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Studies in
NEHEMIAH
Lesson 6 - Nehemiah 6
No Compromise
Under Nehemiah’s gifted leadership, the people completed the rebuilding of the walls. Now all that remained to do was the restoration of the gates and the strengthening of the community within the walls. Since Sanballat and his friends had failed miserably in their attempts to stop the people from working, they decided to concentrate their attacks on Nehemiah. If they could eliminate him, or even discredit him, they could mobilize their allies living in Jerusalem (Neh. 6:17-18) and take over the city.
The average person doesn’t realize the tremendous pressures and testings that people experience day after day in places of leadership. Leaders are often blamed for things they didn’t do and criticized for things they tried to do. They are misquoted and misunderstood and rarely given the opportunity to set the record straight. If they act quickly, they are reckless; if they bide their time, they are cowardly or unconcerned. Referring to the pressures of leadership, President Harry Truman wrote in Mr. Citizen, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
People in places of spiritual leadership not only have the pressures that all leaders face, but they must also battle an infernal enemy who is a master deceiver and a murderer. Satan comes either as a serpent who deceives or a lion who devours (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Peter 5:8), and Christian leaders must be alert and spiritually equipped to oppose him. It behooves God’s people to pray earnestly, not only for those in civil authority (1 Tim. 2:1-3), but also for those in places of spiritual authority. If Satan can defeat a Christian leader, he can cripple a whole ministry and discredit the cause of Christ.
The enemy’s main purpose was to generate fear in the heart of Nehemiah and his workers (Neh. 6:9, 13-14, 19), knowing that fear destroys faith and paralyzes life. Adolph Hitler wrote, “Mental confusion, contradiction of feeling, indecisiveness, panic; these are our weapons.” Both Jesus (Luke 13:31-35) and Paul (Acts 21:10-14) had to face the specter of fear, and both overcame it by faith.
Nehemiah didn’t listen to the enemy’s lies. He and the people completed the wall and hung the gates in only fifty-two days, much to the chagrin of their adversaries (Neh. 6:15-16).
Remember to pray for God's guidance and direction as you study each day. Write out your own answers for each question; don't merely copy down a passage or rely on other resource books for your answers.
Day One
Thought for the day
We are all bound up together, and if you cannot check yourself for your own sake, you must check yourself because of your weaker brother.
Lord, I tend to see myself in isolation and to think only in the terms of what is best for me. Help me to abandon this selfish way of thinking and be willing to give up what I consider my rights or freedoms for the good of mankind.
Read Nehemiah 6:1-4 and answer the following questions.
1. What was the current status of the rebuilding of the wall (verse 1)?
2. What tactics did Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem use to try to interrupt the work this time (verse 2)? How frequently did they try this (verse 4)?
3. Sanballat and his group asked Nehemiah to "meet" with them, which in Hebrew implied not just a meeting, but more of a joining together. Their thought (Hebrew for planning out, carefully weaving together a plot) was to do harm to Nehemiah, either through just interrupting the work or causing bodily harm. Either way, it was a call for Nehemiah to compromise the work God had called him to do. How did he handle their "temptation" to compromise (verses 3-4)?
4. God has also called us to complete a "great work" for Him, and to be diligent in what He calls us to do. What are some things you can learn from the following passages about our works and diligence in them?
Proverbs 22:29
Matthew 5:16
I Thessalonians 1:3
I Peter 2:12
II Peter 3:14
5. Scripture Memory: This week's verse is Phil.4:6. Repeat it several times each day, and you should have it memorized by the end of the week. Don't forget to keep reviewing the other verses we've been learning!
Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made to God.
Use the rest of today's time learning this memory verse.
Day Two
Thought for the day
We cross the line from self-examination to introspection when self-examination becomes the main and chief end in our lives.
Lord, help me to make sure my self-examination leads to repentance, confession, and obedience. Show me my areas of weakness so I can appropriate Your strength; and show me my areas of strength so I can beware of trusting in my own abilities rather than You.
Read Nehemiah 6:5-9 and answer the following questions.
1. What was Sanballat's fifth attempt to get at Nehemiah?
2. What kind of things were rumored about Nehemiah and his intentions (verses 6-7)?
3. How did Nehemiah respond to these slanderous reports?
4. What positive step did he take in the face of slander rather than letting it disrupt his work and service to the Lord (verse 9)?
5. What more can you learn about this from Jesus' teaching on the subject (Matthew 5:10-12)?
6. How else can you be strong in the Lord in the face of such attacks (Isaiah 50:7-10)?
7. Nehemiah demonstrates great discernment throughout this chapter. Without it, he could have fallen to these temptations to compromise. How can we follow the early positive example of King Solomon in pursuing such wisdom and discernment (I Kings 3:5-12)?
7. Scripture Memory: Insert the missing word/phrases (by memory if possible) below. Review the verse several times today.
Philippians 4:6 “Be for nothing, but in everything by and thanksgiving let your be made to God.”
Day Three
Thought for the day
The man who does not forgive another does not forgive himself.
Lord, reveal to me any grudges I may be holding and help me to see how detrimental they are to the work of Your kingdom. Give me an awareness of the magnitude of Your forgiveness for me so I can see how truly little I have to forgive in others.
Read Nehemiah 6:10-14 and answer the following questions.
1. What was the next method used against Nehemiah and the work at hand? Who was involved in this?
2. What did this person "prophecy" to Nehemiah?
3. How did Nehemiah handle this (verse 11)?
4. What was the real intent of this "prophecy?" What would have resulted if Nehemiah had given into it (verse 13)?
5. What could have been the result, besides humiliation, if Nehemiah gave in to this false prophecy out of fear (Numbers 1:51)?
