Nehemiah - Life without compromise

King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3b) and Nehemiah wanted to rebuild its broken wall (2:5b).
He prayed before starting doing this work (1:4-11a).
He sacrificed his work as the king’s cupbearer (1:11b) and the king permitted him to go to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall (2:6b).

But some enemies (Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem) were furious as they heard that Nehemiah wants to rebuild the wall and conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem to create confusion (2:10,19; 4:1-3,7-8,11). Nehemiah prayed to God (4:4,9) and God had brought their plot to nothing (4:15a).
Nehemiah also faced other troubles while rebuilding the wall: half of the servants worked at construction, while the other half were armed to defend themselves from their enemies (4:16,21); there was a great outcry of the people (5:1-13); and all the time while being appointed to be their governor (12 years!), he did not demand the governor’s provisions (5:14), because of the fear of God (5:15b) and because the bondage was heavy on the people (5:18b). But in spite of all these, Nehemiah did not compromise himself, not even once. He continued the work he had started!

When the enemies had seen that Nehemiah had rebuilt the wall, they tried to stop him from his work. Sanballat invited Nehemiah to leave his work and go down to meet him (6:2). But Nehemiah did not compromise himself and sent him the following message: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down…” (6:3). Nehemiah did not compromise himself! Even if Sanballat sent him this message 4 times (6:4).

Then Sanballat tried to intimidate Nehemiah through a letter (6:6-7). But Nehemiah recognized that what was written in the letter was not true (6:8). Nehemiah again did not compromise himself!

Sanballat and Tobiah wanted to cheat Nehemiah by hiring a Jew (6:12-13) who should talk to him in God’s name (6:10b). But Nehemiah who knew the Scriptures very well, knew that only the priest is allowed to go into the temple, and he was not a priest (6:11-12). Nehemiah did not compromise himself!

So the wall was finished (6:15) and the enemies have been humiliated and recognized that this was God’s work and that Nehemiah was God’s man (6:16).

Life without compromise

Joseph did not compromise himself, not even once in his life, although he went through many difficult moments. His brothers hated him (Gen.37:4,8), then he had been cast into a pit (Gen.37:24) and was then sold to the Ishmaelites (Gen.37:28) who took him to Egypt where they sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh (Gen.37:36).

The Lord was with Joseph (Gen.39:2) and he found favor in his master’s sight (Gen.39:4) who made him overseer of his house and all that he had (Gen.39:5-6a).

But his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and said to him: “Lie with me.” (Gen.39:7) but he refused (Gen.39:8,10), although she spoke to Joseph day by day! Joseph did not compromise himself! Even though he was young and handsome in form and appearance (Gen.39:6b), he was far away from home (Gen.37:28b,36; 39:1), and he could have said to himself that no one is seeing him and no one would know what he is doing there. But Joseph said to his master’s wife: „How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen.39:9b)

Even if he did not compromise himself, Joseph was put into prison (Gen.39:20) where he stayed more than ten years, but even there he found favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison (Gen.39:21,22) because the Lord was with Joseph (Gen.39:23b).

Joseph had the Spirit of God in him (Gen.41:38) and thus the Pharaoh put him over his house and all his people were ruled according to his word (Gen.41:40).
That way God raised Joseph and he reigned over his father and over his brothers (Gen.43:26,28; 44:14) as he had dreamt when he was living in the land of Canaan (Gen.37:5-11).

God blessed Joseph and brought his father Jacob and his brothers to live with him in the land of Egypt (Gen.47:11-12) and Joseph forgave his brothers for the evil they had done to him in the past (Gen.50:15-21).