Nehemiah 2:9-10 "Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. (10) When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel."
We saw "the good hand of the Lord" was upon Nehemiah. The king was
more than cooperative in providing the material things necessary for Nehemiah's
work. He even sent men of authority and power along with Nehemiah to show the
letters were indeed authorized by the king. There is no doubt that Nehemiah had
gone from the depth of despair when he heard about the condition of Jerusalem
to the heights of hope as he began the journey back to Jerusalem. It's an
amazing thing when we can see God working in a situation to bring about good
results.
Nehemiah encountered the governors for whom he had requested letters to show
the king's authority and permission to travel. Everything is going to be okay
now, right? We must be prepared for there will always be opposition when God's
work is being done. We meet two men who we will encounter several times as we
go through this study of Nehemiah. Sanballat and Tobiah will constantly be
trying to thwart the work of rebuilding. Though this is a study of rebuilding a
wall, we can use it as an analogy of trying to build our lives upon the foundation
of Jesus Christ. Satan will always seek ways to oppose and to discourage good
things from happening. "It grieved them exceedingly that there was
come a man to seek the welfare of Israel." Yes, it grieves Satan
when we seek to walk in the counsel of our Lord.
How can we strive against the wiles of Satan? Paul tells us in Ephesians
chapter 6 to put on the whole armour of God. We are to cover ourselves from
head to toe with the protection of God's grace and mercy. We are to guard our
hearts and minds against Satan's attacks. We are to guard our will and
determination to be found living according to God's purpose for us. We are to
maintain a steady course of walking with Jesus Christ each day. We stay in the
Word of God in order to fight against Satan's actions of destruction. James
tells us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."
(James 4:7-8) Seek God's blessings and He will provide everything we need
to stay the course with Him.