Nehemiah 4:23 "So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing."
I almost passed by this verse. I'm thankful the Lord brought my attention to it
this morning. Why would Nehemiah and the men not "put off our
clothes" except to wash them? Remember Sanballat and Tobiah?
They are relentless in trying to stop the work on the wall. They despise the
men who are committed to restoring peace and protection to the city. They have
had their way for so long that they do not want to give up any territory that
has been their domain. They will stop at nothing. They are roaring lions trying
to devour the men and the work. Because of that, the men sleep in their
clothes in order to be ready should an alarm sound because of a sudden attack -
day or night.
As I read that verse there were several verses that came to my mind. The
Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write, "Be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Paul wrote, "Watch ye, stand fast
in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." (1 Corinthians 5:8) And
Jesus spoke these words, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew
26:41) God repeatedly warns us to be on constant alert against the wiles
of Satan. When we least expect it, attacks can come. Satan never
gives up and He is very happy if he can rob us of the joy of our salvation.
What clothes should you and I always have covering us? Isaiah tells us that God
has "... clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with
the robe of righteousness..." (Isaiah 61:10) Paul tells us that God
has equipped us with His complete armour. (Ephesians Chapter 6) He has
covered us from head to toe with protection through the power of Jesus Christ.
I would encourage each of us to study the various parts of that armour and
become familiar with them in order to keep them on as defense against the
attacks of Satan. There is one offensive weapon that we are to hold in our
hands... "the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God." The
men building the wall "... with one of his hands wrought in the work, and
with the other hand held a weapon." (Nehemiah 4:17) We must hold
our weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, in our hands as we serve our Lord.