GOD's Practical Leadership Guide A Topical Study of the Book of Nehemiah Session 6 Chapter 4: Overcoming Adversity Part 1 1 PART 1 Chapter 4 Outline Early Problems Faced by the Israelites Dealing with External Opposition PART 2 Handling Internal Divisions Concluding Thoughts 2 Early Problems Faced by the Israelites Jews Return to Jerusalem Recap King Cyrus' Decree authorizing reconstruction of Temple to God (538 BC) Before 7 th Month (Tishrei) Priests rebuilt altar to God Jews celebrate high holidays 1 st Day Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23 25) 10 th Day Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) (Lev. 23:26 32) 15 th Day Feast of Tabernacles (7 Days) (Lev. 23:33 36) 2 nd - 3 rd Year Reconstruction of Temple Starts Trouble begins (Ezra 4:1 5) Opposition from nations around Jerusalem Cyrus Ahasuerus (538 BC 465 BC) Artaxerxes Longimus halts Temple Construction (Ezra 4:7 24) Letters of Accusation History of rebelliousness 3
Early Problems Faced by the Israelites God Intervenes 2 nd year, King Darius (~422 BC) 2 prophets are sent by the LORD Haggai & Zechariah Jews restart construction of the Temple of God (Ezra 5:1-2) Letters of accusation sent to King Darius (Ezra 5:3-17) Advisors to King Darius search Archives (Ezra 6:1-5) Uncover the decree from King Cyrus (the Great) King Darius' Decree (Ezra 6:6-12) Stay away from the Jews & let construction continue Assist by providing funds & material Provide Jews with animals for sacrifices and prayers for King. Penalty for violating King's Decree: Death & Destruction Result: Temple Completed 6 th year of Darius (~416 BC) Temple took ~122 years Comparison: King Solomon took 7 years (I Kings 6:37-38) 4 PART 1 Chapter 4 Outline Early Problems Faced by the Israelites Dealing with External Opposition PART 2 Handling Internal Divisions Concluding Thoughts 5 Dealing with External Opposition Learn from Nehemiah Faced a variety of problems caused by external opponents Learn the principles of dealing with external opponents Types of opposition to be discussed Facing down Disdain Overcoming Threats Overcoming Distractions Seeing through Deception 6
Facing Down Disdain Nehemiah 4:1 3 Opponents' reaction Anger & Indignation Mockery Belittlement Nehemiah's Response Neh. 4:4 5 Prayed to the Lord Neh. 4:6 Concentrated on his mission Learning from Nehemiah's Prayer Deliver the adversaries to the Lord Jews take hold of God's promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3) Christians follow Jesus' Will for us (Matt. 5:43) Prayed before the enemies actively did anything. Did not worry about the enemies 7 Types of Worry Facing Down Disdain (Continued) Concern: You can do something about a problem = Alert Plan ways to deal with problem Take action to address the problem Fretting: No ability to do anything about a problem If you worry about being looked down upon, is that a good worry or a bad worry? Worries can be a burden to the soul Fretful worries are particularly burdensome Jesus can take away the burden of worry (Matt 11:28-30) Concerns Jesus gives us wisdom to plan and act Frets Let go; Jesus will take care of it 8 Overcoming Threats Nehemiah 4:7 9 The enemies turn hostile Disdain turns to hate, which turns to hostility Nehemiah and the Jews response Prayed to God Posted guards Is the Jews' worry about the increased hostility a concern or a fret? Nehemiah 4:10 12 Rising Tensions Enemies plot against Nehemiah & the Jews Jews at apparent tactical disadvantage Plan sneak attack God exposes plot Jews outside of Jerusalem hear of plot Bring word to Nehemiah 10 times! 9
Overcoming Threats (Continued) Nehemiah 4:13 15 God's Plan Executed Guard the breaches in the wall (Obvious tactic) Organize families to be near the fighters (Subtle tactic) Fighters won't worry about loved ones Fighters will fight harder to protect loved ones. Enemies give up on planned sneak attack Principles that we learn In a hostile environment Pray to God constantly Take action to protect yourself If adversaries seek to attack you & your team Be alert for warnings, God may send regular people Pray and be attentive to take action according to His plan Romans 8:31 32 Be on God's side, you can't lose 10 Nehemiah 6:1 4 Overcoming Distractions Sanballat's and Geshem's attempt to distract Nehemiah Call for a meeting away from Jerusalem Best case for them kill Nehemiah Worst case for them distract Nehemiah and stall rebuilding of Jerusalem Focus on God Focus on priorities The So What? for a Godly leader Check with God first Focus on important priorities Avoid doing it my way 11 Ono Jerusalem 12
Seeing Through Deceptions Nehemiah 6:5 9 Sanballat's deception False accusation Prediction of dire results Discernment of lie Confidence in God Prayer to God for strength Implied: assurance in relationship with the king Past service King's support (Neh. 2:9) 13 Seeing Through Deceptions (Continued) Nehemiah 6:10 14 Tobiah's & Sanballat's Spy False warning of grave danger False haven of safety Confidence in God Grounded in God's Word Discernment of false prophecy Prayer, delivering adversaries to God The So What for Godly Leaders Combining the two passages Confidence in God & in God's Word Pray for strength, wisdom, & protection Seek assistance from the Holy Spirit to discern deception 14 Seeing Through Deceptions (Continued) Joshua 9:3 15 Gibeonites devise an extremely elaborate deception Jews suspicious, but not enough Jews forgot God's Purpose for the Israelites God separated the Israelites for Himself from the nations Israelites had no reason to make a covenant with anyone Making a covenant with anyone was unnecessary and dangerous Jews forgot to take counsel with God Learning from Others' Mistakes Check with God before making decisions Not all decisions are necessary or urgent 15