1 Now, I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore, the king said to me, “Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, (Nehemiah 2:1-2)
Why was Nehemiah afraid? In the presence of the king, it was considered impolite to show signs of sadness. This was a practice that was common in the courts of many ancient kings. The concept behind this was that the king was such a wonderful person that if you were to spend even a moment in his company, you would immediately forget about any and all of your concerns. When Nehemiah looked sad, it could have been taken as a terrible insult to the king.
How come we come before the LORD with such a sad face? No wonder the Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. (Nehemiah 2:13)
Nehemiah 2:13 from Young's Literal Translation (YLT) reads:
"And I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire."
It is not certain where this well was nor why it was so named.
Then I told them of the hand of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build! So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (Nehemiah 2:18)
1.The people must see the Hand of God upon your life
2.You must have a sure word from the King
When these two things are in place, the people will be motivated to arise and build.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:19)
Tobiah: was a powerful and influential man who had connections to the family of the high priest and received assistance from the priests. Tobiah is a Jewish name (Nehemiah 13:4). For many decades to come, the name "Tobiah" was a prominent choice for children born into priestly families. Strangely enough, the name "Tobiah," which means "Yahweh is good," was given to a man who opposed the work that God was doing in Jerusalem.
Sanballat: Through his marriage, Sanballat maintained relationships with priestly families (Nehemiah 13:28). Sanballat is called the "governor of Samaria" in an antique record that dates back to this time period.
The Horonite: It's possible that this indicates that Sanballat was connected to Moab. Horonaim is identified as a location in Moab in the biblical passages Isaiah 15:5 and Jeremiah 48:3-5.
These individuals were Jewish, and Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem considered them to be their fellow brothers. It was possible that we would have believed that they would support his efforts; nevertheless, this was certainly not the case. It is never easy to face opposition, but when it comes from family members, the anguish of rejection is compounded by the pain of betrayal as well.
The Bible makes it very plain that we have adversaries and opponents as well, but that these adversaries are mostly of a spiritual nature: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against…spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). However, we also realize that attacks from spiritual enemies can come through flesh-and-blood people (Matthew 16:23). We can experience a spiritual attack on a direct inward level from spiritual enemies, or through people who are, knowingly or unknowingly, being used as tools by our spiritual adversaries.
Why was Nehemiah afraid? In the presence of the king, it was considered impolite to show signs of sadness. This was a practice that was common in the courts of many ancient kings. The concept behind this was that the king was such a wonderful person that if you were to spend even a moment in his company, you would immediately forget about any and all of your concerns. When Nehemiah looked sad, it could have been taken as a terrible insult to the king.
How come we come before the LORD with such a sad face? No wonder the Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. (Nehemiah 2:13)
Nehemiah 2:13 from Young's Literal Translation (YLT) reads:
"And I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire."
It is not certain where this well was nor why it was so named.
Then I told them of the hand of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build! So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (Nehemiah 2:18)
1.The people must see the Hand of God upon your life
2.You must have a sure word from the King
When these two things are in place, the people will be motivated to arise and build.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:19)
Tobiah: was a powerful and influential man who had connections to the family of the high priest and received assistance from the priests. Tobiah is a Jewish name (Nehemiah 13:4). For many decades to come, the name "Tobiah" was a prominent choice for children born into priestly families. Strangely enough, the name "Tobiah," which means "Yahweh is good," was given to a man who opposed the work that God was doing in Jerusalem.
Sanballat: Through his marriage, Sanballat maintained relationships with priestly families (Nehemiah 13:28). Sanballat is called the "governor of Samaria" in an antique record that dates back to this time period.
The Horonite: It's possible that this indicates that Sanballat was connected to Moab. Horonaim is identified as a location in Moab in the biblical passages Isaiah 15:5 and Jeremiah 48:3-5.
These individuals were Jewish, and Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem considered them to be their fellow brothers. It was possible that we would have believed that they would support his efforts; nevertheless, this was certainly not the case. It is never easy to face opposition, but when it comes from family members, the anguish of rejection is compounded by the pain of betrayal as well.
The Bible makes it very plain that we have adversaries and opponents as well, but that these adversaries are mostly of a spiritual nature: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against…spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). However, we also realize that attacks from spiritual enemies can come through flesh-and-blood people (Matthew 16:23). We can experience a spiritual attack on a direct inward level from spiritual enemies, or through people who are, knowingly or unknowingly, being used as tools by our spiritual adversaries.