Join us as we journey into the heart of Jerusalem’s reconstruction, where faith was not only a weapon of the soul but a practical means of defense. Pastor Bob Enyart shares valuable insights from the Book of Nehemiah, emphasizing the importance of readiness and righteousness when confronted with opposition. Through intriguing comparisons of biblical and modern-day scenarios, this episode offers a profound reflection on how true faith combines trust in God with wise stewardship and action.
Greetings to the brightest audience in the country and welcome to Theology Thursday. I’m Nicole McBurney. Every weekday we bring you the news of the day, the culture, and science from a Christian worldview. But today join me and Pastor Bob Enyart as we explore the source of our Christian worldview, the Bible.
SPEAKER 02 :
So they’re mocking these people for trying to accomplish their vision and it was a vision that God was behind and so it was the natural tendency of men to mock it. It seems that human beings have a radar system built in. And if someone is doing miracles and they’re false miracles, like if it’s the Antichrist or the false prophet, the masses will flock to follow and to take heed of the miracles. If it’s a prophet or an apostle of God or Christ himself and he’s doing miracles, the masses will reject him. Now why is that? Why would they reject Jesus and reject the apostles and the prophets who did miracles and Moses reject all them and God but if the devil does miracles they’re going to believe. Why? It’s because of the built in antenna that human beings have. If God does it we’re against it. We might not even know for sure that God is doing it but if we have an inkling that God does it we’re against it. On the other hand if the devil does it, or anyone that’s in league with the devil, then we’ll consider it. At least we’re not going to get all that angry about it. So this Ammonite, now Sanballat, we talked about he was a Moabite. Moab and Ammon, they were the result of Lot’s incest, and they became two peoples, Moab and Ammon, and enemies of the Jews for many centuries. And verse 4 says, So they’re mocking, even if a fox goes up on the wall, he’ll knock the stones down. In verse 4, Nehemiah prays, So Nehemiah is praying that they would be destroyed, that they would be taken away. And that’s not very nice. He really should repent of that, right? Doesn’t God condemn him for this? Doesn’t God put in here that Nehemiah is a bad guy? Not a very good Christian? Well, Nehemiah is a great guy. And this is here in the Bible because God liked it. Verse 5, look at this. Do not cover their iniquity and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. I don’t think I’ve ever been that harsh in my entire 20… How long? Since 1973. How many years is that? 30 years? Oh, no. 30 years of a reputation for harsh and confrontational ministry. I don’t think I’ve ever asked God not to let anyone repent. I’ve never been that harsh. That’s why I’ll never make it into the Bible. I’m only kidding. But the Bible characters were extraordinarily harsh. Many of them, not all of them, but many of them, we could virtually call them brutal. And God liked them. Because when you’re dealing with the wicked, it’s good to confront the wicked and to let everybody know exactly how bad these people are. Do not cover their iniquity. Do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. Don’t forgive them. Don’t save them. For they have provoked you to anger before the builders. So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height for the people had a mind to work. They had a really good attitude and they worked really hard. And so often as human beings, it’s easier to say, I’m going to go to bed early tonight. But when you have an important job to do You put your shoulder to the grindstone and you get to work. Now, what happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites… Now, Ashdod is a city in Gaza, one of the five cities of the Philistines. And I think in the Gaza Strip today, there’s Ashdod still to this day, if I recall. And the Ashdodites… heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry. And all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless, we made our prayer to our God and because of them, we set a watch against them day and night. And so we’re going to find out that Nehemiah was determined to defend Jerusalem the workers, the people who live there, the city, the project, and if it meant using swords or spears in self-defense, that that was his plan. And of course, how many Christians, percentage-wise it’s not that huge, but there are many Christians numbers-wise, certainly in the hundreds of thousands, that are pacifists, that you can’t kill someone, you can’t use a gun, You can’t use force to defend yourself. And that’s completely against the Bible. They take some particular stories like when Jesus is about to be arrested and Peter uses a sword and Jesus said, no, Peter, that’s not it. I’m going with them. And they’ll take a story like that and say, see, God does not want us to defend ourselves. But that’s not the point of that story at all. Jesus had set his face toward Jerusalem, and he knew he was to be arrested, tried, and crucified. And it was inappropriate to take a sword and try to stop that. Verse 10, Then Judah said, The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall. And that Judah, that’s… The people of Judah, the people