Introduction: False prophets didn’t die out when all Israel was carried off to captivity. At least two are mentioned by name, plus there was an unspecified group of other false prophets. All of them had one common goal, though, and that was to get Nehemiah discouraged, or as he put it, “[they] would have put me in fear (Neh. 6:14)”.
Full disclosure: Sermon Central has previously accepted a submission of mine regarding the one-sentence prayers of Nehemiah (outline form). The passage here contains two of these prayers. This work is different, focusing more on the false prophets than Nehemiah’s prayers.
1 The Troubles Begin
Text: Nehemiah 6:1-9, KJV: 1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) 2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. 3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? 4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. 5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; 6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. 7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. 8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. 9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
The first several chapters of Nehemiah’s book describe how he learned of Jerusalem’s situation while he was a cupbearer for the King of Persia. Nehemiah asked permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the king granted that request. Now Nehemiah and the people around Jerusalem were rebuilding the walls but the other people around Jerusalem weren’t happy about this.
Here in chapter 6, we read that three of Nehemiah’s chief enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem/Gashmu, were now engaged in propaganda warfare. Previously, these three had tried to get Nehemiah to meet them (!) somewhere away from Jerusalem. According to Barnes’ commentary (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/nehemiah/6.htm), the suggested location was maybe 25 to 30 miles away from Jerusalem and according to Ellicott’s commentary, (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/nehemiah/6.htm), close to the borders of Philistia (Philistine territory).
Verse 3 has Nehemiah’s report that on at least four occasions, the three others had tried to get him to meet at Ono but Nehemiah said “I’m not coming.” This was a wise choice as Nehemiah had figured out they wanted “to do [him] mischief”. Charles Swindoll’s book about Nehemiah, “Hand Me Another Brick”, has more information about this incident, as well as another look at other parts of the book of Nehemiah.
Needless to say, the trio of enemies was not happy that Nehemiah had not taken the bait, so to speak, and they tried this blatant lie as propaganda. And after four “invitations” to meet at Ono, Sanballat sent a servant with a letter accusing Nehemiah of setting himself up as king, that he was going to get the Jews to rebel against the king of Persia, and that Nehemiah had even prophets to proclaim Nehemiah as king! And in one of the most obvious “let’s talk about this” moments in history, Sanballat, et al., invited Nehemiah to “take counsel together.”
Nehemiah replied with a classic statement: paraphrased, it’s “You’re making up all of this!” Nehemiah realized that the enemies had “made us afraid” by saying “we’ll weaken their hands so they can’t finish the wall!” This led to one of Nehemiah’s sentence prayers, “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
After all this, Nehemiah seemed to be able to focus on rebuilding the wall, but there was more trouble to come his way—and that, from some unexpected sources.
2 The Troubles Proceed
Text: Nehemiah 6:10-14, KJV: 10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. 11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. 12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
Nehemiah seems to have silenced Sanballat and Tobia, for the time being, in regard to their threats and desires to see things left like they were, namely, with the city walls not yet complete. After all, walls were protection for any city and even Solomon 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 (KJV).” Now he’s going to visit a man named Shemaiah.
We’re never told just why Nehemiah paid a visit to Shemaiah except that it may have had something to do with Shemaiah being “shut up.” There are various interpretations of that term, ranging from being “shut up” into a particular type of service, to being perhaps ill or in quarantine, to being restrained in some aspect, or according to one translation, Shemaiah was “a secret informer (https://biblehub.com/text/nehemiah/6-10.htm)”, Whatever caused Shemaiah to be “shut up”, it was enough for Nehemiah to visit him. This speaks to Nehemiah’s character, as he was the governor and the king’s representative. In other words, Nehemiah held high rank but he was still willing to associate with people in just about any social status.
Sadly, Shemaiah was a false prophet, as we’ll see. Shemaiah asked Nehemiah to do something illegal, to meet inside the temple! We need to remember that during the days when Israel worshiped at the tabernacle—before Solomon built the first Temple—the “compound’ was curtained off and nobody but priests and Levites were permitted inside the curtains or walls. The LORD told Moses that if a “stranger (or, layman, outsider, unauthorized person, all per various translations of Numbers 1:51)” came near the Tabernacle, that person was to be put to death.
So, then, what was Shemaiah really asking Nehemiah to do? He had told Nehemiah that “they”, whoever they were, planned to kill Nehemiah—but, oh yeah, you’ll be safe in the temple.
Really?
Something to keep in mind or remember was that this temple was the one built after the Jews had returned from captivity. Solomon’s temple, built many years before, was burned to the ground when the Babylonians captured Judah, the southern kingdom. The glory of the LORD had appeared in that first Temple, but had departed (see Ezekiel 10-11) and there is no mention that the glory of the LORD ever appeared here. Even so, the inside of the Temple was no place for anyone not a priest of Levite and apparently Nehemiah knew this.
And Nehemiah also discovered just why Shemaiah had spoken to him like he did—Shemaiah was hired, by Tobiah and Sanballat, to frighten Nehemiah! We’re never told just how Nehemiah arrived at this conclusion, but he got word of it and he got wise. He then replied, in so many words, “You honestly think someone like me would run for his life? And to go into the Temple, of all places? Not gonna happen, friend!”
Yes, Nehemiah had learned that this was all part of a set up or attempt to use this to create an evil report against him. And after this, Nehemiah uttered another one-sentence prayer: My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.“
As an aside, Nehemiah also mentioned another prophetess, Noadiah, but we know nothing about her except she tried, like Shemaiah, to put Nehemiah in fear. Further, besides those two, Nehemiah mentioned “the rest of the prophets” who attempted to do the same thing. We don’t have the names of these so-called “prophets” but if they or anyone else is trying to discourage God’s man from doing God’s business, it’s pretty sure they are not true prophets.
Now, what can we take from this? First, just about any time a God-called and God-appointed leader comes along, some will follow but others will not. In current news (February 2025) and in other periods, one may read about “slow-walking” or deliberately taking more than a reasonable period of time to accomplish a given task. Some might engage in deliberate sabotage or trying to destroy what the leader tries to do. Others are double-agents, proclaiming allegiance to the leader and the program but secretly passing information (leaks to hostile parties, e.g.) to those who don’t want the program to succeed.
And we can’t forget those who flat-out or clearly express hatred towards leaders. Tobiah and Sanballat tried numerous times, for example, and hinted they would make an evil report about Nehemiah, maybe to the Persian king himself. Who knows.
Now, I’m not sure I’d have the patience and/or confidence of Nehemiah but there is one thing to be sure of. If our Lord brings us to any type of situation, He will never abandon us. One of the most comforting verses in Scripture is “Lo, I am with you always!” and when our Lord said it, He meant every word.
Sure, beware of false prophets and their attacks. Keep your courage and remember, the same God Who was with Nehemiah is with us, too!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
