Sermon Tone Analysis
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Rabbit Trails
A man who bought a new hunting dog was eager to see how he would perform.
So he took the dog out to track a bear.
No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail.
Sudden, he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction.
He had caught the scent of a deer that had crossed the bear’s path.
A few moments later he halted again, this time smelling a rabbit that had crossed the path of the deer.
And so on and on it went until finally the breathless hunter caught up with his dog, only to find him barking triumphantly down the hole of a field mouse.
(Bible Illustrator)
Like that dog, it is easy for us to get sidetracked.
We can go chasing off in so many different directions that we miss the important things in life.
In your pursuit of God, don’t be sidetracked by the “rabbit trails” that can lead you away from God.
Prayer
Let me give you a quick background to set up this message for today.
The children of Israel had rebelled against God and at this time, the majority of the children of Israel were still in captivity in Babylon.
Just curious but does any one remember when you learned all of the 66 books of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments).
Who can still quote them?
We used to do what were called Bible drills.
Before the days of smart phones, iPads, and/or computers.
The leader gave out a verse in the Bible and everyone would begin to search the Bible for that verse.
The first one who found it would stand up and read it.
That’s another day and another time.
You may remember three books in the Old Testament (Ezra, Nehemia, Esther).
Did you realize that these books are not listed in Chronological order.
The order in which the events in these books actually occurred is actually Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah.
Who remembers the story of Queen Esther and how she became Queen?
Who were the main characters?
King Ahaserous
Queen Vashti
Haman
Mordecai
Esther
The King became upset with the Queen and began the search for a new Queen.
Held a beauty pageant and selected Esther as Queen.
Haman, the King’s right hand man plotted to have all of the Jews/Israelites killed - Mordecai (Esther’s uncle) found out about the plot and Haman and his family ended up with the fate that he had planned for Israel.
Mordecai got a promotion and all was going well in the kingdom.
In short, Esther became Queen to preserve the entire Jewish race.
Years later, most of Israel are still in captivity, but some had been released under the direction of Ezra, the priest, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
The temple was being rebuilt with supplies and expenses paid by funds supplied by the King.
A few years later, a man by the name Nehemiah came on the scene.
He no doubt knew Ezra and what he was doing in Jerusalem because the first chapter of Nehemiah indicates that he received regular reports of what was taking place in his native Judah and specifically Jerusalem.
Nehemiah was told of the situation - the survivors who are left in Jerusalem are there in great distress and reproach.
The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.
When Nehemiah heard these words, he sat down and wept, and mourned for many days.
He began to pray and repent and basically make himself available before God.
Oh by the way, he was the king’s cupbearer.
Now a cup-bearer was an officer of high rank in royal courts whose duty it was to serve the drinks at the royal table.
On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person had to be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold the position.
Let me tie this together a bit for you.
The King in this setting is Artaxerxes 1 - King of Persian - resided in Susa (now Iran) and was a younger son of Xerxes I, also known as Ahasuerus.
Esther was Queen when his father ruled and although probably not his mother was still more than likely influential in Artaxerxes life.
This may have been an extended reason for God placing her in her role as Queen (not only to preserve the Jewish people but to be influential in the rebuilding of the temple and overall restoration of God’s people).
So to complete the back story, here we find that Nehemiah is fulfilling the mission that he received from God when he made himself available and has been working to rebuild the walls.
Incidentally, if I understand correctly, the walls around Jerusalem were 2.5 miles long, 39.37 feet tall and 8.2 feet thick.
The walls contained seven main gates.
The project that Nehemiah had embarked upon was no small venture and was definitely not without opposition.
Three characters represent the enemy in this story and relentlessly try to stop Nehemiah’s work.
These three were high ranking offices in the Persian empire.
Sanballat - name means sin
Tobiah - the Ammonite
Geshem the Arab - name means rain
Let me read our text again:
Now, the plain of Ono was 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem, about halfway between two cities, Jerusalem and Hakkephirim.
Nehemiah’s enemies were suggesting a compromise.
“Let’s meet halfway,” they said.
Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?
After all, Why not meet halfway?
Why not work out an agreement that’s suitable to both parties and live in peace with each other?
There’s only one problem: Nehemiah smells a rabbit, I mean a rat.
They intended to do him harm.
After all, why would they want him 25 miles away from Jerusalem, a whole day’s journey?
And why would they want him in a place that borders hostile territory?
Besides, Nehemiah would waste precious time getting there and back, which would delay completion of the wall.
Ho.
Nehemiah is not about to stop wall or risk getting himself killed.
So Nehemiah says ...
Nehemiah stayed at the task God had given him to do and refused to be sidetracked by events that would take him away from his primary mission.
Nehemiah refused to compromise with the enemy, and that’s what we need to do.
When the enemy comes calling ...
Don’t Be Sidetracked By Compromise
Don’t get off on the rabbit trail of making concessions with the enemy.
Don’t be diverted from your primary task by conceding with those who don’t share your core values.
Illustration:
Monopoly
Who likes to play Monopoly?
What’s the purpose of the game?
Actually, the famous board game was designed to provide a warning about the dangers of greed and big business.
The initial version, known as the Landlord’s Game, was invented in the early 1900s by Elizabeth Magie who wanted to teach players about the evils of monopolies and land ownership.
Over time, as the game spread through word of mouth and as people developed local version of the game, the focus drifted from that original vision and purpose.
Instead, the game started focusing on building (rather than preventing) huge monopolies and bankrupting your opponents.
That’s the game’s version that Parker Brothers turn into the super competitive game that we know today.
How does this relate to our topic?
We don’t compromise our stand on the Word of God, and we don’t compromise our mission.
We, as individuals, and the church, exist to equip people to follow Jesus, so that they KNOW Him personally, GROW in their relationship to Him, and SERVE Him as He has gifted them to serve.
That’s our mission, and everything we do must be tied to that mission.
Anything else, no matter how good, is just a distraction.
Anything else, no matter how good, is a rabbit trail that will get us off track.
In our service for Christ, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing” (George Sweeting).
In other words, don’t be sidetracked by compromise.
Don’t make concessions that take you away from your primary task.
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