When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. Nehemiah 2:10
At first, it seems incredible that anyone would be upset that somebody would show up to help people who were in trouble. A remnant of Israelites were struggling to get by in their homeland, but when Nehemiah shows up to help resolve their struggles, two men get very upset about it. Maybe if we look at the characters of these two opponents, we can understand a little more about their opposition to the people of God. Sanballat was a Samaritan, actually a religious leader among them. Much like the religion of today, the Samaritan religion was a mixture of the Scriptures and of their own ideas. They accepted only those parts of the Bible that didn’t offend their own little agendas. That is why Sanballat was opposed to a people who believed in all of the Word of God. Tobiah was an Ammonite, and the Ammonites are a type of all that is of the world, with Tobiah being exhibit A. He was opposed to anyone who would stand up against the corruption and evil that existed them and that exists today. The same two enemies that hated to see help for God’s people in Nehemiah’s day also oppose the Christians today.
Most of the people in the community where I grew up had no interest in the Gospel. And when the Gospel came along, they gave the preachers and everyone else associated with those meetings the cold shoulder. When I went to ask the trustees of the schoolhouse for permission to use the school for a series of Gospel meetings, I found very frosty reluctance. Although they did agree to let us use the building, none of them came near, and they filled the community with all sorts of false rumours about us. Now, these people were religious, very devoted to their membership in the local United Church. But when it came to the Gospel, they were opposed. Much the same happens every time a Gospel series is planned in a new area, as our preachers will find as they set out this summer in their tents and other Gospel series locations. The preachers are there to help, and they will be opposed by the religious.
The world also has no interest in seeing the Gospel go forth, because it interferes with its dishonest business and filthy habits, and it exposes sinfulness. The world also is opposed to Christians because their righteous lifestyles are at odds with the immorality and corruption that mark the lives of the unbelievers. Christians are the salt of the earth, the preservation that places a restraint on the evils all around us, and that hold back the judgment of God against sin. But the world does not understand or appreciate that and views the Christians as the spoilers and interferers in their evil ways. They don’t like to be reminded of their sin and God’s judgment against it, and they lash out at the Christians.
The world and its religion have no interest in anything but opposing the Word of God and those who believe it. They are no help to us. -Jim MacIntosh