Day 137: Nehemiah 10, 11, 12 and 13

In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:15).

Entropy (EN truh pee), n. 1. Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society [2].

A. W. Tozer compared the spiritual life to a garden cut out of the jungle. No matter how well cultivated, if left untended the jungle will always creep back in [3].

After everything the nation of Judah had been through: the exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the monarchy, the divided kingdom, Israel’s fall to and Judah’s deliverance from Assyria, the Babylonian exile, the return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls; one would think they would have learned their lesson.

Nehemiah’s sabbatical was ended and he had returned to Persia where he would continue serving his king. On a later return visit, he was dismayed to find that all the things addressed during his time in Jerusalem had gotten off track in his absence.

Tobiah, one of the enemies who had tried to intimidate Nehemiah and the builders of the wall had been given an apartment in the temple, financial support was being withheld, the Levites had not been paid in months and so had gone back to their fields to make a living, men were working on the Sabbath as well as buying and selling goods, and once again marrying foreign women.

We cannot afford to coast. The path of least resistance always leads to decline.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

What steps will you take this week to avoid spiritual entropy?

Day 136: Nehemiah 6, 7, 8 and 9

I realized that God had not sent him . . . He had been hired to intimidate me (Nehemiah 6:12,13).

As Nehemiah continued 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 of power and love and self-control (NET, 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.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

What fearful thoughts are being thrown at you by Satan to derail your forward progress? Ask God to reveal them for the lies they are. Courage.

Day 135: Nehemiah 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are? (Nehemiah 4:2).

In his insightful book Rebuilding the Real You, Jack Hayford compares Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls with the Holy Spirit rebuilding the walls of our lives [1]. The temple had been rebuilt, but the city’s means of protection were only piles of rubble. Hayford says the temple illustrates our spiritual center, whereas the work on the walls illustrates the longer and slower process of rebuilding our personality – a sort of healing from the wounds of life.

Notice the opposition to Nehemiah’s rebuilding project. When Sanballat . . . heard about this, [he was] very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (2:10). In our focus verse, Sanballat ridicules them for their efforts to rebuild. Your enemy wants you to think what is broken must remain broken.

Hayford also reveals that the name Nehemiah can be literally translated as the comfort of Yahweh. Jesus said: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (KJV, John 14:16). We want to stop short of allegorizing this text, but it’s interesting how closely the restorative roles of Nehemiah in Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit in our lives complement one another.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Are the walls of your life lying in disrepair? Do you ever wonder how you’ll rise above the rubble? Do you need help rebuilding?

Day 137: Nehemiah 10, 11, 12 and 13

In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:15)

Entropy (enꞋ trə pē), n. 1. Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.

A. W. Tozer compared the spiritual life to a garden cut out of the jungle. No matter how well cultivated, if left untended the jungle will always creep back in.

After everything the nation of Judah had been through: the exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the monarchy, the divided kingdom, Israel’s fall to and Judah’s deliverance from Assyria, the Babylonian exile, the return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls; one would think they would have learned their lesson.

Nehemiah’s furlough from service to the king was ended and he had returned to Persia. On another visit, he was dismayed to find that all the things addressed during his time in Jerusalem had gotten off track in his absence.

Tobiah, one of the enemies who had tried to intimidate Nehemiah and the builders of the wall had been given access to the temple, financial support was being withheld, the Levites had not been paid in months and so had gone back to their fields to make a living, men were working on the Sabbath as well as buying and selling goods, and once again marrying foreign women.

We cannot afford to coast. The path of least resistance always leads to decline.

What steps will you take this week to avoid spiritual entropy?

Day 136: Nehemiah 6, 7, 8 and 9

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?

Day 135: Nehemiah 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are? (Nehemiah 4:2)

In his insightful book Rebuilding the Real You, Jack Hayford compares Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls with the Holy Spirit rebuilding the walls of our lives. [1] The temple had been rebuilt, but the city’s means of protection were only piles of rubble. Hayford says the temple illustrates our spiritual center, whereas the work on the walls illustrates the longer and slower process of rebuilding our personality – a sort of healing from the wounds of life.

Notice the opposition to Nehemiah’s rebuilding project. When Sanballat . . . heard about this, [he was] very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (2:10). In our focus verse, Sanballat ridicules them for their efforts to rebuild. Your enemy wants you to think what is broken must remain broken.

Hayford also reveals that the name Nehemiah can be literally translated as the comfort of Yahweh. Jesus said: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (KJV, John 14:16). We want to stop short of allegorizing this text, but it’s interesting how closely the restorative roles of Nehemiah and the Holy Spirit complement one another.

Do you need help rebuilding the walls of your life?

[1] Jack Hayford, Rebuilding the Real You (Ventura: Regal, 1986).

Day 137: Nehemiah 10, 11, 12 and 13

In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:15)

Entropy (EN treh pee) n. 1. inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.

A. W. Tozer compared the spiritual life to a garden cut out of the jungle. No matter how well cultivated, if left untended the jungle will always creep back in.

After everything the nation of Judah had been through: the exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the monarchy, the divided kingdom, Israel's fall to and Judah's deliverance from Assyria, the Babylonian exile, the return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls; one would think they would have learned their lesson.

Nehemiah's furlough from service to the king was ended and he had returned to Persia. On a return visit, he was dismayed to find that all the things that had been addressed during his time in Jerusalem had gotten off track in his absence.

Tobiah, one of the enemies who had tried to intimidate Nehemiah and the builders of the wall had been given access to the temple, financial support was being withheld, the Levites had not been paid in months and so had gone back to their fields to make a living, men were working on the Sabbath as well as buying and selling goods, and once again marrying foreign women.

We cannot afford to coast. The path of least resistance always leads to decline.

What steps will you take this week to avoid spiritual entropy?

Day 136: Nehemiah 6, 7, 8 and 9

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?

Day 135: Nehemiah 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble - burned as they are? (Nehemiah 4:2)

In his insightful book Rebuilding the Real You, Jack Hayford compares Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls with the Holy Spirit rebuilding the walls of our lives. [1] The temple had been rebuilt, but the city's means of protection were only piles of rubble. Hayford says the temple illustrates our spiritual center, whereas the work on the walls illustrates the longer and slower process of rebuilding our personality - a sort of healing from the wounds of life.

Notive the opposition to Nehemiah's rebuilding project. When Sanballat . . . heard about this, [he was] very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (2:10). In our focus verse, Sanballat ridicules them for their efforts to rebuild. Your enemy wants you to think what is broken must remain broken.

Hayford also reveals that the name Nehemiah can be literally translated as the comfort of Yahweh. Jesus said: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (KJV, John 14:16). We want to stop short of allegorizing this text, but it's interesting how closely the restorative roles of Nehemiah and the Holy Spirit complement one another.

Do you need help rebuilding the walls of your life?

[1] Jack Hayford, Rebuilding the Real You (Ventura: Regal, 1986).