In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief”, and in chapter six and verse three of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I sent messengers unto them”, where we read,
And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down:
why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?
The verse reads, “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down:”Nehemiah began with the words, “and I sent messengers unto them” or “and I, Nehemiah, dispatched and assigned deputies, representatives or ambassadors to Sanballat and Geshem”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” “I am doing a great work” or “I, Nehemiah, am fashioning, accomplishing and making a massive and mighty labor, task and workmanship”, “so that I cannot come down” which means “which does not allow me to prevail, overcome, endure, have power and ability to descend”. Nehemiah said he dispatched representatives to “Sanballat and Geshem” to tell them that he was accomplishing a mighty labor, so he was unable to descend to where they wanted to meet.
The verse goes on to say, “why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?” Nehemiah continued with the words, “why should the work cease” or “for what reason and cause ought the labor and workmanship desist, rest or stop”, “while I leave it” which means “during the time that I, Nehemiah, abate from, be idle and refrain from it, the work”, “and come down to you” or “and descend toward you”? Nehemiah asked for what reason the labor on the barrier wall ought to stop during the time he departed from his work and descended to where “Sanballat and Geshem” desired to meet with him.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how Nehemiah responded to “Sanballat and Geshem's”invitation. He knew they desired to harm him, and there was no reason to depart from the labor and descend to meet them. God wants a personal relationship with us that includes wisdom from Him in this kind of situation. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross and to be resurrected from the grave three days later so when we put our faith and trust in Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and provide His “wisdom” when adversaries attempt to draw us into situations that will only cause our demise.
Next time Nehemiah says, “they sent unto me four times after this sort”, 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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