And it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobijah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),
The wall is closed; only the gates still wait for their doors. That one gap is what Nehemiah's enemies notice, and it decides how they attack next.
Sanballat heard not that the work had stalled, but that it was nearly done.
The wall had been rebuilt, but the doors had not yet been set up in the gates. In only a few days, the city would be protected against a surprise attack. Before it is too late, the enemy hurries to take advantage of this weak point. First of all, they must get rid of the leader of the people.
A wall with no gaps changed what the enemy could try next.
"No breach" was left in the wall, and so there was now no hidden way of entrance. The doors were still unhung, but these were open to view, and by these only could the enemies of God's people approach. It was time therefore to put out their final effort, and so they propose a conference, as if they too were interested in the welfare of Israel!
These three are only the latest in a line of opponents.
One group of men succeeds the other in their hatred against the work of God, some more violent, some less. But the opposition remains. The enemy who uses all these instruments has not changed. Oh, if only faith would never allow itself to be stopped by the obstacles which the agents of Satan raise up! If only we understood well that the work of God cannot be destroyed, because God remains over and above all!
The attack now changes shape, and it targets one man.
Nehemiah has faced, and triumphed over, the open opposition of the enemy; he has met too the corruptions of the flesh. Now he is called on to "stand against the wiles of the devil." The enemy comes with the appearance of friendly interest in Nehemiah and his work. By subtlety he will seek to lure him away from the simplicity of faith in God. In that way he would bring the work to nothing by causing the fall of the leader.
The change of tone calls for no change of judgment.
The first plan was a supposedly friendly interview; but the friendship of the enemy is no more to be trusted than his hostile plans are to be feared.
Stanley puts the invitation into the enemies' own words, and the place they name carries weight.
It is as if they said: do not be so narrow and exclusive. Come down from your sacred enclosure to "one of the villages in the plain of Ono." "Let us meet together." Come down, and give us your approval there. What was this plain of Ono? Nehemiah 11:35 says, "Lod and Ono, the valley of craftsmen." Leave the only centre of worship inside those walls of Jerusalem, and come down to one of the villages of "the craftsmen." They knew well that if the true worship of God was set up inside that holy enclosure, they would feel, like the tradesmen of Ephesus in a later day, that their trade was in danger.
Nehemiah weighed the invitation against the work God had given him.
It seems that Sanballat and Geshem offered a friendly meeting on neutral ground, suggesting some kind of alliance. But Nehemiah, whole-hearted as he was, refused to come down and stop the important God-given work. He would not turn aside from the place given to him by the Lord and the work which he had been called to do. Keeping this separation was his safeguard.
Did any of this hold up the work?
The reader will note that, though this chapter is given to exposing the enemy's schemes, the work of building the wall was in no way hindered. The faith and courage of Nehemiah never faltered... "So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days." "So" is a remarkable word here. It might mean "in this way," or "despite this," or "in spite of it all."
- Timing. The enemy moved when the wall was whole and the doors were still missing. Pressure comes hardest when the work is nearly finished.
- Constancy. The names change through Ezra and Nehemiah. The hostility behind them does not, and God still finishes His work.
- Change of weapon. Having failed at force and at internal trouble, the enemy switches to friendly interest, aiming at the leader rather than the wall.
- Distrust. The enemy's friendship deserves no more trust than his threats deserve fear. The invitation to Ono was a call to leave the place God had given.
- Result. The schemes fill the chapter, but the wall still went up in fifty-two days — the "so" of verse 15 reads as "in spite of all this."
that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
The wall is finished and the gaps are closed. Now the enemies who once threatened violence turn polite: they invite Nehemiah to a friendly meeting on neutral ground, and he must judge what lies behind it.
Sanballat and Geshem had fought the rebuilding in the open. Here their approach changes:
Nehemiah has faced the open opposition of the enemy, and won. He has also met the corruptions of the flesh. Now he is called to "stand against the wiles of the devil." The enemy pretends to take a friendly interest in Nehemiah and his work. By this subtlety he will try to draw him away from simple faith in God, and so bring the work to nothing by causing the fall of the leader in the work.
The change of tone is no reason to relax:
The first plan was a friendly-looking meeting. But the enemy's friendship deserves no more trust than his hostile plans deserve fear.
The enemy picked his moment:
The wall had been rebuilt, but the doors were not yet set up in the gates. In a few more days the city would be safe from a surprise attack. So the enemy hurries to use this weak point before it is too late. First of all, the enemy must get rid of the leader of the people.
The unhung doors also explain why the enemy proposed a meeting instead of an ambush:
"No gap" was left in the wall, so there was now no hidden way in. The doors were still unhung, but anyone could see them, and the enemies of God's people could only come that way. So it was time for their final effort. They propose a conference, as if they too cared about the welfare of Israel!
The meeting place mattered. Ono lay outside Jerusalem, and the invitation asked Nehemiah to come down to it:
It is as if they said: Do not be so narrow and exclusive. Come down from your sacred enclosure to "one of the villages in the plain of Ono." Come down, and approve us there. And what was this plain of Ono? Turn to Nehemiah 11:35, "Lod and Ono, the valley of craftsmen." Leave the only centre of worship inside those walls of Jerusalem, and come down to one of the villages of "the craftsmen." They knew well what would happen if the true worship of God was set up inside that holy enclosure. They would feel as the Ephesians did later: their trade was in danger. "Sirs," said the men of Ephesus, "you know that from this business we have our wealth." (Acts 19:23-41.)
More than Nehemiah's safety hung on staying inside the city:
You see, it was not merely some ordinary invitation. The glory of God was bound up with it. God had given the remnant a city, the city where His eyes were. While they were not in that place, while it lay a mere heap of ruins, it was plain that it might be an object of pity; but there was no witness for the Lord there.
