Nehemiah - Chapter 2- THE CALL TO REBUILD THE WALL
THE CALL TO REBUILD THE WALL
And Nehemiah’s Trump Card
February 16, 2016
Preached by: Carolyn Sissom
I am pondering the fact that it has been exactly ten years and ten days since I last taught this chapter. The date on my notes is 2/6/6. Today’s date is 2/16/16. Ten years and ten days later as a nation, our walls (borders/boundaries) are broken down. The walls and fortified gates of our constitution have been attacked. The walls and fortified gates of Christianity are under attack.
In the year 2000, I was praying for our nation. I asked the Lord what His highest priority was. He answered me. Ask the right question of the Lord and He will answer. He said, “Secure the southern border from drug trafficking.”
This, of course, has not been done during the term of President George W. Bush or Barrack Hussein Obama. As a matter of fact, the borders/walls of our nation are totally broken down.
That the Lord has raised up a warrior/general to strengthen the people and the other candidates to make a stand to build a wall and secure our borders is I believe a trumpet call from the Lord.
I voted today. I voted for Ted Cruz because he is a constitutionalist, an evangelical Christian, opposes abortion, same sex marriage and upholds the second amendment. I do not believe he will be the next president of the United States. I voted for him to come into agreement with his stand and values.
This does not mean that I do not think the Lord’s Hand is on Donald J. Trump. He has single-handed over-turned and is overturning the Republican establishments’ lock hold over the Republican Party. He has single-handed over-turned the media’s agenda to control the 2016 election. I could not vote for him because of his involvement in the gambling industry through his casinos. I do believe the Lord is using him to clear the path for the Republican politicians.
Nehemiah, Chapter 2 begins with Nehemiah going to the King and asking him to send him to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and the gates. This is the cry of the Overcomer to deliver the ravaged creation. Verse 2:8b reads, “And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”
Nehemiah is a chosen civil leader as Ezra was God’s chosen High Priest.
Divine Sovereignty caused a heathen King to perform the will of God. The execution of this Divine commission would meet hostile opposition. Whom the Lord anoints and commissions will always meet hostile opposition.
Some people pray, but never act. Some act, but never pray. Nehemiah prayed in the first chapter then acted in the second. The prayer in 2:4 can be described as an “Arrow prayer” between Artaxerses’ question and Nehemiah’s answer.
2:4-5: “Then the king asked of me, ‘For what do you make a request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the King, ‘if it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my father’s sepulchers, that I may build it.” (Father’s sepulchers indicate king’s sepulchers—thus Nehemiah would have been from the tribe of Judah.)
However difficult it might be to get into the Persian (present day Iran) palace, when one did secure a position there, it was even more difficult to get out! Nehemiah had reason enough to be “sore afraid” (2:2). It was considered a capital offense to appear sad in the royal presence. (Esther 4:2).
Nothing prevents the walls from being rebuilt more than the killers of condemnation and guilt.
Here Nehemiah pictures God’s commitment to free us from BONDAGE and CAPTIVITY. The letter of authority from the King says that he has authority in Jerusalem, although Sanballat (Satan) has had control in the Province. Nehemiah’s Trump card to these adversaries was the WORD OF GOD AND THE GOOD HAND OF HIS GOD UPON HIM.
There is a difference between Bondage (lost in sin) and Captivity (impact of the sin of the past). America is under the bondage of national sin and in captivity because of the impact of our national sins.
BONDAGE IS A TYPE OF Egypt and those who are slaves to sin. It is the result of family or the Adam nature. People are released from bondage through the BLOOD OF JESUS, FAITH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD.
CAPTIVITY is a type of Babylon and those who are exiled in sin. They are in Captivity as a result of past sinning. People are released from Captivity through the WORD OF GOD AND OBEDIENCE.
The People of Jerusalem were in affliction and reproach: Their afflictions were psychological barriers. They were ashamed. Their gates were burned and they could not withstand their adversaries. They had no authority against Sanballat of Samaria who ruled to the North; Tobiah (mask of Religion) who ruled on the east; Geshem, the Arabian, (mingled, mixture) of Moab and Edom who ruled on the East and South. The builders of the wall were surrounded.
Chapter 2:10-11: “When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that a man came to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.”
