Nehemiah 6 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. 5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
When seeking to serve the LORD, nothing can be as disheartening as being falsely accused of evil and of having selfish motives. Nehemiah's actions show us how to deal with that. First, he makes no sudden changes. He does not doubt himself and run away or throw false accusations back. He steps back and evaluates the situation. Next, he realizes what is going on, and sees the bigger picture: this was all a ploy to impede the progress of rebuilding that God wanted done and had called him to do. Thirdly, He called out to God for strength. After all, he realized that he had needed God's strength to do this in the first place; he would need Him even more with this resistance pressuring him. He also would not run away or hide in the temple. He knew who he was: he was not a coward, and he was not holy enough to be in the temple. That also would undo his dependence on God, and show that he thought he was special, exempt from the rules - qualified to be a priest and king. That was not his calling. There was too much at stake: God's call, his name, the unity of the people, and the goal God had set before them. How do we respond when we face resistance and are falsely accused?
No comments:
Post a Comment