And our adversaries said, “They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.” And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, “From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.” Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Nehemiah 4:11-14
Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem to lead in the restoration of rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem. The wall, as well as the temple was in ruins, the rock used for the wall had been weakened by the fires Nebuchadnezzar and his warriors had done fulfilling the prophecies of the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, through the prophet Jeremiah.
Many of the people were frightened by the destruction of a thing they were told was eternal. Well, it was not. Now after the 70 years Jeremiah had come to pass some of Jewish people had been allowed to return to their destroyed city. Ezra had gone earlier to rebuild the temple, and it was not the same as the temple built by Solomon, in the stead of his father David. Forty thousand plus people had returned with instruction from the king, and from the Lord.
Nehemiah had come to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, and build the wall is exactly what he did. It was not without trouble. Some of the people around the area did not like the idea of rebuilding the wall, and had threatened to kill Nehemiah if they did not cease. Instead of ceasing he gathered some weapons for defense while they worked on the wall.
Nehemiah tells the people, “Do not be afraid. Remember our Lord who i s great and awesome.” They finished the building of the wall in fifty two (52) days, because the Lord was their Protection.
My Christian friend, brother and sister. Is there something God is leading you to do that is the right, and godly thing to do, but you are slack in doing it because of threats against you? The LORD God says, “Do not be afraid.” Remember whose you are. You are a child of the Great and Awesome One through the shed blood of God’s only begotten Son. He died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again.
Do not be afraid. Remember the Lord who is the Great and Awesome One.
The Fire and Hammer 