Rebuilding And Completion Of The Wall Nehemiah 4:1-7:3

Transcription

1 Lesson 125 Rebuilding And Completion Of The Wall Nehemiah 4:1-7:3

2 MEMORY VERSE N EHEMIAH 4:20 Our God will fight for us. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: Small prizes (pencils, stickers, etc.) Legos or cardboard bricks. Graham crackers (enough for 5 graham crackers for each student in your class), a few tubes of cake frosting and butcher paper. ATTENTION GRABBER! Secret Agents Find two or three actors in your class to help you. Before class, talk to them secretly. Their job will be to irritate the class and those sitting around them while you try to get everyone ready for the lesson. Explain to your actors that their distractions must be appropriate and under control at all times. Some examples might be to throw paper wads towards someone without being seen, hiding their neighbor s pencil, making faces at someone, laughing and pointing at others as they walk by. Allow your actors to do this for a couple of minutes as you prepare to get everyone situated for your lesson. When you see that enough of the class has been irritated then explain what they are doing. Ask the children how it felt to have a few of the children acting that way. How was it a distraction to doing what the teacher wanted them to do? Explain that this is kind of like what happened to Nehemiah and the people of Israel in our story today. When

3 there are people working against us it is hard to keep focused on the work that God wants us to do. The enemy will work hard to keep us from God s work. But when this happens, God wants us to turn to Him. Have the actors small prizes to the rest of the class to make up for being not so nice. LESSON TIME! God gave Nehemiah a special task. He was to accomplish the rebuilding of the wall around the city of Jerusalem. It was an enormous job just to rebuild the wall, let alone doing it with all of the other difficulties that he faced. He had to deal with difficult people and even more difficult circumstances. As we study this section, we will learn more about Nehemiah s character and most importantly about how our God gave him the courage to carry on. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 4:1-3 B u t i t s o h ap p e n e d, w h e n S an bal l at h e ar d t h at w e w e r e r e bu i l d i n g t h e w al l, t h at h e w as f u r i o u s an d v e r y i n d i gn an t, an d m o c k e d t h e J e w s. An d h e s p o k e be f o r e h i s br e t h r e n an d t h e ar m y o f S am ar i a, an d s ai d, " Wh at ar e t h e s e f e e bl e J e w s d o i n g? Wi l l t h e y f o r t i f y t h e m s e l v e s? Wi l l t h e y o f f e r s ac r i f i c e s? Wi l l t h e y c o m p l e t e i t i n a d ay? Wi l l t h e y r e v i v e t h e s t o n e s f r o m t h e h e ap s o f r u bbi s h ; s t o n e s t h at ar e bu r n e d?" N o w T o bi ah t h e Am m o n i t e w as be s i d e h i m, an d h e s ai d, " Wh at e v e r t h e y bu i l d, i f e v e n a f o x go e s u p o n i t, h e w i l l br e ak d o w n t h e i r s t o n e w al l. "

4 In this passage, we find that Sanballat and Tobiah tried to oppose the rebuilding of the wall by ridicule. They were making fun of Nehemiah and the people helping him. Sanballat was very angry about the rebuilding of the wall because he saw that Nehemiah was looking out for the good of the people of Israel. As long as the walls were down, they thought they could have control over the Jews. It seems that Tobiah and Sanballat made the mistake of forgetting whose wall it really was and who designed the wall. It was the Lord God who had directed the work. When people make fun of us or challenge us because we walk with God, be encouraged--nothing can stand against God s work when He is behind it. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 4:4-9 H e ar, O o u r G o d, f o r w e ar e d e s p i s e d ; t u r n t h e i r r e p r o ac h o n t h e i r o w n h e ad s, an d gi v e t h e m as p l u n d e r t o a l an d o f c ap t i v i t y! D o n o t c o v e r t h e i r i n i qu i t y, an d d o n o t l e t t h e i r s i n be bl o t t e d o u t f r o m be f o r e Y o u ; f o r t h e y h av e p r o v o k e d Y o u t o an ge r be f o r e t h e bu i l d e r s. S o w e bu i l t t h e w al l, an d t h e e n t i r e w al l w as j o i n e d t o ge t h e r u p t o h al f i t s h e i gh t, f o r t h e p e o p l e h ad a m i n d t o w o r k. N o w i t h ap p e n e d, w h e n S an bal l at, T o bi ah, t h e Ar abs, t h e Am m o n i t e s, an d t h e As h d o d i t e s h e ar d t h at t h e w al l s o f J e r u s al e m w e r e be i n g r e s t o r e d an d t h e gap s w e r e be gi n n i n g t o be c l o s e d, t h at t h e y be c am e v e r y an gr y, an d al l o f t h e m c o n s p i r e d t o ge t h e r t o c o m e an d at t ac k J e r u s al e m an d c r e at e c o n f u s i o n.

