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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Neemiah chapter six,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the message. When sand Ballot,
Speaker 1: Tobiah Gsham, the Arab and the rest of our enemies
Speaker 1: heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there
Speaker 1: were no more breaks in it, even though I hadn't
Speaker 1: yet installed the gates, Sandbalot and Gesham sent this message,
Speaker 1: come and meet with us at Keferim in the valley
Speaker 1: of Anno. I knew they were scheming to hurt me,
Speaker 1: so I sent messengers back with this I'm doing a
Speaker 1: great work. I can't come down. Why should the work
Speaker 1: come to a standstill just so I can come down
Speaker 1: to see you. Four times they sent this message, and
Speaker 1: four times I gave them my answer. The fifth time,
Speaker 1: same messenger, same message. Sanbalot sent an unsealed letter with
Speaker 1: this message, the word is out among the nations, and
Speaker 1: Gsham says, it's true that you and the Jews are
Speaker 1: planning to rebel. That's why you are rebuilding the wall.
Speaker 1: The word is that you want to be king, and
Speaker 1: that you have appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem. There
Speaker 1: is a king in Judah. The king is going to
Speaker 1: be told all this. Don't you think we should sit
Speaker 1: down and have a talk. I send him back this.
Speaker 1: There's nothing to what you're saying. You've made it all up.
Speaker 1: They were trying to intimidate us into quitting. They thought
Speaker 1: they'll give up, They'll never finish it. I prayed give
Speaker 1: me strength. Then I met secretly with Shemaiah, son of Delaiah,
Speaker 1: the son of mehedabalet his house. He said, let's meet
Speaker 1: at the house of God, inside the temple. Let's find
Speaker 1: safety behind locked doors, because they're coming to kill you, Yes,
Speaker 1: coming by night to kill you. I said, why would
Speaker 1: a man like me run for cover? And why would
Speaker 1: a man like me use the temple as a hideout.
Speaker 1: I won't do it. I sensed that God hadn't sent
Speaker 1: this man. The so called prophecy he spoke to me
Speaker 1: was the work of Tobiah and sand Ballot. They had
Speaker 1: hired him. He had been hired to scare me off,
Speaker 1: trick me a layman, into desecrating the temple and ruining
Speaker 1: my good reputation so they could accuse me. Oh my God,
Speaker 1: don't let Tobiah and sand Ballot get by with all
Speaker 1: the mischief they've done. And the same goes for the
Speaker 1: prophet is Noahedaiah and the other prophets who have been
Speaker 1: trying to undermine my confidence. The wall all was finished
Speaker 1: on the twenty fifth day of Elul. It had taken
Speaker 1: fifty two days. When all our enemies heard the news,
Speaker 1: and all the surrounding nations sought. Our enemies totally lost
Speaker 1: their nerve. They knew that God was behind this work.
Speaker 1: All During this time, letters were going back and forth
Speaker 1: constantly between the nobles of Judah and Tobiah. Many of
Speaker 1: the nobles had ties to him because he was son
Speaker 1: in law to Sheknaiah, son of ra and his son
Speaker 1: Jehohannan had married the daughter of Mishulam, son of Bearrakiah.
Speaker 1: They kept telling me all the good things he did,
Speaker 1: and then would report back to him anything I would say,
Speaker 1: and then Tobiah would send letters to intimidate me. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at it.
Speaker 1: And Lord it's amazing to watch your hand at work
Speaker 1: among your people in this portion of scripture, as we
Speaker 1: see that you allowed them to miraculously build this wall
Speaker 1: in just fifty two days, even in the midst of
Speaker 1: great opposition, and even in the midst of people who
Speaker 1: are scheming and plotting to undermine them and even take
Speaker 1: their lives. And Lord, it's fascinating that Neemiah was being
Speaker 1: accused of wanting to be king, and that people were
Speaker 1: saying that he had appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem
Speaker 1: that there's a king in Judah. Lord, we know that
Speaker 1: that wasn't Neemiah's intention, that wasn't his desire, that wasn't
Speaker 1: what he was seeking to do. But it is fascinating
Speaker 1: to look at this and to recognize that there is
Speaker 1: a king in Judah, that that ultimately finds its fulfillment
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus Christ, who has promised to come
Speaker 1: again and rule and reign from Jerusalem. Lord, we're grateful
Speaker 1: for these promises. We're grateful for portions of scripture like
Speaker 1: this that point us to your son Jesus Christ. And
Speaker 1: we're grateful Lord for the miraculous thing is that you
Speaker 1: continually do in and among your people. Lord, thank you
Speaker 1: for welcoming us into your family by grace through faith
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus. And we're thankful, Lord that you're
Speaker 1: with us today. Lord, we commit this day to your care,
Speaker 1: and we praise you and thank you for all of
Speaker 1: these things in Jesus' name. Amen,