Building Strong Walls

Nehemiah 1-6


Nehemiah was King Artaxerxes’s cupbearer. A cupbearer was one who would fill the king’s cup, taste it, and present it to him personally. Also a cupbearer was an officer of high rank with the Egyptian, Persian, Assyrian, and Jewish monarchs. A monarch is a prince or ruler of a nation.

Well, Nehemiah was in the presence of the King one day, and his countenance was sad. He had received word that Jerusalem’s walls were torn down, and the gates were consumed with fire. The Jews were in such despair. His heart ached for them, and he fasted and prayed and mourned over the people. The king noticed how sad he looked one day, and said to him. “ Why is your countenance sad? I know you’re not sick, so this must be sorrow of the heart that you feel.”
Nehemiah said, “ Why shouldn’t I be sad? The place of my Father’s sepulchers lieth in waste, the walls are broken down, and the gates are on fire.”

The King asked him to make his request, and Nehemiah said these words. “If it please the king, and if thy servant has found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my father’s sepulchers, that I may build it.”

Well, you know what? Nehemiah found favour with the King. Isn’t that great? And there’s something else I would like to point out about his reply to the king. He sure had a good way to approach the king about his request, didn’t he? We could learn a few tips from him that might help us with approaching our King. How about this? “If it please you Lord, and if I have found favour in your sight,” I bet if we approached our king like that, we just might get more accomplished.

You know what else Nehemiah wanted from the king? He wanted the king to write some letters for him. Those letters would be for two purposes. It would prove to the enemy that he had the Kings approval, and it would also encourage the Jews to build.

Boy, I’m glad we got a copy of our King’s letters, The Bible. It can discourage the enemy, but encourage the saints to keep right on building. You know, there are some saints of God whose walls are broken down spiritually. Their gates have been burned down by the enemy. God can use us, like he did Nehemiah, to read the letter of our King and encourage them to start rebuilding again.

Not only did the king give his approval and write a letter, he sent captains of the army, and horsemen with Nehemiah. I’m sure glad the Lord not only wrote us a letter, but he sent along with us a comforter to help us with the battle. God sure is merciful, and so good to us.

Well, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, as they say. Nehemiah hardly got his foot into Jerusalem before the enemy was alerted. The Bible says that Sanbalat, Tobiah, and Geshem, enemies of the Jews, were grieved when they heard that Nehemiah had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. Sounds like that ole devil. He’s always grieved when he hears of a child of God having a burden for souls, Huh?

Well Nehemiah got up in the middle of the night, leaving those captains and horse men asleep. He looked around at all the damages, and boy, things looked real discouraging. The gates were on fire, and the walls were all broken up. There were even some places that were impossible for his horse to walk through. Everything was a mess. The people were so over whelmed, that they didn’t even feel like building it back up.

But Nehemiah stood up and told them how the hand of God was so good to him, and also that he had the king’s words of encouragement. The people then strengthened their hands and said, “Let us rise up and build.”

It was so refreshing for the Jews to have the king on their side, and also to have his letter of encouragement. You know, I just couldn’t get through life without the kings letter of encouragement to me. Sometimes it just seems so hard to build back up the walls when I look around me and see the ruins and destruction done by the enemy. Sometimes I think, “why should I rebuild, the enemy is just going to come back and tare it all down again.” But you know what? The one thing that refreshes me the most, is knowing that the King is for me, and I have his letter, and that gives me the strength to keep on building.

Well, the Jews were not building long before the enemy came back around. The enemy was planning to destroy the Jews and kill them. So they prayed, and they set a watch against the enemy day and night. Doesn’t the Bible tell us to “Watch and pray,” too?

Things got so bad, that one day Nehemiah rose up, and said to the nobles, and the rulers, and the rest of the people, “Be ye not afraid of them. Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Do you know what the enemy used to discourage the Jews? It was nothing but words. The enemy mocked, and teased, and ridiculed the Jews. They tried to discourage the Jews with their mouths. They laughed the Jews to scorn. Sanballat said, “ Who do these feeble Jews think they are. Do they really think they can build that wall back?”

Then Tobiah joined in and said, “ Even if they did build a wall, it will be as week as they are. Why, even a fox would be able to break it down.” Nehemiah 4:3.

You know after a while that tongue can get real discouraging. The Bible says a lot of negative things about our tongues, doesn’t it? We really have no idea what kind of damage our tongues are capable of until we get into God’s word.

God’s word says in Proverbs 18:21, that death and life are in the power of the tongue. The Bible says in the book of James, that the tongue is set on fire of hell, and it is a world of iniquity. The Bible also says that the tongue can defile the whole body, and that it cannot be tamed.

