Nehemiah Shouts Across the Centuries
Yesterday I had a wonderful experience.
For a long time, I’ve prayed for God to give me scriptures to read. It’s not like you can go wrong when you open the Bible and start reading, but there is such a thing as the right scripture at the right time. So before I crack the book, I usually ask for guidance.
For months, I’ve been hearing “Nehemiah” in my head when I do this. Not every time, but very often. It got to the point where I nearly assumed it was my own imagination, giving me the same unoriginal answer over and over to shut me up.
Yesterday I had a false start with Ruth, but then I looked down at the Bible and saw that it was open to the notes at the beginning of Nehemiah. Okay, you don’t have to drop a piano on my head. Not every time. I started reading.
As background (even though I know all my readers are Bible scholars) I’ll provide some information. Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem, in 900-something BCE. A succession of bad kings followed him. There was a lot of idolatry. As a result, in 586 BCE, on Tisha B’Av, God permitted the Babylonians to sack Jerusalem, rob the temple, and carry Jews off to Babylon to serve Nebuchadnezzar.
Around a hundred and sixty years later, Nebuchadnezzar was gone, and a Persian, Artaxerxes, ruled in his place. Nehemiah (a Jew) was his cupbearer. From a visitor to Babylon, Nehemiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls were down, and that the city was in ruins.
Nehemiah was saddened by the news, and he prayed about it, and Artaxerxes noticed his sadness. When Nehemiah told him why he was sad, Artaxerxes gave him time, power, and money to rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah returned to Israel and got to work. In Jerusalem, non-Jews had gained power, and they resisted him forcefully.
Many Old Testament stories, though true, are valuable for their symbolism. For example, the story of Moses foreshadows the story of Jesus. The Jews were delivered from the Angel of Death by the blood of unblemished lambs, splashed on the doorposts and lintels of their houses. We are delivered from damnation by the blood of Jesus, and our “houses” are our bodies.
I have always thought of the book of Nehemiah as a story of restoration, but until yesterday, I didn’t have a really good grip on it. I thought it was about the restoration of the church, and it is, but it’s also a guide to help individual believers to be restored.
The Biblical concept of “strongholds” is very important, but I don’t think Christians understand it very well. A stronghold is simply an area in which some entity or other has power. A house is a stronghold, and the owner should be the dominant power. A human body is a stronghold, and the believer (combined with the Holy Spirit) should be the dominant power. A nation is a stronghold. A military garrison is a stronghold.
When you look at a map, what you see is a collection of strongholds. The colors and borders define them.
Strongholds are typically defined by boundaries, which sometimes take the form of walls. Our bodies end at our skins’ surfaces. Ancient cities had immense walls. Countries have borders with defenses. Jerusalem had a wall. Temple had its own wall, and observant Jews even constructed an enclosure called the eruv, in which they were permitted to violate the Sabbath. Many eruvs exist, and the “walls” may be as insubstantial as wires.
We are told that Satan has strongholds in our lives. For example, we may have chronic sins we can’t beat on our own. Or we may have curses that repeatedly defeat us despite our best efforts.
For some reason, we are not often reminded that God has strongholds, too. A week or two ago, in my Saturday prayer group, I told everyone that the group was a stronghold. It’s like a military base. We get together in peace and safety and strengthen each other and prepare each other, and then we break apart and venture into the world to do battle.
You should be a stronghold. So should your family and your house. So should your church. These should be strongholds in which Satan’s power and presence should be minimized.
Strongholds usually have gates. Jerusalem has twelve. A stronghold has to interact with the world, so it has to be possible for things and beings to move in and out. A gate is a point of vulnerability. Let the wrong thing or person in, and you have a problem. The Trojan Horse is a great example. The Trojans brought a hollow horse past their impenetrable walls and unbreakable gate, and the Greeks inside came out and allowed other Greeks waiting beyond the wall to enter and destroy the city.
The body has gates. The five senses are examples. So is the mouth. The mouth is interesting because it shows that we have to be careful what we let out, as well as what we let in. Jesus said we were defiled by our words.
What did Nehemiah complain about when he spoke to the emperor? He said Jerusalem’s walls and gates were down, and that the Temple was in ruins. What is a backslidden believer (or someone who has never believed) like? They’re like cities without protection and without the benefits of worship and prayer. They’re like Jerusalem before Nehemiah arrived.
Human beings, even good Christians, are often (I would say generally) infested by demons. Presumably, it’s worse when you’re not a believer at all, but even a believer can be a glutton, a drug addict, an alcoholic, a kleptomaniac, a violent person with no self-control, or a compulsive gambler. If your “house” isn’t in order, you have no walls to protect you from demons or even people, and you have no relationship with God to save you from your sorry state. You are like a city with no walls and no temple. Your borders mean nothing to aggressors, and you have no refuge to which you can retreat. Enemies will come in and rule you.
In Nehemiah’s time, enemies of the Jews ruled Jerusalem from within. Three are mentioned prominently. One is Sanballat the Horonite, another is Tobiah the Ammonite, and another is Geshem the Arab. They were furious when the restoration began, and they tried to stop it (Nehemiah 2:10) Like a believer who begins his restoration by breaking a generational curse, Nehemiah informed them that they had no right to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:20).
Nehemiah’s enemies called a meeting of their allies (Nehemiah 4:1-3). Does this sound familiar? When a demon is cast out, it walks in dry places, and then it tries to return to the house it left, and it brings more demons with it. Satan will multiply the forces against you when he sees your walls go up and your worship resume. But your walls and your worship and your righteousness are stronger than any number of demons or human beings.
Nehemiah and the Jews responded with prayer, knowing God was more powerful than their enemies (Nehemiah 4:4).
Like the spirits who come after us when we try to return to God, these enemies were strongest at the beginning, when they still ruled openly. They flexed their muscles, threatening to kill Nehemiah and his friends (Nehemiah 4:11). How did the Jews respond? They placed warriors along the wall, to watch and guard (Nehemiah 4:13). Nehemiah reminded the Jews of God’s power (Nehemiah 4:14). They adopted a policy of carrying arms while they worked. With one hand, a man would work, and with the other, he would hold a weapon (Nehemiah 4:17). And they never removed their clothing unless they had to; they remained ready as much as possible (4:23).
This is exactly what believers need to do. Belonging to Satan’s world is like joining a gang. When you try to leave, you get a beating. Don’t be surprised. Expect it, and arm yourself. Pray, and take up the Sword of the Spirit (God’s word) so you’ll be able to repel the attacks. Stay ready; avoid sin and clothe yourself in righteousness. Sin opens your gates, lets enemies in, and gives them the legal right to afflict you. Minimize it and ask God for help. Don’t be discouraged when you fail; that’s normal. Pick your sword up, dress yourself again, and start over.
Nehemiah’s enemies didn’t get anywhere with violence, at the time when they were strongest. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls and the gates, and the power of his enemies waned.
There was a famine in Nehemiah’s time, and life in Israel was difficult (Nehemiah 5:1-5). Many Jews took advantage, lending to their brothers at high rates and taking their property. They profited from the crisis and hindered God’s work. Nehemiah persuaded them to stop, for the good of the nation (Nehemiah 4:6-13). This tells me believers have to put unity and God’s work ahead of profit. We have to share in the sacrifices of building the kingdom. An individual believer who wants to be restored has to put the kingdom first instead of letting money and comfort lead him by a ring in his nose.
Because Nehemiah built Jerusalem up and remained faithful, his enemies lost strength, just as Satan loses power over you when you return to God. The next time his enemies came at him, they were not able to attack with physical force. Knowing they had weakened, they sent word for him to negotiate. And they threatened to go to Artaxerxes and say the Jews were rebelling and building their own kingdom (Nehemiah 6:1-7).
This is what Satan does when he loses power. He can no longer use force, so he has to get you to help him. He uses persuasion and threats. False witnesses rise against you.
What did Nehemiah do? He continued to pray, and he told his enemies he was busy with God’s work, and that he had no intention of going to talk with them (Nehemiah 6:3, 6:8-10). That’s exactly what believers should do when threats and persuasion come. Don’t engage. Don’t bend. Pray and continue, and hold onto your weapons.
Like Joshua, who also rebuilt a stronghold, Nehemiah had problems with Jews who opposed him from within. Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, a double agent, came to him pretending to be a friend and a prophet. He tried to get Nehemiah to flee into the temple, driving him with a false prophecy of attack and tempting him with a promise of safety. Delaiah actually intended to spread a rumor that Nehemiah was a coward, to weaken his leadership (Nehemiah 6:10-13).
Nehemiah rebuked him and prayed to God to remember the actions of his enemies (Nehemiah 6:11, 6:14). God gave Nehemiah insight and showed him what Delaiah was up to (Nehemiah 6:12). I see this as a reminder that carnal believers can be used against us, and that if we are faithful and righteous and strong in prayer, God will warn us when those who speak in his name are working for Satan.
The priesthood had decayed badly by Nehemiah’s time. The holidays weren’t observed. The law was not taught. There were no offerings or sacrifices. After the walls were built, Nehemiah sorted out the priesthood and got them working again (Nehemiah 7:1). The city was still largely vacant, so Nehemiah made an accounting of the people (Nehemiah 7:4-73) and later, a tithe of the people were selected by lot to live in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:2). Judging from the text, living in Jerusalem at this time was considered service to the nation, perhaps because of hostility to the restoration. This reminds me that Christians who opt to live in the kingdom of heaven here on earth choose to subject themselves to persecution until they die. It also reminds me that a believer who has been swept clean and restored has to have a core of righteousness and power inside him in order to stay free.
