NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: FROM ALARM TO ASSERTION (NEHEMIAH 4)
I went into a small post office in Pasadena that had only two workers on duty. Taped to the side of the sales window was a smiley face minus the smile. In its place was a glum, flat, expressionless line of a smile, with words on top of the round face that read “I can only please one person at a day and today ain’t your day.” At the bottom of the full size paper was a message in parenthesis: “Tomorrow ain’t looking too good either!”
Mark Galli tells this story about Francis of Assisi who had commanded his friars not to touch money. One day a worshipper left a coin offering in the church, and one of the friars, for whatever reason, saw the money and immediately tossed it over a window sill. When Francis learned he had touch money, Francis rebuked him, commanded him to use his lips to pick up the coin, and place the coin in a pile of ass’s dung with his lips (“Saint Nasty” Mark Galli, Christianity Today 6/17/96).
Some people have the mistaken notion that a Christian should be nothing but sweet, mild and nice. Nice guys do not have to finish last. They do not have to be like doormats, wallflower or tofu.
In Nehemiah chapter four, Sanballat and Tobiah, the Ammonite official of chapter two (2:19), returned with more trouble. This time, Sanballat laughed at the Jews in their face and ridiculed their rebuilding project before it reached the halfway stage, returning later with more trouble when the wall was near completion.
Israel’s enemies labeled them feeble, called the city a dump and described their work as inferior – even a fox can break it. How did Nehemiah respond? Nehemiah was still nice but never to a fault. He never allowed people to walk all over him and he did not back down when he and others with him were at risk, in danger or being threatened. Note also that Nehemiah did not pick a fight, worsen the situation or start a shouting match either. He immediately brought the matter before God, quickly organized the Israelites to take action and aggressively overcame the threat of their enemies.
What healthy, active and positive steps can we take to discourage others from taking advantage of us, our faith and our politeness?
Dignify Yourself and Defer to God
4:1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble-burned as they are?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building-if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” 4 Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. (Neh 4:1-5)
A company sent me a Christmas catalogue one year, and in it was an Old Gaelic Blessing plaque that humored me. It says, “May those who love us, love us. And those that don’t love us, May God turn their hearts. And if He doesn’t turn heir hearts, May He turn their ankles So we’ll know them by their limping.”
The Jews have their prayers for those who opposed them, too:
“May all your teeth fall out but one - and may that one ache.”
“May you win the lottery - and spend it all on hospital charges.”
“May you sell candles for a living - and then may the sun never set.”
“May you be like a chandelier - hang by day and burn by night.”
“May you become world famous - in medical records.”
Nehemiah’s prayer when he was despised and insulted was not nice; it was controversial but it was honest. Before you agree or disagree with Nehemiah’s prayer, consider the facts. He was not on the offensive but on the defensive; he did not invite insults on his enemies, but returned insults to their owners; he did not ask for himself, but for people whose lives were endangered; and he didn’t say it to his enemies but made it known to God.
Note that the words “greatly incensed” (v 1), “feeble” (v 2) and “despised” (v 4) occur for the first time and the only time, even though another form of the word occur elsewhere in the Bible. The enemies used a rare word - “feeble” - to describe the Jews in verse 2. It means weak, languid. Nehemiah dignified himself by bringing his prayer before God. When he was provoked, despised and insulted, he requested God be his defender, aggressor and vindicator.
Nehemiah did not mince, sanitize or regret his words. He told it as it is. The Jews were being despised (v 4), another irregular word. Nehemiah complained that the Jews were held in utter contempt, blatant disregard and verbal scorn. He asked God to return the favor on his enemies’ head, to reverse the roles of the hunter with the hunted, and to make the enemies a victim of their own violence.
Serving the Lord is never easy. Critics, troublemakers and faultfinders make it their business to rub people in their face, to force their opinions on others and to impose their expectations on others. Pour your heart out to God, tell Him your difficulty, distress or dissatisfaction. You do not need to accept bad treatment from others, deny it’s not there or take it into your own hands. Bottling up on our own feelings is never any good. Excusing our enemies is not honest.
Defend Yourself and Discourage Your Enemies
6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. 7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. 10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” 11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” 12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” 13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” 15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work. (Neh 4:6-15)
An old Indian legend tells about a vicious snake that terrorized everyone in the neighborhood until the day he met a wandering holy man. Naturally, the snake couldn’t hurt a holy man and the meeting wound up with the snake listening to a stiff lecture on being nice to people. The holy man left after the snake promised not to bite anybody.
The snake kept his promise, though his patience was sorely tried. His neighbors thought he was being good because he’d grown too old to fight, and they threw rocks at him. By the time the holy man visited him again, the snake was looking pretty seedy or worn-out. “You and your wise ideas and moral teachings!” he said.
“My friend,” said the holy man, “I told you not to bite anybody, but I did not forbid you to hiss.”( 7,700 Illustrations, Tan # 7375)
It’s been said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
The next time Sanballat and Tobiah returned, they recruited the Arabs, the Ammonites and men from Ashdod to fight the Jews. When they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry (v 7). The Jews were scared out of their wits. Previously Sanballat alone was angry (v 1), now the joint force was very angry (v 7). Previously Nehemiah “prayed” by himself (1:4, 1:6, 2:4), now the Jews “prayed” with him (4:4) – same Hebrew word. Nehemiah prayed again but he also took action: he posted a guard day and night to meet the threat (v 9). When the threat sounded deadly, the Jews came to Nehemiah more than ten times (4:12), repeated the same words, bringing panic, disorder and nervousness to the camp. Nehemiah could not ignore the threat against their lives. He fortified the exposed areas, armed families with swords, spears and bows, posted them to guard the wall, and rallied them with a Winston Churchill-type speech: Fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, wives, and homes (v 14).
Fighting is always the last resort and never the first instinct. It is not an offensive but a defensive move. It is about being vigilant and not being militant. It seems extreme to fight, but extreme times call for extreme measures. Sometimes you have to send your enemies a “Don’t Mess with Us” message, discourage them from getting wrong ideas, letting them share the worry. As a conflicted man, whose views on war waver, once moaned, “I’m 51 percent for the war and 49 percent against it!” (New York Times 3/18/03, “For Immigrants, Mixed View of War”)
The purpose Nehemiah ordered the Jews to be prepared to fight was not to claim a prize, a hostage, a scalp or a turf, but to claim a psychological advantage over the enemies and to secure a physical distance from them. God-fearing people fight to combat evil, overturn wrongs and to seek justice. Their enemies retreated when they discovered that the Jews were not unprepared, untrained or unwilling fighters. One last warning about fighting: Even though Nehemiah challenged his people to fight for their brothers, sons, daughters, wives, and homes (4:14), he did not tell them to fight for God (4:20). This is to prevent a descent into the madness of religious wars.
As security experts warned: If no one is at home, if a house has no alarm, and if you do not own a dog, it is wise to put up a “Beware of Dog,” “Trespassers will be prosecuted,” or “Protected by Alarm Company” sign. I remember seeing a crocodile farm warning sign in an old James Bond movie: “ Trespassers will be eaten!”
Discipline Yourself and Depend on One Another
16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. 19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” 21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.” 23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water. (Neh 4:16-23)
I saw this full scale “Office Timetable” sidewalk board on the internet:
9:00 am Starting time
9:15 am Arrive at work
10:00 am Coffee break
11:00 am Check e-mail
11:30 am Prepare for lunch
12:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm Browse the Internet
3:00 pm Tea break
3:30 pm Check e-mail again
4:00 pm Prepare to go home
4:45 pm Go home
5:00 pm Finishing Time
Howard Hendricks said, “Discipline people are the people who can do what needs to be done when it need to be done.” Discipline is not the addition of a skill or attitude when circumstances change and things threaten; it is present, available and developed before something happens. Our inventiveness, intelligence and improvisation can only get us so far without initiative, industriousness and intensity. Discipline is not denying oneself of necessities for the sheer act of deprivation; it is freeing oneself of encumbrances for the necessary advantage of preservation.
Amazingly, from verse 16, the Jews disciplined themselves even when the threat was gone, when the enemies were quiet and when the victory was won. The way they disciplined themselves were fascinating: half the men worked and the other half guarded (v 16); the working half labored with one hand and were armed with the other (v 17); and everyone was on the alert from sunrise till sunset (v 21) and overnight (v 22).
They depended on one another to respond if anyone was under attack. Their discipline was eye-opening. They worked day, night, and after dark (v 22); they never took their clothes, pants, or boots off (v 23); and they carried – five instruments are listed - spears, shields, bows, armor (v 16) and sword (v 18). Their discipline of time, lifestyle, and skill were sorely tested. Of course they could not live that like forever. They just had to discipline themselves until the task was completed.
Depend on one another, two is better than one, and in unity there is strength.
Conclusion: Are you allowing others to put you down, make you lose heart or think God has let you down? Are you holding your head high, praying honestly, strongly and earnestly to God? Do you protect yourself and make your enemies think twice before they act funny, try anything foolish or pick on you? Look out for one another - either work or guard or pray. If you are not repairing the wall, you should hold a weapon or sound the trumpet. Isn’t it time for passivity to take a back seat in your life, and assertion to occupy the driver’s seat?
Victor Yap
Other sermons in the series and other sermon series:
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