THE TACTICS OF FEAR

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 13, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: December 13, 2023 from Nehemiah 6:1-19

Theme: The enemy of our soul seeks to dishearten us from God’s work through the tactics of fear—and we must resist him.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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So far in the story of the building of the wall of Jerusalem, we’ve seen how Nehemiah had to deal with troubles on several fronts. In Chapter 4, we saw that he had to deal with open opposition from the enemies of the people of Israel. Then, in Chapter 5, we saw that he had to deal with discouragement and inward fighting from within the ranks of the people of Jerusalem. And now, in Chapter 6, we find that Nehemiah had to deal with troubles within his own heart.

The key to understanding this chapter is to take note of its repeated reference to ‘fear’. Very often, when the enemy of our souls cannot force us, through outward pressures, into ceasing from our devotion to God’s call, he will try to freeze us up with fear. You see ‘fear’ as the great motive behind the attacks Nehemiah received in this chapter by looking at such verses as verse 9,

For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands (Nehemiah 6:9);

or verses 13-14 in reference to someone that Nehemiah thought was a trusted friend,

For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid (vv. 13-14);

or verse 19 in reference to the things that were being said about one of the enemies of God’s people,

Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me (v. 19).

The enemy of our souls is a great tactician; and he knows how to use the weapon of fear against God’s people. This is why the Bible warns us in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe;” and in 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” In our service to Him, our Lord commands us, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

In this chapter of Nehemiah, we see the kinds of tactics that the enemy of God’s people will often use in hindering their labors for Christ’s kingdom; and we will also see how Nehemiah—a mighty man of God—responded to those tactics and kept on with the work God had given him.

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First, we see that one of the devices the enemy will use is …

TACTIC #1: BOTHERSOME DISTRACTIONS (vv. 1-4).

This may not seem, at first glance, as if it were a tactic of fear. But when someone is engaged wholeheartedly in the work of God, it actually is a tactic that the devil will use—and one that wears down God’s servants. It even gives strength to other tactics later on.

Nehemiah wrote;

Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono” (vv. 1-2a).

Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem … these are the enemies of the Jewish people that we’ve already encountered in this book (see 2:10, 19; 4:1-3, 7). Despite their previous threats, the work went on. And it may be that they remained silent during some of the times of the work, because it appears—as we saw in Chapter 5—that some of the Jewish people were even beginning to fight among themselves. But after the unity of God’s people began to be restored, the work drew near completion. The breaks in the wall were being repaired; and though the doors of the gates had not yet been hung, they soon would be (see 7:1). The work was progressing with amazing speed and devotion. And it’s then that the enemies of the work began to intensify their efforts.

There’s a lesson for us to learn in that. Whenever there is great success in the work—whenever it seems that progress is being made—whenever it seems as if the threats of the enemy have been overcome—that’s the time to beware! The attacks of the enemy may come when least expected, and in much more subtle forms that we may at first recognize. Here—just as the work was nearing completion, the enemies of the work said to Nehemiah, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono”. This was away from the area of Jerusalem—in the territory of Benjamin—in what might have appeared to be neutral ground. But it’s hard not to think that the name “Ono” has an ominous sound to it. (“Oh no!” would have been the right thing for Nehemiah to say to this invitation!)

Nehemiah saw through this phony invitation; and said,

But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” (vv. 2b-3).

It may not have been that, at first, Nehemiah knew all that they were up to in these invitations. But he knew enough to know that it wasn’t going to benefit the work at all. And so—like a man who knew exactly what he should be doing; and who knew not to allow himself to be distracted from it—he wrote to them and said that he would not cease the work and come down for any such ‘meeting’. They kept at it persistently; but he kept refusing consistently.

But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner (v. 4).

One of the ways that the enemy will seek to turn us from the work of our Lord is by distracting us with ‘neutral-ground’ kind of meetings. Such meetings won’t—in any way—benefit or advance the work. In fact, meeting the enemy on supposedly ‘neutral ground’ is actually a compromise to the commitment we should show to our Lord and His call. We should beware of the ways that the enemy of our souls seeks to wear us down in our commitment through unessential demands and invitations—or seeks to make us feel like we’re too rigid because we won’t come to a compromise on ‘neutral-ground’.

