Tried Repeatedly (Nehemiah 6)

As we know, Nehemiah and his helpers finished building the wall of Jerusalem in fifty-two days, which was a remarkable achievement. What made it more remarkable than usual was the various ways by which opponents tried to hinder the work. In chapter 4, the hindrance was derision and in chapter 5 the hindrance was division caused by circumstances connected to a famine. In chapter 6, the opponents tried another method that involved a series of trials, initially that of deception, of pretending to be friendly when the opposite was the case.

The timing

I suppose one of the most dangerous times for an athlete is when the finishing line is in sight, especially if he is doing well and is ahead of the rest of the field. He may think he can take it easier and slow down a bit. In this chapter, Nehemiah is getting close to finishing the task because he has now completed the wall and all that is left to finish are the gates. Ten gates were mentioned in chapter 3. It was at this time that he received a message from Sanballat and Geshem inviting him to a meeting.

What thoughts could have gone through his mind? Perhaps he could have wondered if it might not be a wise thing to speak to them because it was likely that in the future they would have to talk about common issues. After all, they shared administrations in the land, with each having their authority from the Persian emperor. Whether that thought crossed his mind we cannot say, but we can see that he refused the invitation to meet with them. Why?

One reason why Nehemiah refused was the place that they suggested, which was a location away from Jerusalem and nearer to Samaria where Sanballat was in charge. It was obvious to him that he would be in a place of danger, a place where it would not be difficult to harm him, even assassinate him.

A second reason why he refused was because he realised that their suggestion was a distraction from his main role, which at that moment was to complete the building of the wall. If he did what they wanted and went to meet them, he could not jump into a fast car and speed up a highway in a matter of hours. It would take several days in total to travel there, have a discussion, and then return. No matter how important such a meeting might seem, it was not the priority at the moment, and it would interfere with that priority.

A third reason why he declined their invitation was because it was empty of content. We can see that was the case in his reply because he asked them what the reasons were why they should meet together. Obviously, they had not included such reasons in their invitation. There is nothing more frustrating to a busy person than to attend a meeting around an empty agenda. Of course, it can be phrased in deceptive terms such as saying that there are important things to talk about but then not saying what they are.

A fourth reason why he did not go to meet them was because he was diligent in the task to which God had called him. Why was he diligent in it? Because he had weighed things as to their importance. His current work was a great one, not because he participated in what was happening, nor because it had been authorised by the emperor, but because it was his contribution to the kingdom of God at that time. The task he had was not to dream about what may happen in Jerusalem after the wall was built, but to build the wall. Taking up a new task before completing a current one is a common way of failing to finish anything.

So Nehemiah dealt with the invitation from other political leaders in the area around Judea. He put his calling to obey God ahead of all other actions. Maybe he thought that would be the end of the problem. But instead he was still at the onset stages of this issue. There were more difficult moments ahead for him.

The tactics and Nehemiah’s response (v. 4)

What did the opponents do when Nehemiah refused the invitation? They did not give up their attempts immediately. Instead, they increased the pressure and tried again. Why did they do this? One reason might be that they thought their plan was good. But it is more likely that their motive was one of desperation because they had not prevented the work on the wall continuing. It was in their interests to stop the work, and it was in Nehemiah’s interest that he continues.

What feature stands out here in Nehemiah’s character? It is inflexibility. Inflexibility is often not regarded as an effective way to behave in much of modern life.  Of course, we can use nicer words that inflexible. Instead of it, we can use phrases that say the same thing such as consistent over the years, reliable in his commitment to a cause, or loyal to God day after day. But usually one word is as good as a phrase or clause.

What are the benefits of such precision? One would be strength of character. Each time, Nehemiah said no he was strengthened in his convictions about what he should be engaged in. A second benefit was that his fellow-workers would have a good example – after all, if he took a day off and chatted with the enemy, why couldn’t they? A third benefit was that his encouraging presence would result in the wall being finished as planned.

The threat of a letter (vv. 5-9)

When that scheme did not work, Sanballat tried another one. He composed a letter and sent it to Nehemiah. This letter was going to be sent to the emperor, but for some reason he wanted Nehemiah to know its contents. Since it was not sealed, it was possible for anyone to read the letter, which was probably Sanballat’s intention.

In the letter he mentioned several accusations or rumours that he said were circulating against Nehemiah. Among them was the allegation that Nehemiah was leading a rebellion, that he wanted to be king of the Jews, and that he had a group of prophets going around announcing that he was the king. Sanballat also suggested that the emperor would hear of those allegations and deal with Nehemiah. In the letter, Sanballat suggested that he and Nehemiah needed to discuss those items of gossip that were circulating.

