Nehemiah 4:1,2 – “But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2And 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 and his associates faced so many obstacles to their task of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. One of the most formidable was the enemy who did not want to see them succeed. They were continually harassed and intimidated as is evident in today’s passage. There are four questions challenging the resolve of the Jews: 1) Will they restore the wall? 2) Will they give? 3) Will they finish? 4) Will they resurrect stones? Some of our lives were much like the walls of Jerusalem. In shambles, burned, broke, in disarray, and in need of restoration. The enemy would like to intimidate us continually and make us think there is no possible way to succeed. He would like to bring confusion and doubt to distract us from making progress. He is asking, “Will we restore (our lives)? Will we finish? Will we give? Will we resurrect stones?”
Nehemiah encouraged the people in verse 14 concerning their detractors: “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” We must cast the fear from us and remember Who we serve. He is great and awesome. We must also realize this is a fight. It’s a fight, not simply on behalf of us, but also our families. That is a battle worth fighting for. There is much at stake, dear friends. Don’t let your past be heaps of rubbish. Take courage, be ready to fight and remember, He can resurrect stones…you can too!