← The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson
The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson
#6 - Kyle Thompson // Strong Hands for the Good Work
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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.
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All right, guys, let's get right into the text here. We're going to be in Nehemiah 2, starting in verse 9. Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now, the king had sent with me offices of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah, the Ammonite's servant, heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, and I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the valley gate to the dragon spring and to the dung gate. And I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate into the king's pool. But there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall. And I turned back and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. And I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Then I said to them, you see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. And I told them of the hand of my God and that had been upon me for good, and also of 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. But when Sandball at the Horonite and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, and Gesham the Arab, heard of it, they jeered at us, despised us, and said, what is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king? Then I replied to them, the God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right to claim in Jerusalem. So, guys, that's the end of Nehemiah 2. Then we see in Nehemiah 3 that there is a detailed description of actual human beings that did actual work. There was actually one commentary I read on Nehemiah 3 that called these people responsible human agents. So a lot of people would just skip chapter three. But you want to know why that chapter is important? Because it shows us that these were actual people that actually existed that actually did this work, right? This. The. The Bible isn't just a collection of fairy tales and myths, you know, regardless of what your Philosophy 101 professor told you, you're a freshman year of college. But back to Nehemiah 2. The shrewdness of Nehemiah here is very impressive. Okay, he risks his life by being sad in front of King Artaxerxes, right? He risked his life again by asking for a bunch of time off and a bunch of favors and supplies. He makes the long and dangerous journey to Jerusalem, which was a risk. And what's the first thing he does when he gets there? He surveys. You know, he doesn't kick the doors open like, all right, nobody panic. I'm here to fix everything. No, he just surveys. He surveys the damaged walls and also the damaged people. And after that, you know, he's getting ready to get things moving. He reveals to everyone why he's there. And then like any good politician or leader, he gets the people behind the project. He gets them excited, he gets them ready to go. And he also snaps them out of their navel gazing depression and points them in the direction of progress. He didn't say, hey, guys, I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys motivated. And he didn't say, like, hey, guys, if you can work, you're working into your schedule, you know, if it's convenient to rebuild your city, you know, that'd be pretty cool. No, he said that God sent him. The king is signed off. It's time to get to work. And they did. And as verse 18 says, they strengthened their hands for the good work. We'll talk about that more this week, but I want you to think on this question today. Are you strong enough to do the work God is calling you to do while simultaneously pushing back opposition to that work? I'll repeat that. Are you strong enough to do the work God is calling you to do while simultaneously pushing back opposition to that work? If you're not, that's a problem. We'll unpack that more tomorrow.
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