No Détente with the Devil
Words of Faith 9-1-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Nehemiah 13
[4] Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, [5] and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. [6] But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission [7] and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. [8] I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. [9] I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

         Yesterday we talked about this same text from a relational perspective. From that angle we learned how hard it can be to forgive someone who has opposed us, wounded us, or deliberately made us their enemy. It is good to look and see if there might be a relational Tobiah in our lives, someone to whom we need to be reconciled.

         Today, we will take a second look and consider a different application from a perspective of spiritual warfare and personal holiness. There is another application here for us that begins with a different view of Tobiah and Nehemiah's response.

         What if the harsh response we see in Nehemiah came because he sensed that a genuine enemy had taken up residence within the house of God? There is no indication that Tobiah had repented of his devious attempts to harm not only the Jerusalem project but Nehemiah himself. Nehemiah came back and found that this enemy was within the walls, living comfortably in a room dedicated to tithes and offerings.

        The situation might be viewed more as spiritual warfare than as a fractured relationship. If so, Tobiah was an enemy to be feared who had taken up a comfortable residence within the house of God. How did Nehemiah respond? He did not pray, consult or debate. Nehemiah threw the enemy out and cleansed the place. Perhaps there are some things about which we do not need to pray… or at least the prayer is so quick as not to be recorded.

         There are surely some times when we need to take immediate action in the name of God simply because it is obviously the right thing to do. The witness of the Spirit within us is sometimes that strong. While on a relational level a matter like a dispute with a fellow believer calls for a process of reconciliation, when there is an enemy in the house the response must be quick and deliberate. If one discovers a family member drinking poison, we do not pray about what to do. We snatch it from their hands. If a child is about to step into traffic, we don’t seek out spiritual counsel. We dive toward the child.

         A question we might ask ourselves from time to time is this— “Have we allowed a spiritual enemy to take up residence within our spiritual house?” Enemies take a variety of forms. Has a spirit of jealousy, rage, lust, greed, bitterness or control moved in within the walls meant for our protection?

        It is interesting where the enemy Tobiah moved in… the place reserved for offerings and tithes. So often that is the room in our house that an enemy quietly invades. Popular culture even backs us up with a negative image that “the church is always asking for money”. So it is good to ask: Has an enemy supplanted the place for tithes and offerings in my life? We cannot afford to give a comfortable room to an enemy sworn to destroy us.

        There are many other places in our lives that the enemy might quietly slip in. We may have allowed discontentment to move into our home or marriage. Or we may have allowed the desire for things to take residence in our hearts. Jesus warned that some hear the word but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful (Matt 13:22).

        What is our response? You cannot negotiate with the enemy of God. Any negotiated peace with Satan comes at a price you and I cannot afford. There is no “détente” with the Devil. If an enemy has invaded the places in your life reserved for God, God's things, or God's precious offerings and tithes, there is only one response. Throw that enemy out. Cleanse that holy place. Be consecrated to God.

        Lord, search me and know me. Reveal in me the unclean rooms. Give me power and authority to cleanse those places and consecrate them once again to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

 <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to church.office@faithfellowshipweb.com. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message to the same address. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy.