Neh 4:3 | KingComments | STEP | In his mockery, Sanballat is joined by Tobiah. A circle of spotters is forming. Unholy mockers stir each other up. Tobiah goes even further by giving the answer to the last question, and by doing so he draws attention to the weakness of the work. Wanting to be a church according to God’s thoughts, something the enemy doesn’t want, puts the religious, natural man out of action. That is why he begins to point out the worthlessness and unreliability of the work. Do you want to claim that you are the church of God? Do you imagine that you are doing everything in accordance with God’s Word? But if it really is as weak as the opponent claims, why does he put so much energy into his opposition? It is precisely the constant and ever-increasing attack on the work of faith that proves that it is a work of God. The stronger the faith, the fiercer the opposition. The degree of opposition is equal to the degree of the work of faith. In opposition to the work of God, parties who are otherwise enemies of one another unite (cf. ). A fox is a cunning predator that goes out at night and alone. He is mentioned several times in the Bible ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ). Except for Matthew 8:20 (and the parallel text in Luke 9:58), the fox is indicated negatively everywhere. He is light-footed and very adept at catching his prey. At first sight he doesn’t seem dangerous, but he is. The light jump of a fox against a wall would of course have absolutely no effect. But the enemy wants to make believe that the wall is so weak, that his light jump would bring down the whole wall. This tactic of the enemy, to point out the weakness of the work, is meant to discourage the worker. If the enemy manages to persuade the worker that his work will not hold up anyway, he has succeeded. The worker will see its uselessness and stop his work. Anyone who wants to live for the Lord will have to deal with this tactic of the enemy. One’s own husband or wife or children may come up with remarks that certainly do not motivate to live a life of surrender to the Lord. They point to all kinds of character flaws or character weaknesses: you are too extreme, or too inconsistent, you do not keep it up, you are outside yourself and blind to reality. The Lord knows this opposition from His own experience ( ). If a Christian gives his testimony, the enemy will point out to him the discord between Christians. He may even point out that wars are being waged in the Name of God. Or he may point out the poor prayers. Or he may point out the lack of organization, the lack of money, the lack of influential people. The world judges everything by size and numbers, by impressive methods, by appealing advertising. As soon as this thinking takes root in the church or the Christian, their service is over. If the Christian thinks he has to prove to the world that he is capable of leading a great enterprise, God can no longer be with him.

‏ Nehemiah 4:3

The Mockery of Tobiah

In his mockery, Sanballat is joined by Tobiah. A circle of spotters is forming. Unholy mockers stir each other up. Tobiah goes even further by giving the answer to the last question, and by doing so he draws attention to the weakness of the work. Wanting to be a church according to God’s thoughts, something the enemy doesn’t want, puts the religious, natural man out of action. That is why he begins to point out the worthlessness and unreliability of the work. Do you want to claim that you are the church of God? Do you imagine that you are doing everything in accordance with God’s Word?

But if it really is as weak as the opponent claims, why does he put so much energy into his opposition? It is precisely the constant and ever-increasing attack on the work of faith that proves that it is a work of God. The stronger the faith, the fiercer the opposition. The degree of opposition is equal to the degree of the work of faith. In opposition to the work of God, parties who are otherwise enemies of one another unite (cf. Lk 23:12).

A fox is a cunning predator that goes out at night and alone. He is mentioned several times in the Bible (Jdg 15:4; Psa 63:11; Song 2:15; Lam 5:18; Eze 13:4; Mt 8:20; Lk 9:58 ; Lk 13:32). Except for Matthew 8:20 (and the parallel text in Luke 9:58), the fox is indicated negatively everywhere. He is light-footed and very adept at catching his prey. At first sight he doesn’t seem dangerous, but he is. The light jump of a fox against a wall would of course have absolutely no effect. But the enemy wants to make believe that the wall is so weak, that his light jump would bring down the whole wall.

This tactic of the enemy, to point out the weakness of the work, is meant to discourage the worker. If the enemy manages to persuade the worker that his work will not hold up anyway, he has succeeded. The worker will see its uselessness and stop his work.

Anyone who wants to live for the Lord will have to deal with this tactic of the enemy. One’s own husband or wife or children may come up with remarks that certainly do not motivate to live a life of surrender to the Lord. They point to all kinds of character flaws or character weaknesses: you are too extreme, or too inconsistent, you do not keep it up, you are outside yourself and blind to reality. The Lord knows this opposition from His own experience (Mk 3:21).

If a Christian gives his testimony, the enemy will point out to him the discord between Christians. He may even point out that wars are being waged in the Name of God. Or he may point out the poor prayers. Or he may point out the lack of organization, the lack of money, the lack of influential people. The world judges everything by size and numbers, by impressive methods, by appealing advertising. As soon as this thinking takes root in the church or the Christian, their service is over. If the Christian thinks he has to prove to the world that he is capable of leading a great enterprise, God can no longer be with him.