The problems never end for Nehemiah. He faced constant challenges in doing the work of God.
• It started with discouraging words of ridicule and intimidation, and then grew into more intense, life-threatening situation that requires them to carry arms.
• The problems came from without, and then later from within, among his own people. They quarrelled and the work was stopped momentarily.
• By God’s grace, the sinners understood God’s will and repented. Nehemiah set them a good example and the issue was resolved quickly.
When the dust settled and the wall reached its full height in Nehemiah 6, we might think that it would be the end of his woes. Or was it? Let’s find out - Neh 6:1-4.
Despite the trials & tribulations, the work had continued and the wall reached its full height with all the gaps covered and only the doors to the gates left to be installed.
• Even at this point the enemies did not give up. They could not do much about the wall now that it has already been fully built.
• Sanballat and Geshem turned their attention to attacking Nehemiah. Destroy him and the city would be powerless.
We’ve seen such plots repeated in history.
• Satan starts off seeking to destroy God’s work, and then he hits at the people, creating disunity and divisions. And if that fails, he attacks the leader.
• Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, that what Jesus says in Matt 26:31 (quoting from Zech 13:7).
The enemies plotted to deceive/distract him, defame/slander him and to discredit/dishonour him.
Sanballat and Geshem invited Nehemiah to meet them in one of the villages NW of Jerusalem, about 40km away in the plain of Ono.
• No reason was given. It looked like a “peace talk” of some kind, like Trump-Kim summit; “Let’s discuss how to co-exist peacefully going forward.”
• But Nehemiah discerned it differently. He suspected foul play. “They were scheming to harm me.” (6:2b)
• How did he know? Discernment. We’ve seen that in Nehemiah over the course of the book.
It’s actually common sense, from a man who walks closely with God.
• Ono is one day’s journey away to the North-West and near to the border of Samaria – Sanballat’s province.
• Why would you want to travel a day’s journey for a talk, away from the protection of your people, to a place near to your enemy’s territory?
• “Common sense is the most common thing that is uncommon to common people.” Godly people are blessed with anointed ‘common sense’ or spiritual discernment.
Nehemiah said, “I am carrying on a great project, and I cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (6:3)
• I’ve a more important task to do in this GREAT project and I should not STOP.
This reminded me of a story of a missionary in China whose talents and 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 a third time, doubling the financial package with added benefits.
Finally he said to them, “It’s not your salary that’s too little. It’s the job that’s too small!”
Nehemiah: “I’m not going to stop this GREAT WORK of God to meet up with you.”
• Notice the enemies did not made any attempt to explain the need to meet.
• Obviously so because they had no good reason for it. If they were sincere, they could have arrange to meet Nehemiah in Jerusalem itself.
• Nothing was said because they had nothing to say. They just repeated the same invite FOUR times and Nehemiah said NO four times. He stood firm.
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The enemies changed their tactic. Read Neh 6:5-9.
• Sanballat sent his servant to Nehemiah with an unsealed letter.
• Unsealed meaning it’s an open letter, which would have been read on its delivery from Samaria to Jerusalem.
• It was designed to be so. Any fabricated news would have been talked about widely by the time Nehemiah got to read it for the first time.
The message? It was rumoured that Nehemiah and his people were planning a revolt. This was the reason why they were rebuilding the wall.
• And Nehemiah was planning to make himself the King of Judah, with arrangements already made for the prophets to declare him king.
• Even Geshem would testify to it that this was true. How odd, coming from one of their own. They created a fake news and rubber-stamped it themselves.
Insinuation needs no proof, just like any defamation or slander or gossip.
• You just need to say it and have enough people to repeat it. “Anything that is viral is taken as true.”
• And they threatened to bring this report to King Artaxerxes if Nehemiah refuses to cooperate with them.
Nehemiah set the record straight: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” (6:8) ESV “you are inventing them”.
• Nehemiah read their motive. 6:9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”
What could he do? Pray. Nehemiah prayed. “Now strengthen my hands.” (6:9b)
• He could not stop the rumours but he could find strength in God. That was what he was accustomed to doing at every crisis.
• We sense the weariness in this one-liner plea. Nehemiah has been facing wave after wave of problems that did not stop. He was likely physically tired, mentally stretched, emotionally drained.
• But yet, by God’s grace, he stood firm and faced each crisis with God’s help.
He prayed! Prayer rejuvenated him. Prayer rejuvenates because it trains our eyes to look to God. It directs our mind to God, away from self and the circumstances.
• We cannot stop the storms, but we can anchor our thoughts firmly in God and find His strength to weather the storms. We stand strong through prayer.
• God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psa 46:1)
• 46:2-3 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
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Was this the end of his troubles? Nope.
• Before he ended this chapter announcing to us the completion of the work, Nehemiah recounted yet another crisis that almost destroyed his credibility.
• Read Neh 6:10-14.
Shemaiah, a so-called prophet, was paid to lure Nehemiah into the Temple.
• He invited him to his house and related this message: “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.” (6:10)
• Sounds good. On the pretence that this was a Word from God to protect Nehemiah.
Nehemiah discerned that something was not right.
• Firstly, it hasn’t been God’s way for him to run away from the work or flee from troubles. “Should a man like me run away?” (6:11)
• Secondly, to hide in the Temple wasn’t right. The term “inside/within the Temple” refers likely to “the Holy Place” and not just the Temple enclosure because they could close the doors and hide.
• Doing this would be a violation of God’s Law, which permits only priests to enter the Holy Place. Nehemiah would have sinned by hiding in the Holy Place.
Any idea or suggestion that is contrary to God’s Word can never be from God.
• We don’t have to consider it; we don’t need to rationalise it; we just drop it. God does not contradict Himself.
• Clearly He did not send Shemaiah. 6:12-13 12I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13He 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.
It was an attempt to discredit him. They enemies tried to deceive him from God’s will, to defame him through lies, and now to discredit him by tempting him to sin.
Nehemiah prayed yet again (6:14), “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.” Let God judge.
• We do not know who this prophetess was but apparently there was a conspiracy against Nehemiah coming from her and a group of false prophets. They tried to intimidate him.
• It was another very stressful situation for Nehemiah as Jewish people has great respect for prophets.
• But these were false prophets, and Nehemiah was outnumbered.
• Yet he stood his ground. He wasn’t intimidated.
He prayed! “O my God, remember them!” He committed it to God and asked Him to “remember them”.
The enemies had tried to intimidate him many times in this chapter but failed.
• They tried to deceive him, defame him, and discredit him, but none of these attempts succeeded.
• Because Nehemiah trusted God and prayed. These personal attacks did not get to him.
• Nehemiah was resolute in doing what was right and righteous. He wasn’t beaten by what people say or do. He was concerned about God’s work and doing God’s will.
Nehemiah set us a good example. Fear God, not men. Seek God’s favour and not the approval of men.
• This is the mark of a servant of God. Not that we have no trouble in life or ministry – we may have lots of them, from without and sometimes from within; against the works and sometimes personal attacks – but our trust is still in God, the God who called us and who alone can give us the strength to weather the storms.
• We pray and keep faith with God. We remain steadfast and faithful to the end.
