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criticisms hamper you. Look to God alone.
Let us mediate what kinds of oppositions
Nehemiah faced and how he overcame them.
1. Nehemiah was ridiculed and his work was
despised. He overcame it by praying and focussing
on the task. He ignored the ridicule (Neh 4:1-5).
2. The enemies threatened to stop the work
and tried to create confusion. He prayed and set a
guard (Neh 4:7-9).
3. The strength of the builders was failing and
the enemies' attack became imminent. He prayed
and stationed the families in the open places. He
deputed 50% of the workforce for guarding. He
never stopped the work (Neh 4: 10-15).
4.The enemies came for a compromise. But
Nehemiah stood his ground (Neh 6:1-4).
5. They devised a false allegation against
Nehemiah to present to the king. But he prayed to
the Lord and remained unfazed (Neh 6:1-9).
6. The enemies tried to tarnish Nehemiah's
name but he discerned it and avoided the situation
(Neh 6:10-14).
7. The enemies tried to influence the
leadership but he appointed trustworthy men (Neh
6:15 7:1-2).
Beloved, the prime purpose of the enemy is to
stop us working for God. It is for this reason, he
uses different tactics. Let us not be discouraged or
disheartened. Let us proceed with more prayer and
vigour. Let us ask God for wisdom to deal with all
kinds of threats and intimidations. At any cost, let
us not stop doing what God has put in our hearts.
Let us continue to run unperturbed by opposition
and intimidation. In the final analysis, it is going to
be Christ alone. Amen!
5. The Remnant were Strengthened by
the Holy Spirit
Zec 4:6 - “This is the word of the Lord to
Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
The remnant did not possess the military
prowess of David nor were they financially sound
like Solomon. They were poor and helpless. God
encouraged the remnant that He was sufficient for
them and His Spirit would work wonders.
It was God who stirred the spirit of King Cyrus
to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1). Cyrus
was a pagan ruler and for an Israelite to imagine of a
pagan king initiating the rebuilding of the temple
was implausible. Yet, God has His own ways. His
Spirit is limitless. Many a time, we restrict the
working of God's Holy Spirit. Even during the New
Testament era, Peter was very reluctant to preach to
the gentile crowd. God had to convince him to
preach (Acts 10:15).
We are living in the dispensation of God the
Holy Spirit. Let us learn to obey Him, trust Him and
follow His guidance. I know many people who
minister out of their zeal. But we should be led by
the Spirit of the Lord. Zeal is good but we should not
run ahead of God. Let us set aside times of renewal
and reflection now and then so that we can hear
Him and follow Him wherever He leads.
God not only stirred up the spirit of King
Cyrus, He also moved people through the prophetic
message brought by Haggai. Note the following
verse:
Hag 1:14 - “And the Lord stirred up the spirit of
Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,
and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the
high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the
people. And they came and worked on the house of
the Lord of hosts, their God.”
The Lord works when we obey Him. He stirs
up the spirit and He accomplishes things through
His chosen vessels. Strengthened by the Spirit, the
remnant rebuilt the altar, the temple and finally the
city wall as well. God used Ezra, Nehemiah,
Zerubabbel, Haggai, Zechariah and many others for
this noble work. This happened over a period of
several years. In doing so, the remnant paved the
way for the Messiah to appear in the land of Judea.
But when the foundation of the second temple
was laid, many of the older generation cried
because they compared this second temple with the
former temple built by Solomon.
Ezr 3:12 - “But many of the priests and Levites
and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen
February 2020 | www.bymonline.org | Page 07