When Our Enemies Heard that It Was Known - Nehemiah 4:15

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 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”, and in chapter four and verse fifteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared what happened, “when our enemies heard that it was known unto us”, where we read,

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

The verse reads, “And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and it came to pass” or “and the following happened and occurred”, “when our enemies heard” which means “at the time and moment our, Nehemiah and the people of Judah's, hating adversaries and foes perceived, listened to and understood” “that it was known unto us” or “that their rising up against Nehemiah and the people of Judah was recognized, acknowledged and revealed to us, Nehemiah and the people of Judah”, “and God had brought their counsel to nought” which means “and the Supreme Deity had broken, frustrated and made ineffectual their, the enemies', advice, purpose and plan, the following occurred”. Nehemiah said at the time and moment his and the people of Judah's adversaries perceived that their pernicious acts were revealed and that Jehovah God the Supreme Deity frustrated their plan, the following happened. 

The verse continues, “... that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.” Nehemiah added the words, “that we returned all of us” or “that we, Nehemiah and the people of Judah, went back, each, every, the whole and everyone of the people of Judah and Nehemiah” “to the wall” which means “toward the barrier wall”, “every one unto his work” or “each, all, the whole and everybody toward their own occupation, business, workmanship and service ”. Nehemiah said he and all the other people of Judah went back to their business of rebuilding the wall. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that the foes of him and the people of Judah understood that they knew their plans and that God spoiled them, they went back to work on the wall. In other words, they ignored the threats of their enemies. God wants the work of His Kingdom to be accomplished, and when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead three days later, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us a desire to continue His commission for us even when our adversaries' plans are revealed and ruined by God Himself. 

Next time Nehemiah says, “the half of my servants wrought in the work”, 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".