Looking, Rising and Saying … Be Not Afraid - Nehemiah 4:14

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “and it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places where you shall return unto us they will be upon you. Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows”, and in chapter four and verse fourteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I looked, and rose up, and said … be not you afraid of them”, where we read,

And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not you afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

The verse reads, “And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not you afraid of them:” Nehemiah began with the words, “and I looked” or “and I, Nehemiah, inspected, perceived and observed”, “and rose up” which means “and stood and arose”, “and said unto the nobles” or “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to the white, pure and freeborn ones”, “and to the rulers” which means “and to the prefects, governors and petty officials”, “and to the rest of the people” or “and toward the remnant or remainder pertaining to the human beings both male and female”, “be you not afraid of them” which means “do not exist in fear, dreading and terrified by the adversaries”. Nehemiah shared how he observed, stood up and declared to the freeborn ones, the prefects and the remainder of the people that they did not need to fear the foes who opposed them.

The verse goes on to say, “remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “remember the Lord” or “recall, bring to mind and to remembrance Yahweh or Jehovah God”, “which is great and terrible” which means “who is large, intense, exceedingly mighty and awesome”, “and fight for your brethren” or “and wage war and do battle on behalf of your, the people of Jerusalem's, kinship, kindred and relatives” “your sons” which means “your, the people of Jerusalem's, male offspring and progeny”, “and your daughters” or “and your, the people of Jerusalem's, female offspring and progeny”, “your wives” which means “your, the people of Jerusalem's, female spouses”, “and your houses” or “and your, the people of Jerusalem's, habitations, abodes and dwelling places”. Nehemiah called upon the people of Jerusalem to bring to mind Jehovah God, who is more mighty and awesome than any foe, and do battle on behalf of their relatives, male progeny, female offspring, female spouses and dwelling places. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how Nehemiah responded to the enemies' threats by calling upon all the people of Jerusalem to bring to their remembrance Jehovah God and His power and might over all others, and he instructed them to go to battle on behalf of their “relatives, sons, daughters, wives and homes”. There is a time to pray, and there is a time to act, and Nehemiah called the people into action. God wants a personal relationship with us, and we are to rely upon Him and take action when needed. When we realize “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (See John 3:16), we have the opportunity to have our sins forgiven, inherit everlasting life and be emboldened to “remember God” and do battle on behalf of everyone we know and love. 

Next time Nehemiah shares what happened, “when our enemies heard that it was known unto us”, 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".