NEHEMIAH 4 (FROM CAC'S NOTES)

NEHEMIAH 4 (FROM CAC’S NOTES)

Nehemiah 4: 1 - 23; Nehemiah 5: 1 - 19

If we do anything to set up the principles of fellowship the enemy will be sure to reproach us with weakness, but the answer to this is to go on with the work. The wall is one whole. “The people had a mind to work”.

Then there is active opposition which has to be met by prayer and watchfulness, and at the same time strength fails in presence of much rubbish. It seems important to get rid of the rubbish, for it has been accumulating all through the history of the church. “Rubbish” is not living material; it is what has been handed down in a traditional way, what is not in faith. We must expect to be attacked. We must never be without our weapons. A people really set to maintain what is due to Christ as Lord, and to be true to the fellowship will be attacked. Having weapons means that we bring the truth to bear on those who attack us. We do not get out of things merely on the principle of saying nothing, or of avoiding a battle. Many a person has been secured for the fellowship by a very few faithful words. Now we are never to be unarmed: I am afraid we are often caught unawares.

Then there may be an attack which requires all the forces: when the trumpet is sounded it is to rally all. Something contrary to the fellowship has to be met at some one point, but it affects all. The work is great and extended, and the soldiers widely scattered, but when the trumpet sounds all assemble to meet the attack. It is one body universally, as in 1 Corinthians. The wall is completely broken down if we think that we are only responsible for ourselves or for what happens in our own meeting. Satan is always seeking to narrow us up.

Then in chapter 5 we find a destructive influence acting within. That is, persons seeking their own advantage at the expense of their brethren.

The house of God is not the place to hide oneself in from ^[p. 262] the conflicts of the testimony. People often use pious language, but it puts fear into hearts as to being identified with the testimony. It was not fitting to the moment to flee, or to the man. “Who is there, that, being as I am, could go into the temple, and live” (chapter 6: 11). To give up the truth would be to die. A great many are kept out of the enjoyment of assembly truth by fear. They say, what conflicts, what controversies, what difficulties, what divisions! So they give up the wall, and the enemy comes in and takes away all that is distinctive of the testimony, and it will not be long before all the principles of the world will come in and swamp what is of God in relation to the truth of the assembly.

There are many prophets today seeking to put the saints in fear of standing for the truth.

Then there were traitors keeping up communications with Tobijah and speaking of his good deeds and reporting Nehemiah’s matters to him.