God Had Not Sent Him - Nehemiah 6:12

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay you; yes, in the night will they come to slay you. And I said, should such a man as I flee? And who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in”, and in chapter six and verse twelve of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I perceived that God had not sent him”, where we read,

And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him;

but that he pronounced his prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

The verse reads, “And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him;” Nehemiah began with the words, “and, lo, I perceived” or “and behold, look and consider, I, Nehemiah, noticed, recognized and discerned” “that God had not sent him” which means “that the Supreme Deity in no way or manner dispatched and assigned him, Shemaiah”. Nehemiah said he discerned that the Supreme Deity Jehovah God had not assigned Shemaiah to him. 

The verse continues, “but that he pronounced his prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.” Nehemiah added the words, “but that he pronounced his prophecy” or “however, notwithstanding, nonetheless and moreover that he, Shemaiah, uttered, declared and proclaimed his, Shemaiah's, spoken prediction” “against me” which means “in opposition to me, Nehemiah”: “for Tobiah” or “because, since and on account that Tobiah whose name means Jehovah is good” “and Sanballat” which means “and Sanballat whose name means strength and was a Moabite of Horonaim and the opponent of Nehemiah and the returned exiles in their goal of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem” “had hired him” or “temporarily purchase him, Shemaiah, for wages and reward”. Nehemiah shared how he perceived that “Shemaiah” declared his prediction in opposition to him because “Tobiah and Sanballat” temporarily purchased “Shemaiah” for wages. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how he discerned the deception that was within “Shemaiah”, and he perceived that “Tobiah and Sanballat” purchased the actions of “Shemaiah” so they could cause him harm. These unrelenting foes were exposed by God's relationship with Nehemiah, and God wants us to be aware of the enemy's devices which are meant for our destruction as well. God loves us, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead three days later, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live in keeping with that truth. Let all who read these words submit to Jesus and be provided with wisdom and discernment of all the devices of our enemies. 

Next time Nehemiah says Shemaiah, “was hired, that I should be afraid”, 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".