These three men, Sanballat the Horonite; Tobiah, the servant the Ammonite; and Geshem, the Arabian, are types of spiritual strong men and adversaries to the Kingdom of God.
Their opposition took six forms in this book: (I am reminded again that I taught this on 2/6/6 and again on 2/16/16):
- 2:10 - Grief.
- 2:19 - Laughter (mocking).
- 4: 1-3 - Wrath and indignation.
- 4: 7-8 - Fighting.
- 6: 1-2 - Treachery.
- 6: 5-7 - Compromise.
I can say all of these demonic powers are operating freely in the political and government systems of the United States of America. There is a war over the justice of God in the United States vs. the perverted justice system of the spirit of anti-Chris.
As a pastor, I can say all of these spirits fight spiritual leadership to operate and find place in churches and families.
Sanballat is a type of Satan, the adversary:
His name means, “Who strengthen the army, muzzled hatred, or hatred in secret, secret enemy.” (Strong’s #5571). The Hebrew for “Horonite” means, “double cave-town, cavity, den cave or hole; the crevice of a serpent, and the cell of a prison.”
Sanballat was grieved that Nehemiah came to help the oppressed. His desire was to keep them subdued so that he could exact further demands on them (more taxes, penalties, government control, etc.) He was totally disinterested in their well-being. It is believed he was the provincial governor under Persian rule.
We have caused the serpent of Genesis 3 to become the dragon of Rev. 12 by our sin. We have given him life, and caused him (and his kingdom) to enlarge. We have magnified him by giving him glory and thus giving him place. As Christians, we are either making dust or eating dust.
Satan only has power in the “province” of an Unbeliever’s life. That could be a sinner or Christian who continues in sin. An unbelieving Christian is saved, but does not believe the Lord has the power to defeat the demons in their life. Satan is a created being and is finite (not omni-anything). He is a personality, not an abstract force. He is a liar (Jn. 8:44); an oppressor (Acts 10:38); the one who infects with evil (seed) (Mt. 13:39); and a thief (Jn. 10:10).
Nehemiah is a type of the Overcomer filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of the Lord who has the power to defeat Satan.
Tobiah is a type of the Carnal Mind and false religion:
He is one of the freed slaves who came with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:60) who could not prove his Jewish lineage. He is called “the servant” of Sanballat. Ammonite means tribal or inbred.
Geshem the Arabian is a type of the world system --- “Arbiy” (#6163, 6152, and 6150). To intermix, to traffic (as by barter), to give or be security; to engage, meddle, mingle, mortgage, occupy, give pledges, surety, an inhabitant of Arabia.
Archeological evidence indicates that Geshem and his son ruled a league of Arabian tribes which took control of Moab and Edom.
Sanballat of Samaria was on the north.
Tobiah of Ammon on the east.
Geshem of Edom and Moab was on the east and south.
The builders of the wall were surrounded. These nations are mentioned in Psalm 83.
You know that I am persuaded the Psalm 83 war began in 2011 and has continued as the nations around Israel continue to bomb her borders and attack Israel through the U.N., bombs, etc. It appears, though the Lord has not spoken to me, that the Gog/Magog war is convulsing with the Psalm 83 nations as we watch Russia and Iran escalate. This leaves one other prophesied, but yet unfulfilled war yet to happen. This is the total destruction of Damascus in Isaiah 17. This, too, appears to be convulsing with the Psalm 83 nations and the Gog/Magog nations.
Nehemiah did not rush into action. He appraised the situation.
2: 12-15: “And I arose in the night. I had some few men with me, neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon. And I went by the night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: and there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.”
Nehemiah was discreet in that he did not make a premature disclosure of a secret.
He was wise in that he appraised a situation before he took any action. He was judicious in that he recognized the time and the opportunity to reveal his plans. He was resolute and fearless through faith in God.
His night survey included the VALLEY GATE which prophetically symbolizes the assurance of our salvations. THE DRAGON WELL represents our dominion over the devil. We no longer need to heed the accusations of the adversary. The enemy’s success in condemning is that he points to our failures. But, all that has changed. THE DUNG GATE is symbolic of our confession to cleanse. This was the point at which the refuse came out. Realization and confession of our sin is not meant to bring condemnation. God brings sin to light so that Jesus’ BLOOD can flush our lives free. THE FOUNTAIN GATE is the WORD OF GOD. This was used to get a daily supply of water from the Brook Kedron. We must be in the Word. The flow of the Spirit of the Word washes us white as snow. THE KING’S POOL is metaphorical of the flow of the HOLY SPIRIT. Psa. 46 celebrates this. This represents being continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Principle of the twelve Gates of Nehemiah in which we will cover in depth when we get to chapter 3 is a Progressive unfolding of the Christ Nature from within the believer. A progressive rebuilding of the human personality; The home and family, the local church, ministries of the Body of Christ, the universal church, the nation and the whole creation.
2:16: “The rulers know not where I went or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.”
The work of Restoration begins by surveying the situation of the City. We have been saved from our past, and now we have dominion over Satan. On the foundation of “I am the Lord’s” comes the rebuilding of our whole personality. Confession is not mourning over past mistakes. It is agreeing with the Lord that we have sinned. It is not meant to shame, but to provide cleansing from sin. Then we must have a fresh daily encounter with the Word interacting with the Holy Spirit.
Nehemiah’s first words to the people reveal God’s perspective of things:
2:17: “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lays waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire; come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we no longer are a reproach.”
The key to life and ministry is our assurance of how the Lord feels about us. (Most feel that He is not happy with them). NEHEMIAH STATES WHERE THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY WANT TO BE. Then Nehemiah told them about the Hand of God upon him and about the Word of the King. The people responded, “Let us rise and build!” So they strengthened their hands for this GOOD WORK.
Eph 2:10: “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS, which God has ordained that we should walk in them.”
There was no restoration until the people responded to agree with Nehemiah. For us to go forward in the blessings of God, we must come into agreement with God. I know so many people whom the Lord has spoken to, but they argue with him and then justify their decision to God. Thus, they miss the perfect will of God for their lives.
We have been saved from our past, and now we have dominion over Satan. On the foundation of “I am the Lord’s” comes the rebuilding of our whole personality. So many justify their carnal nature. They will say, “God gave me my emotions. I am going to keep them.” The Lord wants us to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Holy Spirit and not our mind, will and emotions.
2:19: “But Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem heard it: They laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, what is this thing that you do? Will you rebel against the King?
2: 20: THEN NEHEMIAH “ANSWERED THEM AND SAID TO THEM, THE GOD OF HEAVEN, HE WILL PROSPER US, THEREFORE WE HIS SERVANTS WILL ARISE AND BUILD; BUT YOU (Satan, the carnal mind and the unsaved) HAVE NO PORTION, NOR RIGHT, NOR MEMORIAL IN JERUSALEM.”
Nehemiah’s TRUMP CARD to these adversaries was the Hand of God and the anointing of His Hand.
So many today are forgiven and know Jesus as Savior, but they are not whole. Their temple is restored, but the Walls and the fortified Gates are destroyed. Anyone can come in at anytime (no control of access or egress, coming in or gong out). The Church world is filled with people who are not able to shut or keep out of their minds depression and temptation. There must be a secure line of defense against the adversary (Satan) and against our own flesh. The inner temple is alive, but there remains brokenness in the out workings of people’s lives as the result of the past. There are still areas of hurt in the soul level of the personality. But God wants man to become whole and overcome the pain and hurt of the past.
Our nation is broken by sin and unless the Lord God raises up leaders under the power of the Hand of God and the people of the United States come into agreement with God, our nation will continue to decline. We are warring against the anti-Christ system who has broken through the borders/walls of our nation, our families and our churches.
The good Hand of the Lord will anoint and commission His leaders both civil and spiritual to engage in a supernatural war against the enemies of the Kingdom of God.
Satan is fighting hard at this time against apathy and complacency in the Body of Christ. People want to be entertained (pleasure seeking generation) and want the church to display drama, smoke and mirrors.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from K.J.V.
I entered into the labors of Kelly Varner, PPT of Nehemiah 1999; and from teaching on Nehemiah- chapter 2 by: Carolyn Sissom 2/6/2006. Comments and conclusions are my own and I feel I have been led by the Holy Spirit and do not reflect the views of Bro. Varner.