch while everyone else slept. 

So both of those arrangements are very basic. They’re so basic that most of us would probably consider them common sense. Yet how often do we as Christians fail to carry that principle of helping one another over into our lives and into our fight against Satan? A lot of Christians act like they can handle everything fine all by themselves—like they don’t need the spiritual support or protection of a church. And that’s really a form of pride in their hearts. Now, you may not think you’re making that mistake since, after all, you’re sitting here this morning, right? And you may be partially right in that assessment. But sitting here isn’t the sum total of what being a part of a church is all about, is it? If you’ve been hanging around with us for any length of time, you know that’s not true. You know that sitting in a chair on Sunday mornings is just the beginning of what being part of a church is about. The core component of church involvement is the relationships you develop with others in the church, typically in your Community Group. If you’re not developing those relationships, I’m not sure you really understand what church is all about. And I’m not sure you have the spiritual support and protection God designed the church to provide. That support and protection come through meaningful relationships with other Christians in which you regularly discuss what’s really going on in your life and how you’re really doing. You help each other fight the battle. You hold one another accountable when one of you begins to let down your guard. That’s what church involvement looks like in the Bible. And that’s absolutely essential if we’re going to successfully fight against our enemy.

Conclusion

So try to imitate Nehemiah in the way he was prepared against his enemies. His preparation was intentional, continual, and communal, and ours should be also. But maybe you’re here this morning, and there’s a crucial step of preparation you’re missing. It’s actually the foundational step. In order to stand against Satan, you first have to truly belong to God and truly be saved. That means recognizing that Satan’s opposition is certainly a huge problem but that it’s not our ultimate problem. Our ultimate problem is that we’ve sinned against God and are therefore both deserving of and destined for God judgment—because God is perfectly holy and righteous and won’t let sin go unpunished. But there is good news. Not only is God holy and righteous, he’s also merciful and loving. In fact, he’s more merciful and loving than we can comprehend. And God loves us so much that he sent his own Son Jesus to make atonement for our sins on the cross. That means Jesus’ death on the cross paid 100% of the penalty our sins deserved and appeased God’s wrath against sin. Jesus suffered that punishment so we wouldn’t have to. And then he triumphed over sin and Satan by resurrecting from the dead and now invites us to share in that victory. But we have to look to Jesus for that victory rather than ourselves and our own religious efforts. So have you taken that foundational step? Have you put your trust in Jesus for rescue? That’s the first step to being prepared to stand against Satan’s attacks.

And for those of you who have already done that, let me say this in closing: whatever you do, don’t stop working to spread this gospel message. Remember how we learned last week that Satan’s goal is to do whatever he can to keep us from our mission and hinder us from moving the gospel forward. So don’t let him do that. Don’t let him distract you. Several months ago, we took our baby daughter Grace to the doctor because she was throwing up pretty badly. And when the doctor saw some of the symptoms she was having, he told us that it might be just a virus, but it also might be something with her intestines that was a lot more serious and urgent. So he said that we needed to get her to Children’s Hospital right away. He said that it was almost ambulance-worthy but that he would allow us to take her ourselves if we didn’t delay. So we quickly arranged for Heather to watch our two boys and then left immediately with Grace for the hospital. And you better believe that I was driving fairly aggressively. Now I’m not typically a sluggish driver anyway, but I was especially un-sluggish that day. I’ll admit that when we were on the residential streets near my house, I intentionally ran a few stop signs. I reasoned in my head that the intention behind stop signs was safety, and I was doing what was most safe for my daughter. And I was also fairly aggressive on the other roadways. Of course, I wasn’t trying to be rude or unsafe, but I wasn’t going to let anything get in my way or distract me or hinder me from getting Grace to the hospital. Now thankfully, it turned out to be just a virus, but I was working with the information I had at the time. And that’s similar to the kind of focus we should have on the mission God’s given us. God’s called us to spread the gospel and make disciples, so don’t let Satan stand in your way. Whatever you do, like Nehemiah with the wall, don’t stop working. Take the intentional steps we’ve talked about to be prepared for Satan’s attacks, but don’t stop working. Let’s pray.