Nehemiah's journey to Jerusalem was accomplished
in safety. The royal letters to the governors of the
provinces along his route secured him honorable reception
and prompt assistance. No enemy dared molest the official
who was guarded by the power of the Persian king and
treated with marked consideration by the provincial rulers.
His arrival in Jerusalem, however, with a military escort,
showing that he had come on some important mission,
excited the jealousy of the heathen tribes living near the
city, who had so often indulged their enmity against the
Jews by heaping upon them injury and insult. Foremost
in this evil work were certain chiefs of these tribes, Sanballat
the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the
Arabian. From the first these leaders watched with critical
eyes the movements of Nehemiah and endeavored by every
means in their power to thwart his plans and hinder his
work.
Nehemiah continued to exercise the same caution and
prudence that had hitherto marked his course. Knowing
that bitter and determined enemies stood ready to oppose
him, he concealed the nature of his mission from them until
a study of the situation should enable him to form his plans.
Thus he hoped to secure the co-operation of the people and
set them at work before the opposition of his enemies should
be aroused.
Choosing a few men whom he knew to be worthy of
confidence, Nehemiah told them of the circumstances that
had led him to come to Jerusalem, the object that he wished
to accomplish, and the plans he proposed to follow. Their
interest in his undertaking was at once enlisted and their
assistance secured.
On the third night after his arrival Nehemiah rose at
midnight and with a few trusted companions went out to
view for himself the desolation of Jerusalem. Mounted on
his mule, he passed from one part of the city to another,
surveying the broken-down walls and gates of the city of
his fathers. Painful reflections filled the mind of the Jewish
patriot as with sorrow-stricken heart he gazed upon the
ruined defenses of his beloved Jerusalem. Memories of
Israel's past greatness stood out in sharp contrast with the
evidences of her humiliation.
In secrecy and silence Nehemiah completed his circuit
of the walls. "The rulers knew not whither I went," he
declares, "or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the
Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers,
nor to the rest that did the work." The remainder of the
night he spent in prayer; for he knew that the morning
would call for earnest effort to arouse and unite his dispirited
and divided countrymen.
Nehemiah bore a royal commission requiring the inhabitants
to co-operate with him in rebuilding the walls of
the city, but he did not depend upon the exercise of authority.
He sought rather to gain the confidence and sympathy of
the people, knowing that a union of hearts as well as of
hands was essential in the great work before him. When
on the morrow he called the people together he presented
such arguments as were calculated to arouse their dormant
energies and unite their scattered numbers.
Nehemiah's hearers did not know, neither did he tell
them, of his midnight circuit of the night before. But the
fact that he had made this circuit contributed greatly to
his success; for he was able to speak of the condition of the
city with an accuracy and a minuteness that astonished his
hearers. The impression made upon him as he had looked
upon the weakness and degradation of Jerusalem, gave
earnestness and power to his words.
Nehemiah presented before the people their reproach
among the heathen--their religion dishonored, their God
blasphemed. He told them that in a distant land he had
heard of their affliction, that he had entreated the favor of
Heaven in their behalf, and that, as he was praying, he had
determined to ask permission from the king to come to
their assistance. He had asked God that the king might
not only grant this permission, but might also invest him
with the authority and give him the help needed for the
work; and his prayer had been answered in such a way as
to show that the plan was of the Lord.
All this he related, and then, having shown that he was
sustained by the combined authority of the God of Israel
and the Persian king, Nehemiah asked the people directly
whether they would take advantage of this opportunity and
arise and build the wall.
The appeal went straight to their hearts. The thought
of how Heaven's favor had been manifested toward them
put their fears to shame, and with new courage they said
with one voice, "Let us rise up and build." "So they strengthened
their hands for this good work."
Nehemiah's whole soul was in the enterprise he had
undertaken. His hope, his energy, his enthusiasm, his
determination, were contagious, inspiring others with the same
high courage and lofty purpose. Each man became a Nehemiah
in his turn and helped to make stronger the heart
and hand of his neighbor.
When the enemies of Israel heard what the Jews were
hoping to accomplish, they laughed them to scorn, saying,
"What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the
king?" But Nehemiah answered, "The God of heaven, He
will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and
build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial,
in Jerusalem."
Among the first to catch Nehemiah's spirit of zeal and
earnestness were the priests. Because of their influential
position, these men could do much to advance or hinder
the work; and their ready co-operation, at the very outset,
contributed not a little to its success. The majority of the
princes and rulers of Israel came up nobly to their duty,
and these faithful men have honorable mention in the
book of God. There were a few, the Tekoite nobles, who
"put not their necks to the work of their Lord." The memory
of these slothful servants is branded with shame and
has been handed down as a warning to all future generations.
In every religious movement there are some who, while
they cannot deny that the cause is God's, still hold themselves
aloof, refusing to make any effort to help. It were well for
such ones to remember the record kept on high--that book
in which there are no omissions, no mistakes, and out of
which they will be judged. There every neglected opportunity
to do service for God is recorded; and there, too,
every deed of faith and love is held in everlasting remembrance.
Against the inspiring influence of Nehemiah's presence
the example of the Tekoite nobles had little weight. The
people in general were animated by patriotism and zeal.
Men of ability and influence organized the various classes
of citizens into companies, each leader making himself
responsible for the erection of a certain part of the wall.
And of some it is written that they builded "everyone over
against his house."
Nor did Nehemiah's energy abate, now that the work
was actually begun. With tireless vigilance he superintended
the building, directing the workmen, noting the
hindrances, and providing for emergencies. Along the whole
extent of that three miles of wall his influence was constantly
felt. With timely words he encouraged the fearful, aroused
the laggard, and approved the diligent. And ever he watched
the movements of their enemies, who from time to time
collected at a distance and engaged in conversation, as if
plotting mischief, and then, drawing nearer the workmen,
attempted to divert their attention.
