Nehemiah Bible Study Lesson Snippet
Who is Sanballat a type of in Nehemiah?
Neh 4:1-6 Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?' Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, 'Even what they are building - if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!' Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before Thee, for they have demoralized the builders. So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
So far we have seen the attitude needed to become a Christian and the action needed to be the Christian you've just become. Nehemiah four however, presents us with a new obstacle; one that every true Christian will face. For we read in chapter 4:1 "Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews." For a man whose name means "a secret hatred", Sanballat (Satan) didn't keep much hidden this time did he? In fact he was furious and openly said so. This is the nature of Satan.
So, what does the bible tell us about him? He is spoken of in seven OT books and by every NT writer.
- NAMES: Satan (adversary), Devil (slanderer), Lucifer (son of the morning), Beelzebub (Lord of the flies)
- TITLES: Evil One (1John 5:19), Tempter (1Thess3:5), Prince of this world (John 12:31), God of this age (2Cor 4:4) Accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10)
- REPRESENTATIONS: Serpent (Cunning, wise, Rev 12:9), Dragon (Powerful, Rev 12:3), Angel of Light (Deception, 2Cor 11:14), Lion (Devourer, 1Pet5:8)
- NATURE: He is - A Spirit Being (Eph 6:11-12), The highest of all angelic creatures (Ezek 28:12), A murderer (John 8:44), A liar (John 8:44), A Confirmed Sinner (1John 3:8), An accuser (Rev 12:10), An adversary (1Pet 5:8)
His hatred is against all mankind, but for the unsaved it is so well hidden that most do not even believe that he exists. Blinded to the fact that they are caught captive, bound by the power of the evil one (1John 5:19), they refuse to become Christians because they don't want to lose their so-called freedom! This all changes once the wall starts going up. If there is one thing that gets up Sanballat's nose. its people who begin to build the walls of salvation, restoring glory to its rightful owner - God!
from Nehemiah Ch 4:1-6 Sanballat's Initial Attack: Confuse that mind