Reading: chapter 6 verses 1-19.
ill:
• A reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday.
• “What are you most proud of?” he asked.
• “Well, “ said the man, “I don’t have an enemy in the world.”
• “What a beautiful thought!
• How inspirational!” said the reporter.
• “Yep,” added the centenarian, “outlived every last one of them.”
Quote:
“Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes”.
Nehemiah’s enemies are identified for us by name in verse 4:
• “Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem and their followers”.
• So far in the book they had been the enemy without,
• In this chapter they try to change their tactics;
• And they will try to become the enemy within!
So far in the story:
• Under Nehemiah's gifted leadership,
• The people had completed rebuilding of the walls of the city of Jerusalem.
• Now all that remained to do was the restoration of the gates;
• Then when the city was secure,
• He could concentrate on strengthening of the community within those walls.
(1). The Intrigue (deception) (verses 1-4):
ill:
• F. E. Smith was a clever lawyer with a quick wit;
• Who served as the British attorney general from 1915 until 1919.
• On one occasion he cross-examined a young man;
• Who was claiming damages for an arm injury caused by the negligence of a bus driver.
• “Will you please show us how high you can lift your arm now?” asked Smith.
• The young man gingerly raised his arm to shoulder level, his face distorted with pain.
• “Thank you,” said Smith.
• “And now, could you show us how high you could lift it before the accident?”
• The young man eagerly shot his arm up above his head.
• You will not be surprised to know that he lost the case!
Using deception to gain an advantage is not a new thing;
• It happens today and it happened way back in Nehemiah times (chapter 6):
• With Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem & their followers.
• Having failed miserably;
• In their attempts to stop the workers from rebuilding the city walls,
• They decide to employ new tactics.
• From now on they will concentrate their attacks on Nehemiah himself.
• After all if you destroy Nehemiah the leader;
• His followers will have no-one to follow and to lead them!
Quote verses 1-2:
“When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates- 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono." “
In verses 1-2:
• The enemies of Nehemiah, suddenly want to become Nehemiah's friends:
• And they invite him to a conference down on the plain of Ono.
• Ono is a village situated halfway between Jerusalem and Samaria.
• It was a quiet, relaxing place.
These first two verses read like Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem had a genuine desire to make peace;
• It seems that they at long last realise they are fighting a losing battle;
• So they want to meet up with Nehemiah, cut their losses and join up with him!
• They choose a place halfway between them;
• They are saying to Nehemiah; “We are willing to meet you halfway, don’t be a bad neighbour”
• We have a saying; “I wasn’t born yesterday!”
• Nehemiah was aware of what the saying means. He too would not be easily taken in.
Ill:
• Norman “Kid” McCoy, who was welterweight boxing champion in 1896,
• He was also regarded as a formidable puncher,
• And was included in the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
• During one of his fights, McCoy discovered his opponent had a disability,
• He was fighting a contender who had the misfortune of being deaf.
• McCoy wasted no time in taking advantage of it.
• Near the end of the third round McCoy stepped back a pace;
• And pointed to his adversary’s corner, indicating that the bell had rung.
• “Thank you” said McCoy’s opponent. “very kind of you.”
• But the bell hadn’t rung at all,
• And as soon as the other boxer dropped his hands and turned away.
• McCoy immediately knocked him out.
Unlike McCoy’s opponent Nehemiah was not about to be taken in:
• Some commentators suggest that they were trying to trick him into leaving Jerusalem,
• Where he had armed support, to come to a conference where they could ambush him.
Ill:
• Ono was a quiet, relaxing place.
• It was an ideal place to ‘chill-out’ and take things easy!
• After all the hard work of rebuilding the walls;
• Nehemiah might be ready for a relaxing few days in a holiday resort environment.
• But Nehemiah senses danger: "they were scheming to harm me."
• And in verse So Nehemiah said, "Oh, no!" to Ono.
Quote verses 3-4:
“So I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer”.
Nehemiah’s answer is short and to the point:
• His priority is work, not rest.
• He wants to complete the job, then there will be time for relaxation
• Notice: four different times, Nehemiah had to decline their request to meet.
• They were applying continuing pressure to make him change his mind;
• But Nehemiah knew that if their offer was wrong the first time;
• It would still be wrong the third & fourth time, he had no reason to change his mind.
