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Nehemiah 4, Building with a Trowel and a Sword
Show: Reading the Bible Daily with Dave
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Passage: Nehemiah 4:1–23 (ESV)
Show Summary
Yesterday in Nehemiah 3 we saw the people of Jerusalem working together in unity to rebuild the wall. Today in Nehemiah 4 we see a different side of that work, opposition. As the wall begins to take shape, enemies rise and try to stop the progress. Nehemiah and the people respond with faith, diligence, and courage. This chapter teaches us that when God calls us to build, we should expect opposition, but we are called to stand firm, working with one hand to build and with the other to defend. Nehemiah 4 helps us see how to build God’s Kingdom faithfully even in the face of resistance.
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Conclusion
Thank you for joining me today on Reading the Bible Daily with Dave. As we see in Nehemiah 4, God’s work often meets opposition, but He calls His people to build and defend with faith in His strength.
For more devotionals and resources, visit our page at Servants of Grace or at our YouTube.
Until next time, keep building, keep defending, and remember that God fights for His people.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in beautiful Southern Oregon. He is a writer, editor, and speaker who loves Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology.
Dave serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He is the Host and Producer of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word.
He is the author of The War of Worldviews: Truth, Lies, and the Battle for the Christian Mind (Theology for Life, 2026), Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021).
You can connect with Dave on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or subscribe to his newsletter.
When he is not engaged in ministry work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, going to movies, sharing a meal at a favorite restaurant, or playing a round of golf with friends. He is also a voracious reader, particularly of Reformed theology and the Puritans, and is often found working through a stack of new books from a wide range of Christian publishers.
Dave earned his M.A.R. and M.Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
