In our country no matter which political party is in power there is always an opposition party. If this opposition is handled in a healthy way it strengthens our government. The opposition party holds the other party accountable. The system prevents any one political party from gaining too much power. It is incredible at the wisdom that went into the writing of our Constitution. I firmly believe that apart from the Inspiration of the Holy Word, the Constitution is the single greatest document ever written by man.
Now this discussion is not going to be about today’s political culture and whether the current opposition party is handling their dissent in a healthy way. Rather I would like to note that opposition parties have always existed relative to anything good. The serpent in the garden was the original opposition party.
In the book of Nehemiah, very near the end of the Old Testament timeline, Nehemiah encountered opposition parties when he led the efforts to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. The city had laid in ruins for many years as the children of GOD served in Babylonian captivity. But GOD had made a promise to Abraham to preserve his seed so that Jesus Christ the Savior of the world could come through his bloodline.
According to GOD’S plan, Nehemiah led his people in a tremendous work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem in only 52 days. Nehemiah 6:16 tells us the enemies of the Jews rightly determined the work was done by their GOD.
Any good work will be met with resistance and such was the case in Nehemiah’s time. Chapter 2 of Nehemiah identifies 3 different groups that we could call opposition parties. But unlike our present time, these groups did not have any sense of a healthy relationship relative to the Jewish endeavor.
Let us make an interesting observation about these 3 groups. The groups are being led by Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab (Nehemiah 2:19).
The Horonites were from the city of Horonaim located in Moab. Thus Sanballat was a Moabite. Therefore, we have the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Arabs as the 3 opposition parties to Nehemiah’s efforts.
It is interesting to note the history of these 3 groups. Let us take the first two together.
Perhaps you remember the incident in Genesis 19 when Lot and his family were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah. After the death of his wife, we find Lot and his two daughters dwelling in a cave. His two daughters, wishing to preserve the lineage of their father, devised a plan. They got their father drunk and both lay with their father to preserve his seed. They both bore sons. Scripture tells us the firstborn bore a son named Moab who became the father of the Moabite nation. The younger one bore a son who became the father of the Ammonite nation. The Ammonites were those who sacrificed their children as worship to the god Molech.
The 3rd party is also quite interesting. The Arabs likely descended from Ishmael the son of Abraham with Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar. You find this recorded in Genesis 25. If this is the case, then the present day Arab and Jewish conflict goes all the way back to the days of Ishmael and Isaac.
Thus we see an interesting common thread between all 3 opposition parties in Nehemiah’s time. They all had their beginning with illegitimate relationships of Abraham and his nephew Lot.
I don’t have all the answers as to why these peoples were blessed to become great nations. But I do know that GOD promised Abraham that Isaac would be the bloodline through which the Christ would appear (Genesis 21:12). And Galatians 3:16 confirms it happened just as GOD said it would. Jesus Christ is the Seed through Whom salvation resides.
There will always be opposition parties as long as the world stands. There will always be those that will make war with the Lamb. But I have the promise of GOD that the Lamb along with those who are called, chosen, and faithful will overcome them (Revelation 17:14). And in the words of the old spiritual song, “Oh LORD I want to be in that number!”