Rebuilding Home: 13 Days in NehemiahSýnishorn

What is the best way to deal with cruel enemies?

In any competitive sporting event, the last few minutes are the most intense and exciting. As one team is pressing toward their victory, their opponent summons up all the courage they can to stop them. What is true in sports is also true in business, politics, and ministry – there is always a fight near the finish.

In Nehemiah, as God’s people were successfully rebuilding their city and their church as the city within that city, opposition to their efforts escalated. With the security walls nearly rebuilt and only the doors remaining to be hung, their enemies surged to stop them. Nehemiah was singled out for attack because he was the leader. Jesus quoted the Old Testament principle that the best way to get the sheep to scatter is to strike the shepherd, and Satan also knows this verse, which is why the person calling the shots ends up taking the shots. God appoints leaders, and Satan and his servants attack them. To be a godly leader requires a willingness and ability to endure personal attacks and hardship without giving up, getting bitter, or being diverted from your mission. Nehemiah 6 is a case study in leadership as well as common tactics the Enemy and enemies use against God’s leaders. Nehemiah will have to increase his pain tolerance to finish the work.

Critics opposed to Nehemiah’s ministry since he first arrived at the city are again united to divert from the mission. At first glance, what appears to be a change of heart, wanting to meet with Nehemiah for a discussion in a town between the two warring sides, is nothing more than a deceptive murder plot. Nehemiah responded with discernment, knowing they were not seeking his friendship but rather his failure. Wasting a few days on a meeting would come at the cost of finishing his work. So, he repeatedly declined their offer. A vital leadership lesson is saying no to pushy, covert, lying, and controlling enemies who exert public pressure.

Unsuccessful at diversion, his enemies move to disgrace by attacking Nehemiah personally. A leader takes the hardest and most frequent public beating because, just as in battle, the shortest route to winning a war is to shoot the highest-ranking officer. Nehemiah’s enemies were wealthy and powerful political leaders, so their personal attacks were very serious. Because Nehemiah’s character was impeccable, his enemies resorted to the demonic tactic of fabricating lies – that he was going to set himself up as king (the same lie later told about Jesus in Luke 23:1-5). Sedition could have resulted in Nehemiah’s arrest, imprisonment in Susa, and possibly the death penalty. Nehemiah faced the lose-lose scenario of finishing his mission or saving his life.

Even worse, the lies were communicated in an open legal letter which gave it credibility. Ancient legal documents were sealed to only be read by the intended recipient. In sending an open letter, Nehemiah’s enemies were publicly circulating the lie in a way that would be akin to a detailed modern-day smear campaign spread through emails, texts, blogs, press releases, and baseless hit piece articles with salacious click-bait headlines and a shady attorney filling out legal paperwork. Nehemiah ignores most lies, refutes the worst lies, and attacks his enemies’ motives as politically motivated fear tactics. He did not meet with his enemies, but he did meet with his God in prayer for wisdom and courage.

Despite the failed efforts to divert and disgrace Nehemiah, his enemies persisted in attacking, trying to deceive the people supporting him. They weaponized his faith in God against him. A “prophet” who claimed to speak for God called Nehemiah to a meeting in his home to deliver a “prophecy.” The false prophet’s false prophecy was that Nehemiah would be killed at night, and God wanted him to flee to the temple to hide in seclusion for safety. This ever-popular tactic is to pay off a religious leader to speak lies and oppose the godly leader who actually speaks the truth. Nehemiah was not conned by this charlatan. Just because someone is spiritual, or has even been greatly used by God in the past, what they say must not be immediately accepted but rather confirmed as truthful. Jesus, Paul, and John all promised false prophets would come in our day, just as they did in the days of Nehemiah.

Entering the Temple as the false prophet had commanded was suicide. The penalty was death, and even King Uzziah was given only leprosy in God’s mercy for doing this very thing.

Nehemiah’s final response to the attempts to divert, disgrace, and deceive are exemplary. First, he did not lose courage or stop pressing forward. Second, he was discerning and not dissuaded by threats, lies, or manipulation. Third, he continually prayed for wisdom and power for himself and God’s vengeance upon his enemies.

Nehemiah persevered without a wife, friend, comforter, encourager, or relief from the constant attacks. Leadership is lonely, and Nehemiah prayed a lot because God was all he had. While many joys and pleasures are taken from a leader (e.g., sleep, a quiet life, rest, safety, security, privacy, encouragement, and friendship), God kindly gives Himself to them in a deeper relationship than the average believer in return.

This scene is an important transition as the wall is completed. In less than a year from God’s calling, Nehemiah completed the first and arguably most difficult task, rebuilding of the city wall for fortification. Nehemiah labored in prayer and planning, gained legal permission from the king, raised capital, moved from Susa to Jerusalem, and endured external critics and internal and external death threats. Nehemiah’s reputation was shot, along with his wealth, as he collected no salary and paid for much of the work. However, after roughly 141 years of failed attempts, the wall was completed, God’s people were welcomed, and God could be worshipped.

Curiously, the completion of the wall is mentioned in passing with little reflection on Nehemiah’s emotional feelings. Perhaps he remained focused on the task ahead, transitioning from things (stones, walls, gates) to people (new residents and converts). Leaders tend to quickly move from success to the new opportunities and obstacles that come next.

Some of Nehemiah’s critics lost their courage once the wall was completed. The success of a leader is perhaps their best defense against character attacks and criticisms. By finishing his God-given mission, Nehemiah proved that God was with him. Successful, Nehemiah remained humble - giving God all credit. Not all of Nehemiah’s critics, however, lost hearts and moved on with their lives. Tobiah, who was probably Jewish, established himself as Nehemiah’s foremost enemy at war through the rest of the book. A powerful public business leader, he even married the daughter of Meshullam, who had helped rebuild the wall to gain favor with God’s people (3:4, 30). Making matters worse, Tobiah also apparently hired a PR firm to improve his public image.

The leadership principle in this chapter is that sometimes the people who should be the most for you are the most against you. If you can do nothing to work with them, you have to ignore them and continue your mission, which is precisely what Nehemiah does.

Question:

Nehemiah was alone a lot and prayed a lot. How can the group members be praying for one another so they are not so alone?