• Nehemiah knew his enemies and he was not willing to compromise with them;
• He stuck to the task God had called him to do!
Ill:
• Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin’ Big for Little Reasons,
• Describes one quiet night in early spring:
• Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying.
• I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt.
• What is to compare with wild geese across the moon?
• It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond.
• They heard the wild call they had once known.
• The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays.
• Their wings fluttered a feeble response.
• The urge to fly—to take their place in the sky for which God made them
• Was sounding in their feathered breasts,
• But they never raised from the water.
• The matter had been settled long ago.
• The corn of the barnyard
Nehemiah knew that to allow his enemies (Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem) into his camp:
• Would turn him and his workers from wild geese flying across the heavens;
• To tame mallards sitting on the pond.
• Swapping the excitement and freedom they were designed to know and enjoy;
• For the mundane life, held prisoners by the corn of the barnyard.
Ill:
• I read years ago of a missionary in China;
• Whose abilities were so outstanding that one of the American companies tried to hire him.
• They offered him an attractive job with a salary to match, but he turned it down.
• He told them that God had sent him to China as a missionary.
• He thought that would end the matter,
• But instead they came back with a better offer and an increase in salary.
• He turned that down too, but again they came back, doubling the financial package.
• Finally he said to them, "It's not your salary that's too little. It's the job that's too small!"
(2). The Innuendo (hidden suggestion) (5-9):
• When Nehemiah’s the enemies cannot accomplish his purpose by offering a fake peace,
• They switch back to their original scheme of sinister threats.
• They moves from political softball to political hardball.
• Take a look at verses 5-7:
“Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written:
"It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: 'There is a king in Judah!' Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together."
• Once again Sanballat tries an arm-twisting tactic designed to put Nehemiah under pressure!
• Sanballat is determined to force Nehemiah to yield to his request & fall into his trap.
• But Nehemiah resists Sanballat’s enticement;
• Because he sees it for what it really is, an enticement based upon lies.
Notice that it was an "unsealed letter."
• Nearly always letters to officials were rolled up;
• And then secured with seals so that only those with authority could open and read them.
• Sanballat wanted the general public to know the contents of this letter;
• Because he hoped to undermine Nehemiah's reputation and authority
• Sanballat deliberately sent a letter that was designed for everyone to read,
• So that the lie it contained;
• That is that ‘Nehemiah was trying to make himself king’.
• Would soon spread throughout the city and undermine Nehemiah’s credibility.
• And notice that little expression in verse 6: "And Geshem says its true."
• Geshem was an Arab leader who constantly opposed Nehemiah in the rebuilding of Jerusalem
• You can hardly take his word as an independent, honest witness;
• Ill: Gesham as a witness is like asking Casanova to speak about ‘faithfulness in marriage’
• This accusation in this open letter was a complete lie,
• Backed up by a totally unreliable witnesses.
Application: Aim to be a person who tells the truth!
Ill:
Famous Fibs That People Tell:
• “The check is in the mail.
• I’ll start my diet tomorrow.
• Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back.
• This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in.
• Telephone rings: “Hello Mr or Mrs?, I am not trying to sell you anything!”
• I just need five minutes of your time.
• Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
• It’s not the money, it’s the principle.
• Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit”.
• Two for those of us who are Christians:
• “I will keep that in confidence!”
• “Of course I will pray for you!”
Quote: Somebody Told It:
“First, somebody told it,
Then the room couldn’t hold it,
So the busy tongues rolled it
Till they got it outside.
Then the crowd came across it,
And never once lost it,
But tossed it and tossed it,
Till it grew long and wide.
This lie brought forth others,
Dark sisters and brothers,
And fathers and mothers—
A terrible crew.
And while headlong they hurried,
The people they flurried,
And troubled and worried,
As lies always do.
And so evil-bodied,
This monster lay goaded,
Till at last it exploded
In smoke and in shame.
Then from mud and from mire
The pieces flew higher,
And hit the sad victim
And killed a good name.”
• That was the intention of Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem;
• To discredit the name of Nehemiah.
Verses 8-9: Nehemiah responds.
8 I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head."
9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed."
But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."
NEHEMIAH RESPONDED TO THESE THREATS IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS:
• (a). He denied the rumour,
• "That is a lie. There is no truth in it."