said, hey, this is not going to work. We’re not going to be able to get this done. We can’t even find a place to work. Have you ever tried to do a job and you’re standing in filth and a mess? And it’s so discouraging. Imagine the city had been destroyed. The wall is knocked down. You can’t even get a good footing to get started. And just to carry away the huge rocks, to get them out of the way so you could put them back on, it had to be extremely discouraging. Very difficult. And our adversaries said, verse 11, they will neither know nor see anything till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease. So that’s what their enemies were saying. We are going to put a stop to this and we will kill them. So it was when the Jews who dwelt near them came that they told us 10 times, from whatever place you turn, they will be upon us. In other words, wherever you go, wherever you return from, if you go home to your city to do some work and you come back the next day, in the morning, they’re going to get you. Wherever you go home, when you come back, they’re going to ambush you. So therefore, Nehemiah, what he did was he started a prayer meeting. He said, we’ll pray and then we’ll be safe. Well, I’m sure he prayed a lot. But he did more than just pray. Therefore, I position men behind the lower parts of the wall at the openings. And I set the people according to their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And so we see that Nehemiah made sure that his workers were armed. And throughout history, it is wicked governments that disarm the people. The Philistines had occupied Israel and they passed a law, they imposed a law that no Jew could own a sword or a spear and no Jew could be a blacksmith. They couldn’t be a blacksmith even to make plows for their oxen because they might make swords. So if a Jew wanted to have his plow sharpened, he had to bring it to the Philistines and pay them so many shekels to have a plow sharpened. We’ve seen that through history, that when evil governments conquer or even come to power in their own land, then they will pass a law and confiscate weapons, take away weapons. The Taliban did that in Afghanistan. And it’s just a typical thing that governments that are evil will take away the guns. In this country, it’s the liberals who fight for gun control legislation, gun registration, and gun confiscation. In England, they virtually outlawed gun ownership. You know, they started with handguns and then rifles and hunting guns, and it’s become almost impossible to to have a gun in England. In our country, the states that have the most severe gun control laws typically have the highest crime rates. And when you look at the cities with the most severe gun control laws, they almost always have the highest crime rates. So it’s something that empowers the criminals. And a government should be able to trust its people. If the government is righteous, the people will rejoice. And the people are not going to use their guns in a criminal way. Criminals will do that, but criminals don’t obey gun control laws. So the gun control laws are counterproductive, and no matter how much evidence there is to show that, people who have their antenna up, their radar against what’s right, they will not look at evidence and be persuaded. They’re determined for their cause because it’s godless. Now, I’ve always objected to conservative right-wingers when they advocate that we should be allowed to own and carry guns. I agree with that. But then the reason they give, I disagree with. So many of them say, because if the government is corrupt, then we need our guns to have a revolution. And what are you going to do? You’re going to go shoot police officers and governors and judges, the president. Is that what you’re going to do with your guns when the government is corrupt? We’ve got two police officers here in this room. Guys, watch out. There’s some lunatic right-wingers who might be gunning for you. But no, the Bible teaches that you’re to submit to the governing authorities and when they’re corrupt, you don’t obey their evil command. You don’t obey a godless law. So when Saul was king and David had already been anointed as the next king and Saul was a murderer, David had a sword at Saul’s throat. He could have killed him, but he didn’t. Because he said, Saul is the government. Saul is the official. And therefore, I’m not going to obey him, but I’m not going to kill him. Verse 14, And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And that’s an encouragement that we could use in our lives, even though we’re not typically up against an army of people who want to kill us, we’re up against the world that wants to mock us, ridicule us, make sure that we fail in our efforts to preach the gospel, to oppose evolution, abortion, homosexuality, and God is telling us here through the encouragement of Nehemiah, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. So that’s our motivation. Even if we’re out at an abortion mill fighting against the killing of unborn children, to me, And I cannot separate these two. In my thinking, I’m fighting for my family, for my children, for my grandchildren. That’s what I’m fighting for. Because as my kids grow up in a society that legalizes child killing, that means that society is intensely evil and my kids will be attacked from every side. And so when I fight that battle, I’m fighting to help my family, to minister, for