Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water. (Nehemiah 4:19-23)
Nehemiah recognized that he had too few guards stationed around the wall. This created weak areas defensively, but he had a simple solution. He had a man accompany him everywhere he went. The man carried a ram’s horn. If there was danger anywhere around the wall, Nehemiah would have him blow on the ram’s horn. Every man was to then report to the place where the horn sounded and be ready to fight. The men stayed battle ready at all times, even wearing their sweat-stained clothes around the clock. With this defensive posture, they were ready for attack at any time.
It reminds me of the famous Minutemen during the American Revolution. They were men chosen for their enthusiastic patriotism to defend against the British attacks in the New England area. Their name came from their ability to be ready for battle at a minute’s notice.
They were out-manned and out-armed by the British, but they were better organized and underestimated. When General Gage led his redcoats in a march on Concord, MA, in April, 1775, he had in mind to take possession of reported arms stockpiles held by the colonists. He was surprised when the Minutemen overwhelmed his trained soldiers and chased them back to Boston. General George Washington’s subsequent arrival on the scene convinced Gage to give up Boston altogether.
What if we had the same level of readiness as Nehemiah and the Minutemen? We would be ready for an attack at any moment. Temptations wouldn’t catch us ill-equipped and unprepared.
Satan studies you so that he can find ways to bring you down. He may know you better than you know you. That should scare you a bit. If you’re going to be effective at spiritual warfare, you need to make regular inspections of your walls. If/when you are attacked in your weak spots, bring all your energy and resources to bear on resolving the issues before Satan makes it through your defenses.
