I realized that God had not sent him . . . He had been hired to intimidate me. (Nehemiah 6:12,13)As Nehemiah continued in his project to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, opposition took many forms. There were threats, lies reported to the king in Persia, a failed assassination plot, and in today's reading a conspiracy of intimidation.
Sanballat wielded much influence in Judah's neighbor province Samaria and would one day be its governor. He saw a repopulated Jerusalem as a threat to his power, so he was determined to do whatever it would take to stop Nehemiah. He hired Shemaiah, a man Nehemiah respected enough from whom to seek counsel, who tried to sow into Nehemiah's mind fear for his life.
Sanballat's plan was to intimidate Nehemiah and the builders so that they would give up the project before its completion. It is an attempt right out of Satan's playbook. Lacking the authority or power to impose your will, fling words of fear in the general direction of your target, and let him derail his own progress.
For God did not give us a spirit of [fear], but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). Satan is a toothless, defeated foe, with no authority over Believers. All he can do is threaten, hurl innuendo and hope we fall for his lies.
God warns; the Enemy threatens.
What fearful thoughts are being thrown at you by Satan to derail your forward progress?
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