Unit: Nehemiah
Theme: It’s About Courage
Lesson text: Nehemiah 4:1-18
Supplemental texts: Nehemiah 6:9-16; Psalm 27; 2 Corinthians 11:23-30; Judges 7:2-7, 16, 20-23
Aim: Courageously defend God’s work in the face of danger.
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Download a PDF of this week’s lesson material (the Study by Mark Scott, Application by David Faust, and Discovery Questions by Michael C. Mack): LOOKOUT_February12_2023.
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By Mark Scott
Risk-taking can be evidence of strong faith, and risk-taking can be pure foolishness. Where is the line between faith and foolishness? Perhaps it lies with whose work is being defended. If we are defending our own pride, it will be foolishness; but if we are defending God’s honor and work, it will be an appropriate and well-calculated risk.
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he set right to work inspecting the city walls (2:9-16), challenging the people, facing off against enemies (2:17-20), and enlisting everyone to rebuild the gates and walls (3:1-32). But great projects are often met with great opposition. Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod stood opposed to Nehemiah and the people of God. Nehemiah was willing to risk it all to ensure that Jerusalem would be rebuilt so that one day the good news would come out of Zion (i.e., Christ and the message of the gospel).
God’s Work Would Be Defended Against Mockery
Nehemiah 4:1-5
Nehemiah’s enemies were angry and greatly incensed. The Hebrew words used here indicate they were red hot with wrath. The mockery took the form of ridicule (jeering or laughter). Five questions were used to undercut the efforts of God’s people. The questions implied that God’s people were feeble. The enemies wanted the Jews to doubt their ability to rebuild the wall. The enemies mocked the Jews’ ability to sacrifice again and caused them to doubt the time it would take to complete the wall project. Even the building materials (i.e., heaps of rubble) were mocked. Tobiah even chided them by saying a fox would cause the wall to cave in.
The mockery was met by imprecatory remarks (these are like imprecatory psalms, where God’s wrath is called down on God’s enemies). These remarks reflected the “emotion” of Nehemiah’s people. They might not have reflected the literal desire of God’s people, but they captured how they felt. They knew the mockers were despising and insulting them (treating them with contempt), so they prayed for their insults to be turned back on them, for them to be turned over to plunder, and for their guilt and sin not to be forgiven.
God’s Work Would Be Defended Against Murder
Nehemiah 4:6-12
Verbal threats and mockery gave way to threats of murder. The enemies of Nehemiah remained very angry (incensed). They wanted to stir up trouble (cause confusion or hinder), plague God’s people by just hanging around (be right there with them—i.e., intimidation by presence), attack them, and ultimately kill (murder) them. The Jews realized the threat was real as the enemies repeated their threats ten times over. The threats evidently even persuaded some of the Jews to concentrate on the rubble (dust or powder) more than on God’s power.
But the threats were met by even more courage from Nehemiah. He had inspired the hearts of his people. When the wall reached half its height, the people did not stop, they just kept on working with all their heart (some versions say because “they had a mind to work”). They also prayed, which is always a key for courage. Finally, they posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. The formula for a believer seems to be: Prayer + Work = Courage.
God’s Work Would Go Forward with Wisdom and Skill
Nehemiah 4:13-18
Nehemiah put his military prowess to work and challenged the people to go forward in wisdom and skill. He stationed some of the people in exposed (lower) parts of the wall. He divided them into family groups. Nehemiah 3 says the family units worked on the portions of the wall closest to their homes, which provided motivation to defend their property. Nehemiah encouraged the people to remember the Lord and fight for their families.
Word got back to the enemies that their evil plot had been uncovered and that God had frustrated it (broken it or made it void). This also emboldened the people to continue the work. Nehemiah divided the workers into two parts—some were ready to fight and the others continued with the work. Much like the minutemen in the American Revolutionary War, the builders had a sword in one hand and a tool in the other. The man who sounded the trumpet (shofar) stood by Nehemiah in case there was trouble. The tenacious work was carried on with great risk because the salvation of the world hung in the balance. It was not unlike the challenges faced by America’s 16th president, whose birthday we celebrate today (Sunday, February 12). Abraham Lincoln took great risk to save the country, but the risk was worth it.
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