Nehemiah - the opponents and their methods

Dear fellow believers, a couple of days ago we looked at the 3 ringleaders of the opposition to this great work. Now let us look in closer detail at the tactics they employed as they sought to diminish and destroy the work of God.

1. Mockery (2:19 – 4:1)

"He was furious and very indignant and mocked the Jews"

It's a simple strategy, but it's one that has been used down through the centuries. The world will always mock the people of God, but Nehemiah is not to be deterred from the work by the words of men, no matter how harsh!

2. Intimidation (4:7-8)

"They became very angry. And all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion"

Here we see the different parties collaborating together to produce an allied front against the people of God. Look at the geography and it is easy to see the effect they were trying to achieve - Sanballat brought his people from the north, Geshem the Arabian came from the south, Tobiah is an Ammonite which is to the east, and finally the Ashdodites were from Philistia which is to the west. They quite clearly sought to demonstrate their might by surrounding Jerusalem, in an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of those engaged in the work. The world still does the same, seeking to thwart the work of God by intimidating saints so that we may well think twice before raising our voice in testimony or witness to God.

3. Diversion and Distraction (6:2-4)

4 times over in this portion we read "come let us meet" and this marks a change in tactic. Here they turn to subtlety, they appeal to diplomacy in a non-confrontational way they say "come on, let's talk about this, lets see if we can work together" but Nehemiah will not be distracted from the work and he knows that any involvement with these people will lead to compromise and the failure of the project. We should never be enticed into partnering with the world to accomplish anything spiritual, and sometimes this will be how the devil will seek to sabotage our outreach. It may all seem very appealing but we should remember that God does not need to use the world to help him in his work!

4. Slander and Lies (6:5-9)

"It is reported... according to these rumours..."

Here the enemies carry out a 'smear campaign' in their efforts to thwart the work! Of course everything they said was lies, a complete fabrication but one that could have done much damage nevertheless! Once again they were trying to paralyse the work through fear, the lies they were spreading were malicious and threatening. "for they all made us afraid, saying that their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done". But Nehemiah is not a man to be motivated by fear and in the face of adversity he simply asks the Lord to strengthen their hands!

5. Deception (6:10-13)

"And lo I perceived that God had not sent him..."

Here subtlety was once again at work for they hired a man to be a secret informer and to plant ideas and sow the seeds of doubt from the inside. The man they chose was Shemaiah a Jew and a man who clearly was manipulated by fear as Sanballat was easily able to manipulate him. He spun Nehemiah a story about an assassination plot in an attempt to deceive him into ceasing the work, but Nehemiah replied "should such a man as I flee?" and you can almost detect the indignation in his voice! Here was a man with godly wisdom and perception to see the ploys of the enemy and with the courage to withstand and continue in the work of the Lord.

Oh that we might learn from this great man Nehemiah, a man who triumphed through adversity in difficult days! We too can accomplish a work for God despite the opposition we may face along the way. The enemies are the same and they haven't changed their strategies, but Nehemiah proves that victory and success are still possible if we are strong and trust in God.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Nehemiah - the villains of the piece

The title refers to those three villains of the piece, the opponents and enemies of the work for God in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In the largely positive book of Nehemiah it should come as no surprise to learn that there is a lot of opposition to the work. In turn there is much that we can learn from the behaviour and strategies employed by the enemies of this work, as their methods haven't fundamentally changed! But first let's look at the three main ringleaders first of all.

Sanballat the Horonite - Factfile:

• He was installed as the Governor of Samaria under Persian rule, Samaria being in the north of the country


• He emerges as the prominent ringleader and spokesperson of the three


• He is a Moabite (from Horonaim in the land of Moab) and this says a lot! Moab of course came from Lot's incestuous union with his oldest daughter and in the scripture speaks of the flesh. The children of Israel never fully dealt with Moab, they never fully subdued or defeated them. The same is true of the believer and the flesh, we will never be truly free of the trappings of the flesh until we get to heaven!

Geshem the Arabian - Factfile:

• Arabia was the land south of Palestine


• The Arabians were descendants of Abraham, either from the wife of his old age Keturah or more likely from Hagar, Sarah's bond servant (Ishmael was the son born of this relationship).


• God promised Hagar that from Ishmael would also come a mighty nation, innumerable as the sand.

Tobiah the Ammonite - Factfile:

• His name ironically means "the goodness of Jehovah" but names can be deceiving!


• He was an Ammonite, a descendant of Ammon who was the product of Lot's other incestuous relationship with his younger daughter. Again this is another bad sign, and would again speak to us of the flesh.


• Later on in the book it would appear that he befriended Eliashib the High Priest, so much so that he had a room prepared for him in the courts of the temple. This is a solemn reminder how easy it is to harbour a fondness and a place for the flesh in our lives.

One thing we learn is that all 3 of these men were the result of failure among those who should have known better, and those failures were to return to plague the children of Israel time and time again. Sometimes this is the case that mistakes in the past continue to plague our spiritual progress in the present and this is unfortunate. But however, we don't give up and stop fighting!

These 3 rogues employ 5 main strategies as they seek to disrupt and destroy the work:

1. Mockery (2:19 - 4:1)


2. Intimidation (4:7-8)


3. Diversion and Distraction (6:2-4)


4. Slander and Lies (6:5-9)


5. Deception (6:10-13)

We will look at these in more detail another day.

Yours in Christ,

Mark