9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Nehemiah journeyed to Jerusalem with an army escort and letters of passage for passing through the various territories along the way. This was a long journey that would have taken at least two months (Ezra’s similar journey took five months, Ezra 7:8-9). When he arrived he began to face opposition as Sanballat and Tobiah became angry that someone had come to look after the welfare of the people of Israel.
Nehemiah waited three days (the pattern of his life tells us he probably spent that time resting and praying). He didn’t tell anyone in Jerusalem his plans because at that point he didn’t have any. He had a vision for rebuilding the wall but had not established the condition of the gates and walls for himself. On the third day, he took a few trusted men with him and went out at night to survey the damage. At one point, by the King’s Pool, the damage was so severe that his mule couldn’t ride through the rubble and he had to head down the valley.
Having established the scope of the project, Nehemiah was now ready to call on the people of the city to work with him, “let us build the wall of Jerusalem.” He encouraged them with the testimony of how God had been working to bring him this far. He also told them of the favour they had with the king to do the work. So the people were encouraged and began to ready themselves for the work.
But Sanballet, Tobia, and now Geshem began to jeer them. Nehemiah doesn’t rise to the argument. He simply states that God would help them to succeed, they would do the work, and the three had no right or claim to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah gives us a wonderful example of Godly leadership. He shows that even with a specific mission from God, he still needed to do things like rest, pray, plan, rally others, lead by example, and remain calm in the face of opposition. As you do God’s work, God’s way, you too can say, “The God of heaven will make us prosper.”