Nehemiah 6:11-19
Ne 6:11
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.
Nehemiah was not speaking arrogantly as he stated “Should
such a man as I flee?” But as Governor if the people found out that he was
seeking shelter in the temple then rumors would have spread that Nehemiah knew
there was an attack coming and he was out to save himself.
This would have led to rebellion among the people and the total mistrust
of Nehemiah as their Governor.
Nehemiah knew that if he did that, then that would be another attempt to
complete the wall so he refused to go in, probably knowing that something was
wrong with the invitation.
Ne 6:12
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.
The word “perceived” means he looked intently at the
situation and then realized that he was not a true priest of God nor was he sent
by God. He then realized that the
prophecy of his doom from the enemy was not a true prophecy of God but was a
contrived story to get him to hide and that would have caused trouble among the
people. He then realized that his
enemies had hired this fraud. This
is also a warning for us. If
something sounds too good coming from the enemies of God, then we must beware of
a covert plan or reason behind it.
Ne 6:13
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.
Shemaiah was hired as a fear peddler who was supposed to
instill fear of his life into Nehemiah plus if he would have gone inside the
temple to where he was forbidden by the law, then he would have sinned against
the LORD. Then when they got him
into that position, then they could have published an evil report about him with
many false stories and that would have removed the loyalty the people had to him
and the project. Instead of being a
man of integrity, he would be subject to reproach such as false accusations or
disapproval. It would have ruined
the project right at that moment.
Sometimes enemies do not attack in a manner you expect but are very subtle in
their attempts to derail you.
Ne 6:14
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.
Then Nehemiah prays to God and asks him to consider or
remember their ways according to their own desires.
In other words, Nehemiah wants the LORD to deal with them in the same
manner they dealt with Nehemiah.
Just as God remembers the good works of his children, he also remember the evil
works done to them. Nehemiah not
only wants the LORD to deal with Tobiah and Sanballat but he also wants the
others who were involved in this scheme such as the prophetess Noadiah of which
nothing is known except that she is a conspirator with evil.
These false prophets desired to instill a fear in Nehemiah that would
bring the project of rebuilding the wall to a halt except Nehemiah did not fall
for their fear peddling but instead he strengthened himself in the Lord which is
a good lesson for all Christians.
Ne 6:15
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day
of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
Despite all the attempts by Satan’s people to halt the
task of rebuilding and repairing the wall, it was done in fifty two days.
The month Elul was the sixth month and would have corresponded to part of
August and part of September. Fifty
two days for completion would not be out of the question since they did not have
to do a complete rebuild of the walls as most of it was still standing and only
needed repairs. The fifty two days
probably did not contain the sabbath days where work was prohibited under the
law and only contained days of work.
There would have been 7 or 8 sabbath days within that time period.
Ne 6:16
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 when the wall was completed the word went out to all
the surrounding areas that the walls of Jerusalem were now built.
The enemies of God heard about the wall being completed and even some of
the heathens came from the surrounding nations and actually saw the completed
project and were humiliated and frustrated that this project came to completion
and that they could not stop it.
Then they realized that God was the one who was the motivation behind the
project and they could not hinder the work of God unless he allowed it to be for
his own reasons. They knew the
history of Jerusalem and knew that God was working there among the people.
Ne 6:17
Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many
letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.
Here we read about the nobles of Judah who were traitors
to God by continuing to correspond with Tobiah and Tobiah corresponding with
them. I would not doubt for a
moment that these letters contained materials which were on the subject of how
to overturn the project and take charge of Jerusalem.
They no doubt kept Tobiah informed about the things which were happening
in Jerusalem that they could scheme and use it in their evil plans.
Ne 6:18
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.
This verse shows the amount of people who were nothing
more than traitors as so many were involved with Tobiah, to the point that some
were sworn unto him as if they took an oath to follow him.
Shechaniah was one of a member of the family of Arah which came up with
Zerubbabel and was probably a man of distinction.
His son was married to the daughter of Meshullam who was one of the men
who worked on the wall.
And next unto them repaired Meremoth the
son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of
Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of
Baana. (Nehemiah 3:4) So Tobiah
had many contacts within the community in Jerusalem so he never lacked any
information.
Ne 6:19
Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered
my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.