Nehemiah saw the intention behind the invitation at once. What let him see it was not cleverness:
But the servant of the Lord who walks in His presence, and pursues the path of His will with set purpose, is never deceived by Satan's tricks... He knew that darkness could have no communion with light. He knew that Satan could take no pleasure in the progress of the Lord's work, and that hating his Master, he must hate His servant too.
The real pressure in this invitation was to stop being separate:
If he cannot succeed by attacking the captives from outside, and if the trouble inside is settled, he will now try to make the remnant less exclusive... Here is the cry for union: "Why are you so exclusive? Can you not join with us in the work of the Lord?" ... God in His grace has called us out from the evil that has come into His Church. There is a distance between the ground we now stand on and the ground we came out from. We must be careful not to make that distance look smaller to others, and not to lose the sense of it in our own souls.
The offer looks reasonable, and that is the difficulty:
But when the truth of God or the work of God is in question, there is no room for compromise. The servant of God today may not fear physical harm. Yet he knows that what is of God is not open to human arrangement, however reasonable such a compromise may look.
- Timing. The gaps were closed, but the doors were not yet hung. The enemy moved while that last weak point lasted.
- Tone. Open attack gave way to friendly interest. The enemy's friendship deserves no more trust than his threats deserve fear.
- Ground. "Come down" meant leaving Jerusalem, the one place where the worship of God stood as a witness. Ono was neutral ground.
- Discernment. Nehemiah saw through the offer because he walked in God's presence with a fixed purpose, not because he was cleverer than his enemies.
- Refusal. A reasonable-sounding compromise is still a compromise. What is of God is not open to human negotiation.
And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you?
The wall is almost finished, and the enemies who tried force, mockery and threats now try friendliness. They invite Nehemiah down to a meeting on neutral ground, and he answers that the work in his hands is too great to leave.
The offer came at the one moment when the enemy still had a way in. One writer notes both the timing and the friendly mask:
"No breach" was left in the wall, and so there was now no hidden way of entrance. The doors were not yet hung, but anyone could see them, and the enemies of God's people could only come in that way. So it was time for their final effort. They propose a conference, as if they too cared about the welfare of Israel!
A friendly tone is no proof of a friendly heart:
The first plan was a meeting that claimed to be friendly. But the enemy's friendship deserves no more trust than his hostile plans deserve fear.
The enemy's word was "come down," and the place they named carried its own message:
It is as if they said, Do not be so narrow and exclusive. Do come down from your sacred enclosure to "one of the villages in the plain of Ono." "Let us meet together." Do come down, and give us your approval in the plain of Ono. And what was this plain of Ono? Nehemiah 11:35 calls it "Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen." Do leave the only centre of worship inside those walls of Jerusalem, and come down to any one of the villages of "the craftsmen."
There were reasonable arguments for going. Nehemiah weighed the work instead.
They were driven by very different motives. Even so, the natural mind might say that courtesy required Nehemiah to agree to the meeting and hear what they had to say. Surely there can be no harm in listening to their suggestions even if it is impossible to agree. However, such arguments carry no weight with Nehemiah, even if anyone made them… He escapes the trap by seeing how great the work is that he is doing.
What made the work great was what hung on it:
You see, it was not merely some ordinary invitation. It was something with which the glory of God was bound up. The people who had returned were not yet in the place God had given them, the city where His eyes were. While it lay a mere heap of ruins, it might well draw pity. But there was no witness for the Lord there.
Nehemiah does not offer to come later. Even a short absence would cost the work:
Doing a great work, his business was to keep going, even if friends had asked him to leave it; and to leave it even for a moment would make it stop. The Lord's work, if it truly is His work, is not something to pick up and put down as we please. When He puts it into our hands, it claims our first and constant attention.
The enemy would not accept the first refusal, and Nehemiah did not improve on it. Wearing him down was the plan:
If faithfulness marked Nehemiah in refusing to go, divine wisdom is just as clear in the way he answered. It was "after the same manner." The circumstances had not changed, and so his first answer was enough. But Satan was working on the weakness of the human heart. He knew that persistence often betrays people. It was so with Samson. He had as much reason to refuse at the end as at the start, but Delilah pressed him with her words day after day and urged him, until he told her all his heart.
Commentators read the plain of Ono as any meeting ground where the line God has drawn disappears. Stepping onto it has a price:
This was a beautiful answer. If we leave in practice the ground of complete separation our Lord has called us to, we will just as surely see our strength go. Any wavering brings in weakness. The world says, "Nothing succeeds like success." Among believers it is, "Nothing succeeds like consistency."
- Great — Nehemiah measures the invitation against the work, not against courtesy. The work is great because God's glory and His witness in the city hang on it.
- Down — the enemy's word is exact. Ono was the valley of craftsmen, away from the one centre of worship. Every compromise is an invitation to come down.
- Friendly — force had failed, so they offered a conference, as if they cared about Israel too. Their friendship deserves no more trust than their threats deserve fear.
- Again — four invitations, one unchanged answer. Nothing had changed, so the first reply still stood. Samson fell to repetition, not to argument.
- Consistent — wavering costs strength. Steady refusal, not clever talk, keeps the work going.
And they sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them in the same manner.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Then sent Sanballat his servant to me in this manner the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand,
Four times Sanballat has approached Nehemiah, and four times Nehemiah has refused. The fifth message comes as a letter carried open in the servant's hand, where anyone can read it.
One writer warns that a firm refusal can weaken over time, and explains why this letter was left open.
