Lessons From a Nehemiah Bible Study on Blessing Those Who Mock You

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Do you ever face being treated with contempt as a person of faith? Does it come from people who seem to judge you solely based on that faith? Does it come from people who seem to enjoy taunting you because you’re a believer? You are not alone! Many of us have had to deal with this quite often! But the Bible tells us in Romans 12:14 to “Bless those who persecute you—bless and do not curse.” (TLV)

As a Jewish believer, I have experienced contempt on both sides; for being Jewish and for being a believer in Yeshua (Jesus). There are not many people in this world who understand contempt and persecution more than the Jewish people and we will explore one of their stories that you can draw a lesson from as we dig in and do a simple Nehemiah Bible study.

So how do you go about blessing those that mock you, ridicule you, or hold you in contempt for your faith? How do you pray for those who persecute you? Read on and learn more from the prophet Nehemiah.

Updated and republished from 4/25/2020

Treated With Contempt as a Believer – What is ‘Contemptuous’?

Merriam-Webster defines it as

manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval: feeling or showing contempt

Some synonyms for contemptuous are:

belittling, degrading, demeaning,  derogatory, mocking, ridiculing

Do you know anyone in your life who has ever ridiculed you or mocked you because of your faith? I have! In fact, I just recently had two different people who refused to hire me as a virtual assistant simply because they made judgments about me because of my faith.

It is a form of persecution. We may hear the word ‘persecution’ and think of how the apostles were jailed, killed, or exiled for their faith and that is true. But persecution can take many shapes.

What Does Persecution Mean?

Persecution is experiencing hostility and poor treatment, especially as pertains to a person’s race or their political or religious beliefs.

I bet you can easily see that persecution can come in many forms. This is just a high-level definition.

Someone else once experienced this kind of treatment. He was the prophet, Nehemiah! In Nehemiah’s example, we will see how he handled being treated with contempt and ridicule.

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Digging into a Simple Nehemiah Bible Study – Bless Those Who Persecute You

I admit, the book of Nehemiah is one I often neglect in my Bible studies. But when looking at what the Bible has to say about the practical application of blessing those who persecute you, it is one of the greatest examples. It spurred me to look a little deeper into this book.

So let’s first meet Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was a Jew from the Nation of Israel but he served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, king of Persia. 

According to God’s Word, Nehemiah went in to see the king one day looking sad.  

Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before.  So the king said to me, “Why is your face so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very frightened,

Nehemiah 2:1-2 tlv

Why does it state that he is very frightened? The king seemed to be genuinely concerned about him so why the fear?

Well, Nehemiah was afraid because expressing sadness in the presence of the king was not permitted. It was seen as a disapproval of the king or dissatisfaction with his job. So Nehemiah was afraid because the king had noticed his sadness and he feared what might be done to him.

Nehemiah then goes on to tell the king that he is sad because the city where he is from and where his family is buried is in ruins. He then asks the king to allow him to return to Judah to begin the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

To make a long story short, the king agrees to let him go after Nehemiah gives him a time-frame that he would be gone for.

Then Nehemiah makes another request of the king. In Nehemiah 2:7-8:

I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to pass through until I arrive in Judah, as well as a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest so he will give me lumber to make beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the Temple, for the wall of the city and for the residence I will occupy.”TLV

He wanted to ensure he had safe passage AND plenty of lumber! So not only does Nehemiah ask permission to go and rebuild but he asks the king to provide the lumber from his own forest!

The king gives him the letters to show along the way with permission for him to pass through various regions and also agrees to his request to supply the lumber needed to rebuild the walls of the city.

“The king granted me the requests because the good hand of my God was upon me.”Nehemiah 2:8 TLV

Nehemiah had been praying a long time for this. But the answer to his prayers was delayed for a time. So now Nehemiah knows the hand of the Lord is on him and it is the time! Nehemiah’s prayer is about to be answered.

Not only was it time, but the Persian king gave him everything he needed AND sent officers and an army with him!

