Nehemiah Bible Study Lesson Snippet
What is the answer to the fear of man? - The fear of God! (Nehemiah)
Neh 6:2-3 Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, 'Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.' But they were planning to harm me. So I sent messengers to them, saying, 'I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?'
Geshem and the world only seem to attack in these two means. Either they work on getting you to compromise your faith and have one foot in the world, or they scare you into inactivity through the fear of man. We shouldn't let it happen.
We looked in a previous study at the fear of man. But what is the fear of God? Well it means that we live every moment of our life in a continual state of fear, not ever knowing what God is going to do to us. Ok? Thanks for coming and have a happy afternoon.
Um, er, no. The fear of God is important but thankfully I got the first definition wrong! The fear of the Lord is a reverence for God, leading to honor and trust and putting God first in each situation. Look at how Jesus lived his life on earth; the prophecies said that 'the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord' would rest upon him and 'he would delight in the fear of the Lord.' (Isa 11:3) How was that lived out? Was Jesus scared of the Father? No. He gave all glory to the Father, put all situations in the Fathers hands, and only said and did what he heard and saw the Father doing! The fear of the Lord led to God in action through the man Jesus Christ!
Are you paralyzed by the fear of man? If we were honest, it is a fear that gets each of us at times. It got Abraham (Gen 12:12, 20:2) Peter (Mk 14:66-72) and many other in Jesus' day (John 12:42). Is this you? The Bible tells us to again fear, honor, and remember the Lord.
Psalm 118:4-8 "Oh let those who fear the Lord say that his loving kindness is everlasting...The Lord is for me, I will not fear; What can man do to me?"
Isaiah 51:12-13 "Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies...You have forgotten the Lord your Maker who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth."
Heb 13:5-6 "He said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you', so we may confidently say 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'
Proverbs 29:25 "The fear of man brings a snare, but those who trust in the Lord will be kept safe."
I heard a good quote the other day from somewhere... It said, 'If you fear God, you need fear nothing else.' Like that one? Fortunately, Nehemiah had enough reverence and respect for God to carry on with the great work and the attempted compromise, slander and fear tactics didn't put him off. His fear of God overcame the fear of man.
From: Nehemiah 6:2-3 Our Defense: Recognising the great work