Life

“Now when I [Nehemiah] went into the house of Shemaiah …he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid” (Neh. 6:10-14).

“Nehemiah, my friend, come over to my house. I have something to tell you.” Yes? What is it, my friend? “Nehemiah, there is danger. You know they have been trying to kill you. If you run to the temple, you will be safe and live.”

Come. Be safe. Live.

“Should such a man as I run away?” Nehemiah gasps. It is easy to read it with a note of confidence. But maybe it was with a tremble. A punch-in-the-gut gasp. What-do-I-do now quiver. A what-would-you-have-me-do-Lord-this-isn’t-clear fog.

Perhaps Shemaiah continued, “And look at the good work you are doing! All who are depending on you! If you come to the temple, you will be safe, the work can continue. You will benefit so many. Look at what is at stake? Your life. Your work.”

Perhaps Nehemiah stopped—life. Your life. Me. My. I. Life. Work. Who? He chews on the sweet fig spread out before them for his guest as he mulls. He responds, “Could I run and live?”

His response surprises Shemaiah, who now coughs on his Israeli tea, sputtering the beverage. “Live? But that is what I just said! You need to run for your life! Run, and live! Run, have life!”

“No,” Nehemiah’s voice picks up confidence, “I could not run to the temple and live. I would not have life. I would not be me. I would lose my integrity. I would be afraid and sin. It is not my life—it is Yahweh’s. It is not my work—it is Yahweh’s. My life, my right standing with God is far more than physical safety. My God! I am fearful, but strengthen my hands! I will not be afraid and sin (Neh. 6:9).”

Shemaiah’s jaw drops and the figs on his plate languish completely ignored. “Sin? Protecting yourself is sin? Being afraid is sin?”

“For me, yes. I have a calling. I have a God who has said that he is so big, so for me, that I am not to be afraid. He said, 'I am the God who conquered the giants in the Promised Land. I have sent you.' So this is my calling. I will not forsake his calling; I will not run away; I will not be afraid. For me, to forsake my calling, to forsake the building of God’s kingdom, to seek first my life instead of his righteousness is sin. For me, to be afraid is to doubt my God and is the sin of unbelief. For me, to run would be to trust in my own strength, to lean on my own understanding, and would be sin.”

And oh!!!! Listen my friends, we too! We have a calling. “Seek first the kingdom of God.” “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” “Go therefore and make disciples.” “For the love of Christ controls us… one has died for all, therefore all have died, and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God” (Mat. 6:33; Mat. 6:8-9; Mat. 28:19; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; 1 Cor. 10:31).

It is the heartbeat of Paul: “At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites . . . If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family….. [It all works] to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!” (Rom. 9:1-3; 2 Cor. 4:15 Message).

Does your heart burn so that you will not run away, no matter the cost? His name. His glory. In Adrian. Waco. Grand Rapids. Your workplace. Your neighborhood. At the soup kitchen.

And the Shemaiah’s of the world, the mall, materialism, prudence, common sense, self-gratification, security, comfort, busyness, schedules whisper, “Run and live.”

Who will we listen to?

Nehemiah was so attuned to God he knew that God had not sent this man, this voice (v. 12). Who do we spend time listening to? Are we so bombarded by the ads that we can no longer hear God’s heartbeat for the poor? Are we so busy with our next to-do on the list we miss God’s heart for the clerk? Are we so busy running we miss his glory?

Who do we listen to? And secondly, what is our life? Is our life this temporary physical shell? Will we even risk that because we know life?

“And this is the real and eternal life:

That they know you,

The one and only true God,

And Jesus Christ, whom you sent” (John 17:3, Message).

“Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ” (Colossians 3:4, Message).

Life for Nehemiah was living out his God-given purpose, obedience to his calling, being in right relationship with God even at the potential cost of physical mortality. God, I so fail to have those eyes! Grant me a deep view of life!

Third, sin? Do I consider self-trust as sin? Self-gratification? Unbelief? Oh, my God, grant me such a sensitivity! Such a deep view of your greatness and holiness that I see it as sin and live to you!

What if Nehemiah ran? What if I run (and oh, so many times I do!). What if I am afraid (and oh, so many times I am!). We can hear messages like this and walk away feeling impassioned, resolve to do better, then two weeks later feel guilty when we see the bulletin laying in a pile of papers and realize our good intentions have flown out the door.

Because it is more than good intentions. Nehemiah had spent four months praying and fasting in chapter 1. His arrow prayers are throughout the book. He had seen and celebrated the favor and power of his God time and time again in the book. This passion sprang because he knew God, spent time with God. And we have the Spirit who is continually reminding us of God—and reminding us of Christ. Christ, the true Nehemiah who listened perfectly to God as a human, and as God-Man shared God’s heart and his passion. This Christ is in us. Moreover, we have a Savior who covers our failing ears, our hearts that are quick to be distracted with his perfection. And when we realize our inability, his perfection becomes more sweet. And then in that sweetness we spend more time with him, the Beautiful One. So we listen.

And life? It is hard to have that perspective. But Christ ran into death for us. We don’t respond from guilt—he did this so now I have to give it all up. But it is a joy. There is a confidence because we know we follow in his steps. We know he won against anything that threatens us. We know a fullness of joy by the quickening of the Spirit (Ps. 16:11). We know a vitality and strength imparted by the Risen Christ through is Spirit according to the power of Almighty God that is beyond ourselves that gives us courage to stay put even when the world screams run. Not running, dying to self, can have an element of confidence and joy because Christ is our life and is working out his life in us for a far more eternal life.

And sin? We have a spotless one who is living in us and giving us his mind (1 Cor. 2:16). We can be quick to confess our sin, our apathy, our failing knowing that we are not condemned by it, but are still covered by the perfect blood of Christ. Guilt only tries to cover and stymies growth. Confession in the beauty of Christ spurs us on. Our unshackling of guilt frees us to run out of love, not because as a Christian we should.

Christ our ears, Christ our life, Christ our holy zeal –Christ our passion. He is who spurred Nehemiah. He is who spurs us, and will build his church in us, through us, and with us.