Nehemiah: God's Invitation to RebuildSample

Opposition Within

You’ve heard it said that we are often our own worst enemy. According to Warren Wiersbe, when external attacks fail, the enemy resorts to attacking from within, often using selfishness as one of his preferred weapons. The enemy aims to manipulate our thoughts and desires, diverting our focus solely to ourselves, ultimately leading us to defeat without realizing his influence. Selfishness involves placing oneself at the center, demanding satisfaction of our wants and needs at any given moment. It entails exploiting others to attain personal happiness and leveraging them to achieve our desires. Not only does selfishness involve pursuing our interests, but it also expects everyone else to align with our wishes. The reason why selfish individuals are often miserable can be explained by Thomas Merton's powerful statement: "To consider persons, events, and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell."

The Jews building the wall under Nehemiah’s leadership certainly faced a real enemy, but they also faced oppositional challenge from within. Compared to the situation of the people who returned under Ezra's leadership, the economic and power dynamic had worsened. Despite the wealth brought back from Babylon, some individuals misused their financial advantage, which caused unfair and dire financial burdens on others, causing some to sell their children into slavery just to see them fed. Various factors contributed to the problem, including drought, famine, taxes, and high-interest rates charged by fellow Israelites. Nehemiah's response to the problem was rooted in righteous anger, a just reaction to the injustice he witnessed. However, he also exercised self-control and pondered the situation before taking action in calling them to just behavior..

Prayer: Lord, give me your eyes to see injustices that are taking place in front of me.

Bonus Reading: Acts 20:28-32