At such times, we should remember that—when God commands us to take our stand for the truth—there is no ‘neutral ground’. There’s only ‘truth’ and ‘falsehood’—’ inside the walls’ and ‘outside the walls’. And we should then be like Nehemiah—keeping right on with the work without being lured from it.

Now; as was suggested before, the tactic of ‘bothersome distractions’ is one that has the effect of giving strength to other tactics that the enemy may use. And now, we see a second tactic being employed—one that builds upon the first …

TACTIC #2: FALSE ACCUSATIONS (vv. 5-9).

Because Nehemiah wouldn’t cease the work and come at their invitation—because he wouldn’t compromise by coming to ‘common ground’—these enemies of Israel then begin to show their true nature. Nehemiah wrote;

Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written:

It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together (vv. 5-7).

This letter was written in order to bait Nehemiah into a meeting to defend himself against false accusations. Sanballat ‘informed’ Nehemiah about the rumors that were being floated about his true motives in building the wall. First was the accusation that Nehemiah was intending to be declared king—in rebellion against the king of Persia who had sent him to the work (see 2:1-8). Second was the accusation that Nehemiah had hired false prophets to proclaim his coronation. None of these things were true—and Sanballat knew it. We were told earlier that Sanballat and the other foreign officials were aware of the letters that Nehemiah bore from the king to authorize him in the work (see 2:9-10). And note what Sanballat said: “Now these matters will be reported to the king” (v. 7). In other words, these enemies were preparing falsified charges to present to the king that would make it necessary for Nehemiah to turn away from the work and defend himself—unless he compromised the work and met with them directly.

And note how Nehemiah responded to these threats:

Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands (vv. 8-9).

If Nehemiah had responded in the way that Sanballat had wanted him to, he would have left the work undone—which is exactly what the enemies of God’s people wanted to have happen. What’s more, responding to these false charges would have only strengthened them. And so, Nehemiah—recognizing that it was a tactic intended to make him fearful—simply left the accusations in the hand of God, and kept right on working. What a great way to handle such false accusations! Just let God handle them—and do not cease from the work God has given!

But the enemies of God’s people didn’t cease. When the devil sees that we won’t submit to fear from direct threats, he shifts to an even more subtle method. A third tactic we find is one that even sought to appeal to Nehemiah’s sense of God’s unique protective care; that is through …

TACTIC #3: IRREVERENT EXPEDIENCIES (vv. 10-14).

Apparently, Nehemiah felt led to meet with a fellow Jew—a man named Shemaiah. His name was one that members of the priesthood in the Bible were frequently known by; and it meant “YHWY Hears”. It appears that he was someone that Nehemiah knew—and perhaps had met with often and had trusted. But it turns out that he was a fraud who had been bought off, somehow, by the enemies of God’s people.

Nehemiah wrote;

Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you” (v. 10).

Shemaiah let Nehemiah know—deceitfully, it seems—that Sanballat and the other enemies of God’s people were planning to come at night and murder him. And so he appealed to Nehemiah to take a desperate measure and hide inside the inner portions of the temple.

Now; having come from a trusted friend—as Nehemiah had supposed him to be—this might have been tempting. And perhaps Nehemiah might even have even felt at first that such a thing would be alright to do, since he was in the Lord’s work. But it could be that Nehemiah then remembered what had been done by Uzziah, king of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 26:16, we’re told that Uzziah once pridefully “transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” Uzziah was not a priest; and he had no business entering into the temple to do such a thing. It was an act that might have appeared ‘reverent’ on the surface; but that was, in fact, very irreverent and rebellious. The true priests of God had to bravely stand against the king and try to stop him; and as a result of Uzziah’s sin, he became stuck by God with leprosy. Nehemiah, likewise, would have had no right to enter into the house of God in such a way—not for any reason! And so, we read in verse 11;

And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” (v. 11).

Not only did Nehemiah realize that this plan was an irreverent and sinful one, but also that it would become a cause of discouragement to his people. They would see that he had taken this irreverent expediency to protect himself; and it would compromise his own role as a leader in the work. And it must be that such a suggestion tipped Nehemiah off to what kind of a man Shemaiah really was:

Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me (vv. 12-13).

Apparently, Shemaiah was not alone in this effort. Nehemiah wrote;

My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid (v. 14).

There’s another lesson for us in this. We can often recognize a tactic of the devil by the way he tempts us to act hastily and irreverently toward the things of God for selfish reasons. May God help us never to yield to fear—or to treat the things of God with irreverence—or to reinterpret His holy word and His righteous commandments in such a way as to protect ourselves or justify sin. Let’s follow Nehemiah’s example. Let’s refuse to act in fear, let’s instead trust God for protection, and let’s keep right on with the work.

Now; Nehemiah’s resolve paid off. The work on the wall was getting done with amazing speed. It was becoming evident—even to the enemies of God’s people—that the work was of Him. But even then, the efforts of the enemy didn’t stop. We see one more tactic—and it may be one that the devil uses to discourage us in times of success in God’s work. We next see …

TACTIC #4: UNDISCERNING ALLIANCES (vv. 15-19).

Nehemiah reported;

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God (vv. 15-16).

There was still more work to do, though—as we will see in the next chapter. But to those who had an eye to see it, it was evident that the work was truly blessed by God. And yet, it was then that still another attack of discouragement and fear was mentioned;

Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me (vv. 17-19).

Apparently, in spite of the manifest hand of God on the project, some of the Jewish nobles—what we might think of as the culturally hip and trend-setting people; the ‘influencers’ of the day—were still not faithful in their allegiance to God’s cause. They compromised with the enemies of God’s people, and became the vehicles through which the enemy could sow more fear. Some of the leaders continued to correspond with Tobiah because he had become related to them through a mixed marriage. They not only reported Nehemiah’s words to Tobiah; but they also reported—in a biased way—the ‘good deeds’ of Tobiah before Nehemiah. They were saying, “We know all that Nehemiah is saying; but Tobiah doesn’t seem like such a bad guy to us. He’s actually done a lot of good for us all.” Tobiah used this compromise—and these ‘biased’ reports—in order to further ‘frighten’ Nehemiah.

It’s a horribly discouraging thing when your devotion to God is brought into question; and when those who are the clear enemies of God’s work are praised in your hearing; and when public opinion is against you—even among those whom you would have expected to be devoted to God’s cause along with you. Tobiah knew how to use this to his advantage. So does the devil.

But clearly, these things didn’t stop Nehemiah. Perhaps the apostle Paul felt something of all this when he was in prison; and reported, in Philippians 1, that some preached the gospel “not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains” (Philippians 1:16). But just as Paul rejoiced that the gospel continued to be spread in spite of the efforts against him, Nehemiah seemed to rejoice in the fact that the work got done in spite of those who spoke against him. He didn’t freeze up in fear.

Even when public opinion was being swayed against him, Nehemiah did not compromise out of fear—but kept right on laboring to bring the project to full completion.

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The apostle Paul once wrote to the Corinthian believers to be on the alert; “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). And this should cause us to ask: Are we ignorant of his devices against us? Do we know the tactics he tends to use in order to discourage us from the work of Christ? When encountering his tactics, the Bible commands us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Nehemiah’s experience teaches us that the devil will often work to freeze us from God’s work through fear. And Nehemiah teaches us how to resist the devil in his use of those tactics:

• When it came to fear through bothersome distractions, Nehemiah refused to be pulled away from the work by them—but kept right on working.
• When it came to fear through false accusations, Nehemiah refused to answer them—and instead, left the matter in God’s hands and kept on working.
• When it came to fear through the temptation to resort to irreverent expediencies, Nehemiah recognized the work of the enemy behind it—and refused to use the things of God for selfish purposes while keeping on with the work.
• When it came to fear through the undiscerning alliances of others, Nehemiah refused to give way to compromise—and kept right on working all the way to the end.

May God help us to recognize these tactics of fear—to resist the devil who seeks to use them against us—and to keep right on with the Lord’s work of building the wall of distinction.

AE