Nehemiah was one of the Jewish exiles working as an important official for the king of Persia. When Nehemiah found out from his brother how desperate conditions were in Jerusalem, he asked the king to allow him to go to Jerusalem and to oversee the rebuilding of the city walls. Permission was granted and he went to Jerusalem. He met with the Jews, explained the plan and along with the help of the Jewish people, rebuilding began. When word of the project spread, enemies came to taunt Nehemiah and even threatened to attack. Half of the Jews worked on the rebuild and half protected them from attack. Eventually the project was complete, the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt.
Neh. 4:3 “Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.”
Remember that in the book of Nehemiah, Tobiah represents the flesh. He is mocking Nehemiah that the walls that they are building are too weak. He wanted to demoralized the builders of the walls. This is often how it works in us. The fears and doubts from Satan are often enlarged and dwelt upon by the fleshly nature within us, giving in to fear, doubt and unbelief. What Satan started, the flesh (Tobiah) carried on with. It is usually the way.
These two can work separately or together and it’s not always easy to know what source the attack is from. Romans chapter 8 speaks of the result of listening to Tobiah. In Romans 8:6 we read “For the mind set on the flesh (Tobiah) is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” So what are you facing at the moment? What fears or doubts do you have? Have you been renewing your mind with the truth, which the Spirit speaks through the word of God? Or Satan and Tobiah tricked you?
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