• That's the best way to respond to a charge like this;
• Just a flat denial.
• He doesn't try to disprove the accusation but merely states,
• "That is a lie. There is no truth in it."
Ill:
• The great preacher and author G. Campbell Morgan was often;
• The target of savage gossip that accused him of unfaithfulness to the Christian faith.
• His usual approach was to say,
• "It will blow over. Meanwhile, I go quietly on with my work."
• Nehemiah would have approved of his approach.
• (b). He prayed to God for strength,
• "Now strengthen my hands."
• As was his practice,
• He responds with another "arrow prayer" (verse 9):
• Ill: Arrow prayers work effectively when they are backed up by regular times of prayer.
• Ill: Chapter 1 verse 4. “For some days I fasted and prayed”.
• (c). He went back to work.
• "Now strengthen my hands." – God heard his prayer!
• Nehemiah knew that his character was such;
• That no honest person would believe the false reports.
• His principle for living was that if he took care of our character,
• Then he would trust God to take care of his reputation.
(3). The Intimidation (Coercion) (vs 10-19):
Coercion is the practice of compelling a person to involuntarily behave in a certain way (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, intimidation or some other form of pressure or force.
verse 10:
“One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you."
Shemaiah, looks like a friend to Nehemiah but it turns out he is a foe (verse 12):
• Shemaiah had devised a clever plan for trapping Nehemiah.
• He shut himself up in his house;
• He gave the impression that, like Nehemiah, his life was in danger.
• When Nehemiah came to see him,
• Shemaiah suggested that they both take refuge in the temple,
• Where the enemy couldn't reach them.
• Notice that his words were very threatening:
• "They are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you".
• They sit behind curtains in semi-darkness, trying to create a sense of mystery,
• As though they know more about inscrutable things than others.
What he says sounds logical:
• But Shemaiah has taken a truth;
• And wrapped it up in a lie.
• It’s true that Nehemiah’s enemies wanted him dead;
• But the lie is “Going into the temple and shut the doors. They will not dare attack you there."
• That sounds good,
• But immediately Nehemiah detects that something is wrong.
• Had Nehemiah obeyed Shemaiah instruction;
• It would mean Nehemiah would have certainly been trapped and maybe even killed!
Ill:
• John Hus was a religious thinker and reformer,
• He was born in Southern Bohemia in 1369.
• He initiated a reform movement based on the ideas of John Wycliffe (1st English Bible).
• His followers became known as Hussites.
• The Catholic Church did not condone such uprisings,
• And Hus was excommunicated in 1411.
• And burned at the stake in Constance on July 6, 1415,
• Having been condemned by the Council of Constance, in an unfair trial.
John Hus was captured because:
• The kings of Italy and Bohemia both promised him safe transport and safe custody;
• Both, however, broke their promises,
• Earlier, Thomas Wentworth had carried a document to Hus;
• Which was signed by King Charles 1st which read,
• “Upon the word of a king you shall not suffer in life, honour, or fortune.”
• It was not long, however,
• Before Wentworth’s death warrant was signed by the same monarch!
• Nehemiah would not be taken in by a similar lie;
• He would not trust the word of a so-called ally.
Look how he answers him in verse 11-13:
“But I said, "Should a man like me run away?
Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!"
“I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me”.
Nehemiah rejected Shemaiah's proposal because it was contrary to the Law of Moses.
• Nehemiah knew that Shemaiah was a false prophet;
• Because the message he delivered was contradictory to the Word of God.
• He knew that it was forbidden for someone who was not a priest;
• To go beyond the altar of burnt offering at the temple.
In verse 14 Nehemiah meets this attack of the enemy by going to prayer once again:
“Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me”.
Verse 14 indicates that there was a conspiracy against Nehemiah among the prophets:
• Including a prophetess named Noadiah.
• This would have created a great deal of pressure for Nehemiah,
• For the Jews had great respect for their prophets.
• Nehemiah was outnumbered, yet he stood his ground.
• He was a layman opposed by a body of "professionals,"
• Yet he refused to give in.
• He prayed about them and left the matter with the Lord.
• In verses 9 and 14,
• We have the fifth and sixth of Nehemiah's "telegraph prayers";
• That he sent to the Lord in times of crisis.
