A focus on the Accuser of the Brethren based on a study originally found at (but the actual link to find it had went defunct):
http://www.wholeperson-counseling.org
This study focuses on the book of Nehemiah-- looking at the actions of Sanballat, Tobiah and other peoples that were opposed to the Israelites rebuilding Jerusalem after having been freed from the Babylonian captivity. [*A good study-- not vouching for the ministry as I don't 'follow' people around, I only multiply what HE puts in my lap.]
As we endure the more and more frequent birth pangs leading up to the second coming of Jesus, I want to exhort all of you out there that are becoming aware of the weeds growing right alongside of the wheat. These weeds that attempt to choke out your growth, block your access to the light and drain you of the nutrients you need. How many of you have encountered a person that 'knows' the scriptures but pushes a doctrine or condemnation at you if you don't believe exactly the way they do? Let's dig in and expose the 'accuser of the brethren'.
You may learn to recognize the accuser by looking at the actions of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem in the Book of Nehemiah in the scriptures. As a background… this the story of Israel’s return from the Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The Israelites had favor with and were encouraged by their new Persian ruler to go rebuild their city and make offerings to their God. However, the people who lived near Jerusalem did not want the Israelites to build the city again. People like Sanballat and Tobiah were connected to the Israelite people via marriage.
[Ref: Neh 13:28 & Neh 6:18]
But marriage was a no-no with people that didn't serve YHWH for many reasons… foreign people served foreign gods, and our God wanted a people for Himself… not divided amongst the kingdom of darkness.
“Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor take his daughter for your son. For she will turn your son away from Me, and he will serve other gods …”
Deuteronomy 7:3-4
“No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. “Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you. “You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
Deuteronomy 23:3-6
We don't have a correlation here like in the book of Ruth…
Ruth 1:16 "…for where you go, I will go … Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God."
…but we have peoples intermingled …peoples with spiritual defilement that do not abandon those root spirits that are evident as they manifest against the children of God.
We can look at this today as the accuser of the brethren… or people that contain that same sort of 'mixture'-- with one foot in the bible, yet not adhering to true conversion (or 'circumcision of the heart') by displaying the good fruit of a life ruled by Jesus Christ.
Now I just want to share some great bullet-points I found in a little Bible study I found at: http://www.wholeperson-counseling.org/warfare/the_accuser.html
It's important to know and be firm in what you are doing despite any attacks, despite any accusers that rail against you. Sometimes it's just helpful to see the 'writing on the wall'… or better yet, the scriptural gist of what you know is coming against you, so instead of wasting your time you can confidently let people babble all they want and remain undistracted from winning the prize.
"When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel." Nehemiah 2:10
• The accuser is grieved when you seek to rebuild your life in Christ.
"But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, "What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" Nehemiah 2:19
• The accuser will laugh at you to make you think that you are doing something wrong or ridiculous.
• The accuser will despise you, that is, look down upon you to make you think that you are lower than he is.
• The accuser will question what you are doing and try to get you to raise questions about the legitimacy of what you are doing.
• The accuser will question your authority and suggest that you are in rebellion against the established authority.
"Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?" Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, "Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!"
Nehemiah 4:1-3
• The accuser will gossip and turn others against you.
• The accuser will use his anger to make you afraid.
• The accuser will use his anger to belittle you.
• The accuser will mock you and what you are doing.
• The accuser will accuse you of being too weak or too old or too young or too ignorant to do what God has told you to do. -Disqualification - Intimidation
• The accuser will question your depth of commitment.
• The accuser will suggest that you have made a rash decision that you cannot keep.
• The accuser will imply that it is too late to change because of your past experiences.
• The accuser will suggest that even if you start to rebuild your life, that it won't do any good.
• The accuser will declare that you will be overcome by the smallest enemy.
• The accuser will state that the least pressure will cause you to fall again.
*The glaring absence of Faith, Hope or Love in you.
"Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it."
Nehemiah 4:7-8
• The accuser may attack you repeatedly with strong anger.
• The accuser will join his forces (demonic powers) to fight against you.
"Thus in Judah it was said, "The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall." Our enemies said, "They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work." When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn..."
Nehemiah 4:10-12
• The accuser will attack when you are tired.
• The accuser will attack when you don't feel like you are able to rebuild.
• The accuser will suggest that he will attack you in secret when you don't know he is attacking.
• The accuser will declare that he will destroy you and cause you to stop God's work in your life.
• The accuser will say the same thing over and over knowing that if you ever stop to listen to him that he will have you.
"Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, 'We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live.'"
Nehemiah 5:1-2
• The accuser will use division among Believers to attack also.
• The accuser will suggest that you are doing something that is unreasonable that will be of harm to others.
*Note: You may also have an internal conflict which the enemy may use against you.
"Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono." But they were planning to harm me."
Nehemiah 6:1-2
• The accuser wants to get you to listen to him so that he can talk you out of doing what God would have you to do.
• The accuser will try to distract you from doing what God would have you to do.
*Note: Are you taking time to listen to the enemy? Has he distracted you from doing what God would have you do? Nehemiah refused to talk to the Sanballat and the others:
"And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" Nehemiah 6:3
"They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand."
Nehemiah 6:4-5
*Note: Just because you resist the enemy, he may not flee from you immediately. He is stubborn. He may continue to bring accusations against you a number of times.
"In it was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, 'A king is in Judah!' And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together."
Nehemiah 6:6-7
• The accuser will accuse you of rebellion to the authorities over you. Satan accuses us before God in Heaven, but Jesus is our defense attorney: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:33-34).
• The accuser may accuse you before the authority over you to push you into making wrong decisions.
• If you're not in a church of the box/institutional church anymore… the accuser will target those you are in covenant with… prayer partners or 'friends'.
"For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, 'They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.' But now, O God, strengthen my hands. When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, he said, 'Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.' But I said, 'Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.' Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me."
Nehemiah 6:9-13
• The accuser may again use fear to keep you from doing what God would have you do. (The place of the temple was to be a sacred safe place.)
• The accuser may use those who are close to you (family and friends) and even those in authority to mislead you.
Okay… how many of you are shaking your heads and know people, or have personally dealt with the 'accuser' vendetta? You are not alone! We may not agree on all things my friends, but let's hang with those that are 'for us' in solidarity, and not align nor support what is essentially spiritual gang violence against the saints!
www.hearingGod.tv
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