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Nehemiah
Chapter 4
{Importance of the military. Jews are about to be attached by the Samaritans from the north. By the Philistines from the south-west. From the Moabites from the east. And the Edomites from the south. And, the Arabs moving in on them. Nehemiah comes from the king and is a brilliant chief of staff and military man. He organizes the Jewish army.}
1
But it came to pass,
that
when Sanballat heard that we built the wall,
he
was angry,
and
took great indignation,
and
mocked the Jews.
2
And he spoke before his brethren
and
the army of Samaria, and said,
"What
do these feeble Jews?
Will they fortify themselves?
Will they sacrifice?
Will they make an end in a day?
Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?"
3
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said,
"Even
that which they build,
if
a fox go up,
he
shall even break down their stone wall."
4
"Hear, O our 'Elohiym/Godhead . . .
for
we are despised.
And
turn their reproach upon their own head,
and
give them for a prey in the land of captivity. 5
And
cover not their iniquity,
and
let not their sin be blotted out from before You.
For they have provoked You to anger before the builders. 6
So built we the wall.
And
all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof . . .
for
the people had a mind to work."
7~~But
it came to pass,
that
when Sanballat
{leader of the Samaritans - enemies to Judea to the North},
and
Tobiah and the Arabians
{enemies to the East},
and
the Ammonites
{enemies to the Northeast},
and
the Ashdodites
{name for surviving Philistines at this time in history -
enemies to the south},
when
they heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being constructed,
and
that the breaches {in the wall}
began
to be filled in
{getting militarily prepared},
then
their anger was extreme and continued
{charah
- strongest Hebrew word for anger}.
{The
Action of Conspiracy - 4 Armies}
8~~And
all of them conspired together to come . . .
to
fight against Jerusalem,
and
to manufacture harm
{`asah - manufacture something out of something}
unto
it.
{Note: Their mutual objective was to not permit the Jews to get on their feet militarily. The wall was their military stability for the city.}
{Jews
Respond To Threat Appropriately - 2 Pronged Approach}
9~~Nevertheless
from our own free will,
we
offered intercessory prayer unto our 'Elohiym/Godhead
{Spiritually Prepared},
and
caused to be set a watch/'full military alertness with guards'
against
them day and night {Militarily Ready},
because
of them {the threat of their enemies}.
{Note: These Jews knew what to do. They had a small but well trained army. And, they understood that for their deliverance they were dependant upon the Lord.}
{Some
Jews ('the Rock Carrying Union') Complains}
10~~
And Judah {some of the Jews} said,
"The
strength of the bearers of burdens is diminishing,
there
is much rubbish.
So that we are not able to build the wall."
{Note: All the military was called up and only the 'rock carriers' were exempt. They are now complaining that they do not have enough men to build the walls. They were getting weak from working to many hours.}
11~~And
our adversaries said,
"They
shall not know {of the conspiracy},
neither
shall they discern {again of the conspiracy},
till
we come in the midst among them {surprise attack},
and
slay them,
and
cause the work {building of Jewish defenses} to cease."
12~~And
it came to pass,
that
when the Jews which dwelt by them came,
they
said unto us ten times,
"From
all places where you shall return unto us . . .
{doves want to surrender - we are surrounded}.
{Nehemiah
Gets Estimate of the Situation and Disperses Troops}
13~~Therefore
I {Nehemiah}
sat
in the lower places behind the wall,
and
on the higher places,
I
even stationed the people with their families
{stationing
troops and their families - all civilians need to be
protected}
with
their swords,
with
their spears,
and
with their bows.
{Note: Nehemiah is hiding troops in low places as reserve troops so he can move them to where the greatest threat of the moment happens to be.}
{Nehemiah
Encourages the Jews}
14~~And
I {Nehemiah} looked/inspected,
and
'stood on an elevated platform'/'rose up',
and
said unto the nobility/'generals',
and
to the rulers/'commissioned officers',
and
to the 'rest of the people'/'general soldiers'/'rank and file',
"Do
not be afraid of them.
Remember
the Lord/'Adonay . . .
Who
is great and a mighty warrior,
and
fight for your brethren/nation,
your
sons, and your daughters, your wives
{divine institution 3- families}
and
your homes
{represents the concept of privacy and freedom}.
{Military
Preparation Heads Off Wars}
15~~And
it came to pass,
when
our enemies heard
that
it {their plans} were known unto us,
and
'Elohiym/Godhead had brought their conspiracy to nothing,
that
we returned all of us to the wall,
every
one unto his work.
{Note:
Crisis passed without having to fight because they were ready to fight!}
16~~And
it came to pass from that time forth,
that
the half of my servants brought in the work
{rock carriers had help},
and
the other half of them
{retained military readiness}
held
both the spears, the shields, and the bows,
and
the bayonets/habergeons
{on the end of a good stick - a good sword}.
And
the administration was behind all the house of Judah
{leadership understood the importance of the military}.
17~~They
who built on the wall
{men demobilized for the work},
and
they who bare burdens
{rock carriers union},
with
those that laded,
every
one with one of his hands brought in the work,
and
with the other group held a weapon.
18~~For
the builders,
every
one had his sword girded by his side as he built
{the
demobilized military still had their weapons - just in case}.
And
he who sounded the trumpet
{one who sounded the alarm}
was
by me
{Nehemiah - also the military leader - relates spiritual with military}.
19
And I {Nehemiah} said unto the nobles,
and
to the rulers, and to the rest of the people,
"The
work is great and large,
and
we are separated upon the wall,
one
far from another. 20
In
what place therefore you all hear the sound of the trumpet,
resort
you all here unto us.
Our 'Elohiym/Godhead shall fight for us. 21
So we labored in the work.
And
half of them held the spears
from
the rising of the morning till the stars appeared."
22
Likewise at the same time
I
said unto the people,
"Let
every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem,
that
in the night they may be a guard to us,
and
labor on the day."
23
So neither I, nor my brethren,
nor
my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me,
none
of us put off our clothes,
excepting
that every one put them off for washing.
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