Great Work Often Comes With Great Trouble – Introducing the “Ites”

How many of you know that when we are about to embark upon doing some great work for the Lord, the enemy will always send discouragement and opposition our way? Well, Nehemiah was no different.

Nehemiah is arriving in the city of Jerusalem and Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite hear about Nehemiah’s arrival. I call these guys the “ites”.

They are not happy about this! The “ites” of the world are never happy with the people of God. We all have “ites” in our lives.

The Bible tells us:

..”they were very displeased that a man had come to seek the welfare of Bnei-Yisrael.”

Nehemiah 2:10 TLV

They did not even yet know that Nehemiah had come to rebuild the wall. They were displeased that someone had even simply come to check on the welfare of the children of Israel! Think about that! How dare he come there and check on the welfare of the people of Israel!

The Bible goes on to tell us:

“The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” 
So they put their hands to the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 
So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”” The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, but as yet I had not told the Jews, the kohanim, the nobles, the officials or the rest of the workers.
Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burnt. Come! Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
Then I told them how the good hand of my God was on me and the words that the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let us begin building!” So they prepared themselves for this good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
I responded to them saying, “The God of heaven will bring us success. We His servants will arise and build. But you have no part, right, or historical claim in Jerusalem.”“The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” 
So they put their hands to the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 
So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”” 

Nehemiah 2:16-20 TLV

To Mock & Laugh

The Hebrew word used here for “laughed at us” is la’ag, which means to mock and laugh.

The Hebrew word used here for “despised us” is “bazah”, which means to hold in contempt or be contemptuous.

So, have you ever been mocked, laughed at, ridiculed for your faith in God? Have you ever had someone show contempt for your obedience to God’s Word rather than going along with what the world says is the right way or the truth?

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The Life of Nehemiah Shows Us That People Will Judge You For Following the Lord

People in the world do not understand our faith. They think it’s foolish! They see believers in Yeshua as bigots, narrow-minded, blind sheep. People will make fun of what they don’t understand. When you are treated with contempt by people around you, understand your faith is foolishness to them.

1 Corinthians tells us:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 TLV

Hollywood and popular culture almost thrive on making fun of our faith and its values. The late-night “comedy” show, Saturday Night Live even did a skit that made fun of the movie, God’s Not Dead 2.

They label believers as hateful and bigoted and then respond with something hateful and bigoted themselves. The apparent hypocrisy is lost on them.

But what about when it is not coming from Hollywood? 

What about when it comes from our own family or our own friends? Many believers have lost people because of their faith!

Who are your “ites” and how do you bless those who persecute you?

This mini Nehemiah Bible study shows us that the good works we do for the Lord can always be accomplished even in the face of contempt and ridicule and in spite of opposition by trusting in God’s promises and His great power to bring us through anything.

Bless Those Who Persecute You – How Do You Respond When You Are Treated With Contempt For Your Faith in God?

The Bible is clear in Romans 12:14:

Bless those who persecute you—bless and do not curse.

TLV

Yeshua also instructs us in Matthew 5:44-45:

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

TLV

Pray for those that persecute you! Bless them and pray for them!

How Should You Respond When People Persecute You?

• Pray For Those Who Persecute You
• Praise God Through Trials
• Guard Your Heart and Mind

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Nehemiah Teaches Us to Carry On Our Work

We are to carry on our work AND stay in the Word! The Word of God is our weapon! Nehemiah’s heart was focused on his people and his city and on the God who would allow Jerusalem’s walls to be rebuilt. He kept his focus on the city of God and on the Lord God of Heaven.

Bless those who persecute you for your faith, pray for those that persecute you, praise and worship God, pray for God to place a guard on your heart, and continue doing what God has called you to while staying in the Word.

Satan wants nothing more for you to stop. He wants nothing more than for you to turn away from what God wants you to do! Keep moving forward!! It may cost us friends, it may even cost us family! But if we learn anything from this little Nehemiah Bible study, we learn that God promises we will be blessed when we are treated with contempt!!

Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.

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