Episode 5--The case for Guns in Church

Nehemiah and The Case for Guns in Church  

 

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 05 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal: 

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped foot in a church, you will get this. 

You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!

Recently, my dad and I were talking about the recent rash of church shootings.  Like any normal human being, he was really disheartened that people could not even feel safe in church, being murdered as they worshipped. As of this recording, the most recent shooting was in White Settlement, Texas in late December 2019. Two parishioners were shot while worship service was going on, ‘before a member of the church’s volunteer security team fatally shot him, the authorities said.’ 

 

If it wasn’t for the security team, and the team member with a gun being in the right place at the right time in particular, more people probably would have been killed. No doubt. See the entire New York Times article in the show notes for this episode. 

   

My dad felt it was weird that there were people attending church services who carried guns, I thought it was a great idea. He disagreed. And I understood what he meant. He felt, like a lot of Christians, that God’s protection should be enough. But then I asked ‘well what about Nehemiah?’ 

 

Nehemiah? Who is Nehemiah you ask? Well, before I tell you, let me give you a little back story. Nehemiah was going through a lot, and it would get worse before it got better. But let me not get ahead of myself.  

The book of Nehemiah starts out with him narrating his life just before he set out on the journey of his lifetime. 

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

He says...

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said:

Then he prayed: quote:

Nehemiah’s Prayer:

 “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.’ --Nehemiah 1:1-7. Unquote. 

Nehemiah was born to Jewish parents who were held in exile in a land that had gone to war with his homeland and taken his people captive many years earlier. Yet he was cupbearer to the king of the land that had taken his people captive. After praying his prayer, one day he went to serve the King who noticed he did not seem himself and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah told the king, and here is the conversation they had:

6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.’--Nehemiah 2:6-9.

Sounds great right? Like wow, God’s favor was with Nehemiah because he was doing a great thing. Well, ever hear the term ‘no good deed goes unpunished’? Apparently the term has been attributed to multiple people. But nevertheless, it’s usually true. And it was in this case as well. You see, this would be about the time Nehemiah’s nemeses come on the scene.  

 ‘When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.’--Verse 10. Uh oh. 

But wait, back to Nehemiah for a moment. 

As I researched Nehemiah’s nemeses’, I wondered about him, what did his name mean anyway? And I found the meaning quite fitting:  Nehemiah, "YAHWEH comforts" in Hebrew, derived from נָחַם (nacham) meaning "to comfort" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Nehemiah was the cupbearer at the king's palace-King Artaxerxes of Persia: 465-424 BC. He was more like a house manager who ran the king's palace. He was distinguished, efficient, and noble and the king loved him. Nehemiah was also a godly man who feared God. 

Nehemiah 3 is where he builds the wall:

So moving right along, in Nehemiah chapter three, some men joined Nehemiah in rebuilding the wall, rebuilding it section by section. These men and their sons were from different parts of Jerusalem. Some of them were not even born builders, but they wanted to help. Hey, there was even a man there who was known as a perfume maker. 

But Sanballat and Tobiah. 

‘Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. 2He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, ‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish—and burnt ones at that?’ 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, ‘That stone wall they are building—any fox going up on it would break it down!’ 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.’--Nehemiah 4:1-5. 

Wow, what a bunch of haters! 

 Well, as I read more about Nehemiah, I saw a lot of wisdom, planning, and common sense. In fact, probably because of his wisdom, common sense and planning, the rebuilding of the walls and gates was completed in just 52 days! (Nehemiah 6:15).’--Biblicalarchaeolgy.org. 52 days! Nehemiah was on a mission! And this is what happens when you are on a mission. You remain focused, ignore the naysayers, and get what you were called to do done! 

At any rate, I believe that is what today’s church is exercising when they have police presence, plain-clothed security walking their properties and laypeople keeping their eyes open. Because even in doing good, or just minding your own business; there will be that one person who just prefers mayhem. So, who were these trouble-makers anyway? 

According to the Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, Tobiah was an Ammonite official who attempted to hinder Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and took over the storerooms of the Temple for his own use. Sanballat was apparently Tobiah’s peer, they were co-conspirators. 

‘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 the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, 8 and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 So Nehemiah (we) prayed to (our) God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

10 But Judah said, ‘The strength of the burden-bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.’ 11 And our enemies said, ‘They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.’ 12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, ‘From all the places where they live they will come up against us.’ 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’

5 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.

16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.--Nehemiah 4:16-18.

And this is the discussion my dad and I had. Nehemiah built the wall in record time, and he did so using wisdom and weapons. 

 

You know, in my research I found an article that led to a sermon about why it is OK to build a wall. Apparently it was a sermon by a pastor named Robert Jeffress in which he says God is not against building walls, referencing the wall between the US and Mexico). But every time someone comes up with that argument, my response is Matthew 25: 31-40. “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” I do not see how the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall at Jerusalem has anything to do with the type of wall some want to build between the United States and Mexico. 

Furthermore, I continue to find it difficult to understand how Believers read the same Bible but get such different information out of it.  I know one thing, there will be no walls in Heaven! 

Remember, God sees the heart. It’s always about the heart with Him. 

 

In closing, I want to remind you to check out the show notes for all of my research notes. There are some bonus notes too because I considered going into further research about Ezra also assisting with building the wall, and even going into the New Testament to the story where Peter cut off the guard's ear when they came to take Jesus away.  What’s the connection you ask? Where was Nehemiah’s heart in using armed guards to help him while rebuilding the wall? Where was Peter’s heart in being armed and trying to ‘assist and protect’ Jesus?     

Well, thanks for tuning in! Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at [email protected]. Please give me 24to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode, including articles you may find interesting. Until next time! 

And remember my question. I really want to know what you think: 

 

Who is God?

 

Until next time!

Research notes:

 

https://biblescripture.net/Nehemiah.html

 

https://factsandtrends.net/2018/05/21/how-likely-are-u-s-church-shootings/

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/fort-worth-church-shooting.html

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah+3&version=NIV

 

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2019/01/13/first-baptist-s-robert-jeffress-backs-trump-s-border-plan-heaven-itself-is-going-to-have-a-wall-around-it/

 

‘The phrase no good deed goes unpunished is a cynical twist on the idea that good people are rewarded for being good. In real life, this is often not the case. The proverb no good deed goes unpunished has been variously attributed to Walter Winchell, John P. Grier, Oscar Wilde and Clare Boothe Luce.’--Google search.

 

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/nehemiah-the-man-behind-the-wall/

Byline:

‘I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people.’