SCRIPTURE: NEHEMIAH 6
When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem knew that Nehemiah had rebuilt the wall successfully without a gap, they sent this message to him. “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono. Nehemiah knew that they were scheming to harm him, so he sent message to them that he was carrying a great project and cannot go down to meet them. They sent him four times with the same messages and four times Nehemiah gave them the same reply.
The on the fifth time, Sanballat wrote a letter to him as follows: “It is reported among the nations – and Geshem says it is true – that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about in in Jerusalem: There is a king in Judah!’. Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together.” (vs. 6-7). And Nehemiah reply: “Nothing you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” (v. 8).
Nehemiah prayed to the Lord: “Now strengthen my hands”. (v. 9). Then one day, Nehemiah went to the house of Shemaiah who was shut in at his home. Shemaiah invited Nehemiah to meet him inside the temple telling him to hide from men who were trying to kill him at night. But Nehemiah refused because he was hired by Tobiah and Sanballat to intimidate him. He would not commit a sin by doing it thus giving him a bad name.
THE COMPLETION OF THE WALL (vs. 15-19)
The wall was completed in the 25th of the Elul in 52 days. All the surrounding nations lost their self-confidence upon realizing that this work had been done with the help of their God.
THOUGHTS:
Sanballat invited Nehemiah to a friendly meeting at the plain of Ono but Nehemiah refused. He stayed on the job. Beware of the smiles of the enemy. Psalms 14:1 told us not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
Shemaiah had shut himself up in his house to act that he was afraid of the enemy but in reality he was working with the enemy. He tried to frighten Nehemiah into going out for safety by suggesting him to flee and hide in the temple. But Nehemiah was a true shepherd. He prayed for God’s help and concentrated on his work. He did not desert his post but continued until the wall was completed. A true leader must not abandon his post when the going is tough. He must not flee the place of duty but continued on his course until it is finished.
WAYS ENEMIES DEVISED TO STOP THE WALL BUILDING::
- Guile (vs. 1-4) – They invited Nehemiah to a friendly meeting at the plain of Ono about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem. But their real motive was to ambush him on the way.
- Slander (vs. 5-9) – Sanballat brought accusation against Nehemiah by saying that Nehemiah was trying to set himself up as king and they were going to report it to the king of Persia that they stirring up a revolt so that the local officials will turn against him.
- Threat (vs. 10-14) – Shemaiah purposely shut himself up pretending to be afraid of the enemy and warned Nehemiah to hide at the temple for his safety. This was to frightened him from going out so as to discontinue his job of rebuilding the wall. If Nehemiah had hidden in the temple, he would have committed a sin against God before God’s law only allowed a priest to go inside the temple. If he had run for his life, his leadership would be undermined.
The enemies said that the job of rebuilding the wall was too big and could not be done. But God’s men and women joined together to accomplish the task. No matter how big the size or how difficult the size or how long it is to be done, God can help us to do it successfully.