Nehemiah 4 When Facing Opposition
This afternoon is Super Bowl 58. I’m not much of a sports fan, and don’t really care to watch games, but in years past Gladys and I have watched some of them just to see the commercials.
This year there is something different though. Sarah Thomas will become the first woman to referee a Super Bowl. She is expected to do well, because women are really good at pointing out what men do wrong.
Anyway, if you are in to such things, notice what happens when a player is hit by the opposing team. Does he sit down and quit? Does he run away? Does he throw down the ball, say it’s too hard, and run back to the huddle? No! He keeps pressing on. He tries to accomplish all he can in spite of the opposition.
There will always be opposition, but those who are successful face that opposition and continue to press on. It has been said, that the true measure of a man is seeing what it takes to make him quit.
In Nehemiah 4, we find an example of a man who faced opposition when he pursued a God-given task, but who would not let that opposition stop him from accomplishing what God had called him to do.
- Read Nehemiah 4:1-23
In verse 1 we are told that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he became furious. One would think that seeing this small band of people succeeding in a massive building project would cause folks to get excited or maybe even inspired. But, no. Sanballat became furious. Why? What prompted the opposition?
I believe it was a couple of things. First, he was upset because there was change. You see, the heart of a habitual critic resists change. To him, change is a threat.
In any organization, those who are the most critical of change are those who are the most inflexible. They resist change and they become especially suspicious of change that leads to progress and growth.
Second, he was concerned that a restored Jerusalem would lessen his influence in the area. How many organizations have faced criticism and opposition simply because those in power are concerned about changes or are concerned that they will lose some of their power or some of their influence.
How many churches, how many Christian organizations are ham strung for those very reasons?
I know a church in our area that was never able to really grow until there was a funeral or two in the church. Every time a preacher would come in and start visiting and such and the church would begin to grow, some of the leadership in the church would cause issues until that preacher left and the church shrank back to its earlier size.
Some people hate change, and especially if that change means that they might lose some power or influence.
We need to remember also, that anger will often be the world’s response to God’s work, because it challenges world views and values.
Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” He did not say He would build His church and that there would not be any gates to tear down, or that there would not be any opposition. Any time you’re moving into an area where the devil has run rampant, there’s going to be opposition. Any time you’re trying to share or witness to someone who has been a part of the Devil’s kingdom, there’s going to be opposition.
Now, let me remind you, we can’t shrug off all criticism. We can’t ignore every bit of opposition. None of us are right all the time. There may be some kernel of truth in that person’s criticism, so examine what they say, think about it, pray about it. If there is truth in what has been said, then address that truth, make necessary changes, but don’t let act stop you.
Nehemiah looked at the opposition before him and saw that this was nothing but a campaign of ridicule. Sanballat was mocking the builders. There was no constructive criticism here. It was just godless opposition. Notice what Sanballat said.
- Read verse 2
1. What are these pathetic Jews doing? - Sure, the Jews were few in number. They were attempting a large project, larger than most would think they could ever accomplish, but you’re to stoop to name calling.
You can often tell the heart of the opposition but looking at the words they are using and the way they are opposing. When they stoop to character assignation, and name calling, and they use no facts, their heart is not in the right place. They are not viewing or commenting from a place of concern.
So the opposition became with criticism.
- Read verse 2
2. Can they restore it themselves? . . . Will they ever finish it?
The opposition wanted to install doubt. They wanted to make the workers begin to question if it was even possible, or if they were attempting to do something that was way beyond their ability.
3. Will they make sacrifices? They’re making fun of the Israelites' religion, and making fun of their dependence on God. “Do these people really think they’re prayer and sacrifice can make that wall grow?
People who have nob relationship with the Lord, will often question our dependence on the Lord. They will often question our reliance on God, and wonder how we can expect Him to work.
- Read v 2
4. Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?
Surely a good portion of the stones around the walls were reusable. Surely a good portion of them were undamaged. They just had to be stacked back into place with new mortar.
The opposition tried to magnify the difficulties. They emphasized the difficulties and focused on the negative.
Look, when you’re starting a project, when you’re dreaming a dream, when you are beginning a God-inspired project, you do need to count the cost. You do need to think through the project. You do need to think about the hurdles ahead.
Jesus Himself tells us in Luke 14,
> Luke 14:28-32 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Count the cost, but don’t let folks discourage you or dissuade you if the Lord has placed something on your heart.
There is a cost to being a Christ follower, but don’t believe those folks who claim you will never have fun again, or can never enjoy yourself again.
There was opposition.
Notice also, Sanballat also had with him, Tobias the Ammonite. You ever notice how negative people often hang out with negative people? They just attract each other. They like to move around in their cloud of gloom and negativity.
Tobias had his own remarks to add to the equation.
- Read verse 3
5. Even if a fox walks on the wall it will fall down
They began laughing and making fun of the workers and of the work being done.
You ever notice how people who never do anything or who never accomplish anything enjoy making fun of the people who do.
You should have doe it this way. You should have done it that way. You really aren’t accomplishing all that much. You’re doing a whole lot of work for nothing, for something that will fall apart at any time.
While they do nothing.
It has been said that a football stadium is a building filled with 50,000 people desperately in need of exercise, watching 100 people desperately in need of a rest, telling them how they could have done it better.
Some people, facing such opposition would fly of the handle. They would get angry and yell, and become insulting in return.
What do you do when you face criticism?
> Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away anger,?but a harsh word stirs up wrath.
> Proverbs 15:28-29 The mind of the righteous person thinks before answering, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil things.The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
We don’t respond in kind. That’s not going to fix the situation.
If we could only learn that in our homes. Hollering and trying to get in the last word isn’t going to solve the problem. It isn’t going to stop the argument. If we would be calm and hold our tongues, how much heat could be removed from the discussion.
> James 1:5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
II. RESPONDING TO CRITICISM
Notice how Nehemiah responded.
1. He prayed
- Read Nehemiah 4:4-5
Nehemiah talked to God about the criticism.
Do you remember when David fought Goliath? Goliath must have really been surprised when this young teen came running toward him with no armor, no sword, no spear, with nothing but a sling. He thought the battle would be decided on size, strength and training. David knew otherwise.
> 1 Samuel 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses[j] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.”
David knew the true battle would be won by the Lord.
And when Daniel was told he could no longer pray, what did he do? He prayed, and the Lord closed the mouths of the lions in the den, because Daniel knew where true victory would come from.
When Elijah met all of those priests on top on Mt. Carmel, what did he do? He prayed, fire came from heaven and all the priests of Baal were destroyed.
My friends, we need to remember where the true battle takes place.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.
We need to remember where the main battles are fought. My friend, you are never stronger than when you are on your knees. You never have more impact on the kingdom of God than when you are on your knees.
Now, this was an unusual prayer. Some might even complain that this prayer runs contrary to what we are taught as Christians. But, we see David praying these kind of prayers in the Psalms, and Jeremiah was recorded as praying this way as well.
There are several things I would have you notice about Nehemiah’s prayer.
1) This prayer was for divine judgment against sin, which is a clear teaching of scripture. When we see our children being assaulted, when we see them being misled, and their thinking twisted; when we see the innocent being hurt by evil, it is more than biblical to pray for God’s judgment against sin.
Jesus Himself said,
> Luke 17:1-2 He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come,[a] but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
This prayer was for divine judgment against sin.
2) It was a prayer for God to act not for personal vengeance. Nehemiah was praying and asking God to do something in this situation. He wasn’t asking for permission to take natters into his own hands.
3) It expressed zeal for God’s work and God’s honor.
(The New American Commentary, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Mervin Breneman, 194-5)
My word, wouldn’t it be great if more of God’s people began praying with passion and persistence, instead of some of the milk toast type stuff that passes for prayer these days? Nehemiah wasn’t praying for his comfort or so that things might be easier for him. He was praying because the people were being discouraged, the work of God was being assaulted and it got him ticked. He said, “God get them.”
Look, we need to pray with passion, or with tears, for our prayers will not matter to God until they matter to us.
Nehemiah says, “Lord, You see what these people are doing? They’re trying to discourage Your people. They are trying to stop Your work. God, get them.:”
The criticism and opposition came and Nehemiah prayed. But not only did he pray but he also persisted.
2. He persisted.
- Read Nehemiah 4:6
You know what quitters do? They quit. You can always find a reason to quit if you want to. The Devil is more than willing to give you a reason to quit if you are looking for one.
2 brothers grew up in the same house. One ended up being an alcoholic. The other was a tee totaler. The alcoholic was asked why he ended up being an alcoholic. He said, “Because my dad was an alcoholic.” His brother, the tee totaler was asked why he never touched alcohol. He said, “Because my dad was an alcoholic.” If you want an excuse you can find one.
Nehemiah could have quit but he persisted.
Henry Blackaby, a great man of God and the writer of the Bible Study Experiencing God, Knowing and Doing God’s Will, said, if you want to stay in God’s will, you keep doing the last thing He told you until He tells you something else.
Opposition came, Nehemiah prayed and he kept on doing the last thing the Lord told him which was to build the wall.
All over the city you could hear the sound of trowels. All over the city you could hear the sound of shovels as they mixed more mortar. All over the city you could hear the clinking of stone hitting stone, and the sound of rubble being moved out of the way. You could hear people at the wells as they were drawing more water for the mortar. You could hear the sound of carts as they brought in more stone.
It must have driven Sanballot mad, hearing and seeing all of the progress that was being made.
You know one of the most irritating things, one of the most grating things you can see, is watching someone succeed where you quit.
So, they brought in more opposition. They gathered together more people to oppose the work.
- Read Nehemiah 4:7-8
Misery loves company, and the more you progress, and the more you grow and the more you succeed, and the closer you walk with the Lord, the more people you find trying to stand in the way.
3. He posted
- Read Nehemiah 4:9
He placed guards around the city.
Praying is good, but sometimes you have to prepare as well.
> James 4:14-16 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
We pray, but there has to be some practicality behind those prayers as well. Nehemiah prayed, but he also posted guards.
We can pray for protection, but we also lock our doors. We pray for a job, but we put out applications. We pray for health, so we eat right and exercise.
We are people of prayer, but we put actions to those prayers.
Jesus tells us,
> Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
We pray.
> Matthew 28:19-20 Go, therefore, and make disciples of[e] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.
We put feet to our prayers.
Three quick reminders before we go.
1. It is impossible to accomplish anything without facing criticism and opposition.
2. It is essential to face opposition and criticism with prayer. We need discernment to see what truth there might be in the criticism, and also wisdom to know how to respond to it.
3. Prayer is not all that is necessary. We have to actions to our prayers.