my neighbors, whether they have anything to do with abortion or not. It’s part of the battle between right and wrong. Verse 15, And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. So it was from that time on, all right, so that plot right then came to nothing. Their enemies… in their effort. So from that time on, half of my servants, half of the people who agreed to help rebuild the wall, half of my servants worked at construction while the other half held a prayer meeting. I’m sorry, I keep misreading that. The other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor And the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. So that’s more evidence throughout the Bible that God is an advocate of self-defense. He is the one in whom that principle resides. It’s right to deter the wicked and to stop them, if you have the opportunity and the ability, from hurting someone. Verse 17. Those who built on the wall and those who carried burdens loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction and with the other they held a weapon. Verse 18. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us. So Nehemiah kept the guy with the trumpet with him at all times so that if he got word from anyone that there was an attack underway, they would race to that location, blow the trumpet, And then everyone would come, rush in, whether they had an axe or a sword or a spear, they’d engage the enemy. That was the plan. And our God will fight for us. Now, did Nehemiah have any certain knowledge that God would do a miracle and give them a military victory? I don’t believe so. The mood that God was in at this time in Israel’s history… I think he would have. But if Nehemiah had sinned terribly, as David did in a very important time in Israel’s history, as Saul had sinned terribly, as leader after leader had been evil and corrupt, God said, you know, I’m not going to help you. You’re on your own. And then they would typically be defeated. And so here also, there’s no absolute guarantee that God is going to give them a military victory. But when Nehemiah’s heart was right before God and we are God’s covenant people, his chosen people, and he’s promised us if we are faithful, he will strengthen us. And whether that strength comes from an angel of the Lord who slaughters tens of thousands of Assyrian soldiers in one day, or if it just comes from the courage that the Jews have Because they know that they’re in the right. One way or the other, they should be confident in God. And if you’re confident in the Lord and you’re doing what’s right, and you go into battle and you get killed, that’s okay. So, you’re dead. And you’re with the Lord. My brother, Brian, he’s had a lifelong fear of flying. And he’s going through a hard time right now. My mother was out there for a week visiting him in New Jersey. And she said, come to Denver, come to church, at least for one weekend. You’ll have such a great time. Your sister Susan just came. She had a wonderful time. You’ll be built up and encouraged. And he said, I don’t like to fly. And my mother said to her son, she said, if the plane crashes, you’re dead. So what? Just come. And he said, well, that’s a good point. Maybe I will. So, of course, we have to be good stewards with what God has given us, our money, our resources, our bodies, our lives, our time. But this life, it’s important, but it’s not all important. We do what’s right and we trust the Lord with our eternity. And if we’re saved, our souls are in his hand and we fight the battle. Now, does that mean that We don’t use wisdom. And if I have a job with the phone company and my family depends on my paycheck and I’ve got people at work telling me homosexuality is good and if I say no, it’s bad, they’re going to fire me. Well, what should I do? Well, I’m a Christian. I trust in the Lord. I’m going to say it’s a sin. And then get fired and my family may lose their home. No, we don’t have that obligation to risk our family’s well-being just to set someone straight. Our first priority as a father and a husband is to our family, to provide for them. Our second responsibility is to others and our neighbors, to tell them about the Lord and to be good and fair to them. So we should have, of course, there are complex issues that come to play when we make decisions. but we trust God with our lives and our future, our families, and at the same time we use wisdom to make good decisions. And the better you know the Word of God, and the more you understand what God is like, the easier it is to make those decisions. Just one example came to mind. Cheryl and I were talking about lying and how in the Bible God blessed people for lying. like the Hebrew midwives. He gave them families of their own after they lied to Pharaoh. And Rahab lied to the king of Jericho and God worked her into the lineage of Jesus Christ. And other examples of deception and lies that God blessed or even originated with God. We were talking about that and the Corrie Ten Boom story. Corrie Ten Boom in the hiding place. And her sister, a Nazi, came to the door and they had a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jewish woman in the house. And she had false papers. And in the story, her papers were excellent. Not all the forged papers were good. And she didn’t look Jewish. And so she’d be easy to hide. And the official came and they suspected them. And they said, well, that’s This is the family. You