5 N e v e r t h e l e s s w e m ad e o u r p r ay e r t o o u r G o d, an d be c au s e o f t h e m w e s e t a w at c h agai n s t t h e m d ay an d n i gh t. It is important here to take a look at Nehemiah s response to this attack. He did not answer them on their level. He did not say mean things back to them. He humbly prayed to the Lord and asked God to help them. Romans 12:19-21 tells us, Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. There fore, if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on this head. Do not be over come by evil, but overcome evil with good. Nehemiah trusted God to defend them and to take care of them. It is very easy to take things into our own hands when someone is laughing at us. How much better to do as did Nehemiah and trust God. God s people responded to the opposition by taking up their tools and working. The Bible tells us that the people had a mind to work. Their hearts were on their work and it was completed quickly. Doing God s will can be hard at times. May we be singleminded, like Nehemiah, with a heart to see God s purposes accomplished. We see in verse 7 that the threat continued to grow against God s people. It escalated from making fun of them to threatening to attack them. Now they were threatening to hurt them! Nehemiah s two responses were again to pray to God and to set a watch. It is important to notice the order of his responses. Nehemiah expressed his cares and fears to God. God met his needs, and Nehemiah was at peace, able to receive instruction from God. May we learn as Nehemiah to take our cares and fears everything that comes against us immediately to God.

6 There is no need to answer back, no need to build a defense on our own. Then, we need to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17) and set a watch against the enemy. Have you ever had someone mean to you or a bully threaten to hurt you? That is kind of like what Nehemiah was going through. He had to trust in the Lord to help him and not trust in his own strength. We will see that God blessed Nehemiah in his work to rebuild the walls. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 4:10-12 T h e n J u d ah s ai d, " T h e s t r e n gt h o f t h e l abo r e r s i s f ai l i n g, an d t h e r e i s s o m u c h r u bbi s h t h at w e ar e n o t abl e t o bu i l d t h e w al l. " An d o u r ad v e r s ar i e s s ai d, " T h e y w i l l n e i t h e r k n o w n o r s e e an y t h i n g, t i l l w e c o m e i n t o t h e i r m i d s t an d k i l l t h e m an d c au s e t h e w o r k t o c e as e. " S o i t w as, w h e n t h e J e w s w h o d w e l t n e ar t h e m c am e, t h at t h e y t o l d u s t e n t i m e s, " F r o m w h at e v e r p l ac e y o u t u r n, t h e y w i l l be u p o n u s. " Now despite Nehemiah s leadership, the workers began to get discouraged because of their enemies and all of the terrible things that they were saying. The workers were tired and were faced with the task of removing the rubbish and trash. They would have to do this with the threat of their enemies attacking them. The enemies said they would even kill them to stop the work. Judah was beginning to listen to the enemy, thinking they had become feeble and weak. For us to avoid fear and discouragement in our lives, we must be listening to God everyday and not the enemy. God s Word will keep us from being deceived by the lies of the enemy. The enemy planned to secretly attack the Jews, to

