In the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” Nehemiah 4:2 NIV
Sanballat and his followers gather within hearing distance of the wall and ask a bunch of sarcastic questions (4:2): “What are those feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices?” He means, “Do they think that they can complete this project and offer sacrifices of thanksgiving?” “Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble, even the burned ones?” After each rhetorical question, his followers probably roared with laughter. Then Tobiah threw in his sarcastic barb, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” Satan frequently uses ridicule against those who take a stand for the Lord. If you become a Christian and let it be known, your fellow workers will mock you. They will be waiting for you to fall into some sin, so that they can say: “We knew you were no different. Christians are a bunch of hypocrites!” Our commitment to Christ threatens their godless lifestyle. If anger and ridicule don’t work, the enemy gets more aggressive. Nehemiah’s enemies had to be careful, since he was working under Artaxerxes’ permission. They could and did use threats of violence, which they circulated among the Jews living near them. Satan still uses subtle or overt threats and intimidation to oppose Christians.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, no matter how we are mocked or threatened, we will stand for You.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, whatever mockery or threats we face in our commitment to You, we choose to stand, empowered by Your Holy Spirit. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Hebrews 11:23-40
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