Everyone Conspiring - Nehemiah 4:8

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, ...”, and in chapter four and verse eight of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said they, “conspired all of them together”, where we read,

And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

The verse reads, “And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and conspired all of them together” or “and bound together in a strong and robust manner in opposition each, all, the whole and everyone of the foes of Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem” “to come and to fight” which means “to go in, enter, light upon and do battle and make war” “against Jerusalem” or “in opposition to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”. Nehemiah shared how“Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites” bound themselves with one another to rise up in battle and opposition to the city of “Jerusalem”.

The verse goes on to say, “... and to hinder it.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “and to hinder it” or “and to impede, prohibit and obstruct it, the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem”. Nehemiah said the adversaries wanted to impede and obstruct the rebuilding of the barrier wall. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how “Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites” bound themselves with one another to rise up against the rebuilding of the barrier wall that surrounded Jerusalem. We might imagine they would think this is a good work, but they did not. These foes of Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem were not only adversaries of them, but also of God Himself. God's way among people is to let them know salvation from their sins is available through a personal relationship with Him. This was made possible by God's Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. He was raised from the grave three days later, and now all who put their faith and trust in Him as their “Savior and Lord” will be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and given a purpose and willingness to work in His Kingdom by His Holy Spirit's leading into all truth and equipping to live according to that truth. This idea of God is not met without opposition, and like Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem, we must turn to Jehovah God when Satan and his workers rise against us. (See John 10:10) 

Next time Nehemiah says, “we made our prayer unto our God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".