- Lesson 8 in the Connect360 unit “Kingdom Assignment: The Relentless Pursuit of Obedience” focuses on Nehemiah 6:15-19
Kingdom tasks cannot be accomplished by human wisdom and energy. Only God can move the hearts of kings and reluctant people. God is who inspires human courage and provides resources thought to be unavailable.
When the task of rebuilding the wall was complete, neither the people nor the enemy said, “Great is Nehemiah,” or “Great are the people of Jerusalem.”
Rather, “They recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (6:16).
When God brought fire down on Mount Carmel, the people didn’t say, “Great is Elijah.”
They fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).
When the persecuted church was scattered, some of them came to Antioch and began preaching the Lord Jesus. “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21).
The church in Jerusalem heard about the work of God and sent Barnabas to see what was happening. When he arrived, he witnessed the grace of God (11:23).
Perhaps we receive too much credit for the successes we experience because we fail to allow God to work in a way that only he can bring victory.
When Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed for deliverance from Sennacherib, king of Assyria who already had defeated the armies of all of Judah’s neighbors, God answered by sending the angel of the Lord who slew 185,000 of the enemy.
Nehemiah’s task appeared doomed from the start.
How would he ever receive favor from the king, or resources to build the gates and rebuild the walls? How was he supposed to awaken a complacent city accustomed to living in shame and defeat?
How was Nehemiah to overcome the significant opposition of local leaders?
Victory would come only by the grace of God—who put the plan in Nehemiah’s heart, provided the resources to complete the task and then received the glory.
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