PROCLAMATION
“And it came to pass, that when the
Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, from all places
whence ye shall return unto us … Therefore set I in the lower places behind the
wall, and on higher places, I even set the people after their families with
their swords, their spears, and their bows.”
Nehemiah 4:12-13 (KJV)
EXPLANATION
The Bible Book of Nehemiah was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Nehemiah,
the cupbearer to Artaxerxes the king of Persia. Chapter three of Book of Nehemiah includes a
listing of the men who went with Nehemiah to Jerusalem and the section of the
wall which they were responsible for rebuilding. Beginning with Eliashib the high priest and
the sheep gate, then proceeding with the men of Jericho next to them. Next to them was Zaccur the son of Imri. And so they worked on the wall and the gates all
around the city of Jerusalem all at the same time. (Nehemiah 3:1-32) When Sanballat heard that they were rebuilding
the wall he became angry. He spoke with
his brothers and with the army of Samaria about them and he criticized the wall
they were building. (Nehemiah 4:1-3) Nehemiah
prayed to God that He would turn the reproach of their enemy back upon them. The people continued to build the wall and all
the sections were joined but they were only half of the planned height. At this point Sanballat and Tobiah, and the
Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites were all upset and conspired
against Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 4:4-8) Nehemiah
continued to pray, and he set a watch, day and night, because of them. The people working on the wall complained
that there was too much rubble to remove and that would prevent them from
building the wall. Then the Jews who
lived in the surrounding towns offered their assistance and Nehemiah assigned
each of the clans to certain stations to help and protect. (Nehemiah
4:9-13) He told the nobles and the
officials and the rest of the local people to remember The Lord and do not to
be afraid of their enemies. From that
time forward half of the people worked on the construction of the wall and the
other half held the spears, shields, and bows.
Those who were building the wall worked with one hand and held a weapon
in the other hand. They all had a sword
strapped to their side. He told them
that because they were so spread out while working, if they hear the sound of
the trumpet then they should rally to that point. So that they were ready to fight if needed,
the men slept fully dressed and kept their weapon close by. (Nehemiah 4:14-23)
APPLICATION
Sometimes our help can come from what
may appear to be strange places. The
Lord God may move on the hearts of some people that we did not expect to cause
them to be a blessing to us. God can
frustrate the plans of our enemies before they bring them to fruition.
(Nehemiah 4:15) We just need to continue
to pray and to continue working for The Lord.
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