Obstacles and Opposition
Devotions for Growing Christians
Obstacles and Opposition
Nehemiah 4:9-11 - “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall." Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."
Read all of Nehemiah 4-6.
Have you ever faced a significant task or project that seemed almost impossible to overcome? It was too much work... There were too many problems associated with the situation… There were people working against you... Our natural tendency in these situations is often to just quit or put the whole task off to another time.
Nehemiah faced this kind of “seemingly-impossible” task when he set out to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. He had to overcome many obstacles and significant enemy opposition. But Nehemiah didn’t quit or rationalize that it “wasn’t God’s Will” because of the difficulties involved.
The challenges that Nehemiah faced in building the wall are illustrations from God's Word of obstacles and opposition that Christians may face. Just as ancient cities needed strong walls for defense and protection, the Lord wants His people today to have a strong and well-founded faith that can withstand the attacks of the enemy. The enemy wants us to remain weak and vulnerable, so we should expect to run into obstacles when we’re involved in serving the Lord. We should expect to face opposition when "building the walls" of personal or corporate Christian testimony. The steps that Nehemiah took in overcoming his roadblocks are recorded in the Bible so we can learn from them.
Background
Nehemiah lived in the Persian capital of Susa during the 5th century BC. He was a cupbearer for the Persian king. In the ancient world, the King’s cupbearer was considered to be one of the king’s most loyal and trustworthy personal advisors.
Although he had a prestigious job, Nehemiah was concerned about the problems of his own people back in his Jewish homeland. He knew that the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonian armies about 150 years earlier. The Jewish people had since rebuilt the Temple. However, the walls around the Holy City were piles of rubble.
Susa was a long way from Jerusalem, but Nehemiah was determined to do something about the situation. In ancient times, an unwalled city was defenseless, so he decided before the Lord to return and direct the rebuilding of the walls. As far as we know, Nehemiah didn’t receive any specific personal revelation or communication from God about this, but he was prompted by godly concern. In addition, Nehemiah knew from the prophecy of Daniel, written about 100 years before Nehemiah's time, that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt as a strong city (Daniel 2:25).
Through prayer and godly determination, Nehemiah worked through the obstacles associated with leaving his job, obtaining the necessary permission, getting royal visas, and gathering necessary provisions. He surely also dealt with opposition from skeptical family and friends in Persia. After all, the Lord had had given him a prominent position in the Persian emperor's court! The people Jerusalem should take care of their own broken-down walls! But Nehemiah was determined to follow his godly instincts. With these obstacles behind him, Nehemiah faced a very long trip to Jerusalem - about 1,000 miles on horseback.
Ridicule
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem he successfully challenged the people to “rise up and build.” However, at this point, several rulers of nearby Persian provinces didn’t want Jerusalem to become a strong and well-defended city. The prosperity of their own provinces would be affected if trade routes and economic advantages shifted in Jerusalem's direction. So they began mocking and despising the would-be builders (2:18-19). When the wall began to go up, the enemies became furious (Nehemiah 3), and their scorn and ridicule intensified.
As Christians today, we can expect to face mockery. It's part of the enemy's strategy. How did Nehemiah deal with all this? He and the people prayed specifically about the problem, and continued to build (4:4-5). They were determined to “arise and build" (2:18), and "the people had a mind to work" (4:6).
When we’re confronted with mockery, let's pray, and maintain our determination to continue building strong spiritual walls.
Discouragement
Wall building was hard work. They were making progress, but there was still a lot to do. Fatigue was beginning to take its toll (4:10). Furthermore, word was beginning to circulate that a major attack against Jerusalem was being plotted before the wall could be completed (4:8). This threat was demoralizing the workers (4:11-12).
When Nehemiah saw discouragement, doubt and fear gaining ground among the people, he took action. His first priority was to make sure that the people continued to pray (4:9). Then he posted armed guards for protection (4:9,13), and rallied the people to remember their "great and awesome" Lord! Nehemiah challenged them to be willing to fight for their families (4:14) and encouraged them not to be afraid.
The obstacles that Nehemiah faced picture Satan's intense opposition to stop our spiritual wall-building. If he can't tear down our Christian testimony with mockery and derision, we can expect the threat of attack. There may be legal threats against your church or ministry. Your career may be threatened because of your commitment to Christ. Your grades may be threatened if you're a Christian student serving Christ on a secular campus.