7 ambush them in hope of stopping the work. Discouragement is a tool of the enemy; it can cause us to be feeble. When we feel that way, we need to come to God and ask Him to help us. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 4:13-23 T h e r e f o r e I p o s i t i o n e d m e n be h i n d t h e l o w e r p ar t s o f t h e w al l, at t h e o p e n i n gs ; an d I s e t t h e p e o p l e ac c o r d i n g t o t h e i r f am i l i e s, w i t h t h e i r s w o r d s, t h e i r s p e ar s, an d t h e i r bo w s. An d I l o o k e d, an d ar o s e an d s ai d t o t h e n o bl e s, t o t h e l e ad e r s, an d t o t h e r e s t o f t h e p e o p l e, " D o n o t be af r ai d o f t h e m. R e m e m be r t h e L o r d, gr e at an d aw e s o m e, an d f i gh t f o r y o u r br e t h r e n, y o u r s o n s, y o u r d au gh t e r s, y o u r w i v e s, an d y o u r h o u s e s. " An d i t h ap p e n e d, w h e n o u r e n e m i e s h e ar d t h at i t w as k n o w n t o u s, an d t h at G o d h ad br o u gh t t h e i r p l o t t o n o t h i n g, t h at al l o f u s r e t u r n e d t o t h e w al l, e v e r y o n e t o h i s w o r k. S o i t w as, f r o m t h at t i m e o n, t h at h al f o f m y s e r v an t s w o r k e d at c o n s t r u c t i o n, w h i l e t h e o t h e r h al f h e l d t h e s p e ar s, t h e s h i e l d s, t h e bo w s, an d w o r e ar m o r ; an d t h e l e ad e r s w e r e be h i n d al l t h e h o u s e o f J u d ah. T h o s e w h o bu i l t o n t h e w al l, an d t h o s e w h o c ar r i e d bu r d e n s, l o ad e d t h e m s e l v e s s o t h at w i t h o n e h an d t h e y w o r k e d at c o n s t r u c t i o n, an d w i t h t h e o t h e r h e l d a w e ap o n. Ev e r y o n e o f t h e bu i l d e r s h ad h i s s w o r d gi r d e d at h i s s i d e as h e bu i l t. An d t h e o n e w h o s o u n d e d t h e t r u m p e t w as be s i d e m e.

8 T h e n I s ai d t o t h e n o bl e s, t h e r u l e r s, an d t h e r e s t o f t h e p e o p l e, " T h e w o r k i s gr e at an d e x t e n s i v e, an d w e ar e s e p ar at e d f ar f r o m o n e an o t h e r o n t h e w al l. " Wh e r e v e r y o u h e ar t h e s o u n d o f t h e t r u m p e t, r al l y t o u s t h e r e. O u r G o d w i l l f i gh t f o r u s. " S o w e l abo r e d i n t h e w o r k, an d h al f o f t h e m e n h e l d t h e s p e ar s f r o m d ay br e ak u n t i l t h e s t ar s ap p e ar e d. At t h e s am e t i m e I al s o s ai d t o t h e p e o p l e, " L e t e ac h m an an d h i s s e r v an t s t ay at n i gh t i n J e r u s al e m, t h at t h e y m ay be o u r gu ar d by n i gh t an d a w o r k i n g p ar t y by d ay. " S o n e i t h e r I, m y br e t h r e n, m y s e r v an t s, n o r t h e m e n o f t h e gu ar d w h o f o l l o w e d m e t o o k o f f o u r c l o t h e s, e x c e p t t h at e v e r y o n e t o o k t h e m o f f f o r w as h i n g. Nehemiah took action; he did not listen to the discouraging words of the people. He took action by posting guards. Then he reminded the people to not be afraid, but to remember whom they were fighting for and under God, great and awesome. It was God who would go before them. He motivated them to fight for their brethren, sons, daughters, wives and houses. In verse 15, we see that the enemy found out that Nehemiah knew of their plans and how that God brought all their plans to nothing. The people went back to work encouraged. They knew that God s hand of care was upon them. Nehemiah set up a strategy of watch and work. They became a team, working together. While half of the people worked, the other half were holding spears, shields, and bows. Those working on the walls carried their own weapons in one hand and worked with the other hand. Their heart was renewed to do the work and everyone worked hard.

