Week 5, Nehemiah 4 - Hook

Main Point: When met with opposition, remain faithful and seek wisdom. Current Event: In October 2013, Tom Hanks starred in the true story of the cargo ship, Alabama. The film, Captain Phillips, chronicled the ordeal of the captain and crewmembers of the ship after it was overtaken by Somali pirates in 2009. The crewmembers used their antipiracy training by locking themselves in a secure room and cutting all power to the ship. Captain Phillips, however, stayed on deck and was taken hostage by the pirates. They held the merchant marine on a lifeboat for five days, demanding ransom. In an interview, Captain Phillips said , "I vowed I would not give up. If I gave up I'd be a hostage, just something they could ransom or murder. If I didn't give up, I could play mind games with them as they were playing with me."1 The captain, who was eventually rescued by Navy SEAL snipers, refused to admit defeat and refused to lie down in the face of his enemies. Captain Phillips stood firm. Discussion Questions: What do you think of Captain Phillips’ decision to not become a “hostage”? What kind of opposition do we face as Christians? How does spiritual opposition hinder us? Personal Story: Share with the class a time when you walked through physical or spiritual opposition. Be honest with them about how you felt you stood up to it, and any lessons you learned. 1

Gina Bullard, Capt. Richard Phillips shares his story of survival, wcax.com.

Nehemiah 4 - Book Main Point: When met with opposition, remain faithful and seek wisdom. Text Summary: Nehemiah 4:1–23 Opposition intensifies, but the people continue watchfully. While the building continues, Sanballat and his allies resort to direct action in order to stop it, but their plot is foiled.2 Nehemiah 4:1-6 (Read) Sub Point: Maintain focus when the work of the Lord is opposed. Sanballat is angry and greatly enraged because of the challenge to his authority. He is clearly worried by the Jews’ action, but expresses it in mockery, no doubt to encourage his brothers (or allies) to join him in resisting. Directly following, and probably even as the taunts continue, Nehemiah goes to the Lord in prayer. He calls upon his God for help, for justice, for protection, and comfort. Just as we saw in chapter 1, Nehemiah’s first response amidst difficult circumstances continues to be prayer. Nehemiah is an encouraging leader for the people as he remains constant and firm through the opposition to reconstruction. Shortly after this episode of conflict, the work resumes. We see that Nehemiah does not miss a beat in these opening verses as the people face opposition. He draws them back in through prayer, refocusing their understanding of Who is ultimately in control of their work. Nehemiah’s prayer forces the people to ask themselves, “Who’s in control? Is it Sanballat and Tobiah or our great and awesome God that set this work in motion?” One aspect of God’s blessing on this project was that He gave the people a deep desire to do the work, and He sustained that desire throughout the time that the wall was being built. 3 John 15:18-20 explains that the world will hate the believer; opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem foreshadows such hatred. How should a believer respond when the world aggressively opposes the work of the Lord? What should be the goal when facing such opposition: win the opposition to Christ, defend the work of the Lord, or deliver justice to those who are enemies of God? In what ways did Nehemiah’s prayer put the threat of opposition in perspective?

2 3

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 831. Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 831.

Another Perspective: Bible Knowledge Commentary After praying, Nehemiah and the Jews continued with the work. Some Christians pray and then wait for things to happen, but not Nehemiah! As in all his efforts, he blended the divine perspective with the human. He faced Sanballat’s opposition with both prayer and hard work. Once he committed the problem to the Lord, he trusted God to help them achieve their goal. 4 Discussion: Was Nehemiah justified in praying and working? How did Nehemiah’s purpose factor in to his decision to continue, prayerfully, with the work?

