Nehemiah 1:3. When I questioned my brother about Jerusalem and the Jewish Remnant who survived the exile, he said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.” That word “trouble” really jumped out at me. In the Bible there are at least two kinds of trouble…
First, there is the kind of trouble we face when we oppose God. After Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, trouble followed them their whole lives. They reasoned that they were being punished for ignoring their brother’s cries of distress, and for killing him. There is the kind of trouble that God warned Moses and all Israel about.
In Deuteronomy 31:16-22, “The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me and break the covenant I have made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it, so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and breaking my covenant. 21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do, even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” 22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.”
I’ve heard a lot of songs in church—but I’ve never sung the lyric, “When I bring them into the land … they will eat their fill and prosper. They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and breaking my covenant.” They don’t play that one on Christian radio! You idolators, you’re bringing trouble on yourselves!
When Israel demanded God appoint a king over them like all the other nations. What does the Bible say? 1 Samuel 10:19, “But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’” In Job 4:8, Job and his friends understood, “those who sow trouble reap trouble.” Psalm 61:1 admonishes us that, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” Repent. Cry out!
This first kind of trouble is the trouble spoken about in Nehemiah 1:3. Psalm after psalm (Psalm 77, 91, 94, 102, 107, etc.), declare that when we cry out to the Lord, that unlike Joseph’s stubborn brothers, the Lord hears our plea, rescues us from the pit, and saves us from our distress. You wonder if Nehemiah remembered that old jingle God taught Moses back in Deut. 31… because in the face of such trouble and disgrace he weeps, fasts, mourns, and prays…
The Bible does of course warn about another kind of trouble. There is also the kind of trouble we face serving God. The Israelites grumbled against Moses that ever since he showed up, they experienced nothing but trouble with Pharoah! They found a kind of comfort being slaves, and realized a kind of discomfort even as God sought to set them free! We need to think long and hard about this. In our sins, we can get lulled into a kind of complacency. And the prospect of change—even if it brings eventual redemption and salvation—can seem too much to bear! “We were happier slaves than freemen!”
In Nehemiah 2:10 we read how, “When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to pursue the prosperity of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.” That look of displeasure, that flashes across people’s face, when you go off-script, and begin genuinely seek God. . . that look is often the first sign of coming trouble. How dare you!
As God strengthens the hands of the builder, Nehemiah 2:19 says, “When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and [now also] Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
At first you we suffer disapproving, displeasing looks. But then the mocking begins. “Well, well, well, just what do we have here? Who do you think you are? Do you think you are better than us? What are you getting a little jail-house religion? You becoming a Bible thumper?” And if you don’t take your cue, mockery escalates into scorn escalates into accusation. People despise you. Though you endeavor to love God, obey his commandments, and love people… they impugn your motives. “Just what are you doing? Are you trying to ruin our marriage, our family, our workplace, the church? You need to step back into line and stop this rebellion!”
The Bible tells us that in the Garden, as he contemplated the cross, Mark 14:33, “Jesus became deeply distressed and troubled.” Yet what did Jesus admonish the twelve earlier in John 16:33? “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” and “In me you may have peace”
By the time we get to Nehemiah 4:1-3, we read, “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews 2 before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” 3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!” There is nothing more incredulous to an evil, perverse mind than the thought of people returning to God. How quickly we abandon the things of God at the first sign of people’s displeasure. How much more when we encounter the ridicule, scorn, the insults. . . the fury. . . of God’s enemies!
Whether you find yourself in the first kind of trouble (that comes in running from God), or the second kind of trouble (that comes in returning to God)… the remedy is still the same. First of all, you get on your knees before the God of heaven and you put all of your troubles on his shoulders. In Nehemiah 4:4-5, Nehemiah prays, “4 Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered the builders.” God take our trouble. God take our frustrations and anger. God make our problem your problem!
But then secondly, we don’t change course. We see the work through! We don’t grow weary in loving God, in doing good. Nehemiah 4:6 says, “So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.” Do you remember how the Bible says, back in Nehemiah 2:18, that God strengthened the builders’ hands to do the work? Well here in Nehemiah 4:6 it says the people found the will to keep on working! As I read this the Holy Spirit reminded me of Philippians 2:13, where Paul says, “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”
So you’re so exhausted. It shows on your face. Your shoulders are slumped, you’re dragging your feet, you’re spent, you’re at the end of yourself, you’ve lost the will, you’re demoralized, demonized, discouraged, despised, beat up. God isn’t just your “refuge” in times of trouble, he is your “strength” to get through the trouble. And he isn’t just your strength, he is your “will empower’er”! Later in Nehemiah 8:10 the people discover that not only does God work in them to will and to act according to his good purpose.. but that “the joy of the Lord is our strength!”
Why pray? We pray for God to be our refuge, shield, and protector in times of trouble no matter what the cause (even if our own idolatry). We pray for God to strengthen us to will and act according to his good purpose (i.e. to begin or continue!). And we pray for God to give us a double measure of joy. Joy is like salt in the wound of God’s enemies. Nothing unnerves God’s enemies like the joy on your face. When you have joy, they know you have strength. And when you have strength, they know it’s because the gracious hand of God is upon you. And when they know God is for you, they know they’re on the wrong side of history.
I love Philippians 2:13-15: “13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world. . .” The enemies of God pour on the darkness… but God just causes our stars to shine a little brighter! “Rejoice, rejoice…” Paul tells the Philippians.
Nehemiah 4:8, 10-12, “7 When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious.” Did you notice? First there were two, now there are five! Bring it devil! Hey, let God’s enemies be furious right?
“8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion.” . . . “10 In Judah, it was said: The strength of the laborer fails, since there is so much rubble. We will never be able to rebuild the wall. 11 And our enemies said, “They won’t realize it until we’re among them and can kill them and stop the work.” 12 When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, “Everywhere you turn, they attack us.”
Hey, let them plot, let them talk. But do notice this.... That when God’s enemies cannot bully and intimidate you, they threaten real violence.
Whatever are we to do in the face of real trouble and distress, real persecution? Okay, let’s review. We continue doing what we’ve done all along. Nehemiah 4:9 says, “So we prayed to our God. . .” But notice what else verse 9 says, “we. . . stationed a guard because of them day and night.” The Bible says the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion… for us to stay sober minded, be alert, on guard.
Another piece of advice might be, don’t forget whose battle this is! Nehemiah 4:13-14 says, “So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows. After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”
Nehemiah 4:15-23 says, “15 When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall. 16 From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah, 17 who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. 18 Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the one who sounded the ram’s horn was beside me. 19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!” 21 So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out. 22 At that time, I also said to the people, “Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.” 23 And I, my brothers, my servants, and the men of the guard with me never took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing.”
Someone once said, “keeping guard is having the sobriety of mind to work (4:6), the heart to pray (4:9), the eye to watch (4:9) and ear to hear (4:20).” What does it look like us to stand together, to let God take the battle to the enemy?
I’ll leave us to contemplate Ephesians 6:10-20, “10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.”