Nehemiah’s Third Prayer: Asking God To Intervene Series

Introduction: Nehemiah had been in Jerusalem long enough for the people living there to begin rebuilding the city walls. Chapter 3 gives an account of the various groups who took part in this rebuilding effort. By now, the enemies of Judah had noticed and were not happy.

1 The Words of the Enemies

Text: Nehemiah 4:1-3, KJV: 1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

This passage begins with the words of a few men who were mentioned already in chapter 2. Sanballat, a Horonite. The location is uncertain but Ellicott believed he was from Beth-horon in Ephraim (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/nehemiah/2.htm); Benson believed he was from Horonaim in Moab (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/nehemiah/2.htm). Either way, he had no great desire to see the Jews coming back to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:10 and 4:1).

His “servant”, Tobiah, was an Ammonite which was problematic as well. The line of Judah’s kings can be traced back to Rehoboam, whose mother, Naamah, was an Ammonitess (1 Kings 14:31). Because of this marriage, that tribe’s DNA was blended, so to speak, into that of every future king of Judah including the Messiah, Jesus!

But even though these two were in power, and (distantly) related to the Jews, both of them were furious when Nehemiah led the Jews to rebuild the wall. Sanballat, especially, made some almost blustering charges—look at these:

First, he called the Jews “feeble” and wondered, “What are these feeble Jews trying to do?” As I recall, there weren’t too many people left behind in Jerusalem once Babylon had taken the city and force-marched the Jews to Babylon itself. Jeremiah chapters 39 and following describe some of the closing events of Judah’s history at the time. Even with one or two or more groups of Jews returning to Jerusalem, there didn’t seem to be many Jews in the vicinity at the time.

Notice, too, that Sanballat spoke “before the army of Samaria”. Something to keep in mind is that the Samaritans were basically a mixed race of Hebrews, left behind after the Assyrians captured the northern kingdom about 200 years before; and various other ethnic groups from various parts of the then-Assyrian empire. 2 Kings 17 gives a brief account of who had stayed in the north, plus the others who were transported there. One of the strangest evaluations of that entire situation is summed up in one sentence: “They feared the LORD and served their own gods.” I find it odd for one reason in particular—these pagan deities hadn’t helped them when the Assyrians came to town so why keep on worshiping deities who could not protect you?

But to return to “the army of Samaria”: was Sanballat considering military action?

After that, Sanballat asked another question, “Will they fortify themselves?” One obvious answer would be yes! After all, Jerusalem had been a walled city for hundreds of years before the Babylonians destroyed the gates and walls. Solomon might well have had a secured, fortified, city like Jerusalem in mind when he wrote in Proverbs 25:28, ‘He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls”. Besides that, even though Nehemiah had recorded that most if not all the Jews had weapons (Neh. 4:17-18), there didn’t seem to be an organized or standing army, not even a militia or “reserve” unit. I wonder what had happened to the swords, shields, and other weapons that had been constructed back in David’s time and were still in use many years later (2 Kings 11:10, e.g.)

It goes without saying that self-defense is one of the greatest abilities to receive, one of the hardest to maintain, and one which so many, too many, desire to take away. Just look at what’s happened time and again when “gun control” is more or less rigidly enforced against citizens but hardly if ever against criminals. Self-defense should be guaranteed, not optional, in my opinion.

Then he asked another question, “Will they sacrifice?” Part of this may seem to be a legitimate question, as there had been no Temple in 70 years or so. Without a temple, there didn’t seem to be any sacrifices, offerings, or anything else the Jews had done as they worshiped in the Temple. The books of Kings and Chronicles record several times when the Jews did worship, praise, and offer sacrifices. Depending on the chronology, either the Temple had not been built yet or Sanballat was making fun of the Temple which had been recently built.