Facing Opposition from Without and Within - Day 206 Through the Bible

Another "Trashformation" birdhouse by Rolf Holmquist at the Cabin - made from found and discarded objects

My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings

Facing Opposition from Without and Within in the OT- Nehemiah 4, 5, and 6 - Nehemiah, an exile in the Persian court of King Artaxerxes, is fulfilling the vision he has had from God to rebuild, repair, restore the wall around Jerusalem.  The king, in God's Providence and Sovereignty, gives full military, financial and proclamation support for Nehemiah to return and do this.  After careful and private observation of the extent of the disrepair, Nehemiah determines a course of action.  Each family, priest, Levite will build the section nearest to him.  Some do more.  As success comes, so does outside attack from the enemies of the region who at first laugh and mock and then become "furious...very indignant...conspire together...attack Jerusalem...and try to create confusion...to stop the building.  Nehemiah's first response is prayer, "Hear O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!  Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders." Then Nehemiah, as governor, arms the builders.  The enormous task becomes a 24/7 job for the Jews.  One group works from first light to first stars (with swords strapped to their bodies), then that group takes the watch with armor and additional weapons.  Now the attack comes from within.  Many of the nobles have not participated in the rebuilding, and they begin to exact usury upon the workers who cannot tend their fields or vineyards.  The workers' sons and daughters are sold into slavery to their own people, their lands and houses mortgaged to buy grain, and money borrowed at usurious rates to pay taxes on the land to the king.  Nehemiah becomes very angry with the people, gathers them, and accuses the nobles of perpetrating the same evil against their own people that foreign powers have done.  This is not only against the law of Moses but brings reproach against God's people before the eyes of others.  Nehemiah and those with him lend money to those in need and demand the usury stop, the lands and houses be returned to the rightful owners and a portion of the money, wine, oil, and grain they have taken be returned as well.  Nehemiah never uses or demands a governor's portion, never buys land to enrich himself, continues work on the wall alongside the others, and provides daily meals at his table for 150 Jews plus those around him from other nations. "Remember me, my God, for good according to all that I have done for this people."

Contending with Opposing Forces From Without and Within in the NT - Acts 26 - Paul is now before King Agrippa - the last of the kings of the very small Jewish territory who is married to his sister, Bernice (who has been married to several other men before Agrippa, including her uncle.)  Paul is faced with the proconsul, Festus, who accuses him of insanity from too much learning, with the Jewish council who accuse him of treason against Caesar and blasphemy against the temple and the law of Moses, and against this Jewish king who most scholars believe is sarcastic in his reply, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian." But Paul, like Nehemiah, has had a vision from God.  Jesus has told Paul he would be required to witness at Jerusalem (which he did with great opposition almost costing his life), and then he must witness in Rome.  This is still ahead, and Paul has now appealed to Caesar.  Neither Agrippa nor Festus find anything deserving of death or chains in Paul.  He could have been set free, but his mission is not complete.  He preaches Christ before Jews, Gentiles, and kings as Jesus has said, "to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me".  He preaches the need for "repentance, turning to God and doing works befitting repentance." Paul is following Christ, not the Jewish leaders, not the king, not the proconsul.

My Lessons and Applications OT - The importance and efficacy of 1)  diligence and perseverance in a task, 2) delegation / division of work so that each person is vested in the project, in the nation; wisdom of being assigned the work nearest their own land ensured that extra care would be taken in the work, 3) prayer and work going hand-in-hand 4) leaders and people standing together against enemies determined to undermine and stop the fulfillment of the vision, 5) leaders willing to go against the wealthy (who often are not part of the workforce but benefit from it) who are taking advantage of the workers.  Here this was done through usury in lending money, then absconding with property.  It also manifests itself today with the super wealthy manipulating financial markets, tax loopholes in the law, and other disingenuous methods to the disadvantage or destruction of the working populace, 6) a leader who works alongside others, supporting, encouraging, praying for, standing up for the people, not taking bribes or enriching self in his role as a leader, sacrificing when necessary for the common good, 7) ruling by and being ruled by the same law as all the people, 8) serving God and the people over whom he has been given authority - not expecting or causing them to serve him = the Servant Leader.
My Lessons and Applications  NT - 1) The king of Israel has now degenerated from a point of rebellion against God's law forbidding intermarriage with pagans to a low point of incest.  Sin is always down-spiraling. 2)When believers are given visions by God in the Bible - and now - we are often faced with a great deal of opposition - also from unbelievers outside and professing Christians inside.  Are we able to stay the course "to be obedient to the heavenly vision", to finish the mission, regardless of the cost? 3) When Paul encounters Jesus, the Master asks, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?  When we as believers are persecuted, Jesus is persecuted.  We are inseparable.

If we lose the vision, we alone are responsible, and the way we lose the vision is by spiritual leakage..The only way to be obedient to the heavenly vision is to give our utmost to God's highest, and this can only be done by continually and resolutely recalling the vision.  The test is the sixty seconds of every minute, and the sixty minutes of every hour, not our times of prayer and devotional meetings...Watch God's cyclones.  The only way God sows His saints is by His whirlwind...Let God fling you out, and do not go until He does.  If you select your own spot, you will prove an empty pod.  If God sows you, you will bring forth fruit.  

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest