Nehemiah,
an Israelite living in exile, was a cupbearer to the king of Persia. One day he
was informed, that Jerusalem was in a state of despair with its people poor and
the city walls in ruins. Upon hearing this, Nehemiah became filled with sorrow and felt led to go
back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls. God confirmed Nehemiah by giving
him favor with the king of Persia to travel to Jerusalem. The king gave
Nehemiah passages and supplies to help with the construction of the wall. (See
Nehemiah 1:1-11)
When Nehemiah got to Jerusalem, he told the
people how the gracious hand of God had been upon him, giving him favor with
the king to build the wall.
Then the people of Israel replied at once,
“Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” (See Nehemiah 2:10)
But, Nehemiah encountered great opposition
from on all sides of the enemies of Judah for his plans to rebuild the wall.
The Samaritans, Ammonites, Arabs and Philistines, they all came
against Nehemiah!
Here is a sample of the opposition that
Nehemiah had to endure before and during the rebuilding of the city walls of
Jerusalem, in his own words:
“But
when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my
arrival, they were very displeased that someone had come to help the people of
Israel.” Nehemiah 2:10 NLT
“But
when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed
contemptuously. What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they
asked. Nehemiah 2:19 NLT
“Sanballat
was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a
rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and
the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think
they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just
offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of
stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”
Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside
him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the
top of it!” Nehemiah 4:1-3 NLT
“But
when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that
the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being
repaired, they were furious. They all made plans to come and
fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.” Nehemiah 4:7-8 NLT
“Sanballat,
Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had
finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet
set up the doors in the gates.
So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking
me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono.
But I realized they were plotting to harm me, so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a
great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with
you?”
Four times they sent the same message, and
each time I gave the same reply. The
fifth time, Sanballat’s servant came with an open letter in his hand, and
this is what it said:
“There
is a rumor among the surrounding nations, and Geshem tells me it is true, that
you and the Jews are planning to rebel and that is why you are building the
wall. According to his reports, you plan to be their king. He also reports that
you have appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim about you, ‘Look! There is
a king in Judah!’
“You can be very sure that this report will
get back to the king, so I suggest that you come and talk it over with me.” I
replied, “There is no truth in any part of your story. You are making up the
whole thing.”
They were just trying to intimidate us,
imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work.” Nehemiah 6:1-9 NLT
“Later
I went to visit Shemaiah son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel, who was
confined to his home. He said, “Let us meet together inside the Temple of God
and bolt the doors shut. Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight.”
But
I replied, “Should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my
position enter the Temple to save his life? No, I won’t do it!” I
realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy
against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. They
were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse
and discredit me.” Nehemiah 6:10-13 NLT
Nehemiah and his people finished the
wall in just 52 days after they had begun. When
their enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened
and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of God!
(See Nehemiah 6:15-16)
The
moral of this awesome story is what the apostle Paul said: “If God is for us, who can ever be
against us?” Romans 8:31 NLT
