Have you ever had a victory in your life quickly followed by a failure? It is so frustrating when a failure follows a victory, because after a victory we begin to hope that everything will be better from that moment. There is a spiritual principal at play. Spiritual victories are often followed by spiritual defeats. Nehemiah understood this principle. After the Israelites rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem they may have believed that they were safe, but that was not true. The city was not safe because many of the nobles had an unhealthy attachment to Tobiah one of the enemies of Israel. Even though the walls were up they were not safe because their leaders were cavorting with the enemy. This message is titled, First Things,” from Nehemiah 6:15 – 19.