Nehemiah 4:7-14 (Read) Sub Point: Value people above tasks. Opposition continues and increases in intensity. Sanballat and Tobiah notice their efforts to thwart and discourage the rebuilding of the wall are failing. They continue to be unsuccessful, so they go get help and bring more numbers. They resign their verbal attacks and taunts and move to physical force. They’re coming to fight. And what is Nehemiah’s response to this news when he learns of it? He prays first and then he practices wisdom in how he acts. He takes precaution and does what needs to be done to keep the people safe. Yes, he trusted God to keep them safe from attack, but Nehemiah knew that didn’t mean to simply pray and then see what happened. Nehemiah knew that prayer and trust in God go hand in hand with taking action and using what resources they had to keep the people safe. 5 Nehemiah knew he needed to do something. The people are in real danger. Nehemiah stations people behind the wall at the safest points and gives them weapons to defend themselves if the moment comes. He calls out to the nobles and the officials and the rest who are there to not be afraid, but to trust in the Lord who is great and awesome. And he prepares them to fight. Notice that in the threat of danger Nehemiah sacrifices the work and the labor on the wall to keep the people safe and protected. The leader does not sacrifice the safety of the people for the sake of the advancement of the wall. We must realize that when we are leading people in a task, the task never becomes more important than the people we are leading. Nehemiah knows that, yes, the Lord commissioned him to rebuild the walls and the gates, but he also knows the Lord has placed him in a position to lead people in this effort. Nehemiah knows that the people of Jerusalem are his primary concern. After all, it is for the safety and protection of the people of Jerusalem that the walls 4

Gene A. Getz, "Nehemiah" In , in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), Ne 4:6. 5 H.G.M. Williamson, Word Biblical Commentary: Ezra-Nehemiah. (Waco: Word Books, 1985), 230.

are being rebuilt and restored. What are the effects of valuing people more than tasks? When tasks must be completed in a timely fashion, is it still possible to place the highest value on people? In the face of vocal opposition, how does a believer know he or she is doing the right thing in moving forward? Read verse 14 together. Discuss Nehemiah’s strategy, how does he motivate the people? Nehemiah 4:15-23 (Read) Sub Point: Trust in the Lord and act. The forces of opposition fall back and dissolve. Their plan for a surprise attack fails. Once again, they are unsuccessful. As a result, the work resumes on the wall and the people continue laboring, but not without necessary steps of precaution moving forward, keeping their weapons close by. Here we see Nehemiah doing things and taking precautions that did not stand as alternatives to the builders’ faith, but rather were meant to assist and build up their faith. 6 He arms them with weapons. He uses the trumpet as a call to arms. He keeps everyone within the city during the night. He doesn’t let them travel home. Through all these things, Nehemiah takes action steps to keep the people safe. He is changing the way they have been doing things, giving people new roles and new assignments. He does this to keep the people under his care safe and protected. His confidence in his God does not keep him from being smart and doing what needs to be done. What strategies did Nehemiah set into place if an attack occurred? Who were the people to rally around in the event of a battle? When a strategy change occurs, unspoken messages are sent. What did Nehemiah’s strategy change communicate to his people?

6

H.G.M. Williamson. Word Biblical Commentary: Ezra-Nehemiah. Word Books: Waco, TX, 1985. 230.

Nehemiah 4 – Took

Main Point: When met with opposition, remain faithful and seek wisdom. In Today’s Culture: Christians throughout the world face severe opposition every day. From authoritarian Communist countries such as China and Cuba to Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia, 75 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where there are severe restrictions on religion, according to Open Doors USA. 7 In light of this, we recognize we are blessed here, but still must lead in the midst of continuing opposition to Christianity at home, but also in prayer and support worldwide. Class Exercise: Have class members split up into smaller groups and discuss opposition they may be facing in their own lives. Remind them that Nehemiah’s reaction to opposition was to seek God. Allow some time for the groups to pray for one another. Challenge: Remind your class that we are living in times of increasing secularism and escalating oppression. During times of discouragement and difficulty, it’s hard for us to pray before we take action and other times we don’t find it necessary to take action if we have already invested time in prayer. We get trapped going back and forth, from one extreme to the other. Through the life and practice of Nehemiah we see him “pray then act” well and in the right order. We must learn that trusting in God to act and come through for us does not remove our responsibility to be smart and take wise action. May we become people who believe the Lord is moving and active in our lives during times of crises and continue to believe that He fights for us. At the same time, may we be people who act and move forward in wisdom.

April Thompson, Persecution Against Christians Increases in Many Parts of the World, communities.washingtontimes.com 7