Now when Sanballat
heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he
jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in
the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble
Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they
finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish,
and burned ones at that?”
THE STUDY:
Yesterday we looked at ridicule and how it
can be used as a weapon. We should not be surprised that when we are doing the
work of God we are going to be attacked by the Evil one and he will use all
kinds of weapons. One of those weapons will be ridicule! We read in these 2
verses three areas that were attacked by ridicule.
First, Sanballat ridiculed
the workers by calling them “feeble Jews” (4:2). The word feeble
means “withered, miserable.” He was saying that the people were like cut
flowers that were fading away. They had no human resources that people could
see, but the enemy could not see their great spiritual resources. The people of
the world don’t understand that God delights in using feeble instruments to get
His work accomplished (1 Cor. 1:18–31). The world glories in its wealth and
power, but God’s people glory in their poverty and weakness. When we are weak,
then we are strong (2 Cor. 12:1–10).
Then Sanballat ridiculed the
work itself by asking three taunting questions. “Will they restore it
for themselves?” must have evoked winds of laughter from
the Samaritan army. How could a remnant of feeble Jews hope to build a wall
strong enough to protect the city from the army? “Will they sacrifice?” implies, It will take more than prayer and
worship to rebuild the city! This question was blasphemy against Jehovah God,
for Sanballat was denying that God would help His people. “Will they finish in a day?” suggests that the Jews didn’t know how
difficult the task was and would soon call it quits.
In his final question,
Sanballat ridiculed the materials they were using. The stones
were taken out of the rubbish heaps and probably were so old and damaged that
they would never last when set into the wall. While it is true that limestone
is softened by fire, it is also true that the walls were “broken down,” while
the gates were “consumed with fire” (Neh. 2:13). In spite of what Sanballat
said, there was still plenty of good material for the builders to use.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that nothing is exempt from the ridicule of the enemy. He will attack not only the person but their peers, the job at hand, and even the material being used. What we “can do” to combat ridicule is stay focused on the task at hand and keep the faith.
APPLICATION:
GEORGE
STEPHENSON spent fifteen years to perfect the locomotive. WATTS worked for
thirty years on the condensing engine, and hard rubber cost GOODYEAR ten years
of study, poverty and public ridicule.
FIELD crossed the ocean fifty times to lay a
cable so men could talk across the oceans. BURBANK the plant wizard at one time
personally conducted over 6,000 experiments before finding the solution.
WESTINGHOUSE was treated as a mild lunatic by most railroad executives.
“Stopping a train by wind! The man’s crazy!” Yet he persevered and finally sold
the air-brake idea.
All of these people/organizations
were ridiculed but they never gave up. The stayed focused! Today you’re being
ridiculed by Satan and you may feel like giving up or quitting the faith. I am here
to tell you, “Nothing worth having will be easy, especially when it comes to serving
Christ.” Stay focused, hang on, and keep the faith, for our reward is not found
on this earth but in heaven.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined.
“Be” Commentary Series (50–51). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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