In his many activities Nehemiah did not forget the
source of his strength. His heart was constantly uplifted
to God, the great Overseer of all. "The God of heaven,"
he exclaimed, "He will prosper us;" and the words, echoed
and re-echoed, thrilled the hearts of all the workers on
the wall.
But the restoration of the defenses of Jerusalem did not
go forward unhindered. Satan was working to stir up
opposition and bring discouragement. Sanballat, Tobiah,
and Geshem, his principal agents in this movement, now
set themselves to hinder the work of rebuilding. They
endeavored to cause division among the workmen. They
ridiculed the efforts of the builders, declaring the enterprise
an impossibility and predicting failure.
"What do these feeble Jews?" exclaimed Sanballat
mockingly; "will they fortify themselves? . . . will they revive
the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?"
Tobiah, still more contemptuous, added, "Even that which
they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down
their stone wall."
The builders were soon beset by more active opposition.
They were compelled to guard continually against the plots
of their adversaries, who, professing friendliness, sought in
various ways to cause confusion and perplexity, and to arouse
distrust. They endeavored to destroy the courage of the
Jews; they formed conspiracies to draw Nehemiah into their
toils; and falsehearted Jews were found ready to aid the
treacherous undertaking. The report was spread that Nehemiah
was plotting against the Persian monarch, intending
to exalt himself as a king over Israel, and that all who aided
him were traitors.
But Nehemiah continued to look to God for guidance
and support, and "the people had a mind to work." The
enterprise went forward until the gaps were filled and the
entire wall built up to half its intended height.
As the enemies of Israel saw how unavailing were their
efforts, they were filled with rage. Hitherto they had not
dared employ violent measures, for they knew that Nehemiah
and his companions were acting under the king's
commission, and they feared that active opposition against
him might bring upon them the monarch's displeasure.
But now in their anger they themselves became guilty of
the crime of which they had accused Nehemiah. Assembling
for counsel, they "conspired all of them together to come
and to fight against Jerusalem."
At the same time that the Samaritans were plotting
against Nehemiah and his work, some of the leading men
among the Jews, becoming disaffected, sought to discourage
him by exaggerating the difficulties attending the enterprise.
"The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed," they
said, "and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able
to build the wall."
Discouragement came from still another source. "The
Jews which dwelt by," those who were taking no part in
the work, gathered up the statements and reports of their
enemies and used these to weaken courage and create
disaffection.
But taunts and ridicule, opposition and threats, seemed
only to inspire Nehemiah with firmer determination and
to arouse him to greater watchfulness. He recognized the
dangers that must be met in this warfare with their enemies,
but his courage was undaunted. "We made our prayer
unto our God," he declares, "and set a watch against them
day and night." "Therefore set I in the lower places behind
the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people
after their families with their swords, their spears, and their
bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles,
and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye
afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and
terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your
daughters, your wives, and your houses.
"And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it
was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel
to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone
unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth,
that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and
the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and
the bows, and the habergeons. . . . They which builded
on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that
laded, everyone with one of his hands wrought in the work,
and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders,
everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so builded."
Beside Nehemiah stood a trumpeter, and on different
parts of the wall were stationed priests bearing the sacred
trumpets. The people were scattered in their labors, but
on the approach of danger at any point a signal was given
for them to repair thither without delay. "So we labored
in the work," Nehemiah says, "and half of them held the
spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared."
Those who had been living in towns and villages outside
Jerusalem were now required to lodge within the walls,
both to guard the work and to be ready for duty in the
morning. This would prevent unnecessary delay, and would
cut off the opportunity which the enemy would otherwise
improve, of attacking the workmen as they went to and
from their homes. Nehemiah and his companions did not
shrink from hardship or trying service. Neither by day nor
night, not even during the short time given to sleep, did
they put off their clothing or lay aside their armor.
The opposition and discouragement that the builders in
Nehemiah's day met from open enemies and pretended
friends is typical of the experience that those today will
have who work for God. Christians are tried, not only by
the anger, contempt, and cruelty of enemies, but by the
indolence, inconsistency, lukewarmness, and treachery of
avowed friends and helpers. Derision and reproach are
hurled at them. And the same enemy that leads to
contempt, at a favorable opportunity uses more cruel and
violent measures.
Satan takes advantage of every unconsecrated element
for the accomplishment of his purposes. Among those who
profess to be the supporters of God's cause there are those
who unite with His enemies and thus lay His cause open
to the attacks of His bitterest foes. Even some who desire
the work of God to prosper will yet weaken the hands of
His servants by hearing, reporting, and half believing the
slanders, boasts, and menaces of His adversaries. Satan
works with marvelous success through his agents, and all
who yield to their influence are subject to a bewitching
power that destroys the wisdom of the wise and the
understanding of the prudent. But, like Nehemiah, God's people
are neither to fear nor to despise their enemies. Putting
their trust in God, they are to go steadily forward, doing
His work with unselfishness, and committing to His
providence the cause for which they stand.
Amidst great discouragement, Nehemiah made God his
trust, his sure defense. And He who was the support of
His servant then has been the dependence of His people in
every age. In every crisis His people may confidently
declare, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans
8:31. However craftily the plots of Satan and his agents
may be laid, God can detect them, and bring to nought
all their counsels. The response of faith today will be the
response made by Nehemiah, "Our God shall fight for us;"
for God is in the work, and no man can prevent its ultimate
success.