9 We must remember that we cannot always accomplish the purposes of God on our own. We need each other. Nehemiah was a wise leader. He was not easily swayed, nor was he double-minded. He was a leader whose captain was Almighty God, and his dependence was upon Him. When we have problems we need to turn to God. Brick Walls For this game you will need Legos or cardboard bricks. You will need the same amount for two teams. Split your class into two teams. Give each team the same amount of Legos or cardboard bricks. Give each team two minutes to build a wall. You may want to have the teams sit in a circle or gather around a table to work together. Encourage the children to work together and see which team can make the tallest square wall. Allow the children to try it a couple of times. Ask the children if they felt like they could do a quicker and better job by themselves or as a team. We can often accomplish things faster and better when we do it as a team. N EH EM I AH 5:1-13 An d t h e r e w as a gr e at o u t c r y o f t h e p e o p l e an d t h e i r w i v e s agai n s t t h e i r J e w i s h br e t h r e n. F o r t h e r e w e r e t h o s e w h o s ai d, " We, o u r s o n s, an d o u r d au gh t e r s ar e m an y ; t h e r e f o r e l e t u s ge t gr ai n, t h at w e m ay e at an d l i v e. " T h e r e w e r e al s o s o m e w h o s ai d, " We h av e m o r t gage d o u r l an d s an d v i n e y ar d s an d h o u s e s, t h at w e m i gh t bu y gr ai n be c au s e o f t h e f am i n e. " T h e r e w e r e al s o t h o s e w h o s ai d, " We h av e bo r r o w e d m o n e y f o r t h e k i n g' s t ax o n o u r l an d s an d v i n e y ar d s.

10 " Y e t n o w o u r f l e s h i s as t h e f l e s h o f o u r br e t h r e n, o u r c h i l d r e n as t h e i r c h i l d r e n ; an d i n d e e d w e ar e f o r c i n g o u r s o n s an d o u r d au gh t e r s t o be s l av e s, an d s o m e o f o u r d au gh t e r s h av e be e n br o u gh t i n t o s l av e r y. I t i s n o t i n o u r p o w e r t o r e d e e m t h e m, f o r o t h e r m e n h av e o u r l an d s an d v i n e y ar d s. " An d I be c am e v e r y an gr y w h e n I h e ar d t h e i r o u t c r y an d t h e s e w o r d s. Af t e r s e r i o u s t h o u gh t, I r e bu k e d t h e n o bl e s an d r u l e r s, an d s ai d t o t h e m, " Eac h o f y o u i s e x ac t i n g u s u r y f r o m h i s br o t h e r. " S o I c al l e d a gr e at as s e m bl y agai n s t t h e m. An d I s ai d t o t h e m, " Ac c o r d i n g t o o u r abi l i t y w e h av e r e d e e m e d o u r J e w i s h br e t h r e n w h o w e r e s o l d t o t h e n at i o n s. N o w i n d e e d, w i l l y o u e v e n s e l l y o u r br e t h r e n? O r s h o u l d t h e y be s o l d t o u s?" T h e n t h e y w e r e s i l e n c e d an d f o u n d n o t h i n g t o s ay. T h e n I s ai d, " Wh at y o u ar e d o i n g i s n o t go o d. S h o u l d y o u n o t w al k i n t h e f e ar o f o u r G o d be c au s e o f t h e r e p r o ac h o f t h e n at i o n s, o u r e n e m i e s?" " I al s o, w i t h m y br e t h r e n an d m y s e r v an t s, am l e n d i n g t h e m m o n e y an d gr ai n. Pl e as e, l e t u s s t o p t h i s u s u r y! " R e s t o r e n o w t o t h e m, e v e n t h i s d ay, t h e i r l an d s, t h e i r v i n e y ar d s, t h e i r o l i v e gr o v e s, an d t h e i r h o u s e s, al s o a h u n d r e d t h o f t h e m o n e y an d t h e gr ai n, t h e n e w w i n e an d t h e o i l, t h at y o u h av e c h ar ge d t h e m. "

