"1. Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.........
11. And our enemies said, "They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.".........
14. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is GREAT and AWESOME, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."..........
20. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. "OUR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR US"!!!
The entire chapter 4 of Nehemiah (23 verses) needs to be considered when grasping the magnitude of what GOD is saying to us. These four verses though, give a pretty clear synopsis of what is transpiring. In "Sanballat's mind" the Jews were foolish, weak people with little intelligence. Sanballat held some place of authority in Samaria when Nehemiah went up to Jerusalem to rebuild its ruined walls. He vainly attempted to hinder this work ( Nehemiah 2:10 Nehemiah 2:19 ; 4:1-12 ; 6 ). Sanballat's daughter became the wife of one of the sons of Joiada, a son of the high priest, much to the grief of ( Nehemiah 13:28 ). Even though the Jews were not a people to be feared, they served a GOD who reigns supreme!
Sanballat got his dander up when he HEARD the Jews were building a Wall. It wasn't because the Wall was so tall or majestic, rather the Wall represented the GOD of Israel was mighty! Sanballat "jeered" at the Jews, for he thought they were being foolish! Who could imagine such a weak, unlearned, futile people doing anything against a brutal, strong, seemingly invincible foe?
There are many interesting angles in Nehemiah 4, but the I feel the most AWESOME and GREAT is "OUR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR US"! The enemy always gives the appearance of being so mighty and fearful! Whether at the Red Sea when the children of Israel were leaving Egypt, or when David killed Goliath, or when JESUS defeated the enemy at Calvary, the enemy always wants to instill fear that he can overcome our GOD! But that is just an charade, a mirage if you will! The enemy ALREADY HAS been defeated, and we need to remember this, as we remind him of this!
Believers don't need to forget "OUR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR US"! HE doesn't require us to assist HIM, only be faithful and TRUST in HIM (Exodus 14:14)! We need to trust in HIS power, HIS Plan, and HIS timing to gain the most glory for HIMSELF! For me to walk around in fear and awe of the enemy is to tell GOD that I am not quite sure HE is able to pull HIS Plan off? GOD typically uses what "this world" sees as "foolish, weak people with little intelligence" to accomplish GREAT and MIGHTY things for HIM! GOD wouldn't be much of a GOD if HE used great military strength and power to defeat lesser foes. Watch out when you are not on the side of "OUR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR US"! HE has never (and will ever) lost one yet!!!
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