Sanballat and his confederates dared not make open
war upon the Jews; but with increasing malice they
continued their secret efforts to discourage, perplex, and
injure them. The wall about Jerusalem was rapidly approaching
completion. When it should be finished and its gates
set up, these enemies of Israel could not hope to force an
entrance into the city. They were the more eager, therefore,
to stop the work without further delay. At last they
devised a plan by which they hoped to draw Nehemiah from
his station, and while they had him in their power, to kill
or imprison him.
Pretending to desire a compromise of the opposing parties,
they sought a conference with Nehemiah, and invited him
to meet them in a village on the plain on Ono. But enlightened
by the Holy Spirit as to their real purpose, he refused.
"I sent messengers unto them," he writes, "saying, I am
doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why
should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down
to you?" But the tempters were persistent. Four times
they sent a message of similar import, and each time they
received the same answer.
Finding this scheme unsuccessful, they resorted to a more
daring stratagem. Sanballat sent Nehemiah a messenger
bearing an open letter which said: "It is reported among
the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews
think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that
thou mayest be their king. . . . And thou hast also appointed
prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is
a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king
according to these words. Come now therefore, and let
us take counsel together."
Had the reports mentioned been actually circulated, there
would have been cause for apprehension; for they would
soon have been carried to the king, whom a slight suspicion
might provoke to the severest measures. But Nehemiah
was convinced that the letter was wholly false, written to
arouse his fears and draw him into a snare. This conclusion
was strengthened by the fact that the letter was sent open,
evidently that the people might read the contents, and
become alarmed and intimidated.
He promptly returned the answer. "There are no such
things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of
thine own heart." Nehemiah was not ignorant of Satan's
devices. He knew that these attempts were made in order
to weaken the hands of the builders and thus frustrate
their efforts.
Again and again had Satan been defeated; and now,
with deeper malice and cunning, he laid a still more subtle
and dangerous snare for the servant of God. Sanballat
and his companions hired men who professed to be the
friends of Nehemiah, to give him evil counsel as the word
of the Lord. The chief one engaged in this iniquitous
work was Shemaiah, a man previously held in good repute
by Nehemiah. This man shut himself up in a chamber
near the sanctuary as if fearing that his life was in danger.
The temple was at this time protected by walls and gates,
but the gates of the city were not yet set up. Professing
great concern for Nehemiah's safety, Shemaiah advised
him to seek shelter in the temple. "Let us meet together
in the house of God, within the temple," he proposed, "and
let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to
slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee."
Had Nehemiah followed this treacherous counsel, he
would have sacrificed his faith in God, and in the eyes of
the people he would have appeared cowardly and contemptible.
In view of the important work that he had
undertaken, and the confidence that he professed to have
in the power of God, it would have been altogether inconsistent
for him to hide as if in fear. The alarm would have
spread among the people, each would have sought his own
safety, and the city would have been left unprotected, to
fall a prey to its enemies. That one unwise move on the
part of Nehemiah would have been a virtual surrender of
all that had been gained.
Nehemiah was not long in penetrating the true character
and object of his counselor. "I perceived that God had
not sent him," he says, "but that he pronounced this prophecy
against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so,
and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil
report, that they might reproach me."
The infamous counsel given by Shemaiah was seconded
by more than one man of high reputation, who, while professing
to be Nehemiah's friends, were secretly in league
with his enemies. But it was to no avail that they laid
their snare. Nehemiah's fearless answer was: "Should such
a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would
go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in."
Notwithstanding the plots of enemies, open and secret,
the work of building went steadily forward, and in less
than two months from the time of Nehemiah's arrival in
Jerusalem the city was girded with its defenses and the
builders could walk upon the walls and look down upon
their defeated and astonished foes. "When all our enemies
heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw
these things," Nehemiah writes, "they were much cast
down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work
was wrought of our God."
Yet even this evidence of the Lord's controlling hand
was not sufficient to restrain discontent, rebellion, and
treachery among the Israelites. "The nobles of Judah sent
many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came
unto them. For there were many in Judah sworn unto him,
because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah." Here are
seen the evil results of intermarriage with idolaters. A family
of Judah had become connected with the enemies of God,
and the relation had proved a snare. Many others had
done the same. These, like the mixed multitude that came
up with Israel from Egypt, were a source of constant trouble.
