Nehemiah 6:14

Nehemiah 6:14 says, 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 didn’t attempt to punish Tobiah, Sanballat, Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who were claiming to speak for God when they weren’t, but he prayed to God and asked that He deal with them since they had tried to instill fear in him.  We should always just pray to God for guidance when someone attempts to lead us away from what His word teaches us, and then we should leave their punishment up to God. 

Verse fifteen adds, So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. Nehemiah didn’t allow the threats of others nor the suggestions of the false prophets to keep him and the others from continuing to build the wall.  We cannot allow anything to stop us from doing what God has called us to do today.  The wall was finished as Nehemiah continued to oversee the work, even if he had been threatened and advised to hide away.  We need to continue to do what God has called us to do and never give in to fear. 

Verse sixteen continues, And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. Then Nehamiah tells us that those who opposed the building of the wall were cast down in their own eyes, because they knew that the work was ordained by God.  If we successfully do God’s work today, Satan and his forces of evil are going to be cast down in their own sight, because they will know that we are doing God’s work, and they cannot stop us. 

Verse seventeen states, Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.  Some of the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah instead of supporting Nehemiah.  If we are a follower of Christ, we need to always support others who are doing God’s work and never plot against them.  We cannot serve both God and the world. 

Verse eighteen adds, For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.  Nehemiah said many of the people of Judah had remained faithful to Tobiah since Shechaniah and his son had both married Israelite women.  They were trying to help him because of who his parents were.  We cannot put anyone above God, no matter who their parents may be. 

Verse nineteen continues, Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.  Nehemiah said that the people of Judah were writing to Tobiah and Tobiah was writing to him in order to make him afraid.  Matthew Henry says they may have been acting this way because Jerusalem was being rebuilt and cities in their area were not, but Nehemiah had only been given permission to rebuild Jerusalem. We should never allow the success of others in doing God’s work to make us envious and cause us to work against them. 

Nehemiah 6:10

Nehemiah 6:10 says, 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.  Nehemiah then went to the house of Shamiah, who claimed to be a prophet, who told him that they needed to go and shut themselves up in the temple so they would be safe.  This would have caused Nehemiah to stop building the wall, which is what his enemies wanted him to do, but was advised to be done as the will of God.  We cannot just hide away in fear of the world today but must be doing what God has called us to do, even if the leaders of the church might tell us otherwise. 

Verse eleven adds, 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.  Nehamiah asked Shemaiah why would a man like him, a man who professed faith in God, go into the temple and hide for his own safety.  We serve the most powerful God in the world, so there should never be a time that we put personal safety above doing what God tells us to do.  I know in some parts of the world it may be a death sentence to proclaim ourselves to be Christians, and God may tell us to proclaim the gospel quietly, but I believe as a general rule, we need to boldly stand openly for Him. 

Verse twelve continues, 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.  Nehemiah said he recognized that Shemaiah was not proclaiming God’s word but was telling him what Tobiah and Sanballat had paid him to say.  It is sad to think that a man who proclaimed to speak for God could be paid to proclaim anything but the truth of God.  If we are followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit will always let us know when someone is speaking anything that is not the truth of God, even if they are doing it in the name of God.  

Verse thirteen concludes, 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.  Nehemiah said they had done this so that if he followed the advice of Shemaiah, he would be discredited with the people who were doing the work.  If we begin to follow the ways of the world for our own safety instead of following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, people in the church and in the world may discredit our profession that we are following God, and Christians may even be le to doubt our profession about the power of God.  The people of the world already discredit His word, but they may use our lack of faith to try and prove that God is not Who He says He is. 

 

Nehemiah 6:5

Nehemiah 6:5 says, Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;  After four refusals, Sanballat sent another letter to Nehemiah, this one said to be an open letter, by his servant.  This time, he made his intentions known not just Nehemiah, but to all the people of Jerusalem, hoping to intimidate him in to doing what he wanted.  The whole world should know the intentions of Satan and his forces, but that should never intimidate those who are followers of Christ.  

Verse six adds, 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.  Sanballat in the letter accused Nehemiah of wanting to rebel against the Persians and make himself king of Judah.  He even said he had someone who would attest to the fact.  If this were true, it could have caused the people to quit following Nehemiah out of fear of the Persians.  We may be falsely accused of following Jesus Christ for our own worldly benefit, but as Christians, this should never be the case. 

Verse seven continues, 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.  Since Nehemiah was accused of plotting to overthrow the government and having prophets say he should be king of Judah, the letter said this had been reported to the king of Babylon.  Nehemiah was once again invited to come and counsel with Sanballat.  He was still trying to get Nehemiah to come to him, but not so he could help him.  People still use any method they can to destroy our work for God today, but we can never hope to be successful by compromising our faith. 

Verse eight states, Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.  Nehemiah sent word back to Sanballat that there was no plot as he had claimed, but that he was saying this because of his own fear.  Sanballat was trying to either stop Nehemiah from doing the work God called him to do or to get him in a position where he could capture him because he was afraid that once the walls were built, that Jerusalem would be too powerful to defeat.  We may have people who lie about us today to stop us from doing what God has called us to do, but we should never allow that to stop us from doing it or to compromise our beliefs because we are afraid. 

Verse nine adds, 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.  Nehemiah said he recognized that Sanballat was doing this to get the people to stop building the wall, in the hope that if he was successful that it would never be completed.  We should never allow fear of what the world may do to us if we continue to serve God and proclaim His word to keep us from doing what He has called us to do.  Nehemiah then asked God to strengthen his hand, and this is what we need to do if we are called to compromise our faith out of fear today.  God has already secured the everlasting victory, so we have no need to fear any power in his world. 

 

Nehemiah 6:1

Nehemiah 6:1 says, 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.  The enemies of Judah heard that the wall had been completed, except for the doors to the gates.  They decided the time to kill Nehemiah was now or never, and they knew they couldn’t do it by an outright attack.  We as Christians have the security of God’s protection, but our freewill still leaves an open door through which we can be attacked spiritually.  Often, these attacks are not an open assault but a subtle appeal to our desires which are not in accordance with what God’s word tells us.

Verse two adds, 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.  These two rulers, Sanballat and Geshem, invited Nehemiah to meet with them in another city to talk about common interests they might have, but their intention was to either kill or imprison him.  If people invite us to meet them anywhere except where we are safely in the will God and under His protection, no matter what they may be offering us, we should never go.  We must remain where God wants us to be, and if we do, there is nothing that the world can offer us that we need. 

Verse three continues, 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?  Nehemiah sent word to these two rulers that he was doing a great work and asked why he should come to them.  If we are doing God’s work today, we need to ask why we would leave that off in order to meet with someone who is not a part of that work.  We need to always put God’s work first and never allow the things of this world to come between God’s work and us. 

Verse four adds, Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.  Sanballat and Geshem sent the invitation to Nehemiah four times, and he answered them the same way each time, and that was to say that God’s work came first.  We need this same resolve today, no matter how many times we may be tempted to put the things of the world ahead of the things of God.