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 in chapter six and verse eleven of Nehemiah, Nehemiah asked, “should such a man as I flee?”, where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “And I said, should such a man as I flee?” Nehemiah began with the words, “and I said” or “and I, Nehemiah, uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked”, “should such a man as I” which means “is there a reason and cause according, in likeness and of the which I, Nehemiah, exist to” “flee” or “run away, be put to flight and hurry away”? Nehemiah asked “Shemaiah” for what reason a man with his stature should be put to flight and run away.
The verse goes on to say, “And who is there, that , being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. ” Nehemiah continued with the words, “and who is there” or “and what person exists”, “that, being as I am” which means “that, since I, Nehemiah, exist in my position and stature”, “would go into the temple” or “should enter into the sacred worship place” “to save his life” which means “to preserve, sustain and continue his, Nehemiah's, own living and breathing”? “I will not go in or “I, Nehemiah, shall not enter into the temple”. Nehemiah questioned what person with his position and authority would enter the sacred worship place to preserve their own living and breathing, and for this cause, he would not enter the “temple”.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how Nehemiah perceived that what “Shemaiah” was requesting of him was not good, and he asked him why a man of his stature and position should run away and enter the sacred worship place just to preserve his life. God revealed to Nehemiah that He was not the source of “Shemaiah's” idea, and we shall see how Nehemiah perceives it in our next verse. For now let us realize Nehemiah had such a close relationship with God, that when bad and ill-willed ideas were presented to him, he perceived it immediately. God wants an intimate relationship with us as well, and when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit so we can discern when others attempt to deceive and distract us from performing His purpose and will for our lives.
Next time Nehemiah says, “I perceived that God had not sent him”, 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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