What was Nehemiah’s response to this latest threat? First, he dismissed the claims as fabrications invented by Sanballat. They had no substance to them. He recognised that his opponents were trying to make them afraid, and fear can make people stand still and worry about the consequences. Second, Nehemiah committed the matter to the Lord and asked for divine strength to continue in the task. We should note the connection between his petition and the letter. The letter was designed to weaken their resolve by creating fear and the prayer was for strength to continue in the work that God had given them. Nehemiah used the weapon of prayer in this situation of spiritual warfare.

The treachery of a false prophet (vv. 10-14)

The next stage in the process for Nehemiah occurred when the prophet Shemaiah asked Nehemiah to come and see him because he had a message for him. Nehemiah went because Shemaiah claimed to be a prophet (v. 12). The reason why Nehemiah went to see him was because Shemaiah had suggested that they should hide in the temple because some unnamed people were coming to kill Nehemiah. Shemaiah may have assumed that Nehemiah would automatically do what was suggested because a prophet had said it.

There was an obvious problem with Shemaiah’s suggestion, which was that only priests were allowed inside the temple. Nehemiah was aware of that prohibition and therefore refused to go there. Nehemiah realised that a true prophet of God would never tell someone to disobey God’s Word. He also wanted to tell Shemaiah that he had no intention to hide from any opponents – he had been given great courage by God.  It was not difficult for Nehemiah to work out that Sanballat and Tobiah were behind this suggestion with the aim of getting Nehemiah to stop obeying God’s Word and thereby to lose his reputation.

The enemy overstepped the mark with this attempt and Nehemiah also discovered that Shemaiah was not alone in the attempt to compromise him. Others of the prophetic group were involved. They wanted to frighten him, but Nehemiah’s response was his usual one, which was to bring their actions to the Lord in prayer and ask him to deal with them.

The target of the nobles (vv. 15-19)

In any case, the building of the wall was completed despite the attempts of the opponents to stop it. The non-Jews realised that Nehemiah’s God had helped him to complete the task and they became fearful and demoralised. Maybe they were concerned about what Nehemiah would do next. Yet at the time of triumph, opposition came from important Jews among the nobles who were in regular contact with Tobiah (perhaps they were the ones mentioned in chapter three who had refused to help rebuild the wall).

Why were they so friendly with Tobiah? There were two reasons: one was that they had promised to serve him (probably from before Nehemiah came to build the wall) and the second was brought about through marriage ties even although he was a Jew employed by the Persian emperor to look after the interests of the Ammonites. They probably made financial gains through their connection with Tobiah and did not want to lose out if Nehemiah continued to make progress. And as Warren Wiersbe pointed out, in this case, ‘The bonds of human connection were stronger than the bonds of spiritual affection.’

Since there was nothing that they could do about the wall now that it was completed, they resorted to praising Tobiah in Nehemiah’s presence and passed on to Tobiah ammunition to use in his letters to Nehemiah. Although the non-Jews had been deflated, those renegade Jews increased their opposition. The strongest and most persistent opponents came from among his own people who preferred to follow a rival leader not sent by God.

Lessons

The first lesson is an obvious one – the opponents of the growth of God’s kingdom will continue to hinder its progress. Even when the activity is nearing completion they can make attempts to spoil it. So believers have to be wide awake at all times. We must be as careful after an activity as we were during the activity. The attacks of Tobiah and the Jews came as the wall was finished. We have all heard the story of the man who decided to have a day of prayer by himself in order to deal with his personal pride. So he went and prayed on a hillside and after a few hours of intercession he felt that he had won the victory over his sin. As he made his way down the hillside, he saw his neighbours working in the fields and he said to himself that he had spent the day much better than they had. As that thought went through his mind he realised that his problem with pride defeated him after he had prayed against it.

The second lesson is stand for God whatever the cost and whoever is against the work of God. Nehemiah remained loyal to his God although powerful people in the political and religious areas opposed him. God had told him to build the wall, and therefore he would build it. Obedience is what God requires at all times. And it helped him continue because he realised that building the wall was a great work. He adhered to the principle that he should do what is right, of being inflexible in a correct way. What does God want us to do should be the guiding line always.

The third lesson is that Nehemiah committed his circumstances to God in prayer and left it with God how he should deal with opponents. This is clear evidence that he was a man of faith, that he was not pursuing his own agenda or trying to benefit himself at the expense of others. And people of faith today will do what they can for the kingdom of Jesus to prosper.