Nehemiah: Facing Opposition (Neh 4)

17th August 2014

Recap
- We’re following the adventures of Nehemiah as he and the people of Israel work together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
- Who is Nehemiah? A Jew who was serving as cupbearer in the Persian king’s court
- What is a cupbearer? A high-ranking officer whose duty is to serve drinks to the king (guarding it against poison).
- Why did Nehemiah go to Jerusalem? To lead the people to rebuild the broken walls and the burnt gates — a city without walls is in disgrace and without protection from enemies.
- When Nehemiah first went to examine the walls, what did he see? Ruins. A mess.
- What did Nehemiah say to the people to encourage them? The God of heaven will give us success.
- The people started rebuilding and repairing the gates. Who can name me some of the gates? Sheep, Fish, Old, Valley, Rubbish, Fountain, Water, Horse, East, Miphkad
- What do all the gates remind us about Jesus? Jesus is the gate of life! (John 10:9-10)

Facing Opposition:
- In anything we do, we would face difficulties or opposition — people who go against what we are doing.
- Obviously Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem faced their share of challenges.
- Their enemies did not want Jerusalem’s walls to be built.
- Sanballat, Tobiah, Arabs, Ammonites, Ashdodites: furious and indignant
- Mocked (Neh 4:1-3)
  - Attacked their identity: Feeble Jews
  - Attacked their ability: Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish?
  - Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.
  - Conspired (Neh 4:8)
    - To attack
    - To create confusion
    - To create fear:
      “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
      “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.” à told 10x!

Nehemiah’s Response:
- Nehemiah knows God hears his prayers
- He set men to guard the wall day and night —
  Half worked at construction; other half wore armour, held spears, shields and bows;
  One hand worked; other hand held a weapon
- He rallied the people and reminded them about how BIG their God is:
- He recognised the Person of God: “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome …” (Neh 4:14)
- He recognised the Partnership of God: “Our God will fight for us” (Neh. 4:20)

The result:
- The enemies retreated!
  ¹⁵And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

Know our identity:
- The devil attacked Jesus’ identity as the Son of God when he tried to tempt him in the desert. The devil always tries to make us doubt our identity and our standing before God — Does God really love me? Will God really help me? Maybe God won’t listen to my prayers because I sinned etc
- We can also face opposition and challenges by knowing who we are in Christ and what He has done for us!
Stand guard:
- We can stand against the devil by putting on the whole armour of God (Eph 6:10-13) 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.
Recognise the Person and Partnership of God
- “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome …”
- Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

What can we do when we face challenges?
- Get kids to share what sort of challenges they face.

Memory Verse activity/game
- Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?