If deception and false accusations fail to succeed, the devil and his allies often resort to mockery, threats, and intimidation to discourage and instill fear to derail us from pursuing God’s purposes.
When Nehemiah endeavored to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he encountered every form of satanic resistance and attack. The book of the Bible named after him is one of our best study guides for identifying and countering deception.
The Babylonians defeated Israel and tore down Jerusalem’s walls, making those still living in that area vulnerable to harassment from their enemies. This delighted those who hated Israel, but broke the heart of Nehemiah, a servant of the king of Persia. Nehemiah asked permission from King Artaxerxes to return and rebuild the wall, which was granted. Once this prodigious task was underway, the first thing Israel’s enemies did was mock their efforts with a small helping of false accusation added.
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked. Nehemiah 2:19 (NLT)
The last thing these three men wanted to see was Israel’s return to any sort of prominence and strength. But Nehemiah refused to be intimidated. He replied:
...“The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah 2:20 (NLT)
Because of Nehemiah’s firm leadership and the willingness of the workers tremendous progress was made very quickly. This provoked Israel’s enemies to step up their game.
Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Nehemiah 4:1-3 (NLT)
The purpose of mockery is demoralization.
If the enemy can discourage us, we may stop ourselves, without his having to actively resist in any way. We must steel ourselves against the powerful weapon of being mocked and ridiculed. What others think about us is not our business.
Nehemiah recognized it as a formidable attack and responded appropriately, going directly to God.
Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.” Nehemiah 4:4-5 (NLT)
If mockery fails to accomplish its objective, God’s enemies will usually escalate their attack.
But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. 9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. Nehemiah 4:7-9 (NLT)
The threat of physical violence is designed either to inflict harm or incapacitate us through fear and confusion.
If we have to defend ourselves, how can we get anything done? Another possible response to the threat of violence is to cease from doing what provokes the enemy’s anger. Nehemiah refused to be intimidated. In addition to prayer, he took action.
So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” 15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. 16 But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. 18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm. Nehemiah 4:13-18 (NLT)
When we are under satanic attack, as was Nehemiah, we must be prepared to encounter mockery, fear, and intimidation without letting those things deter us from doing God’s will.
Later Israel’s enemies lied and falsely accused the Jews of rebellion to the Persian government, but that tactic was overcome, too. In 52 days, the wall was completed, which was an amazing feat.
We are not trying to rebuild a physical wall. Instead, followers of Christ today are working to build and extend God’s kingdom here on earth through preaching the gospel and making disciples. Satan works overtime to keep us from obeying God in these two areas. It is my firm belief that the devil will tolerate many things that churches do, such as fellowship, pray, worship, and teach the Bible.
However, when a local assembly makes the commitment to pursue obedience to the Great Commission, it can expect to encounter strong satanic resistance.
When this happens, a decision must be made whether that church will continue on course or abandon the quest to obey God. Nehemiah was willing to endure the mockery, lies, threats, and even physical attack in order to rebuild Jerusalem. Restoring Jerusalem was more valuable to him than his own life. But we are part of something much bigger – the kingdom of God, which will never be destroyed. Earthly kingdoms will come and go, but God’s kingdom never ends. May God work in his people to make us so committed to God’s kingdom purposes that we will not allow anything to deflect us from that pursuit!
