DAY 25 OF 40 - Better Together Through Prayer And The Word

DAY 25 OF 40 - Better Together Through Prayer And The Word

Nehemiah 6:10-13

10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night." 11 But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in." 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.

DAY 25 – DISCERNING DECEIT

Great! Shemaiah is there to help Nehemiah. He is warning Nehemiah of an attack planned on his life and is giving him a safe place to hide. Wrong! Read on…

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 6:10 I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home; and he said, “Let us meet together in God’s house, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to kill you; yes, in the night will they come to kill you.”

11 I said, “Should such a man as I flee? Who is there that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” 12 I discerned, and behold, God had not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He hired so that I would be afraid, do so, and sin, and that they might have material for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

Can you believe it? Shemaiah, a priest shut in to his home, has been hired by Sanballat and Tobiah to “intimidate Nehemiah so that he would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give Nehemiah a bad name to discredit him.” We know Sanballot was the governor of Samaria; but Tobiah was of a group that had returned from exile but could not demonstrate from records that they were really Jews.

What did Nehemiah’s response really say? First, should a man like me run away? Nehemiah was the leader; if he ran, he would have undermined the courage he was trying to instill in the people. Second, or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? Nehemiah was not a priest, and the law said he had no right to enter the temple. If he would have entered the temple for refuge, he could have lost his life…or at least his reputation with the people he was trying to lead. Nehemiah emphatically said, “I will not go!”

LIFE APPLICATION: Nehemiah realized that God had not sent Shemaiah. It was a deception from those who were his enemies. But how did he know? 1) Nehemiah sensed in his spirit that this was not of God. 2) The request the “priest” made went against God’s laws (scripture).

Father, help me to discern that which is of you and that which is a trick of the enemy as I remain “attached to you, the vine.” Amen

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