And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” -Nehemiah 4:2

(i)STONES OUT OF RUBBISH Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Twenty years later, due to Zedekiah’s insurrection, the city was besieged and burned again. The walls were torn down and there were rocks everywhere. The city had been totally destroyed.

(ii)NEHEMIAH RETURNS TO REBUILD THE WALLS OF THE CITY AND IS MET WITH OPPOSITION Nehemiah and Ezra return from Persian exile to rebuild the Temple, the walls, and the city of Jerusalem. However, there was a tribal leader with ties to the Samaritan army (Neh.4:2) who selfishly opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The man who vehemently opposed the rebuilding of the city is a man named Sanballat the Horonite (2:19). The men of God, Nehemiah and Ezra, saw the need for a revival amongst the people of God. They, along with a remnant of the people, came back from captivity to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restore worship as God directed. Can you imagine how they felt when they arrived in the city and saw it burned, with one stoned turned on top of another? Imagine the beautiful city of David now lying in a heap of rocks as a reminder of a more glorious time for the Jewish people.

(iv)SABALLAT MOCKS THE PEOPLE OF GOD Notice how the wicked man mocks and belittles the Jews for their efforts to rebuild the city. Notice what he says about them: (1) He looks at the people and calls them FEEBLE JEWS. No doubt, compared to the enemies around them they looked like a feeble military that would not have the strength or means to fight off an attack. (2) He mocks them for INACTIVITY. Before Nehemiah came to the site it seems the Jews that had remained in Jerusalem had been inactive. They had made no efforts to rebuild the city. Sanballat and the other enemies of the people of God were permitted to do as they pleased.  

(iv)THE NEED FOR REVIVAL WAS REVEALED When the people saw the ruins of the city of Jerusalem their hears must have been broken. Their homeland had been destroyed. However, take note they did not quit, they went to work to restore the city and the worship of God. Their broken hearts were revived with hope. (1) Revival was needed because Israel had failed to renew the forms of worship God instituted. They needed to sacrifice to God as He had directed to atone for their sins and worship in the old way that God instructed. (2) They needed revival because they were living in the past. Remembering days when the nation was stronger instead of trying to revive the work they just let their minds dwell on past days that seemed better.

(v)NEHEMIAH’S PLAN OF REVIVAL How was Nehemiah to meet the need of these defeated Jews? (1) First, he had a broken heart (Neh.1:3). He had a personal interest in his people and his home. He did not shrug it off or act indifferent, but cried. (2) Second, he prayed earnestly, genuinely, sincerely, and persistently. The Bible says for “certain days he mourned and fasted.” He prayed till he got an answer. (3) He prayed a pointed, passionate, penitent prayer (Neh.1:4-11). (4) He had a triumphant faith. Notice his faith was based upon the work of the word of God (Neh.1:8). He was willing to work (Neh.2:5). He was willing to tell others about his faith in God (Neh.2:18). He had a working faith (Neh.2:20). He had a winning faith…the walls were rebuilt, the city had a

revival!

LESSONS FOR US:

(i)PEOPLE MAY SEE US AS FEEBLE RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS. They may say we are insignificant in number and in work. Sometimes such criticism is justified when we act indifferent and display little faith, no prayer, etc.).

(ii)WE NEED TO REVIVE AND RESTORE OUR WORSHIP AND WORK FOR GOD. We need to follow God’s pattern not man’s way. We must also do the work God calls us to do today. So often we just think about the good old days and no longer are active in making the work great again. We need to be revived and refreshed. Don’t say, “I have put in my time” and quit working for the kingdom, then bemoan the fact the church is not growing like it once did.

(iii)PRAY FOR REVIVAL. Be persistent, pointed, and penitent in our prayers for revival in our land and in this community. When was the last time you prayed for revival for this church and in your private life?

(iv)GROW IN FAITH. When our faith is based on His Word, we are willing to obey and tell others what God has done in the past. We work to glorify Him (Matt.5:16). That is winning faith.

(v)CAN THIS CHURCH GROW? Can these stones that were rubbish be used to God’s glory? (I Pet.2:5). When we are inactive the devil will do his best to tear us down to a pile of rubbish. Let us grow, revive, and rebuild the work here.

When you make a serious study of the Bible you will find that the devil is one that does a great job at charming people to sin. That is, he uses things of this world to get us to take our minds off Christ and get us to do evil instead of good. The question may be asked, “Why does the devil hate us?” I believe part of the answer is he sees us trying to do right and worship God when he desires to be worshipped. If we worship something or someone in this world we are in one aspect worshiping the devil since he is the prince of this world (Eph.2:2) and the god of this age (2 Cor.4:4). The devil will do whatever he can to get you to sin, to charm you away from God. Let us observe several “Charms of the Devil,” or tools he uses to distract us away from God.

(i)The Charm of Sex (Judges 16:5)​ Sex is one of the devil’s strongest charms. God put in man and woman the desire to be intimate, but God reserved such for the marriage bed (Heb.13:4). The devil perverts sext to move us away from God. Lust instead of love leads one to act on this charm. However, consider how lust can cost one. It cost Samson his eyes, then his life. It cost David more than he could ever imagine. The devil does a masterful job at tempting people to use sex in a way God did not intend.

(ii)The Charm of Money (Josh.7​) Achan saw something he wanted and, although he knew it was wrong, he took it. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lied about money they contributed. In Matt.19 the rich young ruler allowed money to motivate him more than his love for God. The devil seeks to distract us with shiny things of this world. If our mind is on treasures here, then we are not putting our treasures in heaven (Matt.6:19-21).

(iii)The Charm of Power (Matt.20:20-21)​ James and John’s mother sought for them a powerful position in Christ’s kingdom. She did not understand His kingdom was a spiritual one. There is something about power that can distract a person. We all want to feel important and feel like we have some power. This can lead one away from God and lead to arrogance. Absalom sought to kill his own father for the power of being king of Israel. One must be on guard against this charm of the devil.

(iv)The Charm of Escape​ Some seek to escape the troubles of life by getting drunk, high, or emotionally shut down in some way. Have we ever stopped to consider this charm and distraction of the evil one? Noah and Lot are two Bible examples of drunkenness that should show us that this charm can have dire consequences. I Pet.5:8 Peter warns us to be “sober.” Why? Lest the devil devour us when we are not on guard. When one’s mind is filled with intoxicants, one’s defenses are lowered, inhibitions are lowered and people do that which they never thought they would do.

(v)Let us be on Guard Against Such Charms!​ Don’t be distracted by the evil one! Let us be on guard against the wiles of the devil and not let him take advantage of us (2 Cor.2:11).