Nehemiah 4-7
Devotion by Telva Elwell (South Carolina)
Have you ever been ridiculed, called embarrassing names, laughed at, or pretty much just made to feel like you just wanted to crawl in a hole? Suppose you were doing something important and putting your whole heart into it. Did you want to throw your arms up in the air and give up? If this has happened to you, you are in good company. The weapon of ridicule has been around for a long time. Remember the Day of Pentecost when the disciples were called “drunks” (Acts 2:13), and later when Paul the Apostle was called a “babbler” (Acts 17:18). Those doing good and important things may feel ashamed or discouraged and thus abandon their work. Sadly, many times ridicule does work, but not in the case of the Apostles, Paul, or even Nehemiah.
You might ask, why do people resort to such hurtful behavior? The answer is simple: They have no other weapons. They may “sling trash” simply to be mean or hurtful, or they may be trying to discourage you from your good work. Such was the case of Nehemiah. Let’s look at how he responded to the ridicule he experienced.
Nehemiah had given up a lot to go to Jerusalem, but he was on a sacred mission. He was going to do the impossible and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and rebuild the gates. If he had submitted a resume for this job, he probably would not have gotten the job. After all, he was a cupbearer. A cupbearer, for goodness sake! He was not someone who was handy with building tools and blueprints. He was the perfect candidate to receive ridicule and fail. If Paul was a “babbler” and the other apostles were “drunks”, then Nehemiah was a “babbling drunk” — except for the fact that he was getting the job done.
Sometimes seeing someone accomplish a task, especially a huge task, makes people angry, fearful, and jealous. Enter Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. (Neh. 2) These three musketeers had a mission also, and it was in direct conflict with the mission of Nehemiah. If this was a play, they were the discouragers and naysayers. They heard about the mission to restore Jerusalem and were determined to oppose the work. And they began immediately. Nehemiah had just given the peptalk to his workers when these three discouragers showed up. Nehemiah reports, “they jeered at us and despised us”, then they asked, “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the King?” (2:19) Their tactic was ridicule and then tossing in seeds of doubt and false accusation for good measure. How would Nehemiah respond? How should he respond?
Nehemiah’s choices were: One: ignore the ridicule or, Two: Debate with the men and try to convince them that they were wrong. Nehemiah chose neither. He simply told them like it was. He told them (1) The God of Heaven will make us prosper. (2) His servants will arise and build. (3) You have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem. (2:20). For a while Nehemiah’s words to them seemed to work. The Jews were able to accomplish much and build back the gates of Jerusalem. (chpt 3). But do you really think that the three musketeers were done? If so, think again.
Sanballat and his foolish friends found it necessary to somehow end the work of the Jews in Jerusalem because they feared them and what they might do to them. If Jerusalem was made strong, they would be weak (and less wealthy). Seeing the gates of Jerusalem being rebuilt caused them fear and anxiety.
So, once again, Sanballat and his sidekicks took out their childish games playbook and began calling the Jerusalem builders names. They attempted to taunt them by calling the workers “feeble” implying they were miserably weak old people. They continued their name calling by implying they were also stupid people because they were building a weak and worthless city wall. Tobiah undoubtedly thought he was funny and clever when he suggested that the wall was so weak that if a fox walked on it, the wall would tumble to the ground. (4:1-3) Truthfully, many of the builders were discouraged, but they persevered.
Nevertheless, Nehemiah prayed, “Turn back their taunt on their own heads.” (4:4) Eventually, their taunts will come back to haunt them, just as Nehemiah prayed.
“So, they built the wall…” (4:6)
Sanballat and his buddies continued to attempt to hinder Nehemiah’s work on the wall by various means, but at each turn their attempts were met with defeat. Nehemiah continued to lead the work, and he ignored the childish mischief. The insults, the rude name calling, the ridicule—the trash slinging failed to work!
“So, the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days!” (6:15)
The next time you feel you are being pursued by troublemakers as you do the work that God has given you to do, remember Nehemiah.
And remember 52 days.
Reflection Questions
- Have you ever been the victim of someone’s unkind words? How did those words make you feel?
- How did you respond? Did you throw unkind words right back at them? What is the best way to respond?
- Do you think Nehemiah responded properly? If he had responded by returning insult for insult, arguing, debating, or giving up the work, how would the builders have felt and responded? How would the trash slingers feel?
Seek Grow Love 