11 S o t h e y s ai d, " We w i l l r e s t o r e i t, an d w i l l r e qu i r e n o t h i n g f r o m t h e m ; w e w i l l d o as y o u s ay. " T h e n I c al l e d t h e p r i e s t s, an d r e qu i r e d an o at h f r o m t h e m t h at t h e y w o u l d d o ac c o r d i n g t o t h i s p r o m i s e. T h e n I s h o o k o u t t h e f o l d o f m y gar m e n t an d s ai d, " S o m ay G o d s h ak e o u t e ac h m an f r o m h i s h o u s e, an d f r o m h i s p r o p e r t y, w h o d o e s n o t p e r f o r m t h i s p r o m i s e. Ev e n t h u s m ay h e be s h ak e n o u t an d e m p t i e d. " An d al l t h e as s e m bl y s ai d, " Am e n!" an d p r ai s e d t h e L O R D. T h e n t h e p e o p l e d i d ac c o r d i n g t o t h i s p r o m i s e. Nehemiah had just dealt with defending the wall against outside enemies. Now we see he is forced to deal with some problems among his own people. The people were living in hard conditions, money was very tight and they were very weary. Even with the plot against his own life, Nehemiah found the strength in the Lord to carry on. The people had become angry for four reasons. They had large families and there was not enough food to feed them. Many had mortgaged (taken out loans against) their fields and vineyards and houses to buy grain to feed their families. They had borrowed all they could to pay the king s taxes and could not mortgage their possessions to buy corn. They had to sell their own children they so dearly loved as slaves in order to live. The saddest part was that the men who were lending the money and buying the children as slaves were fellow Jews. These men had hardened their hearts, perhaps hoping to control all the land. The enemy tried to use this to stop the construction and ultimately hinder God s plan by defeating and hurting the people.

12 Verse 6 gives us Nehemiah s reaction to this; it says, I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. In Leviticus 25:42 we are told, For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. Nehemiah spoke with the rulers and the nobles and told them, The thing that you do is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? He told them to restore the things they had taken and to not take any more. The Jews agreed to restore all they had taken and to take no more, and they did all they promised and praised God. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 5:14-19 M o r e o v e r, f r o m t h e t i m e t h at I w as ap p o i n t e d t o be t h e i r go v e r n o r i n t h e l an d o f J u d ah, f r o m t h e t w e n t i e t h y e ar u n t i l t h e t h i r t y -s e c o n d y e ar o f Ki n g Ar t ax e r x e s, t w e l v e y e ar s, n e i t h e r I n o r m y br o t h e r s at e t h e go v e r n o r ' s p r o v i s i o n s. B u t t h e f o r m e r go v e r n o r s w h o w e r e be f o r e m e l ai d bu r d e n s o n t h e p e o p l e, an d t o o k f r o m t h e m br e ad an d w i n e, be s i d e s f o r t y s h e k e l s o f s i l v e r. Y e s, e v e n t h e i r s e r v an t s bo r e r u l e o v e r t h e p e o p l e, bu t I d i d n o t d o s o, be c au s e o f t h e f e ar o f G o d. I n d e e d, I al s o c o n t i n u e d t h e w o r k o n t h i s w al l, an d w e d i d n o t bu y an y l an d. Al l m y s e r v an t s w e r e gat h e r e d t h e r e f o r t h e w o r k. An d at m y t abl e w e r e o n e h u n d r e d an d f i f t y J e w s an d r u l e r s, be s i d e s t h o s e w h o c am e t o u s f r o m t h e n at i o n s ar o u n d u s.