Just like the Jew’s enemy discouraged them with words, the devil uses the same thing to discourage the children of God. The devil, our enemy, can do so much damage with just words. Oh yes, he ridicules, and he discourages us with his words. You see, he’s our accuser. He gets us thinking that we are not going to be able to do a good job, and there’s just no use in trying anymore. The reason why most Christians fall out of the work of the Lord today is because of the devils discouraging words. And believe me, he knows exactly what to say.

After receiving the words of encouragement from Nehemiah, the Jews went back to work. But from that day on, they had one hand in the work, and the other hand was equipped with a weapon. We need one hand in the work of the Lord, but we always need to have the other hand holding tight to our weapon, which is the sword of the Lord, the Word of God.

Well, the enemy just would not give up easy. Old Sanbalat, and Tobiah sent a message to Nehemiah saying, “Come, and let us meet in one of the villages somewhere in the plain of Ono. We’d like to have a talk with you.” But what they really wanted to do was destroy him.

You know what Nehemiah said to them? If you can remember this one thing that Nehemiah said, it will help keep the enemy from destroying you as well. He sent messengers and told them to tell Sanbalat, and Tobiah this, (6:3) “ I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease, whilst I come down unto you?”

You know what? Nehemiah knew that some mischief would befall him if he ceased from the work of the Lord and went down to talk to the enemy. If the devil can get your mind off the work of the Lord, and talk you into meeting him somewhere, he’ll do nothing but destroy you. Why should the work of the Lord cease, while you leave it and go mess around with the enemy. The best thing to do is stay busy for the Lord. It’s a great work. There is no greater work that you could be doing. Just keep building on that wall every day, and pretty soon it will stand tall and strong. Also I’d like to state that the enemy did not give up after the first try. They sent word to Nehemiah five other times asking him to meet them in a village somewhere, and every time Nehemiah’s answer was the same.

Please, do not let the devil win the victory over you. He wants to try so hard to keep you from building up that wall. Because you see, the more you build up your wall, the less he can get at you, and he knows that. You have to remember what Nehemiah did. He didn’t let the mouth of the enemy get the best of him. And also he didn’t stop his work and discuss anything with the enemy. His enemy didn’t want to reason with him, they wanted to destroy him. Your enemy is not reasonable. He wants your walls to stay torn down and weak. Remember, the devil is our accuser, and the Lord Jesus Christ is our excuser.

The Bible says in Nehemiah chapter 6 verses 15 & 16, “So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”
After all was said and done, the enemy knew that the Jews could not have put up that wall without the help of their God. They knew in their hearts that the God of the Jews had helped them. All the praise, and the glory, and the honor went to whom it was due. It all reflected right back to God Almighty, the way it always should.

We need to keep right on building up those strong walls because of our enemy. He seeks to destroy us, and the stronger our walls the better. And do you know that when all is said and done in your life, all the praise will go to the one who helped you through. Then the enemy will stand back and realize that your God was with you all along. They will see that it just couldn’t be done without him.

A foundation with its walls crumbled down, won’t mean much to a lost person. And yes, as much as I hate to mention it, the lost people are considered enemies of God. The Bible says in James 4:4, that whosoever is a friend of the world, is an enemy of God. But you have to remember how the Bible tells you to treat your enemy as well. Doesn’t the Bible tell us to love our enemies? Now, I don’t mean to love the devil. The Christian has two different types of enemies. Jesus Christ had enemies that nailed him to a cross, and he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

I heard another brother in Christ give this statement. He said, “The Christian has four enemies, the world, the flesh, the devil, and the brethren.”

Boy, does he have it all screwed up. I am inclined to disagree with him whole heartedly. The reason is this. The Bible says that whoever is not for God, is against God. I’m sorry to say that I’ve had a lot of brethren that have done me wrong, but they are not the enemy of God. Just because the brethren have disagreements or squabbles, it does not mean they are enemies. Only a babe in Christ would think such things. If they are for God, and for winning souls, and they love not the world, then they are not your enemy. I have two boys that seem to want to fight all the time. They bicker, and ague, and sometimes it even gets physical. But when the real enemy comes on the scene, they stick up for each other, and they help each other. Our brothers in Christ may hurt us, but they should never become our enemies. And if you think so, read the Bible on how you are supposed to treat your enemies. I really don’t know why I put all that in this story. I recon someone might need it.

The moral to this story is: it will sure pay off if you keep right on building. Your strong walls can help keep the real enemy out, and may even lead some lost soul to want the same foundation that you have. Really, when you think about it, there is nothing more important than the work of the Lord.