Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .
Alright , guys , let's get right into the text here . We're going to be in Nehemiah 2 , starting in verse 9 . Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters . Let's get right into the text here . We I went to Jerusalem and was there three days .
Then I arose in the night and I and a few men with me , and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem . There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode .
I went out by night by the valley gate , to the dragon spring and to the dung gate , and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire . Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool , but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass .
Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall and I turned back and entered by the valley gate and so returned and the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing , and I had not yet told the Jews , the priests , the nobles , the officials and the rest who were to do the work .
Then I said to them you see the trouble we are in , how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned . Come , let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision . And I told them of the hand of my God and that had been upon me for good , and also of the words that the king had spoken to me .
And they said Let us rise up and build . So they strengthened their hands for the good work . But when Sanballat , the Horonite , and Tobiah , the Ammonite servant , and Geshem , the Arab , heard of it , they jeered at us , despised us and said what is this thing that you are doing ? Are you rebelling against the king ?
Then I replied to them the God of heaven will make us prosper and we , his servants , will arise and build , but you have no portion or right to claim in Jerusalem . So , guys , that's the end of Nehemiah 2 . Then we see in Nehemiah 3 that there is a detailed description of actual human beings that did actual work .
There was actually one commentary I read on Nehemiah 3 that called these people responsible human agents . So a lot of people would just skip chapter 3 , but you want to know why that chapter is important ? Because it shows us that these were actual people that actually existed , that actually did this work right .
The Bible isn't just a collection of fairy tales and myths , you know , regardless of what your philosophy 101 professor told you your freshman year of college . But back to Nehemiah 2 . The shrewdness of Nehemiah here is very impressive .
Okay , he risks his life by being sat in front of King Artaxerxes , right , he risked his life again by asking for a bunch of time off and a bunch of favors and supplies . He makes the long and dangerous journey to Jerusalem , which was a risk . And what's the first thing he does when he gets there ? He surveys .
You know he doesn't kick the doors open like all right , nobody panic , I'm here to fix everything . No , he just surveys . He surveys the damaged walls and also the damaged people , and after that you know he's getting ready to get things moving .
He reveals to everyone why he's there and then , like any good politician or leader , he gets the people behind the project . He gets them excited , he gets them ready to go and he also snaps them out of their naval gazing depression and points them in the direction of progress .
He didn't say hey guys , I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys motivated . And he didn't say like , hey guys , if you can work , work it into your schedule . You know , if it's convenient to rebuild your city , you know that'd be pretty cool . No , he said that God sent him . The king is signed off , it's time to get to work .
And they did and , as verse 18 says , they strengthened their hands for the good work . We'll talk about that more this week , but I want you to think on this question today are you strong enough to do the work god is calling you to do while simultaneously pushing back opposition to that work ?
I'll repeat that Are you strong enough to do the work God is calling you to do , while simultaneously pushing back opposition to that work ? If you're not , that's a problem . We'll unpack that more tomorrow .
Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go . If you want to help equip other men for the fight , share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review . Stay sharp .