This refusal does not repel the enemy. It often happens that we oppose him with a firm refusal at the beginning. Then, when we have grown only a little weary, we end by giving in to him. After four fruitless attempts, Sanballat makes a fifth, with a most dangerous trick. He sends his servant with an open letter in his hand. Anyone might know what that letter contained, and the enemy made sure to spread it. The accusations and threats it held had to reach the ears of the people, so that Sanballat could win recruits.
The wording of the letter sounds like concern for Nehemiah's good name. Its openness gives it away.
The letter uses friendly terms and pretends great concern for Nehemiah's reputation. It claims to fear that his name will suffer from certain damaging reports about him and his work. But as an "open letter" it has one deliberate purpose: to damage Nehemiah by spreading evil reports abroad.
Sanballat does not accuse outright. He passes on what others are said to be saying, and names a witness, Gashmu. Commentators count the charges differently, but each one leads to the same danger — a report to the king.
He put on a very clever mask. In his letter he manages to hint at three distinct charges. If these charges reached the king, they might well endanger Nehemiah's character, if not his life. First, he speaks of rebellion, and even produces a witness — Gashmu or Geshem, the Arabian. Then he suggests what would go with rebellion, if the first claim were true: that Nehemiah's aim in building the wall was to make himself king. And finally, he says people reported that Nehemiah had appointed prophets to preach about him in Jerusalem, saying, "There is a king in Judah."
One of the charges rests on nothing more than a rumour.
There is a rumour spreading (how often souls are frightened by these words: "there is a rumour!") that you have ambitious plans. You want to become their king. They will accuse you of trying to take the place of the ruling authority.
Nehemiah's reply in the next verse is one sentence: "No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind." Notice what he does not do.
Nehemiah will not be drawn into any argument with the tempter, and he gives no explanation of his work or his motives. With great wisdom and restraint he denies the accusation and exposes where these evil reports came from. He sees too that the real aim of the "open letter" is to terrify the people. It would lead them to think they are tied to a rebel plotting against the king. Terrified like this, their hands would be "weakened from the work." But, as always with Nehemiah, God was his resource. The enemy attacked Nehemiah to weaken the hands of the people. Nehemiah turns to God to strengthen his own hands, so that he could support the people.
Agreeing to meet would have told the watching people something about Nehemiah.
Satan's method is always to draw us off the ground of faith in the living God. In this case Nehemiah saw their aim: to make the people of God afraid of what the authorities might do. But fear is not faith. If Sanballat could tempt Nehemiah into meeting him, even the Jews would conclude that Nehemiah was afraid. Their confidence in a man of faith would be shaken. Let us not fear any kind of threat if we are doing what the Lord has sent us to do.
One writer points to who stands behind such attacks.
As it was in Nehemiah's day, so it is still. Wherever people do the work of the Lord and God's servants labour to glorify Him, the enemy will rise up and hinder the work. When the Lord opens a door, then many adversaries will appear. The sneers, the hatred, the tricks and the lies of the world are the same today. Behind them stands the same person who acted through Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem — Satan, the god of this age.
- Persistence. Four refusals did not stop the enemy. He came a fifth time, counting on weariness to soften the answer.
- Publicity. Sanballat left the letter open on purpose. He wanted the people to read the charge, not just Nehemiah.
- Pretence. Friendly concern for his reputation hid three charges: rebellion, crowning himself king, and appointed prophets. Each was aimed at the king's ear.
- Precision. Nehemiah gave no explanation and no debate, only a flat denial that named the charge as invented.
- Prayer. The attack aimed to weaken the workers' hands. Nehemiah turned to God to strengthen his own, so he could hold up the people.
in which was written It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says [it, that] thou and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thou buildest the wall, and according to these words thou wilt become their king.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And thou hast also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning thee at Jerusalem saying, There is a king in Judah! And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.
Sanballat's fifth message came as an open letter . Anyone could read it on the way. It claimed Nehemiah was building the wall to crown himself, and had hired prophets to announce it. Why send an accusation unsealed? And how should a servant of God answer a charge that is false but almost believable?
The letter came unsealed, carried in the open. Writers see that as part of the attack.
After four unfruitful efforts, Sanballat tries a fifth time, with a most dangerous trick. He sends his servant with an open letter in his hand. Everyone might know what that letter contained, and the enemy did not hold back from spreading it. The accusations and threats in it had to reach the ears of the people, to win supporters for Sanballat.
The letter sounds as if Sanballat were shielding Nehemiah from gossip. Underneath, it stacks one charge on top of another.
The third snare is the trick of the "open letter" (6, 7). It is worded in friendly terms and pretends great concern for Nehemiah's reputation. The letter claims that reputation will suffer from certain damaging reports about Nehemiah and his work. But as an "open letter" its real purpose is to damage Nehemiah by spreading evil reports abroad. If true the charges would indeed be serious. For it is said that Nehemiah — the cupbearer and appointed governor of the king — is going to "rebel." What is more, a witness can be produced to support the charge, for "Gashmu says it." It is also said that Nehemiah's ultimate aim, in building the walls, is to raise himself to the throne as king. And finally, report has it that Nehemiah has appointed prophets to preach in Jerusalem. In this way he would back up his claim to royalty by a professed word from God.
Was there anything real behind the charge about the prophets? One writer thinks there may have been — a true event that an outsider read the wrong way.
It is more than likely that there was a show of truth in the last statement. Nehemiah cared deeply about his nation. He would not forget that all their hopes were centred in the promised Messiah. So he may have sought, through the ministry of prophets, to revive the flagging energies of the people. He would do this by reminding them of the glowing descriptions of the future kingdom under the rule of the true David, recorded, for example, in the writings of Isaiah. A stranger could not enter into this or understand it, and might well conclude that Nehemiah was sowing sedition and rebellion.
The letter ends by warning that the king will hear these reports. That threat gave it force. Nehemiah held his post only by the king's trust.
There was enough here to make even the greatest courage fail. There was suspicion cast on the character and purpose of the Lord's servant. And there was the fear of seeing his conduct slandered before the king who had put his confidence in him! The conclusion of the letter was an invitation repeated for the fifth time: "So now come and let us take counsel together."
Sanballat wrote to Nehemiah, but he aimed at the workers on the wall.
He sees, too, that the real aim of the "open letter" is to terrify the people by leading them to suppose they are linked to one who is a rebel plotting against the king. Terrified in this way, their hands would be "weakened from the work." But, as always with Nehemiah, God was his resource. The enemy attacked Nehemiah to weaken the hands of the people. Nehemiah turns to God to strengthen his own hands, so that he might support the people (8, 9).
Nehemiah's reply is a few words long. Writers draw a rule of conduct from its shortness.
His answer is simplicity itself: a plain denial in a few words of the truth of these alleged reports. At the same time he traced them back to their true source — Sanballat's own wicked heart… And this answer teaches us that we should never enter into argument with the tempter. We may repel his accusations. But if we once begin to reason with him, or even to explain, he will surely defeat us.
- Open — Sanballat left the letter unsealed on purpose, so the charge would reach the people and win him supporters.
- Layered — friendly concern on the surface, and underneath it rebellion, a named witness, a bid for the throne, and hired prophets.
- Plausible — talk of a coming king may have echoed real preaching about the promised Messiah. An outsider could only read it as rebellion.
- Aimed — Sanballat struck at the leader to weaken the hands of the builders.
- Answered — a short denial, no argument, no explanation, and then Nehemiah turned to God for strength.
And I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
Sanballat's fifth message came as an open letter. In public it accused Nehemiah of plotting rebellion and aiming at a crown. It also invited him to a private meeting to "talk it over." Nehemiah's reply is one short sentence. The charges are fiction, made up in the accuser's own mind.
The letter pretends to be a warning between friends. Its real power was that anyone could read it.
The third snare is the trick of the "open letter" (6, 7). It is written in friendly terms and pretends great concern for Nehemiah's reputation. That reputation, it says, will suffer from certain damaging reports about Nehemiah and his work. But it is an "open letter" and its real design is to damage Nehemiah by spreading evil reports around. If true the charges would indeed be serious. The letter says that Nehemiah — the cupbearer and appointed governor of the king — is going to "rebel." This is alarming, for rebellion is an ugly word. They can even produce a witness to support the charge, for "Gashmu says it."
The letter hides more than one accusation, and each could reach the king.
It was a very clever mask which he put on. In his letter he manages to hint at three distinct charges. If someone reported them to the king, they might well endanger Nehemiah's character, if not his life. First he speaks of rebellion. Then he suggests what would follow if the first charge were true: that Nehemiah's aim in building the wall was to make himself king.
Nehemiah states the fact and stops.
Nehemiah will not let the tempter draw him into any argument. He gives no explanation of his work or motives. With great wisdom and restraint he denies the accusation, and exposes where these evil reports came from. The enemy attacked Nehemiah to weaken the hands of the people; Nehemiah turns to God to strengthen his own hands, so that he might support the people (8, 9).
The invitation itself gave the lie away. A man who believed the charges would not ask for a friendly meeting.
Nehemiah was certainly not deceived by this. In fact, if such charges were true, what reason would there be for consulting together? In that case Sanballat should report the matter to the king. He should present a clear witness to the truth of his charge. But he had no such witness. Nehemiah's answer was therefore precise and clear (v. 8). So Nehemiah refused to be lured in by these men. Satan's method is always to draw us off the ground of faith in the living God.
The sharpness of the reply is not arrogance. Nehemiah had nothing to hide.
The reply was very firm, so like a man who walks in peace with God: "No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind." If Nehemiah had been acting in the pride of a self-seeking heart, nothing could be more narrow, petty, even contemptible. But he was acting in the fear of Jehovah, and nothing could be more beautiful and faithful.
He answers the lie with the truth. Then he turns from the letter to God.
Nehemiah is not ignorant of the enemy's plans. He knows that he must resist the enemy, so that the enemy will flee. He sets the truth against the lies meant to frighten him (v. 8). What is more, as he always did, he backs up his actions with prayer to God: "Now therefore strengthen my hands!" (v. 9).
The same pattern repeats wherever God's work goes forward. The writers trace it past the human names to the one behind them.
Nehemiah answered this new attack with a clear conscience. He knew that it was all a wicked invention. As it was in Nehemiah's day so it is still. Wherever the Lord's work goes on and God's servants labour to glorify Him, the enemy will rise up and hinder the work. When the Lord opens a door, then many adversaries will appear. The sneers, the hatred, the tricks and the lies of the world are the same today. Behind them stands the same person who acted through Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem — Satan, the god of this age.
- The bait — the fifth message came as an open letter. It sounded like concern for Nehemiah's good name. It was written for everyone to read, so the reports would spread.
- The tell — a real charge would go to the king with a witness. Sanballat asked for a meeting instead, and he had no witness.
- The answer — no argument, no defence of motives, no explanation of the work. Nehemiah denied the charge and named where the story came from.
- The ground — a man acting in the fear of God can answer in one line. Had Nehemiah been self-seeking, the same words would be contemptible.
- The aim — the enemy attacked to weaken the people's hands. Nehemiah asked God to strengthen his own hands. The attack drove him to prayer.
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be slackened from the work, that it be not carried out. -- Now therefore strengthen my hands!
Sanballat and his allies have pressed Nehemiah again and again. This verse names the aim behind it all: frighten the builders until the work stops. His answer is a half-sentence of prayer, thrown up while the accusation is still in the air.
The enemy has tried other forms of attack. This time the target is the one man leading the work.
Nehemiah 6 presents the attack of enemies in a new form. God used Nehemiah as His instrument in these hard circumstances, so the enemies try to get rid of him. If their plan succeeded, the whole work would fall along with the servant God had trusted it to. This effort was the most dangerous of all, and it failed. Nehemiah shows rare qualities in resisting the enemy's attack. But what stands out in him is his full confidence in the Lord and his complete distrust of himself. That confidence comes out in his words in verse 9: "But now, O God, strengthen my hands." He knows he has no strength of his own, so he looks for the strength that is in God.
The charge that Nehemiah planned to make himself king came in an open letter, for anyone to read. Its aim reached past him to the people building beside him. His prayer runs the other way.
He also sees the real aim of the open letter. It is to terrify the people by making them think they are tied to a rebel plotting against the king. Once terrified, their hands would drop from the work. But, as always with Nehemiah, God was his resource. The enemy attacked Nehemiah to weaken the hands of the people; Nehemiah turns to God to strengthen his hands, so that he can hold the people up.
Sitting down with Sanballat would have cost Nehemiah more than time.
If Sanballat could tempt Nehemiah into a meeting with him, even the Jews would decide that Nehemiah was afraid, and their confidence in a man of faith would be shaken. Let us not fear any threat while we are doing what the Lord has sent us to do. In contrast to hands that grow weak in the work, Nehemiah made another short, spontaneous prayer: "But now, O God, strengthen my hands" (v. 9). So the opposition drove Nehemiah into the Lord's presence to find more strength.
Nehemiah does not negotiate or argue his case. He denies the charge, calls it invention, and turns to God. That is where every approach of the enemy ends.
The first plan was a supposedly friendly meeting. But we should trust the enemy's friendship no more than we fear his hostile plans... Then came Sanballat's servant with an open letter. It hinted that Nehemiah was ambitious and rebelling against the Gentile power then in charge. This drew out a plain, indignant denial and a rebuke of the lie. It all led to fresh prayer.
Prayer here is not an emergency measure but a settled habit, wrapped around everything he does.
Nehemiah is not ignorant of the enemy's designs; he knows that the enemy must be resisted so that he will flee; he opposes the truth to the lies destined to frighten him... Moreover, as was his custom, he accompanies his acts by prayer to God: "Now therefore strengthen my hands!" (v. 9). Oh! how good it is to trust in God! If the enemy comes to us, let us not fear him: at the opportune moment we will be delivered, if we persevere in prayer.
The same blunt reply could have been pride. The motive underneath decides it.
The reply was very firm, so like a man who walks in peace with God: "There are no such things done as you say, but you are inventing them out of your own heart." If Nehemiah had been acting from the pride of a self-seeking heart, nothing could be more narrow, petty, even contemptible. But he was acting in the fear of the Lord, and nothing could be more beautiful and faithful.
False charges against God's servants did not end with Sanballat.
They accused him of wanting to throw off Persian rule and make himself a king. Opponents used the same tactics in the early days of the Gospel. Paul, for example, was called "one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world" (Acts 24:5). Even today people bring completely untrue charges against preachers of the Gospel. These untrue charges against Nehemiah caused fear, though they knew they were untrue. Yet in verse 9 we see that they only cast him on God again. If opposition today casts us on God, we shall gain by it in the end.
- Hands — the enemy aims at hands. Frighten the people, and their hands drop from the work. Nehemiah asks God for hands strong enough to hold the people up.
- Aim — the attack takes a new form and targets one man, because the work would fall along with the servant God trusted it to.
- Fear — a meeting with the enemy would have told the Jews that Nehemiah was afraid and shaken their confidence in him.
- Answer — he refuses to argue and denies the lie outright. Every approach of the enemy ends in nothing but fresh prayer.
- Profit — the pressure meant to weaken him drove him into God's presence for fresh strength. Opposition that casts us on God turns to gain.
And I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who had shut himself 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 are coming to kill thee; even in the night are they coming to kill thee.
Nehemiah has survived mockery, threats and a slanderous letter from outside the city. Now it comes from inside, from a friend whose advice sounds holy but asks him to run and hide.
Every earlier assault came from outside the city. This one comes from inside it. A commentator marks the change of plan, and what it cost Nehemiah.
Sanballat found these attacks from outside useless. So next he tried to conspire against Nehemiah from within… Nehemiah was the one obstacle to the enemy's success, and so the object of all his hatred. While others were unfaithful, he was faithful. The grace of his God held him in his path, and for that very reason his path was lonely. He knew there were enemies outside. Now he has to discover that professed friends were among his foes.
The ESV says Shemaiah was "confined to his home"; older translations read that he "was shut up." The text never says why, and commentators differ. One takes it as uncleanness under the law, which barred Shemaiah from the very place he was recommending.
It seems that Shemaiah was unclean under the law. That is probably the meaning of "shut up." In that condition he was not fit to be in the house of God, within the temple. And Nehemiah too, not being a priest, would have sinned if he had followed Shemaiah's suggestion. This was the cunning scheme.
Another writer reads the shutting-in as an act. On his reading, the offer left Nehemiah no innocent choice.
Shemaiah here takes the role of a prophet and speaks to Nehemiah as one. "He had shut himself up" when Nehemiah came to his house, pretending fear when there was nothing to fear. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired this man: the love of money had made him a traitor… He presses Nehemiah toward one of two options. He must either run away in fear, or hide in the temple, where only the priests could go, to escape his would-be assassins. Now, if he had run away, people would have accused him of a bad conscience. If he had hidden in the temple, they would have accused him of profaning it by disobeying God's direct command. Either way, Nehemiah would have started down a path of sin that would have shamed him.
Nehemiah's refusal guarded two things at once: the people he led and the honour of God's house.
Nehemiah utterly refuses… Where would his faith have been? How could a man leave the children and show that all he cared about was his own personal safety? Besides, it would have been a blatant defiance of the glory of God. It was against God for an Israelite to use the sanctuary of the LORD as the pagan nations did. They made their sanctuaries places of refuge when their lives were in danger. God never allowed such a thing in His temple. His temple was for His worship, according to His word.
The threat comes twice in one breath. The hired prophet wanted panic, not a fight.
The next efforts came from within. Their aim was to draw Nehemiah into fear, and to make the house of God a physical refuge. But here again the godly leader spotted the profane and unbelieving snare… Fear is the chief weapon of false religion, whatever it claims to be. But a single eye was enough to keep Nehemiah clear of their influence.
Nehemiah did not unmask Shemaiah and then say no. He said no, and the mask fell off.
It is a remarkable thing. The moment Nehemiah refused the temptation, he saw the whole character of the enemy's plans. He saw through every disguise, and found the evil and hypocrisy at work to trap his feet. It is always so. The temptation blinds us only as long as we do not resist it. Refuse it, and all concealment is gone, and Satan stands fully exposed.
The proposal was not to leave God's house, but to lock its doors. The same temptation lives on.
Doesn't this look very plausible? Surely it is right to meet together in the house of God. But to shut the doors of the temple would be, for us, to put the light under a basket. The temptation is to give up the testimony… let us seek, in shut-up selfishness and fear of man, to enjoy that sacred place of blessing and fellowship among ourselves, and take care of ourselves.
- Inside. Mockery, threats and slander all failed from outside. So the attack came through a professed friend inside the city, and faithfulness turned lonely.
- Bait. The bait looked holy: meet in God's house, lock the doors. Yet for a man who was not a priest, going in was sin.
- Fear. The hired prophet wanted Nehemiah frightened, not dead. Fear is the chief weapon of false religion, and a single eye disarms it.
- Refusal. Nehemiah refused before he understood. Only then did he see the hypocrisy. Resistance, not analysis, strips the disguise.
- Doors. Locked doors would have been light hidden under a basket. Safety at the cost of the testimony is still on offer, and still worth refusing.
And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, could go into the temple, and live? I will not go in.
Nehemiah is rebuilding Jerusalem's wall when a man named Shemaiah, posing as a friend, tells him to hide inside the temple because killers are coming that night. His short answer raises two questions: why was running away beneath him, and why did he refuse the safest building in the city?
The suggestion looked like rescue, but it was built so that either response would ruin him.
He pushes Nehemiah toward one of two choices: either to flee, driven by fear, or to hide in the temple, where only the priests could go, to escape the men who wanted to kill him. Now, if he had run away, people would have accused him of having a bad conscience. If he had hidden in the temple, they would have accused him of profaning it by disobeying God's direct commandment. Either way, Nehemiah would have started down a path of sin, which would have given him a bad reputation and put him to shame.
The aim was never simply to scare him. It was to get him to act on the fear.
It was a cleverly laid plan, not only to frighten Nehemiah, but to make him sin, so that they might have something against him.
Nehemiah's two questions sound very different from each other, and that is the point.
The answer of this man of God is an example both of dignity and humility. He asserts his dignity before these men, his enemies: "Should such a man as I flee?" Had he not engaged the people in the work? Had he not courageously armed them? Had he not intervened authoritatively when conflicts erupted between his brothers? Did they think that he would deny his own character before these lying accusations? But Nehemiah also speaks a word of humility, which is more important than the first expression: "And who is there, that, being as I am, could go into the temple, and live?" He uses the same phrase as in his first reply in order to humbly place himself in the presence of God. In the first case, one might accuse him of pride; in the second case, he shows that pride is very far from his heart.
The shut doors of the temple would have kept the killers out. They would also have turned God's house into something it was never meant to be.
He proposed to Nehemiah that he hide himself in the temple. Nehemiah refuses outright… Where would his faith have been? … Besides, it would have been an open defiance of the glory of God. It was against God for an Israelite to use the LORD's sanctuary as the pagan nations did. Those nations made their sanctuaries a place of refuge when their lives were in danger; but God never allowed such a thing in His temple. His temple was for His worship, according to His word.
Nehemiah asks whether a man like him could go in "and live." Israel's past held a warning.
How could he go into the temple, which God allowed only the priests to enter? A king of Judah had dared to do this, setting himself, as king, above the priesthood; for this God punished him with leprosy (2 Chr. 26:16-21). Did Nehemiah dream of repeating that profane act? Did a man like him have some value before God, or some right to break His commandments?
Beneath the legal issue lay a deeper one. A leader running from the work God had put in his heart would have been announcing that he no longer trusted God to keep him.
For Shemaiah suggests that Nehemiah — the leader in the work — should flee from the work that God has put into his heart to do. Like David long before him, he could say, "In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, 'Flee like a bird to your mountain'?" (Ps. 11:1). … With the plain directness of this simple-hearted man, Nehemiah says, "I will not go in."
Notice the order of events in the chapter. Nehemiah says no first, and only then sees who was behind the message.
It is a remarkable thing that the moment Nehemiah refused the temptation, he saw the whole character of the enemy's plans. He pierced through every disguise and found the evil and hypocrisy at work to trap his feet. It is always so. We stay blind only as long as we leave the temptation unresisted. Once we refuse it, all concealment is gone.
- The bait. Shemaiah offered safety. Both roads — running away or hiding in the temple — led into sin and a ruined name.
- The dignity. With "Should such a man as I run away?" Nehemiah refuses to deny the character he had shown before the people he had armed and led.
- The humility. His second question puts him under God's law, not above it: a man like him had no right to enter where only priests could go.
- The faith. To flee would have been to abandon the work God had placed in his heart, instead of taking refuge in the LORD as David did.
- The clarity. Saying no came first; seeing through the disguise came after. Resisting the temptation is what stripped the concealment away.
And I perceived, and behold, God had not sent him; for he pronounced this prophecy against me; and Tobijah and Sanballat had hired him.
Nehemiah has just refused to hide in the temple, and only then does he see the plot: the man who spoke in God's name was paid by Tobiah and Sanballat. How can a prophet end up working for the enemy, and how does a servant of God tell a real message from a bought one?
The earlier attacks came from outside. This one wears a friendly face. The danger here is not a weapon but a welcome.
He sees that Shemaiah, though a prophet, was not sent from God. He was paid by the enemy, and so he was working for the enemy while pretending to be Nehemiah's friend. Joined with Shemaiah were "the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets." To the claim of friendship they would add the weight of a message that claimed to come from God. What trick could be more terrible? A man on the enemy's side comes to a godly man, claiming to be a warm friend with a message from God.
The word "hired" is the hinge of the verse. Gold reached the one group that should have been helping the work.
By means of gold the enemy gains an unholy hold over the very men who should have been the first to help in the Lord's work. Their prophetic office was to pass on the Lord's mind.
Another writer names what the bribe cost the prophets themselves.
They could not serve God and money. The moment they took a bribe from money, they were bound hand and foot in its service, and they also disqualified themselves as the Lord's messengers.
Nehemiah calls it a prophecy "against me." The advice was meant to harm him, not protect him. Whichever way he moved, the same end waited.
He pressures Nehemiah into one of two courses. Either he must flee, driven by fear, or he must hide in the temple to escape the men who wanted to kill him — and only priests could enter there. Now, if he had run away, people would have accused him of a bad conscience. If he had hidden in the temple, they would have accused him of profaning it by disobeying God's direct commandment. Either way, Nehemiah would have started down a path of sin. It would have given him a bad reputation and put him to shame.
The message aimed at Nehemiah's nerves, not his conscience. What kept him steady was not cleverness but one undivided aim.
The next efforts came from within. Their aim was to draw Nehemiah into fear and to turn the house of God into a physical hiding place. But here again the godly leader saw through the profane and unbelieving trap. He would no more go into the temple to save his life than he would stop the work he was devoted to. The "prophecy" of Shemaiah carried no more weight than "the prophetess Noadiah," or "the rest of the prophets." Fear is the chief weapon of false religion, whatever it claims for itself. But one undivided aim was enough to keep Nehemiah clear of their influence.
Notice the order in the chapter. Nehemiah says "I will not go in" before he says he saw through it.
It is a remarkable thing. The moment Nehemiah refused the temptation, he saw the enemy's whole plan. He saw through every disguise and found the evil and hypocrisy at work to trap his feet. It is always so. We stay blind only while we leave the temptation unresisted. Once we refuse it, all concealment is gone, and Satan stands out in full view.
What exposed the lie was not clever detective work. Nehemiah held to what God had already said, and that was enough.
What schemes, what devices, trying if possible to drag the people, and to drag a servant of God among the people, out of the path of faith! So all these things were detected by simplicity, by holding fast to the word of the Lord.
- Hired, not sent. Two words in the verse stand opposed. God had not sent Shemaiah; Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Gold bought the very men whose office was to speak the Lord's mind.
- Friendship as disguise. This attack came from inside the city. It wore the face of concern for Nehemiah's safety, and it claimed to speak for God.
- Fear as the lever. The advice was built to frighten him into fleeing or trespassing. Either way he would sin, and the shame would stick to him.
- Refuse, then you will see. Nehemiah saw clearly only after he said no. While you keep a temptation open, it keeps its disguise.
- The word decides. Nehemiah weighed the proposal, not the prophet's reputation. It clashed with God's own command, and that simple test exposed the whole plot.
Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have wherewith to spread an evil report, that they might reproach me.
Nehemiah has just refused to hide inside the temple. Now he names the real plan behind the friendly warning. Money had bought a prophet, and fear was meant to push him into an act his enemies could use against him. The verse exposes how opposition changes shape — from open threat to a whispered word in God's name.
The hired prophet offered Nehemiah two options, and both would have damaged him:
He pressures Nehemiah to take one option or the other. He must either flee in fear, or else hide himself in the temple to escape his would-be assassins. Only priests could enter there. Now, if he had run away, people would have accused him of having a bad conscience. If he had hidden in the temple, they would have accused him of profaning it by disobeying God's direct commandment. Either way, Nehemiah would have started down a path of sin. It would have given him a bad reputation and put him to shame.
The verse runs in order: afraid, then the act, then sin, then the report. What the enemies wanted first was not a scandal but a frightened man.
They wanted to make him afraid by destroying his trust in God, and so to lead him into sin, "so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me." This one faithful man was the target of all Satan's attacks and tricks. Satan spread the most subtle snares around his feet. If he could overcome this one man, his victory was assured.
The charge the enemies had thrown at Nehemiah turned out to describe themselves.
In the earlier scheme the enemy falsely charges Nehemiah with using prophets for an evil purpose. In this scheme the enemy does in fact use the prophets for his own evil ends. With gold he gains an unholy hold over the very men who should have been the first to help in the Lord's work. Their prophetic office was to pass on the Lord's mind.
A bribe does more than buy one bad message. It changes who the man belongs to:
They could not serve God and money. The moment they took money's bribe, it bound them hand and foot in its service. They also disqualified themselves as the Lord's messengers.
"Matter for an evil report" is the payoff the hirers were after. A leader who panicked over a danger that was never real would lose the people's confidence.
Their wickedness went this far. They wanted to tell the people that Nehemiah was afraid of a danger that was never real, and so was unfit to be a leader. But Nehemiah had "the shield of faith" which always quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph. 6:16).
Notice the order. Nehemiah says "I will not go in," and only then does he see who is behind it.
It is a remarkable thing. The moment Nehemiah refused the temptation, he saw the whole character of the enemy's plans. He saw through every disguise and found the evil and hypocrisy at work to trap his feet. It is always so. We stay blind only as long as we leave the temptation unresisted. The moment we refuse it, all concealment is gone, and Satan stands fully exposed.
Having seen it all, Nehemiah does not hit back. He takes the names to God instead.
He makes no open attack on the enemy, and he seems to take no action against his tools. Instead he spreads the matter before God. He names the enemies outside and the woman inside who is working behind the scenes. As one has said, "Many forms of evil cannot be attacked openly without damage to ourselves and to others, and many evil workers in the church of God must be left alone. To attack them would only serve the cause of the enemy. Our resource in such circumstances is to cry to God against them."
- Hired — money, not God, stood behind the message; once a man takes the enemy's gold he is no longer free to speak for God.
- Afraid — fear was the first lever. It aimed to destroy his trust in God, and sin would follow from there.
- Sin — either answer was a trap. Fleeing or hiding in the temple would each have given the enemies a fault to point to.
- Report — his character was the real target. A leader who panicked over a danger that was never real would look unfit to lead.
- Refusal — "I will not go in" kept him clear and opened his eyes. What he saw, he carried to God instead of into a fight.
My God, remember Tobijah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who would have put me in fear.
A prophet named Shemaiah, paid by the enemy, had urged Nehemiah to hide inside the temple. Nehemiah refused, and verse 14 shows what he does next: no counter-attack, only a short prayer that leaves the whole affair with God.
Nehemiah could have proved his case in public. What he chose not to do teaches as much as what he did.
This man of God could have stirred the people up against Shemaiah. He could have accused him of being a false prophet. He could have proved in public that he was a traitor. He could have exposed the shameful conduct of Sanballat and Tobiah. But he did nothing of the kind! He commits their judgment to God... The names of the adversaries who were enemies of the people come first. Shemaiah's name does not appear here at all. What a lovely example of a heart that refuses personal resentment against a man who had wronged him so badly!
Paul met the same kind of harm, and answered it the same way.
He avoided all open conflict as useless. He commits the matter to God, like Paul, who says, "Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds." (2 Tim. 4:14.) It would be well for us to pay special attention to these examples. We cannot attack many forms of evil in the open without damage to ourselves and to others. And we must leave alone many evil-workers in the church of God. To attack them would only serve the cause of the enemy; but our resource in such circumstances is to cry to God against them.
These prophets came to Nehemiah as friends. Their office should have made them his best helpers, but money had changed their side.
What could be worse than someone in league with the enemy coming to a godly man, claiming to be a warm friend with a message from God? In the earlier trick the enemy falsely charged Nehemiah with using prophets for an evil purpose. In this trick the enemy does in fact use the prophets for his own evil ends. With gold he gains an unholy influence over the very men who should have been the first to help in the Lord's work. Their prophetic office made it their task to pass on the Lord's mind.
The danger was not only from outside the walls.
We must note verse 14. It records a distressing fact. Certain men who were prophets among the people, and even a prophetess, were in league with the adversaries and acting with them. Some enemies of God's work are of a more secret sort, and are even among the professed people of God. They are more dangerous to the work of God than open opponents.
Nehemiah names their aim: they wanted to make him afraid.
The "prophecy" of Shemaiah carried no more weight than that of "the prophetess Noadiah," or "the rest of the prophets." Fear is the chief weapon of false religion, whatever it claims to be. But a single eye was enough to keep Nehemiah clear of their influence. How sad to hear that Shemaiah was in touch with Tobiah and Sanballat! Here again he finds relief in prayer.
The verse names one woman among them.
Noadiah appears only here: a true prophetess who had lent her hand to this plot with the other prophets. This woman had no excuse, and neither did her companions. We must point out wrongdoing that hides under the cloak of the prophets!
Nehemiah prays like this more than once.
It is another of the brief prayers of Nehemiah shot up to God. There are seven of them in this book: chapters 2:4; 4:4-6; 5:19; 6:14; 13:14, 22, 29... He cast himself wholly upon God.
The same deceit still works today.
How terrible is the deceit that claims to be speaking for God while giving messages from Satan! Are there such prophets today? Sad to say, yes! They can speak in a very subtle way, and they do not see how deceitful they are. Satan deludes them into thinking they are wise.
- The weapon: fear is the chief weapon of false religion, and here it comes dressed as a prophecy from God.
- The hire: gold bought men whose office should have made them the first helpers of the work. They carried a message from Satan in God's name.
- The danger: secret enemies among God's professed people harm His work more than open enemies.
- The refusal: Nehemiah could have exposed the traitor in public. He did not, and even left Shemaiah's name out of the prayer.
- The resource: we must leave some evil-workers alone, because attacking them only serves the enemy. We cry to God instead, as Nehemiah does here in one of his seven short prayers.