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SERVICE AMIDST OPPOSITION (V)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21
Nehemiah 4:1-6

Luke 14:25-33

 

“…which of you,
intending to build a tower,

…counteth the cost…”

 

SERVICE AMIDST OPPOSITION (V)
 
Christian work and service are demanding. Anyone who enters into service without careful consideration of what it requires of him is making a big mistake. Christ clearly set forth to all who desire to follow Him that they have to “count the cost” (Luke 14:28) and have to “bear his cross” (Luke 14:27). Sanballat and his friends knew the burden and difficulties the work entailed, and sought to add their opposition to the rigours and burden of the task at hand. To them, the work was too great, and the Jews weak. How would the Jews manage the work, the debris, and the opposition from Sanballat and his friends?
 
Will they make an end… will they revive the stones out of the heaps? (Neh 4:2). The final two questions were questions aimed at their ability to complete the work. The work at hand was daunting, as it came with many challenges. Some of the challenges were assessed by Nehemiah during his night visit. Apart from the building and repair works, there was much debris and rubbish to be cleared as was alluded to in Nehemiah 2:13-14, and mentioned later in Nehemiah 4:2, 10. Were the builders conscious of the work ahead of them, and were they up to the task? Would they give up before the work was completed? Or would their strength wane as the work progressed? Had they considered what they had set out to do? As they set out to build, would they reuse the old heaps of the stones in the new wall? Or, as Sanballat said, “revive the stones out of the rubbish which are burned”? Many Christians have committed themselves to areas of service without counting the cost. And when the cost seems too high, they leave the work incomplete. Christian service demands careful consideration. A task began for God must be completed for His glory. How much more ridicule and mocking would the Jews have to endure if they failed to complete the wall that they had set out to build? What shame would they have brought to God’s name after claiming that God would help them if they had failed? If they had to endure mocking in the course of their service, they would have faced even greater mocking had they failed to do what they set out to do for their God.
 
THOUGHT: Sit down to contemplate before rising to serve.
PRAYER: Father, grant us wisdom to approach Thy work with care and zeal.

 

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