THE story of Nehemiah’s life is one of the most interesting recorded in the later history of Judah. We have presented to us in the record left by the Holy Spirit the story of a man profoundly attached to the cause of God, a real patriot with the good of his country at heart, a man of prayer, and one who showed by his management of affairs in difficult situations that he was possessed of a calm and balanced judgment. He faced with courage and unflinching determination the powers arrayed against him, and successfully carried through a notable work demanding no ordinary skill in execution and quickness of decision at critical moments.
The story laid before us in the book of Nehemiah tells us that in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes grievous tidings reached the royal winter palace at Shushan from Jerusalem. The people of Judah were in affliction and the wall of Jerusalem was still broken down. The news, brought by Hanani, filled the heart of Nehemiah with sorrow. It was no feigned grief and he betook himself to prayer and the God who as the Hearer and Answerer of prayer was to move the heart of his royal master to help the cause Nehemiah had so much at heart. When he came into the royal presence the king noticed the sadness of his cupbearer’s countenance and rightly attributed it to sadness of heart. On explaining the cause of his sorrow, the king asked what was his request and after prayer to God for guidance Nehemiah asked that he would be sent to
Jerusalem that he might build it. The request was granted, and, like the man of action he was, Nehemiah got letters of safe conduct to the governors beyond the river, and also a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the King’s forest, for the supply of wood required for the building operations. So equipped Nehemiah set out for Jerusalem. The news of his mission on reaching the ears of Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah, the Ammonite (two plausible but deceitful mischief-makers) they were grieved exceedingly “that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.” After taking a survey of the ruined and desolate city, he approached his fellow-countrymen and his words inspired them with a sense of their duty and moved them to action—”Let us rise up and build,” they said. There were others, however, to whom this zeal and activity brought no pleasure, and Sanballat and Tobiah, with Geshem, the Arabian, whose dark but unsuccessful scheming was to cause considerable inconvenience and annoyance to Nehemiah, tried mockery, that common weapon so often resorted to by the emissaries of the devil—”They laughed us to scorn, and despised us.” But if they thought that contempt would stop Nehemiah in the work he had at heart they had entirely mistaken the man. They then betook themselves to the devil’s arsenal for another weapon and endeavoured by slander to turn Nehemiah aside from his purpose. With a clear conscience Nehemiah met the infamous charge of rebellion against Artaxerxes undismayed and replied:—”The God of Heaven He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build.” As the work proceeded the indignation of the mischief-makers increased, and they now resorted to contemptuous belittlement of the work which was being carried on so successfully—”Even that which they build,” was Tobiah’s sneering comment, “if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.” The sting in this contemptuous reference to the work entered a buffeted heart, but again Nehemiah betook himself to the God whom he served:—”Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their
own head . . . . for they have provoked thee before the builders” (Neh. iv., 4, 5).
The more the work proceeded, the more did the anger of Sanballat, Tobiah, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites increase, until anger gave place to open hostility. The arduousness of the task and the tactics of the enemy at length wrought discouragement in the hearts of the men of Judah. But, if the task was difficult, God had raised up the right man for the occasion, and Nehemiah met his enemies by their own weapons and successfully baffled their design.
Nehemiah now saw that the work of building meant fighting as well, and if they did not fight the building would cease; accordingly he met the new situation by a counter plan that baffled his enemies and allowed the task on hand to be accomplished. From this time half of Nehemiah’s servants wrought on the work and the other half were armed. The builders, the bearers of burdens, with one hand wrought on the work and “with the other hand held a weapon.” Men of a pacific temperament, with eyes as blind as moles, might find much to criticise in such strange equipment but the situation demanded it and its success, in this case, was its justification.
All the efforts by Sanballat and Tobiah to hinder the good work of Nehemiah had failed. The mockery had given place to contempt, and contempt to open hostility but the work went on till the wall was set up. The next move on the part of Nehemiah’s enemies was an invitation to meet with them. Nehemiah’s reply is not lacking in definiteness, however discourteous it may have been regarded by Sanballat and his friends—”I am doing a great work,” was his answer, “so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” But one invitation after another followed until four had been received and ignored. Then the fifth time an open letter was sent Nehemiah with the false charge saying that Nehemiah and the Jews purposed rebellion. Shenaiah also was used as a tool in this
dishonourable work. Again, Nehemiah prays to his God:—“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” (Nehem. vi., 14). Notwithstanding all the attempts made to discourage and intimidate Nehemiah the work went on until the wall was built and the gates set up. His method in meeting each new phase of the opposition attack reveals to us a man of remarkable resource and foresight; yet, he did not depend on these for success for if his life-story teaches one lesson more than another it is that from the day he appeared before his royal master in the palace of Shushan until he successfully built the walls with the gates and scattered the heathen Sabbath-breakers, he was a man who went with all his difficulties to God. He had in his heart a love for the cause of God which did not waver before contempt, slander or opposition. He did not hesitate when occasion demanded it to arm his followers with the very weapons his opponents used to overthrow the good work in which he was engaged. He did a noble work in Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit has seen meet to leave it on record what he met with, his manner of overcoming opposition and his remarkable success in the work for the instruction of the Church of Christ to the end of time.