Ridicule As A Weapon! (Nehemiah 4:1-2)

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:

          The root meaning of kāʿas is to vex, agitate, stir up, or provoke the heart to a heated condition which in turn leads to specific actions. This verb is used five times to indicate the state of vexation in men. Thus, king Asa was vexed or exasperated when he was rebuked by the prophet Hanani (II Chr 16:10); likewise Sanballat when he saw builders at work on the walls of Jerusalem (Neh 4:1 [H 3:33]). From these instances we may gather that the state of vexation is not normally proper for a true child of God. In fact, Eccl 7:9 teaches that the child of God should not be hasty in spirit to be vexed, because such vexation rests in the bosom of fools.^[1]

          It is not unusual for the enemy to insult the servants of God. Goliath ridiculed David when the shepherd boy met the giant with only a sling in his hand (1 Sam. 17:41–47). Jesus was mocked by the soldiers during His trial (Luke 22:63–65) and by the rabble while He was hanging on the cross (23:35–37); and some of the heroes of the faith had to endure mocking (Heb. 11:36).^[2]

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that when we are partakers of a great undertaking for God we will be recipients of great ridicule from the enemy.  Let us not acted surprised by this!

APPLICATION:

 British critic and author Thomas Carlyle called ridicule “the language of the devil.” Some people who can stand bravely when they are shot at will collapse when they are laughed at. Shakespeare called ridicule “paper bullets of the brain,” but those bullets have slain many a warrior.^[3]

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] 1016 כָעַס. (1999). In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. 1999 (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (451). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined. “Be” Commentary Series (50). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined. “Be” Commentary Series (49–50). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.