Are you facing a discouraging situation right now? Are doubts about the effectiveness of your efforts to build a strong spiritual wall beginning to voice themselves? Is there rubble from past broken walls that seems impossible to clean up? Don't give up hope! Pray specifically about the situation. Exhortation, encouragement, and challenge - in the context of prayer - are the cure for discouragement and doubt.
Nehemiah 4:15-23 makes it clear that we should never stop building. Nehemiah carefully organized a round-the-clock armed defense of Jerusalem, but they never stopped building the wall. Building and battling go together in spiritual warfare. God had frustrated the enemies' plan of attack (4:15), but the people kept their weapons and armor ready (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Financial pressures
Chapter 5 reveals that many of the wall-builders had significant financial problems. To make ends meet, they had to borrow money by mortgaging their properties. Food was in short supply, and some people were forced to sell themselves and/or their children as indentured servants.
Sadly, some of the wealthy upper class actually took advantage of the situation. They bought up the land of their fellow Jews and, contrary to Jewish Law, charged them high interest rates on loans. (See Leviticus 25:35-43.)
Nehemiah confronted this obstacle of selfishness and greed. His correction procedure is a biblical model for us to follow when faced with similar outbreaks of human nature. He spoke to anyone involved in these unlawful practices (5:7-9), and asked them to return what they had wrongfully taken (5:10-11). When they promised to conform, Nehemiah emphasized how serious it was to break a promise by making them take an oath (5:12-13).
Nehemiah set the example in his own personal life as well. Throughout his 12 years as governor, he didn’t take any of his entitled food allowance. Instead, he paid for his meals out of his own pocket, providing for his large household and all diplomatic functions. Nehemiah is an excellent role model for spiritual leaders today!
Personal attack
In Nehemiah 6 the enemy tried three forms of personal attack.
1. Compromise
In verses 1-4 we see the temptation to compromise. The leaders of the surrounding enemy provinces proposed a "peace conference” on the Plain of Ono and invited Nehemiah. They hoped to get Nehemiah away from Jerusalem and the job of wall-building and harm him (6:2).
Nehemiah suspected foul play and refused to meet them there. Notice that Nehemiah didn’t change his mind even when the opportunity was presented to him four times (6:4)! Sometimes Christians assume it must be God speaking when "opportunities" present themselves repeatedly. This is a good reminder to be aware, because Satan is very crafty and persistent in his subtle personal attack.
2. Slander
In verses 5-7, the enemy's personal attack against Nehemiah took the form of open slander. The enemy threatened to send a letter to King Artaxerxes accusing Nehemiah of planning a rebellion and setting himself up as a king. When we’re falsely accused and slandered, we should follow the biblical model of Nehemiah. He flatly denied the false charge, and left his case in the hands of God, without wasting a lot of time defending himself.
Our enemies can siphon off massive amounts of our time and spiritual energy if we stop our God-given work of spiritual wall building to defend ourselves from false accusations. Sometimes our self-defense even escalates to seeking revenge on our accusers. The scriptural pattern presented here is to simply deny the false charges, and leave the situation in God’s hands. Romans 12:19 says, "Leave room for the wrath of God... I will repay, says the Lord."
3. Discernment
A prophet named Shemaiah suggested that Nehemiah should set up administrative headquarters within the Temple (v10). From there, Shemaiah reasoned that Nehemiah could direct operations effectively, and he would be safe from his enemies who might be plotting against him.
Sounds logical, right? But because he knew the Word of God, Nehemiah perceived that Shemaiah was a false prophet hired by the enemy (6:12). Nehemiah knew that only priests were allowed into the Temple, and he wasn’t a priest. A plan that broke God's Law couldn’t possibly be a strategy sent from God!
How well do we know God's Word? Are we able to recognize and reject subtle ideas that are contrary to its teachings?
Because Nehemiah had determined in his heart to build strong walls for Jerusalem, and he continually looked to God in prayer, he successfully overcame all the obstacles and opposition he faced. The wall was completed in only 52 days -- less than two months! What a tremendous accomplishment! What a testimony to what God can do through a fully committed believer! Let's follow the model of Nehemiah. With God's help, we can overcome enemy obstacles and opposition as we faithfully build strong walls of Christian testimony in our lives, in our families, and in our local churches.
- Dave Reid
(Updated 2021, Ron Reid)