got five people. What’s she doing here? Who’s she? Is she a Jew? And Corrie Ten Boom’s sister, was her name Betsy, said, yes, she’s a Jew. And they took her away. And she most likely was killed, percentage-wise. And why did she do that? Because she didn’t know God as well as she could have. I have no doubt she’s a Christian and with the Lord right now. But she thought, that it’s wrong to deceive at all times, and God would be disappointed in her if she lied, even in order to save a life. Now, isn’t that a tragedy? You don’t have to go to Sunday school for all that long to hear about Jericho, and you don’t have to be a Christian for all that long to find out about the Exodus. What do you have to get as far as Exodus chapter 1? And all the other stories. with God saying, when Jesus said, man was not made for the law, but the law for man. And so if you think you’re keeping a law and the result of it is that an innocent person will be killed, you’re not keeping the law. You’re confused. So the better we get to know God, the more we could honor him with the decisions we make and the work decisions we make. And when we trust him, we know what we’re doing. We know why we’re trusting him. We know that this is a good thing to trust him with. Verse 21. So we labored in the work and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. Now that’s a long day. Jason and I were both whining before the study about how long some of our work days are. Jason, we got it easy. No, not really. You only got a three, four hours sleep in the last 24 hours. That’s less than these guys got. So that is worth some whining, I think. They labored in the work. Half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. I was in a debate with a friend of this church. He doesn’t go to this church, but he’s a friend of the church. Yesterday, Saturday. And he was… saying that if you trust God, you don’t have to take these steps of actually defending yourself. He wasn’t a pacifist, but he just got into this weird thought. And I said, no, I said, you think you trust God when you don’t. protect, say, your property or your money. You think you’re trusting God while you’re not locking up your wallet or your door. I’m trusting God when I am locking my door. So you trust God with your door unlocked. I’ll trust God with my door locked and we’ll see who does better. He could not follow that. He thought if I was going to lock my door to physically keep a thief out, I’m not trusting God. And I asked him, I said, did the midwives have faith in God and trust God? And they lied to Pharaoh. And Rahab, did she not trust God and have faith in God? She lied to King of Jericho. And they ended up in the Hall of Faith. That’s pretty good. By faith, the midwives lied. And by faith, Rahab lied. And by faith, you can lock your door and trust God to help you. how’s he going to help you? He’s going to give you the wisdom to lock your door. If you’re trusting God and not locking your door, leaving your wallet outside your front door, well, you think it’s faith, but it’s really foolishness. Verse 22, at the same time, I also said to the people, let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem and they may that they may be by our guard by night in a working party by day. So rather than going home to your village and staying the night with your family and coming back in the morning, don’t do that. Because remember the Jews who lived out there, they heard Sanballat and the enemies and they heard the Philistines, what was left of them. And they heard them say, when they go back to their villages, when they’re heading back to Jerusalem, we’ll ambush them there. So he said, all right, this is good intelligence we’re getting. So let’s change our plans. When you get done at night, stay here and don’t leave. So at night we have an automatic built-in security detail of the entire construction workforce so that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day. So neither I, my brethren, my servants, and this is sort of a funny verse, so that we nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing. I’m really glad to hear that. It was very kind of them. The Mosaic law says, love your neighbor. So why does it say we didn’t take off our clothes? Well, even back then at night, you go to bed, you go in your tent and you undress and you get under a blanket and you go to sleep. Not during this project. They worked all day and they slept at night, even if it was out in the open or under a lean-to. And they were dressed and ready to go 24 hours a day. They only bathed when they had to. And aside from that, they were ready to go. And of course, the application of that to our lives is evident. That we are to praise the Lord and worship God and bless Him. In the night, in the day, when the sun rises up, when the sun sets, we’re to worship God. The Bible says meditate on God day and night. And the Jewish student who went to the rabbi and said, Rabbi, I’d like to also study philosophy other than the scriptures. And the rabbi said, of course you can study philosophy. Just find an hour. which is neither of the day nor of the night, and in it you may study philosophy. So we are to be prepared to serve the Lord, to do what’s right, to defend our loved ones at every moment. Whether we’re in front of others or alone, God is there at every moment with us, and so we’re to be faithful throughout our lives. May God bless you all.
