The Enemy is Plotting. Are You Preparing?

If your home was broken into in the middle of the night, you would spring to action to defend your home and family. You don’t necessarily need an action plan at that moment. Your instincts simply take over.

But, say you are like Kevin from Home Alone and you hear of a plot for an attack on your home. You would not wait for that day to come and let instincts take over. You would make a plan to defend your home and immediately take action to prepare for that day so that you are ready for whatever may come.

An Enemy was Lurking

In Nehemiah 4, we see a similar situation. Nehemiah has returned to Jerusalem upon the call of God to lead the efforts in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem as God’s people are returning from exile. But, an enemy was lurking.

“But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.” Neh. 4:7-8

Without these walls, God’s people would remain vulnerable to enemies all around. The enemies of God want His people to be exactly that – defenseless, unprepared and vulnerable. Enraged at the prospect of increased security, they plan an attack to stop the work.

Nehemiah catches wind of this plot and prepares accordingly.

“And we prayed to our God and set guard as a protection against them day and night… So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’” Neh. 4:9,13-14

The book of Nehemiah isn't telling us to simply act like Nehemiah. Instead, it points to Jesus as the true and better Nehemiah. Jesus rebuilds His people into an eternal city and serves as our ultimate defense against sin and death. Even so, we can still learn from Nehemiah's call to fight for our families and lead them well.

The Battle for Your Home

I don’t know about you, but thanks be to God, in my current context I am not fretting about a physical army kicking down my door to oppose me and my family from worshiping God and living according to His will. But we all have a spiritual enemy that is always scheming to stop that very work in our lives. As it says in Ephesians 6, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

The enemy is plotting. Are you preparing to defend your home?

Set Guard Against the Enemy

Like Nehemiah, we must pray to our God and “set guard as a protection against them day and night.” We don’t need to wait for our enemy to come like a thief in the night to begin fighting for our families. We need to start fighting for our families by proactively setting guard.

Not sure how to do that? Try asking yourself these questions:

Have you taken up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, for yourself and your family through a regular reading and instruction of the Bible in your home?

Are you remaining watchful and covering your family with unceasing prayer that “you [all] may not enter into temptation” knowing that the “spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

As an under-shepherd to the True Shepherd, have you drawn the boundaries of your home to defend the sheep He has entrusted you with?

Leading Your Family as a Prophet, Priest, and King

For the next few weeks, we will explore what is called the three-fold office of Jesus Christ as the true and better Prophet, Priest and King and how it is that as men we are called to mimic these offices within our homes to lead our families in the work and worship of God.

Don’t miss a great opportunity to learn and discuss with others what it looks like to Lead Yourself and Your Family in the Word at our Men’s Breakfast next Saturday, November 14th from 9:00am-11:00am.

Register Here

Brothers, Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!