• Of course, behind these brief intermittent prayers;
• Was evidence of a life of prayer that gave him the much needed strength for his task.
verses 15-16: Brings us to the end of this first phase of Nehemiah's work in:
“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul (October 2nd), in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”
• Even Nehemiah’s enemies had to admit that God was at work!
• This entire project was finished in just 52 days! (ill: Take note Multiplex - Wembley)
What a great finish to a hard battling chapter:
• Even Nehemiah’s foes must agree that God is at work with him.
• The evidence is undeniable!
• Notice: that does not mean that his enemies are through.
• In these closing verses 17-18:
• They will continue their tactics of opposing and distracting:
• Nehemiah was facing a constant conflict (war) and not just isolated battles!
Verses 17-18
“Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. 18 For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah.”
• That is simply saying that Tobiah (who was an Ammonite not an Israelite);
• Was opposed to Nehemiah. And he had intermarried with the Israelites.
• Taking advantage of that relationship,
• He sent letters out to Jews described as ‘noble’ and therefore influential.
• Tobiah wrote them letters and influenced their thinking.
• Instead of seeking the truth, the nobles believed the enemy's lies.
• Tobiah no doubt flattered them and made promises to them;
• And these ‘nobles’ foolishly believed him.
• The nobles secretly shared the letters with others,
• And thus the conspiracy grew.
• Tobiah was seeking to undermine Nehemiah's influence;
• By nothing more than mere gossip.
Quote: Morris Mandel:
“Gossip is the most deadly microbe. It has neither legs nor wings.
It is composed entirely of tales, and most of them have stings.
• Tobiah would continue undermine Nehemiah's influence;
• By using the very effective weapon called gossip.
Verse 19:
“Moreover, they kept reporting to me his (that is Tobiah’s) good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.”
• Instead of siding with the truth and with Nehemiah.
• These ‘nobles’ sided with Tobiah.
• They id this because he related to them in marriage;
• Saying goes: “Blood is thicker than water”.
• They were blinded by lies and flattery and out of touch with reality;
• Sadly there was no light in them!
At the end of chapter 6 we reach the end of part one of the story:
• Verse 15 tells us: "The wall was completed".
• From now on it will be a time of transition for Nehemiah.
• He must now protect what he has accomplished.
• How he does this is the theme of the rest of the book.
2 applications as we finish:
1. As we close this passage,
2. Let's ask God to apply this passage to our lives. I see at least two action steps:
(1). Practice saying, "yes" to God's priorities.
• The best way to not be distracted from God’s ways;
• Is by being attracted to those things that are on the heart of God.
• Once we're aware of what those are, and are attracted to them,
• We can focus our energies into accomplishing them.
Ill:
• I heard a story about a Native American;
• Who left the reservation to join his cousin who lived in the city.
• One day, as they were walking down a busy street,
• The Native American said, "I hear a cricket."
• His city cousin was amazed because all he could hear was the traffic.
• After a short search, the man reached down and picked up the cricket.
• When he stood up,
• He pulled some change out of his pocket and dropped it on the sidewalk.
• The noise was no louder than the cricket's,
• But immediately several pedestrians stopped and turned toward the sound.
• The man then turned to his cousin and said,
• "See, people hear what's important to them."
Question:
• What are you hearing today?
• What is it that's important to you?
• Are you locked into God's kingdom purposes or are you focused on a bunch of other things?
(2). Practice saying, "no" to the enemies (devil's) distractions.
• I don't know what distractions you're faced with;
• Chances are they are totally different to what distracts me.
• Dare we pray and ask the Holy Spirit;
• To help us identify those things that are distracting us from God's priorities.
• Is it a friend? A relationship?
• An activity? Your money? Your possessions?
• Your thought life? Your career?
Ill:
• Someone sent me this fictional report;
• Of a worldwide convention that Satan and his demons participated in.
• In the devil's opening address to his followers, he said,
• "We can't keep Christians from going to church but we can steal their time.
• Let's keep them busy in the non-essentials of life
• And invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds...keep them busy, busy, busy!
• And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk;
• So that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.
• Let's crowd their lives with so many good things;
• That they have no time to seek the best things."
Conclusion:
• Friends, the enemy will try to distract you.
• Let us make sure that God's priorities become our priorities,
• May that be said of us!
