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, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced his prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me”, and in chapter six and verse fourteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah prayed, “my God, think upon Tobiah and Sanballat”, where we read,
My God, think you upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works,
and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
The verse reads, “My God, think you upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “my God” or “my, Nehemiah's, Supreme Deity”, “think you upon Tobiah” which means “God remember, recall and bring to mind Tobiah whose name means Jehovah is good” “and Sanballat” or “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” “according to these their works” or “in keeping to the proclamations and utterances of acts and deeds spoken through them”. Nehemiah prayed to the Supreme Deity Jehovah God to recall and bring to mind “Tobiah and Sanballat” and to bring upon them the declaration of deeds they spoke against him.
The verse continues, “... and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.” Nehemiah added the words, “and on the prophetess Noadiah” or “and upon the false female spiritual spokesman and leader Noadiah whose name means meeting with Jehovah”, “and the rest” which means “and the remainder and remnant” “of the prophets” or “belonging to the spiritual spokesmen and leaders”, “that would have put me in fear” which means “who came about, arose and appeared to set, fix and establish terror and dread within me, Nehemiah”. Nehemiah prayed that Jehovah God would also cause the words of the “prophetess Noadiah” and the remainder of the false spiritual spokesmen to come upon them because they desired to cause him to be afraid and in terror.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how he turned his hating and deceptive foes over to Jehovah God. God wants us to trust Him with people who attempt to make us afraid and thereby make us unable to keep performing His work. Jesus experienced this same tactic of His enemies when He came to the world to die on the cross and be raised from the dead three days later to provide salvation to all mankind. When we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us the discernment of His Holy Spirit when our enemies attack and the wisdom to know how to turn them over to Him.
Next time Nehemiah says, “the wall was finished … in fifty and two days”, 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".
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