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When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (Nehemiah 2:10).

Nehemiah has finally made it to Jerusalem. He has letters from the king. He is official \u2013 coming with the king\u2019s authority. And he did not come alone. He came with an escort of officials and cavalry. There is no indication that Nehemiah requested an escort. This appears to be a provision that God supplied through the king.

Earlier, Ezra and his company had fasted and prayed for a safe journey because he did not want to ask the king for military protection (Ezra 8:22). Thus, some have suggested that Ezra showed more faith in God than Nehemiah. However, Ezra was not offered a military escort, and Nehemiah did not ask for one. The point is likely that God provides in different ways in different situations.

His coming did not go unnoticed. His coming as an official of the king was particularly noticed by Sanballat and Tobiah. These two had power in the area. They had been working hard to keep Israel weak, because that secured their positions of power and influence. When they saw that Nehemiah was coming to promote the welfare of the Israelites, they recognized that his coming was a threat to their power in the neighbourhood. So, \u201cthey were very much disturbed.\u201d

And they would continue to be a thorn in Nehemiah\u2019s side, seeking to undermine both the physical and moral progress Nehemiah sought to bring.

We may find this a mere curiosity. We may think that it has no relevance for us today. After all, we are far removed from this story in both time and place.

It seems to me that Sanballat and Tobiah are included in Nehemiah\u2019s story to edify us as well. They remind us that there has always been resistance to God\u2019s kingdom. And that resistance will continue until Jesus returns. As he said to his disciples, \u201cVery truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy\u201d (John 16:20).

He also taught us to pray, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." \xa0Sometimes we may face people like Sanballat and Tobiah: people who really do not what to see God\u2019s church grow and thrive. More often our enemies are not physical. That is why the Heidelberg Catechism includes the line, \u201cour sworn enemies-the devil, the world, and our own flesh-never stop attacking us\u201d (Answer 127).

The truth of this is seen in the exposure of hidden sins committed by Christian leaders. The church as a whole, bears the shame of such things and many have given up on the church, and even on God, because of these failures.

But we, who fly under the public radar, are no less afflicted by \u2018our sworn enemies\u2019. There is some evidence already that churches have lost members during COVID. Where are they? No one knows yet, but they are not responding to the invitation to come back to worship services.

How about you? How have you experienced the attacks of our enemies? Has your faith weakened in the preceding months? If so, are you going to do something about it?

Nehemiah keeps writing that \u2018the gracious hand of God was on him.\u2019 Here is the key. As the Catechism says, \u201cBy ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment.\u201d So, when I ask, \u201care you going to do something about it?\u2019, I\u2019m asking the wrong kind of question.

The Catechism gives us a better avenue when it teaches us to pray, \u201cAnd so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory.\u201d

Like Nehemiah, we can do no better than to trust in God, and pray to him to strengthen us.