Bible Study March 22, 2024
Nehemiah 4:1 – 4 (NLT)
“4 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” 4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land!”
Sanballat is best known from the Book of Nehemiah, which casts him as one of the chief opponents of the Jewish governor Nehemiah during the latter’s efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and carrying out his reforms among the Jews. He opposed Nehemiah who was both a builder and a great rebuilder in Nehemiah’s attempt to rebuild the wall.
Nehemiah was not only a builder but he was a motivator. Judah came to Nehemiah and told him the workers were growing weary in the building. They had become discouraged trying to build a wall from rubble. Nehemiah had an idea (almost certainly it came from the Lord):
- He would organize and encourage them,
- He reminded them that God was them,
- He set them up to work in shifts so they could rest,
- Each family had a portion of the wall to complete,
- He gave them a sense of community and focus.
Teamwork can accomplish so much more than a single person and Nehemiah’s plan worked perfectly.
“Teamwork … is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” Andrew Carnegie.
God Bless.
Asbury Chapel 