The Wall Completed

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Deceit

Nehemiah’s enemies left no stone unturned in trying to keep him from building the wall (vv. 10-13). First they tried to draw him into the country to talk to them. When this didn’t work, they tried to get  him to go into the temple and hide, saying it was for his own safety.

  1. Their goal - to cause Nehemiah to do a foolish thing so that they might laugh at him and insult him for doing it.
  2. The tools they used - Sanballat and Tobiah hired Shemaiah to persuade Nehemiah to quit his work and go into the temple for his own safety.
  3. Their pretense - they suggested to Nehemiah that the enemies would come and slay him which he could have easily believed. They pretended to have much concern for his safety.

Nehemiah bravely withstood this temptation. If he had yielded, the people would have left their work and thrown down their arms and looked for their own safety. As a result, the enemy, without opposition, would have demolished the work, broken down the wall again, and gained their goal. Tobiah and his friends were very disturbed to see the wall being built despite their efforts to stop it (vv. 14-19). Their threats, which were intended to weaken them only caused the workers to work harder and get the job done before the enemy came. When the enemy heard the wall was finished “they were much cast down in their own eyes” (v. 16).

Application

I need to pray for people in leadership, like Nehemiah, that God will give them strength to stand against personal attacks(I Tim. 2:1-2).

Nehemiah 6:10-19 (English Standard Version)


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