A Man Like Me

"A Man Like Me" - Nehemiah 6:11-13 Matthew Henry comments, "Seeing the malice" and "the effort of his enemies" to frighten him (frighten, fear, cower) and thereby weaken his hands, he lifts up his heart to Heaven with this short prayer: (Nehemiah 6:9) "O God, strengthen thou, my hands": True believers experience "great support and relief" in knowing that in all their straits and difficulties they have a wonderful God to whom they can turn. Through Him, "by faith and prayer," they can seek grace to quiet "their fears" and "strengthen their hands” when their enemies strive to fill them with fears and weaken them. When in our Christian work and struggle, we are entrusted with some service or "we are confronted by some particular conflict, it is good for us to pray thus: "I have this obligation to fulfill and this temptation to face; therefore, O God, strengthen You, my hands."

I. Fear is a feeling (sensation, emotion).

A. A state of mind (attitude, disposition, will, value).

1. Fear can be overcome.

2. Nehemiah says to himself, "Shall a man like me flee?"

3. It is very evident (undoubted, obvious) to all that Nehemiah was a devout (fervent) "man" and that he respected the Word of the Lord.

4. Respect, obedience, attention, consideration and special appreciation, courage, following the rules.

5. When you respect the Word of God, there's that whole set of meanings: obedience, attention, that great respect for God's voice and obedience.

6. And who, who was like me, would enter the temple to save his life?

7. So, they took false prophets for hire to induce him to sin and make him incur (fall, commit fault) in the displeasure of God.

8. A Jew named Shemaiah, who was a spy for the enemy (Tobiah and Sanballat) warned Nehemiah about an alleged plot to take his life and suggested that he accompany him to "the house of God" as a safety measure.

9. Beware of those who seem to be friends: characteristics; a. they are sent by someone, b. it seems that they have good intentions, but it is a lie that they come for something or someone and bring misfortune.

10. Nehemiah could see the prophet's ruse (astute, skillful, trick, it is carried out to get some intention).

11. God's Word forbids anyone except priests from entering the temple.

12. Nehemiah would rather lose his life than break the law.

13. A man like Nehemiah was to flee.

14. Qualities:

a. He had been in captivity as a Jew.

b. He was the king's cupbearer; because of how special he was, the king had confidence that he was a faithful, clean, transparent person; no showing off, pride, or pretension.

c. Simple in purity and fidelity to the king.

d. He knew neither pride nor treachery, although he was a slave.

e. The beauty of this, he loved the law, his people and with all that was great in Babylon, he wanted to return to that defeated, destroyed country, without glory, or greatness in pure ruin and abuses. None of the vanity of Babylon's greatness filled him with pride; (Nehemiah 1:4) I sat and wept and mourned for a few days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

15. Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life?

16. Entered in so much love, dedication, passion, now he was going to be a mediocre and liar, ambitious, because then he would have stayed in Babylon.

17. The people had it in front of their eyes and they could not see it so pure, holy and of so much good to give to the people.

18. His discernment, his wise judgment: And I understood that God had not sent him.

19. Could a person like Nehemiah be deceived?

20. Nehemiah, if he was very sure of anything (Nehemiah 6:3) I am doing a great work, and I cannot go; for the work would cease, "leaving it to come to you."

21. Slow down their feet: Say like Nehemiah; I do a great work, and I can't go.

22. Well, you don't have Tobiah and Sanballat, but you have a husband, wife, mother, father, children, companions, the life that demands and pretends to you (to want to be or achieve something).

23. (Nehemiah 6:14) Remember God those who sought to strike fear into me.

24. What was wanted (Nehemiah 13) was for Nehemiah to be terrified, afraid, cowardly so that he would flee from the work, and remain undone.

25. All the wicked were to humiliate, trample underfoot, and they lorded it over with great haughtiness.

26. Nehemiah's spirit was strong, determined to do the work of God.

27. Without seeking his own, contrary to Tobiah and Sanballat.

28. Nehemiah had determination, such firmness, assurance, faith, and he sought the good of Judah, the reason: he was the cupbearer of the most powerful kingdom in history.

29. The people work: to build the walls, the houses, the crops so that the people prosper; Nehemiah's had already been equipped by the king.

30. He who comes to his own thing, is ruined and leads others to ruin. Amen