"Be Not Ye Afraid of Them"
(A Message to the Members)
(Preached Wednesday Evening, June 17, 2020)
“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. 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.”
(Nehemiah 4:14-15, KJV)
[This outline was adapted from the one found in the Ryrie Study Bible, on pages 566 to 569, in Ryrie’s commentary on Nehemiah 4:1-6:14.]
- Who was Sanbalat and Tobiah?
“Sanballat. Also mentioned in the Elephantine Papyri as governor of Samaria, he assesed Nehemiah’s arrival as a threat to Samaria’s control of Judea. Tobiah. Probably an ex-slave, now governor of Ammon.” (Ryrie, pg. 563, Comment on Nehemiah 2:10)
- How did they respond to the new work that God was raising up in Jerusalem?
- “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.” (Nehemiah 4:1, KJV)
- “Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews.” (Nehemiah 4:1, NASB)
I. The Work Was Attacked by Mockery (4:1-6)
- Nehemiah prayed to the Lord, and then
- He and the people continued building for the Lord. (4:4-6)
II. The Work Was Attacked by Conspiracy (4:7-23)
- Nehemiah encouraged the people in the Lord. (4:14-15)
III. The Work Was Attacked by Extortion (5:1-19)
- Nehemiah rebuked the people, and then
- Made them begin treating each other according to the Lord’s commandments.
IV. The Work Was Attacked by Compromise (6:1-4)
- Nehemiah consistently refused to meet with them,
- Refused to stop building for the Lord, and therefore
- Refuse to waste his time dealing with them.
V. The Work Was Attacked by Slander (6:5-9)
- Nehemiah avoided listening to what they were posting on the internet which, in their day, was through an “open letter.”
- He instead consistently held to the truth of what he was doing (which, of course, was contrary to the lies that they were spreading about him).
VI. The Work Was Attacked by Treachery (6:10-14)
- Nehemiah did not allow himself to be led into the trap that they had laid for him.
- instead he held with the Lord until their treachery was revealed.
- The Work Was Accomplished! (6:15-7:3)
- The wall was completed in 52 days!
- (This ministry’s building was completed in exactly 80 days! Amen!)
OUTLINE:
“Be Not Ye Afraid of Them”
(Nehemiah 4:1-6:14)
I. The Work Attacked by Mockery
II. The Work Attacked by Conspiracy
III. The Work Attacked by Extortion
IV. The Work Attacked by Compromise
V. The Work Attacked by Slander
VI. The Work Attacked by Treachery
VII. The Work Accomplished
WORSHIP: