1 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid. 1 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. 3 And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” 4 The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
In our passage today, Nehemiah's enemies sought to keep him from God's renewal with four tactics: distractions, lies, compromise, and ungodly influencers.
We face similar foes. When distractions invite us away from God's best, we must realize the importance of God's work. When lies entangle us in defensiveness or wrong-thinking, we must receive God's strength, rebut the lies, and move on. When we are tempted to compromise our Christianity, we must recognize who we are in Christ. And when ungodly influencers try to draw us away from our walk with God, we must surround ourselves with God and his people.
This is what I want to talk to you about today: how God renews us by helping us endure the same four pressures Nehemiah experienced.
Nehemiah's Insight
Before considering each of the four obstacles Nehemiah faced, it is important to see one of the major ways God helped his man. All through these episodes, it is clear that God gave Nehemiah discernment. Each time the enemy tried to slow him down, Nehemiah had insight into why they did what they did.
In the first movement, when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem and the rest of their enemies invited Nehemiah to parlay with them at the plain of Ono, Nehemiah knew why. He said, "They intended to do me harm" (1-2). He knew their intentions!
In the second movement, when Sanballat resorted to an open letter filled with lies saying Nehemiah was only doing all this to become king of Israel, Nehemiah knew why. He said, "They all wanted to frighten us, thinking, 'Their hands will drop from the work.'" (9). He knew their thoughts!
In the third movement, when a man named Shemaiah invited Nehemiah to lock himself in the temple because he had information that someone was coming to kill Nehemiah, Nehemiah knew why. He said, "For this purpose he was hired (to say and do this), that I should be afraid and act this way and sin" (13). He knew their purposes!
And in the last movement, when Tobiah and others sent intimidating letters to Nehemiah, he knew why. He said, "Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid" (19). He knew their motivations!
This sounds like a man who was in tune with God. As he walked with God, prayed to God, and learned about God, he was able to discern good from evil. He could filter the words and tactics and proposals and priorities of others through the lens of God. And through that lens, he discerned what he should—and should not—do. He learned how to endure distraction, lies, compromise, and unholy influencers. Let's learn from him.
1. God Helps Us Endure Distraction By Giving Us A Sense Of Importance (6:1-4)
The Request
In the first episode, God helped Nehemiah endure distraction by giving him a sense of importance. This distraction presented itself once the enemies realized the wall was built and that there was no breach left in it (1), and that the only thing left to do was set up the doors in the gates (1). All this meant the enemy had to scramble to stop the work.
Nehemiah's enemies tried to stop the work by inviting him to meet about a day's journey from Jerusalem in the plain of Ono (2). This would stop the work for a few days, and Nehemiah discerned that they wanted to harm him while there (2). It would be easier to assassinate Nehemiah far from Jerusalem. And with the leader gone, Jerusalem's wall might not ever be finished. Before Nehemiah arrived, no one was building. So perhaps all they needed to do was eliminate Nehemiah.
A Dangerous Distraction
They were inviting Nehemiah to (1) leave the most important thing and (2) enter grave danger. We also are presented with distractions that get us off the most important things and bring us into danger. These dangerous distractions abound and are meant to do more than slow us but stop us. I'm thinking of a man who is working hard to lead his family, but pornography grabs ahold of him. I'm thinking of a woman who is working hard to disciple others, but the pressures of life lead her to too much drink. I'm thinking of the couple who have much to offer the church, but endless vacations and experiences have kept them from knowing or loving anyone else in the church.
Dangerous distractions are especially attractive near the end of a work because it is tempting to act like your finished before you are. It is tempting to coast. Nehemiah was almost done, and the enemy offered an opportunity for a break. But he knew those enemies wanted him dead. He knew that distraction would kill him.
Antidote: A Sense Of Importance
Nehemiah's response is a favorite of mine: "I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should I stop the work while I leave it and come down to you?" (3). This repeated four times, but Nehemiah held his ground.
When Nehemiah responded this way, he was not boasting—"I am big-time and can't fit someone so insignificant into my schedule!" No! What he pointed out that day was the enormity of the task—"This is a big job, man, and I've got no room for anything else!"
Nehemiah's response reveals a great antidote to distractions: a sense of importance. Like Christ, Nehemiah would not come down from the wall or from the city to go down into the plains of Ono. He wouldn't stop because the work was important, just as Jesus wouldn't save himself and come down from the cross.
One morning, after a massive day of healing ministry in Capernaum, Jesus woke before sunrise and went into the wilderness for prayer. When his disciples finally found him, they were frustrated because they wanted him to go back and repeat what he'd just done. His popularity was going up and to the right! But Jesus, in prayer with his Father, was refreshed in his mission and told them he needed to go preach in other towns. He said:
Mark 1:38 (NIV) — 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Like Nehemiah and Christ, we must avoid deadly distractions by being conscious of the importance of our work. God has some good stuff in store for you, but you must fill your life well. If you don't see how important things like spiritual development, Christian fellowship, or the pursuit of sanctification are, then you will fill up your life with distractions meant to zap your spiritual vitality. And if you don't realize your importance to the people you're responsible for or who are in your life, you will easily give in to distraction. Soon, the resurrection life you are meant to experience today will be reduced to a platitudinal hope for tomorrow.
Like Nehemiah, learn to say no to all that keeps you off God's best for your life. Jesus said we should let our 'yes' be 'yes' and our 'no' be 'no,' which must mean he expects us to say 'no' at times (Matthew 5:37). They say "please" is the magic word, but "no" is pretty darn close. The word "no" can keep money in your pocket, time for God in your calendar, and Christian relationships in your life.
So learn your purpose in Christ and learn to say no to anything that would keep you from it.
2. God Helps Us Endure Lies By Giving Us Determination (6:5-9)
The Open Letter
In the second episode, God renewed Nehemiah by helping him endure lies by giving him a sense of determination. After Sanballat's fourth attempt to get Nehemiah to the plain of Ono, he resorted to an open letter campaign (5). As the letter traveled the many miles from Samaria to Jerusalem, everyone who touched it would have read it. In it, Sanballat spread the rumor that Nehemiah was going to coronate himself as Israel's new king. This is beautiful because it put Nehemiah in Jesus' camp—they accused Jesus of wanting to be king instead of Caesar.
And Sanballat used a timeless tactic to spread this rumor. He said "it is reported among the nations" (6). This is the equivalent of saying, "everyone says!"—even if no one says.
Even if a thousand nations had said this about Nehemiah, it wouldn't have been true of Nehemiah. They say, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." That's true about fire, but it wasn't true about Nehemiah. Sanballat's smoke was a manmade, artificial attempt to slander Nehemiah's reputation and get him in trouble with his boss, King Artaxerxes!
A Ridiculous Rumor—A Total Lie
We often suffer under the ridiculous rumors and false statements that knock us off course. And, while the truth is like a flame passed slowly from candle to candle, lies spread like wildfire.
And lies perpetually bombard our inner person. 1 John 2:16 tells us that we often fall prey to three major lies. The first lie says, "If you just experienced more, you would be happy." The second lie says, "If you just had more, you would be happy." And the third lie says, "If you just became more, you would be happy." These temptations to experience, to have, and to become cannot bring us true satisfaction, but they are constantly entangling God's people.
Antidote: Determination
Nehemiah responded to this ridiculous rumor by saying, "No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind" (8). Then, knowing his enemies were hoping his hands would drop from the work, he prayed, "O God, strengthen my hands" (9).
Nehemiah's response reveals an antidote to lies: a determination not to engage them. Nehemiah swiftly rebuked their lies and ignored their debate. He wasn't going to spend a long time entertaining their open letter or the accusations in it.
He knew their bias was showing—they'd never wanted the wall in the first place! And he knew his own heart—he was there to serve, not to reign! So though he couldn't shut down their letter for everyone else, he could shut it down for himself.
There are times we must "destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). There are moments we must avoid "vain discussions" and "cravings for controversy" (1 Timothy 1:6, 6:4). We must "have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; knowing that they breed quarrels" (2 Timothy 2:23).
All this is intensely difficult to do in our modern age, and we need wisdom and discernment on how to navigate life, but verses like these, along with Nehemiah's example, show us that quickly turning from a lie is often the best strategy. Like Jesus who was "oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth," there are times we need the Christlike grace to move on.
And since Nehemiah knew this would take strength, he prayed for it. His enemies had hoped his hands would weaken because of their threats, so Nehemiah prayed for his hands to be strengthened (9). Rather than pray for deliverance from or peace in, Nehemiah asked for the strength to get through.
3. God Helps Us Endure Spiritual Compromise By Reminding Us Of Our Identity (6:10-14)
Shemaiah's Ploy
In the third episode, God helped Nehemiah endure spiritual compromise by reminding him of his identity. Nehemiah visited a friend named Shemaiah who had been confined to his home for some reason (10). There is no scholarly consensus why, but it's possible his home confinement was a ruse designed to trick Nehemiah into a home visit.
Once Nehemiah was there, Shemaiah gave him secret intelligence that a group was coming to kill him that night (10). He wanted Nehemiah to go with him to the temple, where they could lock the doors behind them and be safe. Shemaiah had connections. Nehemiah was the governor. Surely they could use the temple as a safe-house.
Shemaiah presented himself as a prophet with spiritual insights, but Nehemiah found out that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him (12). And he was the only "prophet" on the enemy payroll—a prophetess named Noadiah and other prophets hired themselves out to say whatever Nehemiah's opponents wanted.
Antidote: Identity
But how would Nehemiah stand against such spiritual-sounding counsel? These were prophets, after all, and it would have been difficult to ignore them.
Nehemiah was able to resist them because he knew the word of God. God would never ask him to run into the temple—he wasn't a priest, so he was forbidden from wandering into the temple like Shemaiah suggested (Numbers 3:10, 18:7). And this was no light commandment—Nehemiah knew the law demanded death for anyone in violation. On top of all this, Nehemiah knew the infamous old story of King Uzziah who had gone into the temple and had been struck with leprosy. Even though Uzziah was a godly king with a long record of righteous works, God would not allow him that privilege—that wasn't this position or calling. And Nehemiah knew that he, as a mere governor, would not get away with it if he violated God's law and went into the temple.
But voices will come against us, just as they came against Nehemiah, to try to draw us into spiritual compromise. They will sound prophetic and authoritative, but their words are poison.
And God wants to help us resist compromise by giving us the same antidote Nehemiah used: a connection to our identity in God. Nehemiah said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in" (11). He knew he was God's man and that going into the temple was not consistent with his identity. God's man wouldn't act like that.
In our last study, Nehemiah encouraged the people to walk in the fear the Lord (5:9). Here, Nehemiah showed them what he was talking about. Rather than fear Shemaiah and the other false prophets, Nehemiah feared God. Rather than listen to Shemaiah and Noadiah's bad counsel, he listened to God's good counsel.
Nehemiah knew who he was—God's child. And when voices beckon you to disobey God, you must reconnect with who you are. Believers are bought by Christ's blood, redeemed for his purposes, and saved so that he can keep saving them and one day return to save them. If you have believed that Jesus died in your place, was buried, and rose from the dead, you are in Christ. And in Christ, you belong to him. Like Nehemiah, you are God's child. And, as God's child, you don't have to give into slavish fears but can run in the freedom of Christ (Romans 8:15).
4. God Helps Us Endure Ungodly Influencers By Giving Us Godly Influencers (6:15-7:1)
Tobiah & The Rest
Finally, in the final episode, God renewed Nehemiah by helping him endure an ungodly influencer by giving him a godly one. Let me explain what I mean:
All the way up to day fifty-two of the rebuilding project, Tobiah opposed Nehemiah (15, 17). Tobiah was different from Sanballat and the others. He was not an Israelite, but, through intermarriage, had networked his way into Israelite society. He had married the daughter of a Jewish man named Shecaniah, and his son married the daughter of a Jewish man named Meshullam (18).
And because Tobiah had slipped into the community, the community began telling Nehemiah how great Tobiah really was. But Tobiah hated the rebuilding effort, and therefore hated Nehemiah, and sent Nehemiah letters to make him afraid (19).
Tobiah was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He was a whitewashed tomb. He was a dish that looked clean on the outside but was full of inward decay. But unfortunately, many of the people fell for his hypocrisy, and this ungodly man became an influencer of God's people. No matter what Nehemiah said, he could not get the people to unsubscribe from Tobiah's podcast.
Antidote: Godly People
How did Nehemiah deal with Tobiah? What was the antidote to this ungodly influencer? The antidote to Tobiah was God and God's people. What do I mean?
Well, it is noteworthy that Nehemiah didn't say anything to Tobiah or anyone else in response to Tobiah's letters. In all the previous episodes, Nehemiah has some sort of verbal retort, but not here. What does he have here?
First, he has a wall. In only fifty-two days, the wall went up (15). And everyone—even enemies—knew the work had been accomplished with God's help (16). So the wall meant Nehemiah had God. Why would Nehemiah respond to someone like Tobiah when he had the proof of God's favor on his life in the form of that wall?
Second, Nehemiah kept working. Once the wall was built he began installing the doors and appointed gatekeepers, singers, and Levites for the city (1). He gave Hananiah leadership of the newly rebuilt Jerusalem, along with some instructions about how to defend the city (3-4). And the reason Nehemiah gave Hananiah this role is clear: he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many (2).
Sick burn, Nehemiah. Here's to you, Tobiah. I picked someone more faithful and God-fearing than many—including you, bro!
We should overcome ungodly influencers the way Nehemiah did—focus on God's kingdom and fill our lives with godly influencers. For Nehemiah's Tobiah-problem, he had a Hananiah-solution. Like Nehemiah, let God help you through the ungodly influencers with godly ones.
Please pause to consider: who might be your Tobiah? What voices are in your life that shouldn't be there? Perhaps you've given them favor, and they have entangled themselves in the mini-society of your life. Perhaps they have regular access to influence you, but they shouldn't.
Replace them—today—with a Hananiah. Have a podcaster you shouldn't be about? Replace it with one that will point you to Christ. Have music that grates against your desire to be a man of God? Replace it with something that won't stumble you. Have a news-feed routine that brings you into despair? Replace it with biblical literature that encourages you or good art that enlivens you. Have a mind-numbing practice that causes you to disconnect from reality? Replace it with real, human interaction and service. Replace Tobiah with Hananiah.
The Lord
And, like Nehemiah, as we walk with Christ we will become like him. Abiding in Jesus means we will bear fruit for Jesus.
Jesus certainly dealt with distractions—Satan, the crowds, the religious elite, and even his own disciples tempted him to get off mission. But Jesus had a sense of the importance of his work. He would not come down from the cross, and he can help us gain this sense of calling.
Jesus certainly dealt with lies—people had spread rumors about him from before he was even born. But Jesus was determined. No rumor anyone said about him, no challenge anyone threw at him, and no accusation anyone made against him ever stopped him, and he can help us gain this sense of determination.
Jesus certainly dealt with the temptation to compromise—to become king without the cross. But Jesus was connected to his identity before the Father. He knew who he was, and now he lives to make intercession for us, reminding all of heaven of our new identity in him.
And Jesus certainly dealt with ungodly influencers—the Pharisees, the demonic realm, and a friend like Judas. So he surrounded himself with godly influencers. He spent time with his Father, meditated on the word, and built up his disciples. And he is still working to influence us today!