Nehemiah 4:19

Nehemiah 4:19 says, And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.   Nehemiah told the people that they were working separately on different sections of the wall, so they needed to listen for the sound of the trumpet, and if they heard it, they were to gather where the trumpet sounded.  Matthew Henry points out that Nehemiah was continually walking around the wall overseeing the work, and he would be in a position to see any upcoming danger.  We as Christians are all working separately in different parts of the world, though we work united in purpose under God’s leadership.  One day, when God’s trumpet sounds, we will all be gathered together, not to fight, but to go to our heavenly home.  In the meantime, we need to be alert to the dangers of the world and rally to help each other if necessary. 

Verse twenty adds, In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.  Nehemiah told them if they heard the trumpet to come to where it sounded, and that God would fight for them.  We may not be stronger physically than the enemies of God today, but as longs as we are followers of Jesus Christ, we don’t have to be.  God is fighting for us and the victory is already won spiritually.   

Verse twenty-one continues, So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.  They continued to labor, with half of them working and the other half holding spears and ready to fight.  Even as we are on alert and ready to battle the forces of evil today, we still need to be doing the work that God has called us to do, which is first and foremost to spread the gospel I believe. 

Verse twenty-two states, Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.  Nehemiah said that they should all lodge in Jerusalem with their servants at night, so that they could be on guard and continue to do the work by day.  Even while we are resting at night, we need to know that God is still with us, and we should rest easy so that we can continue to do the work the next day. 

Verse twenty-three adds, So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.  Nehemiah said that all those on guard and he himself remained dressed and ready to fight at all times, and we as Christians should have on the armor of God at all times, ready to battle against the forces of evil

Nehemiah 4:12

Nehemiah 4:12 says, And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.  The Jews heard about those who were coming to stop them from building and were warned to be ready for it.  We are going to have people of the world attempting to stop our work for God today, so we need to be ready for it when it happens. 

Verse thirteen adds, 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.  Having heard of the coming opposition, Nehemiah had the people armed and ready.  We know that we are going to have opposition when we proclaim God’s word today, so we need to always have on the armor of God. 

Verse fourteen continues, And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.  Nehemiah told the people to not be afraid, because they had God on their side.  We today have no reason to allow the people of the world make us afraid, because we still have God on our side if we are followers of Christ. 

Verse fifteen states, And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.  When their enemies heard that the people of God were ready for them and under God’s protection, that they didn’t attack, and the people continued with their work, but still took steps to ensure that they were ready for an attack.  We cannot let fear stop us from doing God’s work today.  Still, even while doing what God has called us to do, we need to be ready for the attack if it comes. 

Verse sixteen adds, And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.  From the time they were warned, half the people bore arms, and half the people did the work.  We as individual Christians and as the church as a whole need to be ready to stand against any opposition, but we must also continue to do what God calls us to do. 

Verse seventeen continues, They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.  Even those doing the actual building were armed and ready, and so must we be today.

Verse eighteen concludes, For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.  Nehemiah says that all those who built were ready for an attack, but the one to blow the trumpet to sound the alarm was by him.  The Holy Spirit is always ready to warn us of imminent danger if we are listening.   

 

Nehemiah 4:7

Nehemiah 4:7 says, But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,  The kings of the Arabians and the Ammonites became angry when they heard that the wall was being repaired.  If we begin to repair our spiritual relationship with God today, we may make other people angry with us, maybe even some people that we have called friends, but we cannot allow that to stop us from doing so. 

Verse eight adds, And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.  These kings conspired together to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder the rebuilding of the wall.  People are still going to conspire against the work of Christians today, especially the spreading of the gospel in some countries, in an attempt to hinder the work. 

Verse nine continues, Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.  The people doing the work prayed to God about the situation, but they also set a watch on the wall to keep track of what their enemies were doing.  Even though we should always pray for God’s guidance, we should also be actively working to do what he has called us to do while we await His answer. 

Verse ten states, And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.  The people of Judah began to complain because of this.  Instead of complaining to God when things are not going right in our lives, we need to simply continue to do what God has called us to do, and if we are truly following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, nothing can stop us from achieving what he calls us to do. 

Verse eleven adds, And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.  Their enemies said that the people of Judah would not see them coming until they were in their midst ready to slay them.  The enemies of the church should never be able to come into our midst and be ready to destroy us without our seeing them, but if we let envy, strife, and hatred of others into the church, the enemies of God are already there.