6. Fear can be a positive, life-preserving response to things in our environment, or as pointed out here, it can be a sinful response that may lead to our downfall, or foolish actions that would discredit our testimony. How can we be victorious over the fears Satan wants to use against us?
Psalm 91:1-6
Psalm 118:4-6
Proverbs 3:21-26
Isaiah 12:2
7. Once again, Nehemiah committed the problem over to the Lord and His guidance. What did he specifically pray (verse 14)?
8. Scripture Memory: Insert the missing words/phrases (by memory if possible) below. Review the verse several times today.
Philippians 4:6 “ Be for but in everything by and supplication, with let your be made known to God.”
Day Four
Thought for the day
Faith is not a matter of feelings only, it takes up the whole man including his mind, his intellect, and his understanding.
Lord, help me to believe you when my feelings contradict what Your word says, help me to trust You when my instincts tell me my way is better, and help me to obey You even when my desires conflict with Yours.
Read Nehemiah 6:15-19 and answer the following questions.
1. The wall was completed on the 25th of Elul (September). What was the amazing length of time it took to complete it (verse 15)?
2. When the enemies and nations surrounding Jerusalem saw this, what was their response? What did they have to recognize as a result of this fact (verse 16)?
3. On Day One, we studied several passages on good works. As you review them again, how do they fit in with the results recorded here? Especially fitting is Matthew 5:16.
4. The enemy was disheartened by this action. Another way to translate this phrase in verse 16 is "they feared and fell far in their own esteem." Our enemy, Satan, is also defeated by the work of the cross. Read the following passages and describe how he, and our sinful nature, has been defeated.
Romans 6:6-14
Colossians 2:13-15
5. How did Tobiah still maintain a foothold to attack the work through? How did he specifically go about this (verses 17-19)?
6. Although defeated at the cross, Satan still searches for ways to distract and attack us. How does I Peter 1:13-16, 5:8-10 teach us to deal with these attacks more effectively?
7. One of Satan’s greatest "weapons" against us can be the tongues of other believers not yielded to God's control and guidance. There is nothing he would rather see than Christians tearing down each other with their words. Read the following passages and discuss how you can avoid falling to this same trap.
Proverbs 6:16-19
Ephesians 4:25-32
7. Scripture Memory: Record this week's passage by memory. Spend the rest of today's time reviewing the passage. Philippians 4:6 "______
______." Philippians 4:6
Day Five
Thought for the day
When one relies upon the pressure of steam in the engine rather than the compass for the right direction there can be but one result shipwreck.
Lord, there are forces pressuring me to move in many directions. Help me to convert that pressure into energy that will make me move in only one direction: toward You.
Spotlight – Dealing with Criticism
Nehemiah knew what it was like to be criticized, as well as how to criticize others in a godly fashion, and sets an example for us in this chapter in how we can deal with criticism. One of the biggest problems Christian have is both facing and giving criticism in a scriptural, godly manner. Criticism can be healthy, whether positive (identifying a person's strengths and accomplishments) or negative (evaluating weaknesses and mistakes). It can easily become destructive or taken to extremes. Thus we must be careful in how we deal with or use criticism. Let's spend some time today learning how we can better do so.
As we learned on Day Four, Satan would like nothing better than seeing the body of Christ and our effectiveness for service torn apart by poor use of our speech and criticism of others. Carefully read the following passages and record the lesson they teach about our speech and criticism, both positive and negative:
Psalm 15:1-3
Proverbs 12:25
Proverbs 16:28
Philippians 2:14-15
Colossians 4:5-6
James 3:5-13
I Peter 2:12, 20-23; 3:15-17
Real discernment is needed in dealing with criticism. How can we gain the discernment and wisdom we need?
Psalm 119:18, 41-42
James 1:3-5
I John 4:1-6
There are several principles we can learn from Nehemiah in dealing with those criticizing us:
1. Wisdom and waiting in our response to discern what the real motive is, and not counterattacking those criticizing us, which would only be destructive;
2. Face it with boldness, denying false accusations in a straightforward but gentle way;
3. Don't allow fear or other negative emotionality to take control, leading us to respond impulsively;
4. PRAY!! Bathe the situation and the critic in prayer, committing it over to the Lord for Him to reveal what the best steps of action are in response to criticism you receive.
Scripture Memory: Try to record this week's verse completed by memory:
Philippians 4:6"______
______." Philippians 4:6
Day Six
Thought for the Day
There is no value in my entering into the secret chamber if I am thinking about myself and priding myself on my prayer. I might as well be standing at the street corner.
Lord, help me to get my mind off myself when I come to You. May my only desire be to think Your thoughts.
Practical Applications
1. What are some ways you have been tempted to compromise or meet the enemy half way? How can you better handle these temptations based on Nehemiah's example?
2. How would you respond if you were the subject of a false rumor? What principles from this lesson can be applied to such a circumstance?
3. Fear has destroyed many lives. What steps do you need to take to be more victorious over fear and its deadly effects?
4. Both Satan and our sinful nature were defeated at the cross. Yet are there any areas of your life that still need to be surrendered over to that victory already won?
5. How can you better deal with the criticism you receive? If you face such a situation currently, how will you put the principles of this lesson into practice?
6. Scripture Memory: You should now be able to write out this week's passage by memory. Record it here.
Philippians 4:6: "______
______." Philippians 4:6
Weekly Challenge (Optional)
On Day Five, we discussed four biblical principles regarding communication and the criticism we both give and receive. Next to the summarized principles listed below, list how you need to implement a change to become better at handling criticism and being a better communicator:
1. Wait and listen before responding to others: