The matter that greatly concerned Nehemiah while he was in the Persian court at Shushan was a report that “the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire,” on account of which the people there were “in great affliction and reproach” (Neh. 1:3). Nehemiah in turn requested of the king (Artaxerxes II of Persia) permission to go to Judah and rebuild the wall and the city. The wall was indeed built and its gates set up over a period of years, but it was during “troublous times,” as Daniel had prophesied many years before.
The opposition did not come from the heathen, nor from the Persian Empire; rather it came from the Samaritans—those who inhabited the northern territory of Israel. These were a mixed group of people with a confusing religion, for when the Assyrians took the ten tribes of Israel captive about 721 B.C., they introduced other peoples into the land. The religion in that area, already corrupted by Jeroboam, eventually became an even worse mixture, consisting of a smattering of what God had given through Moses in the beginning, but combined with many of man’s thoughts and much error. Thus many years later, the Lord Jesus could say to the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar, “Ye worship ye know not what” (John 4:22). It was from these people and their allies that most of the antagonism came.
Forms of Opposition
Satan was behind all this, just as he opposes today anything that seeks to honor God and to go back to His Word for instruction and guidance. The resistance took many different forms, calculated to wear out, discourage, and even frighten those who sought to please the Lord. Let us look at some of the ways that Nehemiah and those who built the wall were attacked.
First of all, Sanballat the Horonite (likely a Moabite) and Tobiah the Ammonite heard of the plan to rebuild the wall, and “it grieved them exceedingly, that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel” (Neh. 2:10). Later these two men were joined by Geshem the Arabian, and in succession Nehemiah records that (1) “they laughed us to scorn” (Neh. 2:19), (2) charged us with rebellion—“will ye rebel against the king” (Neh. 2:19), (3) anger—“he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews” (Neh. 4:1), (4) ridicule—“if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall” (Neh. 4:3), and (5) ready to fight—“conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem” (Neh. 4:8). While all of the attempts to stop the building were foiled, nevertheless these threats took their toll on the people, for we read, “Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall” (Neh. 4:10).
So it is today. Satan attacks in many different forms, but if we rely on the Lord, we can be confident of victory. However, it is often in discouragement that Satan succeeds, for if he cannot stop the work of the Lord by force, he wears down God’s people so that they become disheartened and give up. We all want peace and quiet in this world, and if we are willing to compromise and forget about the wall of separation, we can have it, at least in some measure. But to honor the Lord and continue in faithfulness will certainly bring trouble and difficulty.
Wiles
The wall was eventually finished, or nearly finished, but then the enemy tried a new tactic. Instead of attacking like a “roaring lion,” we find “the wiles of the devil” being used. The world has a saying, “If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em!” A meeting was proposed, although Nehemiah quickly saw that the underlying motive was “to do me mischief” (Neh. 6:2). Four times a meeting was offered, but not in Jerusalem; no, it was to be in a village in the plain of Ono, some 30 miles from Jerusalem. When Nehemiah steadfastly refused this, his enemies raised a false report, to the effect that it was being widely circulated that Nehemiah intended to rebel and make himself a king. His enemies feigned friendship, again wanting a meeting, allegedly to try and protect him. Later still another enemy proposed a meeting in the temple, where supposedly Nehemiah would be safe from attack. Nehemiah again refused all these meetings, and his enemies were frustrated in their purpose.
Again, we see Satan using the same strategies today. Often opposition to the truth comes from those who have a measure of truth and thus resent keenly those who seek to embrace and walk in the whole truth. Agreeing to a meeting with them, with a view to eventual union with them, will salve their conscience and defuse the resistance to the truth, but such a union will always be at the expense of the truth. We must be prepared for such maneuvers on Satan’s part, and, like Nehemiah, be able to see through them and refuse to be trapped into unfaithfulness.
Serious Opposition
Finally, Nehemiah encountered what was perhaps the most serious kind of opposition and, no doubt, the most difficult to bear. In Nehemiah 12, we find the wall of Jerusalem completely finished and dedicated with much joy. All this was accompanied by singing, music and sacrifices. But then it seems that Nehemiah, after having been governor of Judea for twelve years, was temporarily recalled to Shushan by the king. After some time he came back to Jerusalem, only to find how quickly things had degenerated in his absence.
First of all, he found that the high priest Eliashib, who had oversight of the chamber of the house of God, was allied with Tobiah and had “prepared for him a great chamber” (Neh. 13:5). This was the chamber in which they were supposed to store the tithes of the people, for the use of the priests and Levites. Yet now it was a comfortable place for Tobiah, one of those who had strenuously opposed the building of the wall. As a result of all this, the Levites had not been cared for, and they had been obliged to flee to their fields to sustain themselves.
More than this, the son of Eliashib (Joiada) was “son in law to Sanballat the Horonite” (Neh. 13:28). Sanballat was another strong opposer of building the wall, and together with Tobiah and others, he had devised the previous attempts to stop the work. This intermarrying with other nations, which had already been dealt with once by Ezra some years before, evidently had begun again. Encouraged by the bad example set by their leaders, other Jews “had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab,” so that “their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language” (Neh. 13:23-24).
The Sabbath
Finally, in a direct affront to Jehovah, the sabbath was being profaned, so that Nehemiah saw “some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses” (Neh. 13:15). Also “men of Tyre ... brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem” (Neh. 13:16).
Nehemiah dealt with all this, and in a very forcible and effective way, but it must have deeply grieved him to see how little the people really valued the honor and glory of the Lord. His presence kept things under control, but as soon as he was absent, declension set in rather quickly.
Worldly Associations
Again, we must bow our heads in shame as we see similar declension today, and we must all own our part in it. It often happens that a strong and faithful believer will keep many bad tendencies in check among the Lord’s people, but let that one be taken away and things often degenerate quickly. A spiritual believer once remarked that he feared worldliness among the saints more than he feared bad doctrine; not that bad doctrine is not serious, but it can more easily be identified and dealt with. Worldliness and worldly associations are insidious, for we must live and move in this world, and it is all too easy to be linked with that which, while having a “form of godliness,” really denies the power of it. The men such as Sanballat and Tobiah had a semblance of godly religion, but did not really want the full truth as God had given it for that day. So today there are those who will gladly seek to be connected outwardly with the people of God, while staunchly opposing separation from the world and from worldly religion.
It is only by having the Lord Himself before us that we can honor Him in the confusing state of the world today, but He will give us the grace and moral courage to do so, just as He gave it to Nehemiah in his day. The Lord took notice of those like Ezra and Nehemiah, who were faithful in their day, when many were giving up. He will also reward those who seek to be faithful today!
W. J. Prost