13 N o w t h at w h i c h w as p r e p ar e d d ai l y w as o n e o x an d s i x c h o i c e s h e e p. Al s o f o w l w e r e p r e p ar e d f o r m e, an d o n c e e v e r y t e n d ay s an abu n d an c e o f al l k i n d s o f w i n e. Y e t i n s p i t e o f t h i s I d i d n o t d e m an d t h e go v e r n o r ' s p r o v i s i o n s, be c au s e t h e bo n d age w as h e av y o n t h i s p e o p l e. R e m e m be r m e, m y G o d, f o r go o d, ac c o r d i n g t o al l t h at I h av e d o n e f o r t h i s p e o p l e. Nehemiah has been appointed governor in the land of Judah. His behavior as governor is an example to all of us. He did not oppress the people, hurt them in any way or put demands upon them. He lived on that which he had received from the king of Persia s court and his own estate in Judah. He took nothing from the people, for he could not add to their burden. He was willing to sacrifice his rights to do God s work. We can look at our lives and ask the question, Are we willing to sacrifice all for God s work? When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 6:1-9 N o w i t h ap p e n e d w h e n S an bal l at, T o bi ah, G e s h e m t h e Ar ab, an d t h e r e s t o f o u r e n e m i e s h e ar d t h at I h ad r e bu i l t t h e w al l, an d t h at t h e r e w e r e n o br e ak s l e f t i n i t (t h o u gh at t h at t i m e I h ad n o t h u n g t h e d o o r s i n t h e gat e s ), t h at S an bal l at an d G e s h e m s e n t t o m e, s ay i n g, " C o m e, l e t u s m e e t t o ge t h e r am o n g t h e v i l l age s i n t h e p l ai n o f O n o. " B u t t h e y t h o u gh t t o d o m e h ar m. S o I s e n t m e s s e n ge r s t o t h e m, s ay i n g, " I am d o i n g a gr e at w o r k, s o t h at I c an n o t c o m e d o w n. Wh y s h o u l d t h e w o r k c e as e w h i l e I l e av e i t an d go d o w n t o y o u?"

14 B u t t h e y s e n t m e t h i s m e s s age f o u r t i m e s, an d I an s w e r e d t h e m i n t h e s am e m an n e r. T h e n S an bal l at s e n t h i s s e r v an t t o m e as be f o r e, t h e f i f t h t i m e, w i t h an o p e n l e t t e r i n h i s h an d. I n i t w as w r i t t e n : I t i s r e p o r t e d am o n g t h e n at i o n s, an d G e s h e m s ay s, t h at y o u an d t h e J e w s p l an t o r e be l ; t h e r e f o r e, ac c o r d i n g t o t h e s e r u m o r s, y o u ar e r e bu i l d i n g t h e w al l, t h at y o u m ay be t h e i r k i n g. An d y o u h av e al s o ap p o i n t e d p r o p h e t s t o p r o c l ai m c o n c e r n i n g y o u at J e r u s al e m, s ay i n g, ' T h e r e i s a k i n g i n J u d ah!' N o w t h e s e m at t e r s w i l l be r e p o r t e d t o t h e k i n g. S o c o m e, t h e r e f o r e, an d l e t u s c o n s u l t t o ge t h e r. T h e n I s e n t t o h i m, s ay i n g, " N o s u c h t h i n gs as y o u s ay ar e be i n g d o n e, bu t y o u i n v e n t t h e m i n y o u r o w n h e ar t. " F o r t h e y al l w e r e t r y i n g t o m ak e u s af r ai d, s ay i n g, " T h e i r h an d s w i l l be w e ak e n e d i n t h e w o r k, an d i t w i l l n o t be d o n e. " N o w t h e r e f o r e, O G o d, s t r e n gt h e n m y h an d s. Verse 1 tells us that the wall had no breaks left in it and the doors were ready to be hung. The open gateways were the enemy s last hope for regaining the upper hand. At this point, Sanballat and Geshem contacted Nehemiah and wanted him to meet them at the plain of Ono. The plain of Ono was neutral territory, yet it was 19 miles away and offered Nehemiah no protection against attack. Nehemiah was wise, for Sanballat and Geshem s motives were to stop the work of the rebuilding and possibly kill Nehemiah. He told them I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease while I come down to you? He knew that they had a treacherous plan against him. The enemy did not

15 give up easily. Four times they attempted to wear him down with the same message, and then a fifth time with an open letter, a public announcement. The accusations in the letter were that the rebuilding was a rebellion against the king. They said Nehemiah was trying to make himself king and wanted to break away from Persian rule. Nehemiah knew they were lying and denied the reports and that it was well known that they were lying and that his reputation was better than that. He told them that he knew they were only trying to weaken their hands from the work. He gathered his courage to go on by praying to God. He always turned to God for strength. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 6:10-14 Af t e r w ar d I c am e t o t h e h o u s e o f S h e m ai ah t h e s o n o f D e l ai ah, t h e s o n o f M e h e t abe l, w h o w as a s e c r e t i n f o r m e r ; an d h e s ai d, " L e t u s m e e t t o ge t h e r i n t h e h o u s e o f G o d, w i t h i n t h e t e m p l e, an d l e t u s c l o s e t h e d o o r s o f t h e t e m p l e, f o r t h e y ar e c o m i n g t o k i l l y o u ; i n d e e d, at n i gh t t h e y w i l l c o m e t o k i l l y o u. " An d I s ai d, " S h o u l d s u c h a m an as I f l e e? An d w h o i s t h e r e s u c h as I w h o w o u l d go i n t o t h e t e m p l e t o s av e h i s l i f e? I w i l l n o t go i n!" T h e n I p e r c e i v e d t h at G o d h ad n o t s e n t h i m at al l, bu t t h at h e p r o n o u n c e d t h i s p r o p h e c y agai n s t m e be c au s e T o bi ah an d S an bal l at h ad h i r e d h i m. F o r t h i s r e as o n h e w as h i r e d, t h at I s h o u l d be af r ai d an d ac t t h at w ay an d s i n, s o t h at t h e y m i gh t h av e c au s e f o r an e v i l r e p o r t, t h at t h e y m i gh t r e p r o ac h m e.

16 M y G o d, r e m e m be r T o bi ah an d S an bal l at, ac c o r d i n g t o t h e s e t h e i r w o r k s, an d t h e p r o p h e t e s s N o ad i ah an d t h e r e s t o f t h e p r o p h e t s w h o w o u l d h av e m ad e m e af r ai d. Here we see another plot of Sanballat and Tobiah to cause Nehemiah to be reproached, thus threatening him as a leader and his ability to rebuild the wall. Shemaiah was a secret informer. He tried to convince Nehemiah to go and hide himself in the temple because the enemy would come upon him at night and kill him. Nehemiah refused Shemaiah s warnings. He told him, Should I as governor run away, many are watching me. Should I hide when there is business is to be done? He also knew that he would give up his life if he went into the temple because he was not a priest. Again, we see lessons in Nehemiah s character which we can learn from. He immediately decided not to yield to fear and not to give give up on God s work. He was not overly concerned about his own life as he served God. He took his responsibilities very soberly. He put his trust in the Lord. Nehemiah knew that the warnings were not sincere, because God had revealed it to him. God protected Nehemiah in the face of constant opposition by the enemy. He was unselfish, diligent, compassionate, a good steward and example. He was discerning, honest, determined, dependent on God, and courageous. We can be praying for these characteristics in our own lives, for we face a real battle with a real enemy. When we have problems we need to turn to God. N EH EM I AH 6:15-19 S o t h e w al l w as f i n i s h e d o n t h e t w e n t y -f i f t h d ay o f El u l, i n f i f t y -t w o d ay s.

