But when Sanballat the
Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly
that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
THE STUDY:
What we find in this verse
is two individuals: Sanballat the
Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite. Sanballat is believed to be the governor
of Samaria which was close to Jerusalem.
“Tobiah the Ammonite
official” was likely governor of Ammon, although he may have been an Ammonite
official under Sanballat’s authority. Tobiah is a Jewish name and not Ammonite,
but the Tobiad family was to have influence in Ammon for a long time.28
These Tobiads may have been descendants of the Tobiah who in Ezra 2:60 was
rejected from the Jewish community because “they could not show that their
families were descended from Israel.” If so, their long-standing enmity against
the Jewish community may have begun at that time.
Earlier in the reign of
Artaxerxes their complaints against Jerusalem had been accepted by the king,
who decreed that the Jews stop building. So a Jew coming now as governor, with
authorization to build, greatly disturbed them.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
We walk away this morning with the understanding that even today there are some who are disturbed
when God blesses His work, but Nehemiah reminds us we should not fear that the
work of God is finally dependent upon human attitudes. We are involved in a
spiritual conflict of cosmic proportions, but God’s armor is available, and his
victory is assured (Eph 6:10–18).
APPLICATION:
As I read this verse I am reminded of my
childhood. If I found out someone didn’t like me (whoever it was), it disturbed
me. I would react in a multitude of different ways: anger, jealousy, rage,
tears, and the list could go on. My conclusion to the fact of that person not
liking me was because of who I was, how I was, and what I was. But as I got
older I started to realize that this was not the case. The majority of the
time, the reason someone didn’t like me or had something against me was because
our spirit didn’t line up. We are given examples in scripture that reveals this
concept: Unequally yoked or an evil spirit opposed to a christlike spirit.
Nehemiah had
not even started and opposition was rising up. The same may be true with us in
the world we live in. Today, as a believer, we may run across someone who is
against what we are doing, what we are thinking, or what we are saying. This
may not be personal but yet it might. Whatever the case may be, there is a good
chance it all stems from the fact that your Spirit is not equally yoked with
theirs. Stay the course, keep your eyes on the task at hand and don’t stop
praying. Remember this verse, I can do
all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Breneman, M. (1993). Vol. 10: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed.).
The New American Commentary (178–179). Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers.
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