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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

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Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Neemiah chapter four,

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Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. When Sandbalot,

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Speaker 1: the governor of Samaria, heard that we were rebuilding the

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Speaker 1: walls of Jerusalem, he became angry and started insulting our

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Speaker 1: people in front of his friends and the Samaritan army.

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Speaker 1: He said, what is this feeble bunch of Jews trying

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Speaker 1: to do? Are they going to rebuild the wall and

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Speaker 1: offer sacrifices all in one day? Do they think they

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Speaker 1: can make something out of this pile of scorched stones.

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Speaker 1: Tobiah from Ammon was standing beside Sandbalot and said, look

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Speaker 1: at the way they are building. Why even a fox

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Speaker 1: could knock over this pile of stones. But I prayed,

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Speaker 1: our God, these people hate us and have wished horrible

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Speaker 1: things for us. Please answer our prayers and make their

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Speaker 1: insults fall on them. Let them be the ones to

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Speaker 1: be dragged away as prisoners of war. Don't forgive the

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Speaker 1: mean and evil way they have insulted the builders. The

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Speaker 1: people worked hard, and we built the walls of Jerusalem

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Speaker 1: halfway up again. But Sandballot Tobia, the Arabs, the Ammonites,

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Speaker 1: and the people from the city of Ashtod saw the

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Speaker 1: walls going up and the holes being repaired. So they

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Speaker 1: became angry and decided to stir up trouble and to

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Speaker 1: fight against the people of Jerusalem. But we kept on

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Speaker 1: praying to our God, and we also stationed guards day

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Speaker 1: and night. Meanwhile, the people of Judah were singing a

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Speaker 1: sorrowful song. So much rubble for us to haul. Worn

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Speaker 1: out and weary, will we ever finish this wall? Our

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Speaker 1: enemies were saying, Before those Jews know what has happened,

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Speaker 1: we will sneak up and kill them and put an

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Speaker 1: end to their work. On at least ten different occasions,

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Speaker 1: the Jews living near our enemies warned us against attacks

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Speaker 1: from every side, And so I sent people to guard

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Speaker 1: the wall at its lowest places and where there were

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Speaker 1: still holes in it. I placed them according to families,

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Speaker 1: and they stood guard with swords and spears, and with

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Speaker 1: bows and arrows. Then I looked things over and told

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Speaker 1: the leaders, the officials, and the rest of the people,

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Speaker 1: don't be afraid of your enemies. The Lord is great

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Speaker 1: and fearsome, so think of him and fight for your

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Speaker 1: relatives and children, your wives and homes. Our enemies found

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Speaker 1: out that we knew about their plot again tainst us.

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Speaker 1: But God kept them from doing what they had planned.

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Speaker 1: So we went back to work on the wall. From

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Speaker 1: then on, I let half of the young men work

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Speaker 1: while the other half stood guard. They wore armor and

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Speaker 1: had spears and shields, as well as bows and arrows.

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Speaker 1: The leaders helped the workers who were rebuilding the wall.

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Speaker 1: Everyone who hauled building materials kept one hand free to

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Speaker 1: carry a weapon. Even the workers who were rebuilding the

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Speaker 1: wall strapped on a sword. The worker who was to

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Speaker 1: blow the signal trumpet stayed with me. I told the

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Speaker 1: people and their officials and leaders, our work is so

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Speaker 1: spread out that we are a long way from one another.

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Speaker 1: If you hear the sound of the trumpet, come quickly

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Speaker 1: and gather around me. Our God will help us fight.

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Speaker 1: Every day from dawn to dark, half of the workers

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Speaker 1: rebuilt the walls, while the rest stood guard with them

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Speaker 1: their spears. I asked the men in charge and their

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Speaker 1: workers to stay inside Jerusalem and stand guard at night,

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Speaker 1: so they guarded the city at night and worked during

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Speaker 1: the day. I even slept in my work clothes at night.

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Speaker 1: My children, the workers, and the guards slept in theirs

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Speaker 1: as well, and we always kept our weapons close by.

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Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and

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Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege of being able to

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Speaker 1: look at it together today. And Lord, as we look

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Speaker 1: at this portion of scripture, there are a variety of

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Speaker 1: things that stand out to us. One of the things

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Speaker 1: that certainly stands out to me is how regularly Nea

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Speaker 1: Maiah prayed before you, and how he sought your help,

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Speaker 1: and how he recognized that you were his defense and

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Speaker 1: confident of your presence and confident of your help. He

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Speaker 1: also did what you called him to do and led

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Speaker 1: the people to do the same. They worked hard, they

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Speaker 1: stood prepared, and they kept plugging away at the work

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Speaker 1: that you had given them to do. Lord, we pray

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Speaker 1: that likewise, in the context in which we live, that

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Speaker 1: we would be people of prayer. We recognize that we

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Speaker 1: have confident access to your throne through faith in your son,

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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. You tell us in your word that in fact,

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Speaker 1: we can come boldly before you, knowing that you will

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Speaker 1: welcome us into your presence because our sins have been

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Speaker 1: forgiven through Jesus, and Lord, you empower us, you strengthen us,

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Speaker 1: and you remind us of your presence with us. So Lord,

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Speaker 1: we're grateful for that reality. We're grateful for your love.

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Speaker 1: We're grateful for your goodness, and we commit this day

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Speaker 1: to your care, confident that you will accomplish everything that

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Speaker 1: you desire to accomplish around us and within our lives,

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Speaker 1: and that we could rest knowing that our lives are

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Speaker 1: secure in your hands. We thank you for your goodness,

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Speaker 1: and we thank you for your love, and we pray

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Speaker 1: this all in Jesus' name. Amen,