They were not wholehearted in His service; and when
God's work demanded a sacrifice, they were ready to violate
their solemn oath of co-operation and support.
Some who had been foremost in plotting mischief against
the Jews, now professed a desire to be on friendly terms
with them. The nobles of Judah who had become entangled
in idolatrous marriages, and who had held traitorous
correspondence with Tobiah and taken oath to serve him, now
represented him as a man of ability and foresight, an alliance
with whom would be greatly to the advantage of the
Jews. At the same time they betrayed to him Nehemiah's
plans and movements. Thus the work of God's people was
laid open to the attacks of their enemies, and opportunity
was given to misconstrue Nehemiah's words and acts, and
to hinder his work.
When the poor and oppressed had appealed to Nehemiah
for redress of their wrongs, he had stood boldly in their
defense and had caused the wrongdoers to remove the
reproach that rested on them. But the authority that he
had exercised in behalf of his downtrodden countrymen
he did not now exercise in his own behalf. His efforts had
been met by some with ingratitude and treachery, but he
did not use his power to bring the traitors to punishment.
Calmly and unselfishly he went forward in his service for
the people, never slackening his efforts or allowing his
interest to grow less.
Satan's assaults have ever been directed against those who
have sought to advance the work and cause of God Though
often baffled, he as often renews his attacks with fresh vigor,
using means hitherto untried. But it is his secret working
through those who avow themselves the friends of God's
work, that is most to be feared. Open opposition may be
fierce and cruel, but it is fraught with far less peril to God's
cause than is the secret enmity of those who, while professing
to serve God, are at hear the servants of Satan. These have
it in their power to place every advantage in the hands of
those who will use their knowledge to hinder the work
of God and injure His servants.
Every device that the prince of darkness can suggest will
be employed to induce God's servants to form a confederacy
with the agents of Satan. Repeated solicitations will come
to call them from duty; but, like Nehemiah, they should
steadfastly reply, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot
come down." God's workers may safely keep on with their
work, letting their efforts refute the falsehoods that malice
may coin for their injury. Like the builders on the walls
of Jerusalem they must refuse to be diverted from their
work by threats or mockery or falsehood. Not for one
moment are they to relax their watchfulness or vigilance,
for enemies are continually on their track. Ever they must
make their prayer to God "and set a watch against them
day and night." Nehemiah 4:9.
As the time of the end draws near, Satan's temptations
will be brought to bear with greater power upon God's
workers. He will employ human agents to mock and revile
those who "build the wall." But should the builders come
down to meet the attacks of their foes, this would but
retard the work. They should endeavor to defeat the purposes
of their adversaries, but they should not allow anything
to call them from their work. Truth is stronger than
error, and right will prevail over wrong.
Neither should they allow their enemies to gain their
friendship and sympathy, and thus lure them from their
post of duty. He who by any unguarded act exposes the
cause of God to reproach, or weakens the hands of his
fellow workers, brings upon his own character a stain not
easily removed, and places a serious obstacle in the way of
his future usefulness.
"They that forsake the law praise the wicked." Proverbs
28:4. When those who are uniting with the world,
yet claiming great purity, plead for union with those who
have ever been the opposers of the cause of truth, we should
fear and shun them as decidedly as did Nehemiah. Such
counsel is prompted by the enemy of all good. It is the
speech of timeservers, and should be resisted as resolutely
today as then. Whatever influence would tend to unsettle
the faith of God's people in His guiding power, should be
steadfastly withstood.
In Nehemiah's firm devotion to the work of God, and
his equally firm reliance on God, lay the reason of the
failure of his enemies to draw him into their power. The
soul that in indolent falls an easy prey to temptation; but
in the life that has a noble aim, an absorbing purpose, evil
finds little foothold. The faith of him who is constantly
advancing does not weaken; for above, beneath, beyond,
he recognizes Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish
His good purpose. God's true servants work with a
determination that will not fail because the throne of grace
is their constant dependence.
God has provided divine assistance for all the emergencies
to which our human resources are unequal. He
gives the Holy Spirit to help in every strait, to strengthen
our hope and assurance, to illuminate our minds and purify
our hearts. He provides opportunities and opens channels
of working. If His people are watching the indications
of His providence, and are ready to co-operate with Him,
they will see mighty results.