17 An d i t h ap p e n e d, w h e n al l o u r e n e m i e s h e ar d o f i t, an d al l t h e n at i o n s ar o u n d u s s aw t h e s e t h i n gs, t h at t h e y w e r e v e r y d i s h e ar t e n e d i n t h e i r o w n e y e s ; f o r t h e y p e r c e i v e d t h at t h i s w o r k w as d o n e by o u r G o d. Al s o i n t h o s e d ay s t h e n o bl e s o f J u d ah s e n t m an y l e t t e r s t o T o bi ah, an d t h e l e t t e r s o f T o bi ah c am e t o t h e m. F o r m an y i n J u d ah w e r e p l e d ge d t o h i m, be c au s e h e w as t h e s o n -i n -l aw o f S h e c h an i ah t h e s o n o f Ar ah, an d h i s s o n J e h o h an an h ad m ar r i e d t h e d au gh t e r o f M e s h u l l am t h e s o n o f B e r e c h i ah. Al s o t h e y r e p o r t e d h i s go o d d e e d s be f o r e m e, an d r e p o r t e d m y w o r d s t o h i m. T o bi ah s e n t l e t t e r s t o f r i gh t e n m e. We see that Nehemiah and his workers were in the center of God s will, doing the job they were called to do, even though there were constant attacks from the enemy. Their persistence reaped a good reward. The wall was finished in 52 days. The work was accomplished because it was the work of God. God fought for Israel and helped them and thus it was completed. The enemies of Jerusalem were ashamed of their own confidence. They were discouraged and perceived that the work was of God. It seems that Tobiah would not let go of the situation. He wrote threatening letters to Nehemiah trying to instill fear into him, but he could not sway Nehemiah. When we have problems we need to turn to God N EH EM I AH 7:1-3 T h e n i t w as, w h e n t h e w al l w as bu i l t an d I h ad h u n g t h e d o o r s, w h e n t h e gat e k e e p e r s, t h e s i n ge r s, an d t h e L e v i t e s h ad be e n ap p o i n t e d,

18 t h at I gav e t h e c h ar ge o f J e r u s al e m t o m y br o t h e r H an an i, an d H an an i ah t h e l e ad e r o f t h e i t ad e l, f o r h e w as a f ai t h f u l m an an d f e ar e d G o d m o r e t h an m an y. An d I s ai d t o t h e m, " D o n o t l e t t h e gat e s o f J e r u s al e m be o p e n e d u n t i l t h e s u n i s h o t ; an d w h i l e t h e y s t an d gu ar d, l e t t h e m s h u t an d bar t h e d o o r s ; an d ap p o i n t gu ar d s f r o m am o n g t h e i n h abi t an t s o f J e r u s al e m, o n e at h i s w at c h s t at i o n an d an o t h e r i n f r o n t o f h i s o w n h o u s e. " Nehemiah took some measures of protection after the wall was rebuilt. He setup watchmen and made arrangements for further securing the city against attack. He set up the gates to further fortify the city and set up the gatekeepers to watch and open and close the gates of the temple courts. He chose Hanani, who was a faithful man and one who feared God greatly, to take charge of Jerusalem s security. Nehemiah also gave specific instruction about guarding the city. He told them to shut the gates and lock them while the guards were still on duty and to open them only well after sunrise. He directed the guards to be residents of Jerusalem and to be on duty at regular times and that each one who had a home near the wall must guard the section of the wall next to his own home. Let us fight the good fight of faith and bring glory to our God, as Nehemiah did. When we have problems we need to turn to God. Edible Bricks You will need 5 graham crackers for each child, a few tubes of cake frosting and butcher paper. Lay out on a table or on the floor a large sheet of butcher paper. Give each child 5 graham crackers. Let each child make a brick with their graham crackers. Have them

19 lay one cracker on the paper then make the two sides of the bricks by placing a strip of cake frosting on each long end of the graham cracker on the paper. Then stand up the two sides and place another strip of cake frosting on the top edge of the two side graham crackers. Next place the top graham cracker on. Finally break the fifth graham cracker in half. Place cake frosting on the outer edges of the brick and place the _ pieces of graham crackers on each end. Allow the children to decorate their brick with cake frosting. They can write their names or favorite Bible verse on it. Send the bricks home with them and have the children ask their parents for permission to eat their graham cracker masterpiece. PRAYER Lead the children in a prayer of commitment to give all of their problems to the Lord, to trust in Him, especially in the tough times. If there are any children who have not yet responded to the gospel, give them opportunity to do so.