Engage The Word, 40 Days In Nehemiah DAY 23 – FOILING THE ENEMY’S TACTICS Our scripture takes us back to the building of the wall. The walls are actually completed, but the gates have not been set. Nehemiah faces yet another challenge… SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 6:1-4 When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. Nehemiah is following God’s plan and doing God’s work. This does not make the enemy happy, and he will try anyway he can to “foil” the process, as I have found even in writing this guide. Nehemiah gets a message four times from Sanballat, the Governor of Samaria and Geshem, who was probably the chief of the Arabs. The message is, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono. Ono was about equal distance from Jerusalem to Samaria. It was about twenty miles away and would have taken Nehemiah several days to go there. It also was at the very limit of the northwest corner of Nehemiah’s territory…a hostile region. Nehemiah recognized a vicious plan. He knew it would have stopped the work on the wall and even opened himself as well as Jerusalem for attack. But he does not respond using these tactics. He replies, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Each time the message comes, Nehemiah patiently replies the same…I am busy. I have work to do here…and the work goes on. LIFE APPLICATION: When we are in the “work of the Lord,” there are times when our enemy (Satan) will bring something across our path to get us off track. What person(s), who is in the “work of the Lord,” is God bringing to your mind today? Pray a covering of protection over them as well as yourself as you intercede for their and your ministry. SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE(S): Romans 12:21; Acts 16:22-25; Acts 5:41-42; Acts 4:13-14
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 13:24:38 +0000
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