Nehemiah · chapter 6 of 13
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Nehemiah 6 tells how Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem try to lure Nehemiah to a meeting, falsely accuse him of rebellion, and hire the prophet Shemaiah to frighten him into hiding in the temple. Nehemiah refuses each trap, and the wall is finished on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days, so that the nations recognize the work came from God.
When the wall is nearly complete, the enemies change tactics: they no longer mock or threaten openly but seek to deceive, slander and frighten Nehemiah. This chapter shows how to discern traps that look like reasonable invitations, and how to persevere until the work is done.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of the enemies hear that Nehemiah has rebuilt the wall and no breach is left, though the doors had not yet been set in the gates, they send to him to meet in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah knows they intend to harm him and answers that he is doing a great work and cannot come down. They send the same message four times and he answers the same way.
The fifth time, Sanballat sends him an open letter saying it is rumored that he and the Jews plan to rebel and that Nehemiah wants to be king. He threatens to report to the king and proposes that they consult together. Nehemiah replies that none of this is true, that it is all their invention, and prays that God would strengthen his hands.
One day Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, who is shut in at home, tells him to take refuge in the temple and shut its doors because they are coming to kill him by night. Nehemiah asks whether a man like him should run away, and whether a man like him could go into the temple to save his life. He realizes God did not send Shemaiah but that Tobiah and Sanballat hired him to frighten him into sinning and so discredit him. He asks God to remember what Tobiah and Sanballat did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who wanted to intimidate him.
The wall is finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. When the enemies and the surrounding nations hear of it, they lose confidence, for they recognize that the work was done with the help of God. Yet the chapter closes with a shadow: many nobles of Judah keep up letters with Tobiah, through family ties and oaths, and report to him what Nehemiah does.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Nehemiah answers that he is doing a great work and cannot come down, because the work would stop. His clarity about his task protects him from distractions, even when they come as opportunities for dialogue.
The enemies want to frighten them so they will quit the work, and Nehemiah prays that God would strengthen his hands. When pressure comes, his response is to ask God for strength, not to justify himself.
Nehemiah asks whether a man like him should flee and whether he should enter the temple to save his life. He knows his place is to stay at the head of the work and that entering the temple would break the law, and he refuses.
The wall is finished on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days, and the nations recognize that the work was done with God's help. A people's perseverance is also a witness to the world.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: In one of the villages in the plain of Ono. — Nehemiah 6:2
Answer: That he was doing a great work and could not come down. — Nehemiah 6:3
Answer: Of planning a rebellion with the Jews and of wanting to be king. — Nehemiah 6:6-7
Answer: That God would strengthen his hands. — Nehemiah 6:9
Answer: Take refuge in the temple and shut its doors because they would come to kill him by night. — Nehemiah 6:10
Answer: Fifty-two days, ending on the twenty-fifth of Elul. — Nehemiah 6:15
Nehemiah 6 teaches us to discern invitations that look good but pull us away from the task God gave. In a small group you can ask which good things are distracting you from what God really asked, and how to say no clearly and without a fight, as Nehemiah did, answering the same each time.
It also shows how to face slander and fear. Nehemiah did not defend himself with long explanations; he prayed and kept working. Ask whether you ask God to strengthen your hands before reacting, and whether there are voices using spiritual language to frighten rather than guide. The work gets finished when we persevere.
Nehemiah 6 ends with the wall finished and with the secret ties of some nobles to Tobiah. In chapter 7 Nehemiah posts watchmen at the gates and turns to the city, which has walls but few inhabitants.
Because the law of Moses reserved the interior of the temple for priests, and Nehemiah was not one. Going in out of fear would have been sin and would have given his enemies a reason to discredit him. Besides, fleeing would have shown his people that the leader abandoned himself.
It points to the speed of the work, done by many hands and despite opposition. The text credits the achievement to God's help. Some scholars note that parts of the wall already existed and only needed repair, but the account stresses the unity and perseverance of the people.