11.2 Like a Thief In the Night

Nehemiah had left Jerusalem in good shape under able leadership, but the people got complacent after he returned to the king. They let down their guard at the gates, and the enemy was able to sneak in and make his home in the heart of the city – the temple. Tobiah didn’t scale the wall, after all. He entered through the gate, most assuredly with an escort and maybe a priestly one at that. We tend to let our guard down when we feel like we’ve got a temptation under control, but it’s almost always a mistake. An unguarded strength is your greatest weakness.

In the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., Sardis was the capital city in the kingdom of Lydia (now Turkey).  It was the convergence of five trade routes and incredibly wealthy as a result.  Legend had it that King Midas washed himself in the Pactolus River that flowed next to the city in order to rid himself of the golden touch that plagued him.  As a result, the river was said to run with gold and bring riches to the people of Sardis.

The city protected its wealth in a citadel on an acropolis atop a fortified hill that rose one thousand feet above the plain.  Steep cliffs surrounded the city on three sides, and there was only one point of access, a narrow neck of land to the south.  Because of its natural defensibility, the city was called, “Sardis, the Impregnable.”

The king and the people believed that they were invulnerable while within the citadel.  They had turned away many would-be conquerors who tried to lay siege to the wealthy city over the years.  But twice, the city was conquered, and ironically, both overthrows occurred in exactly the same way.

Cyrus of Persia was the first to successfully overcome the stronghold in 547 B.C.  Fourteen days after laying siege to Sardis, Cyrus instructed his officers to tell all the soldiers that the first man to scale the wall would earn a reward.  Many men rushed to make it up the wall, but none succeeded.  Then, a soldier named Hyroeades remembered that he had witnessed one of the Lydians accidentally drop his helmet over the side of the wall the previous day.  Thinking he was unobserved, the soldier had come down the wall at the point that had seemed most dangerous and inaccessible to the Persians.

Because of the tremendous height of the cliffs at this point of the wall, the Lydians posted no guard above it.  Gathering his courage, Hyroeades retraced the soldier’s path and ascended the steep cliff.  Once the Persians realized it was possible, many more followed and joined Hyroeades in sacking the city.

Three hundred years later, in 214 B.C., Sardis was captured again in the exact same way by the army of Antiochus the Great of Syria.  His men scaled the wall at the steepest point and found it unguarded at the top.

While the people slept securely and unaware inside their fortress, Sardis was twice conquered by armies who came like a thief in the night.  The kings and the people assumed that no one would attack them where it was obvious that they were strong.  They became complacent in their vigilance and only invested their soldiers in their weaker areas.

Like Sardis, we become vulnerable when we make the mistake of thinking we no longer need to post a guard.  When we believe that we have mastered a particular temptation, we are in for a surprise.  We can’t stop building our walls and guarding our gates. It’s a lifelong process. When Satan sees that we took our guard down, he’ll tempt us in that very area.

I distinctly remember a men’s group meeting where a brother in Christ confessed to an affair he had been having. Convicted by that evening’s study, he trembled as he unburdened his heart before us. He asked for our prayers to help him end the affair and tell his wife.

Afterward, a few of us met with him to discuss what needed to happen next. At one point, he referred to another member of our group, who had confessed to an affair approximately six months earlier. My friend said, “When I heard him talk about his affair, I said to myself, ‘That will never happen to me.’” Only a few weeks after thinking that thought, my friend was deep into sin and deception as he cheated on his wife. Remember, an unguarded strength is our greatest weakness.

10.1 The 4 R’s

Chapters 9-12 follow the series of steps Nehemiah and Ezra led the people through in order to honor God for the mighty work He had done through them. They provide a picture of the steps we should take anytime we fall in our efforts to maintain our sexual purity. These four R’s will help you get back into the fight.

Chapter 9 – Repent

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.

(Nehemiah 9:1-3)

Following the joyful celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people came together for a time of repentance. They humbled themselves before God by fasting, wearing sackcloth (a comfy material made of coarse goat hair) and throwing dust on themselves. These practices were to show their complete poverty of spirit before the Lord. In this state, they confessed their sins and the sins of those who came before them. Then they stood for three hours while the Word was opened and read aloud. Those three hours were followed by three more hours in more confession and worship. In other words, they were serious.

And they aren’t done. The rest of Chapter 9 includes Ezra’s prayer, the longest recorded prayer in Scripture.¹ When I grow up, I want to pray like that! Ezra doesn’t rush through his wish list so he can hurry and get on with his day. He puts the focus on God. First, he recounts the greatness of God (verse 6). Then, he remembers the goodness of God (verses 7-30). He finishes with the grace of God (verses 31-38).² In the whole thing, he only makes one request:

“Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.” (Nehemiah 9:32)

That’s not to say that this prayer is the model for all prayer. It’s not. God isn’t looking for us to ignore our needs. He wants to hear them. What makes this prayer remarkable is the context. This was a time of repentance for the Jews. They are turning from the sins of the past back toward their great, good, gracious God. Ezra is also laying the foundation for the second “R,” – Recommit. He’s making sure everyone knows why they are about to make the commitments they are about to make.

The message of Chapter 9 is Repent. When you’ve turned away from the Lord through your sin, turn back. No matter how far you’ve gone in the wrong direction, He’s right where He was when you left Him. With humble spirit, repent. Acknowledge that God has always been great and good and gracious. Then, Recommit.

7.3 To Whom Do We Confess?

Confessing our sin to God is one thing. Confessing to people is often a very different thing. God loves us unconditionally. Very few on this earth will be able or interested in loving us at that level. What makes it more difficult is that sexual sins shock people. For these reasons, confessions should be handled with care.

My wife has a guideline that helps me to sort this out. She says that the confession should be no bigger than the transgression. In other words, confess to the people against whom you sinned. When I fall, I confess to my wife, my accountability partner and God, because I have committed to walking purely with them.

At times, there are other circumstances to consider.

• You should not confess in a way that would be hurtful to someone else. Example: When I confess to my wife, I don’t walk her through the gritty details of my fantasies. Nor do I confess in a setting (like my cell group or home team) that might embarrass her.
• You should not confess with an ulterior motive. Example: I should not confess to my female coworker that I fantasized about her in the hopes that she’ll respond with interest.
• When the stakes are high, you should pray and seek godly counsel. Example: If you could lose your job because of your confession, pray and seek godly counsel first. When the stakes are high, you have to consider the impact to those around you, as well.