Nehemiah 4 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Nehemiah 4

Opposition to the Work

4:1 ¹ Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?² Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” 4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 ³ But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

10 In Judah it was said,⁴ “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” 11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”⁵ 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

The Work Resumes

15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

21 So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. 22 I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” 23 So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.⁶

Footnotes

[1] 4:1 Ch 3:33 in Hebrew
[2] 4:2 Or Will they commit themselves to God?
[3] 4:7 Ch 4:1 in Hebrew
[4] 4:10 Hebrew Judah said
[5] 4:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[6] 4:23 Or his weapon when drinking

Commentary

v1-3: Sanballat developed from mockery (2.19) to ridicule. He despised Nehemiah's vision, and he despised the work of God. Since the ungodly of ignorant of spiritual things, we would expect them to despise them. The attacks here came in five ways;

What are those feeble Jews doing? - their persons;
Will they restore their wall? - their hopes;
Will they offer sacrifices? - their devotion to God;
Will they finish in a day? - their diligence;
Can they bring the stones back to life? - their problem.

Tobiah the Ammonite joined in, belittling their efforts.

v4-5: Rather than enter in to public controversy, the Jewish people responded in prayer; Deut 19.18-19; 1 Tim 1.20. Their bold prayer was perfectly proper in the situation, 2 Tim 1.5; 4.14-15. While we must not revile in return, we must recognise God's attitude, and reflect His attitude; for we know that God will protect His own, Num 22.12.

In Acts 4.25-28, the disciples prayed about such attacks, seeing them as a fulfilment of Scripture, and as something "determined" by God.

v6: Prayer leads to action; we must press on in the face of difficulties. The people had a mind to work, and a desire to join together to obey God.

v7: The enemy grew; Sanballat and Tobiah (2.10) were joined by Geshem (2.19), then the army of Samaria (v2), and now the Ammonites and Ashdodites. They conspired together, sharing the same concern at the progress of the work.

v8-9: There were further attacks from the enemy; conspiracy and evil schemes. In response there was persistent prayer, and practical precautions.

v10-12: Discouragement; resulting from the attacks, and from the circumstances, that there was so much rubbish from the building work. There was also a warning from the Jews not directly involved in the building. There are always some who will not put their shoulder to the wheel.

Discouragement came by: fatigue; frustration; failure; fear.

v13-14: Again the response was twofold. The vulnerable parts of the walls were protected, and Nehemiah encouraged the people to renew their trust in God; he clearly saw that this was essentially a spiritual work, with a spiritual battle.

Thefourfold response: re-evaluate; Realise (you're not alone); ready (to fight); remember (the Lord).

v15: There was a real effect of the people's prayers; God brought the enemies' counsel to nothing, and the work of building was resumed.

v16-20: Nehemiah left in place practical arrangements, to ensure that some were looking outwards, to see any enemy activity, and each one was equipped to fight as well as to build. The man who sounded the trumpet remained with Nehemiah, so that, should a military attack happen, he could call them to fight.

v21-23: The people were committed to the work, sleeping within the walls, not changing their clothes; Nehemiah set this example for his people.