Nehemiah restored offerings and sacrifices (Nehemiah 10:32-39) The priests brought out the law and read it to the people (Nehemiah 8:2-8). They acknowledged their sins and repented, as a body (Nehemiah 9:5-38), renewing their covenant with God.
A restored believer has to resume giving of himself and his wealth. He has to acknowledge God’s principles and accept his covenant. Through the Holy Spirit, symbolized here by the priests, he has to have God’s word written in his heart, and he has to agree to live by it.
You have to have the word of God in your heart, from reading the Bible, from hearing teaching, and from baptism with the Spirit. When demonic “strong men” are evicted from the stronghold which is you, something has to take their places. Something stronger than they are. If God isn’t there when they return, you can’t keep them out.
Nehemiah had to leave for a time, and when he returned, he found that Tobiah had moved into the temple and displaced the holy things that belonged there (Nehemiah 13:7-9). Tobiah was like Satan, who gets thrown out through the front door and then, thief that he is, returns through the window.
God tells you exactly what is expected of you, and you agree to it with your eyes wide open. That’s what it means when Jesus says the Shepherd comes in through the front door. Satan traps you with lies and candy. He gives you drugs or fornication or pride or wealth, and the next thing you know, his throne is inside you, on a big foundation of concrete and rebar. Chronic sin always leads to slavery.
Like Satan, Tobiah displaced the things of God. Tobiah got rid of the holy things, which symbolize God’s Spirit. Satan ruins your prayer life and diminishes God’s power in you. The psalms say, “For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up.” “Iniquity” refers to a powerful inclination to sin, which results in chronic disobedience. Iniquity can be the result of the presence of demons which we let in through sin. Tobiah represents the power of iniquity.
What did Nehemiah do? He threw Tobiah out, brought the holy things back in, and sanctified the area anew (Nehemiah 13:8-9). You can do the same thing when the enemy sneaks back in. Cast him out, fast, pray, repent, give offerings, and cleanse yourself of the stench. If he comes back a hundred times, do it a hundred times. But he tends to give up on a given tactic after a certain number of tries.
Merchants tried to pollute the Sabbath and Jerusalem by selling things there on Saturday, and the Sabbath was profaned in other ways (Nehemiah 13:15-18). Nehemiah expelled them, just as Jesus did in the Gospels. Our flesh will always try to turn our bodies into marketplaces where righteousness is sold for trinkets. Like Nehemiah, we have to be watchful and continue fighting. It’s like taking out the trash. Taking it out once won’t solve the problem forever, but imagine what life would be like if you never took it out. It would bury you.
After the reading of the law, the Jews observed Succoth, or the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 7:13-18). On this holiday, Jews build outdoor shelters and sleep in them. To Christians, this symbolizes union with God. In the Gospels, at the transfiguration, three disciples wanted to build tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. They wanted to build places in which they could join with these three and commune with them.
A restored Christian has God inside him, literally, through the baptism with the Spirit. We are tabernacles. Like the Succoth booths, we are temporary; our flesh eventually dies. The holiday observed in Nehemiah demonstrates that God will enter into a restored believer and be with him. This is the goal of restoration. The strong man is gone, the house is clean, and God dwells inside us to guide us, improve us, and keep us free.
Incidentally, after Nehemiah, the Jews had 400 years of history during which they were relatively free of idolatry. If you read the history of the kings of Judah and Israel, you will see how unusual that was, and how effective Nehemiah was at freeing the people and bringing them God’s blessings.
It’s not clear to me why the Jews ended up serving the Greeks and Romans later, or why they had no prophets between Malachi and Jesus. Nonetheless, Nehemiah did a remarkable work, with God’s help.
There are many other stronghold teachings in the Bible. The book of Joshua is primarily about strongholds and the need to rout demons. When Samson tore the gate of Gaza out of the ground and carried it off, he was opening a stronghold to God’s wrath, symbolically and literally. Eden was a stronghold destroyed by Satan.
My advice is, turn yourself and your family into strongholds. Sin makes you a slave and gives Satan the right to hurt you. A weak relationship with God disconnects you from the help you need and stunts your growth. Take up arms, be clothed in righteousness, and never stop praying, giving, studying, or attending church. Keep your eyes open and repel boarders. Sooner or later, the vermin will decrease, and things will start to improve for you.
We can be our own enemies. When Satan yammers from outside your walls, your flesh will listen, and its voice will plead Satan’s case. What would have happened had Nehemiah listened? There would be no Jerusalem today, 2500 years later. Israel would be part of Syria, and the Jews would not exist. Jesus would never have been born. Look what Satan can accomplish through a spiritual abortion. He attacks things early, when they’re small, to prevent a tremendous harvest in the future.
You should read the book of Nehemiah yourself, and look for other teachings on it, by people who know more about theology than I do. I’m sure there are writings that are not as half-baked as this one, which I threw together in my spare time today. Googling around, I see that other people get the same messages from it that I do.
It’s a tremendous book. I’m glad God kept poking me to read it.
