Surveying the Damage: Overcoming obstacles

This is tiring work. Lifting heavy stones and heavy logs for hours. Shaping the logs into beams using only the basic tools we have available. The iron axes and adzes work well, but they are heavy. Muscles we never knew we had hurt. We’ve been working on the wall for 25 days. The word around town is that Sanballat is no longer poking fun at us. He’s angry. Maybe afraid.

The word comes from our spies (there are many of us living outside the walls of Jerusalem). We’ve heard several different stories passed along by people, but they all have a couple of things in common: Sanballat is angry. His groupies are also angry. They think we are just playing a game. The noise and shouting sounds like a mob egging each other on encouraging violence.

We wonder what Nee is doing with these reports from the spies. We always want to be in the know, so we take off for Nee’s house. We don’t know what we expected to see. What we see should not have surprised us. Nee was praying. Still lying on the floor. Still acknowledging God’s power and protection:

“O all-powerful and loving God, act on our behalf. You know the hearts of the wicked men who desire to do us harm and discourage the workers. Instead of allowing them to make us look bad, make them look bad and defeated, carried off by their enemies. Don’t forgive them for teasing Your workers, Your people. Pour dung out upon them making them stink!”

As Nee finished praying, he looks out his upper level window and sees the work continuing. He looked around the corner and saw us eavesdropping. He smiled, waved, and sent us back to work. We skipped away knowing that when Nee prays good things happen. The rumors of Sanballat’s anger and threats did not frighten us. God is on our side. As we walk back to our section of the wall, we notice the overall progress. The wall is all connected and about half the height Nee is looking for.

The spies continue to bring reports to Nee, sharing the news with people on the way to Nee’s apartment. The nearby rulers are amazed and incensed by the progress we are making. They are making plans to attack Jerusalem, if nothing else, to disrupt the building and frighten the builders. Nee tells us to keep working. Nee took the spies’ reports seriously, but without fear. He organized a guard. Half the workers would build the wall, while the other half would stand guard with their bows and arrows, swords, and lances.

To encourage us, Nee called everyone together to encourage us. “Don’t be afraid! Focus on our God, the Master we serve. He will not allow harm to come to us. He will give us what we need to be successful; His great and awesome power will be our weapon! Don’t fear and think of yourselves. Be ready to fight, if necessary, for your children, your wives, your parents, and your homes. God will see us through.”

We work on the wall, and wait for more news from our spies . . .