Dr Paul Allen

Image via Wikipedia Nehemiah served in a pagan government as a believer in God . He was humble and respectful to the king, but proper fear of his king did not stop him from acting to save his people.  He prayed to God and made a request of the king, asking for permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild it. He also asked for letters that he might present to various governors for safe conduct , and even a grant for building materials . Not all the pagan governors were sanguine toward Nehemiah and his plans. Indeed, some were fiercely resistant to them.  When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard of his efforts, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of  Israel . When Nehemiah set about the task of rebuilding, his enemies laughed at him and despised him. Nehemiah, though, did not let his critics determine his agenda. Nehemiah’s temptation would have been to allow the pagans to alter the plans and engage i...

Image via Wikipedia "But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews ." ( Nehemiah 4:1 )   The art of mocking God and His people has changed little through the ages. The pagan enemies that surrounded the Jews as they were trying to rebuild Jerusalem 400 years before Christ , tried various means to defeat them--essentially the same devices used by God's enemies today.   They tried political and sociological means, after their efforts at infiltration failed, but these also failed (see  Ezra 5:6 ,  17 ;  6:6-7 ;  9:1 ;  10:11-12 ). Then, when Nehemiah actually began work on the city's wall, they tried discouragement by ridicule ( Nehemiah 2:19 ;  4:1-3 ), by threat of violence ( 4:7-8 ), and by attempted treachery ( 6:2 ).   Likewise, the enemies of God's Word and God's plan today are trying all these devices in a modern format. They use political means, c...

Image via Wikipedia Nehemiah served in a pagan government as a believer in God . He was humble and respectful to the king, but proper fear of his king did not stop him from acting to save his people. He prayed to God and made a request of the king, asking for permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild it. He also asked for letters that he might present to various governors for safe conduct , and even a grant for building materials. Not all the pagan governors were sanguine toward Nehemiah and his plans. Indeed, some were fiercely resistant to them. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard of his efforts, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel . When Nehemiah set about the task of rebuilding, his enemies laughed at him and despised him. Nehemiah, though, did not let his critics determine his agenda. Nehemiah’s temptation would have been to allow the pagans to alter the plans and engage in a joint venture of com...