Nehemiah 4

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, Nehemiah 4:1

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “God had one Son without sin, but he never had a son without trial.” [1] All God’s people undergo trials. Sometimes those trials are words, either whispered by the devil or shouted by foes. Someone once said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That old bit of wisdom is patently untrue. “It’s because words do have such profound effect that we devise defenses against them.” [2] When Sanballat, governor of the Samaritans, heard about the Jewish successes he was filled with rage and immediately began to ridicule the Jews. Sanballat probably felt that a growing and secure Jewish government was a threat to his power. As Dehoff says, “Nothing makes the enemies of the Lord’s work anymore indignant than the success of God’s people.” [3] “and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are?’” (4:2). Sanballat, the Persian governor had some military troops at his disposal. It was before these troops that he carried on his tirade against the Jews. He first called the Jews feeble or weak. The devil often uses a little bit of truth in his charges. The Jews were feeble and so are we as Christians. But when we are weak, then we are strong in Christ (2 Cor. 12:1-10). When we are weak God gets all the glory from our successes.

Sanballat chided them about restoring their wall. The wall was a real threat to his power, as we have said. What was more of a threat was the offering of sacrifices and the restoration of the Jewish faith. He chided them for using burned and crumbly stones. Limestone does become weak once it is burned. While it is true that gates and buildings were burned, the wall for the most part was only broken down. [4]

“Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘What they are building – even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!’” (4:3). Tobiah had a Jewish name and it is thought that he was Jewish. Yet, he was not a friend of Israel. We have a lot of those kinds of Jews around today, and some even in the land of Israel. Tobiah chided them with the mention of a fox. There were apparently many foxes in the ruined city of Jerusalem. [5] The fox was known as an animal that was light of foot and could walk without leaving much of a track. [6] If a fox could break down the wall it was a very weak wall.

Nehemiah’s Appeal To God

Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Nehemiah 4:4

Nehemiah was a praying man as we will observe in several places (4:9; 5:19; 6:9, 14; 13:14, 22, 29, 31). In the Old Testament, God’s people were permitted to curse their enemies (e. g. Psa. 58:6; 69:25; 109:14). Here Nehemiah does that very thing. McConville says: “Nehemiah’s curse is thus a declaration of God’s opposition to those who willfully oppose Judah.” [7]

“Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” (4:5-6). Nehemiah continues with his prayerful curse against the enemy, asking God not to cover or forgive their sins. In spite of the ridicule and opposition, the wall was completed to half its height. Again, it was foresight and good direction of Nehemiah to build all the walls at the same time. A wall that is broken in only one place is like a chain that is broken in only one place. It is no longer any good. The secret to building that much of the wall in such a short time was that the people worked whole-heartedly.

A United Attack

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.” Nehemiah 4:7-8

Already we have been introduced to most of the surrounding enemies. Here we see the people of Ashdod now included. Pfeiffer & Harrison say, “The Ashdodites, who belonged to the Philistine race, were probably easily aroused by Sanballat to fight their old enemies, the Jews.” [8] The Arabs mentioned here must be a reference to Geshem, who had control of the Arabs through the vast lands to the south. Undoubtedly, he had some more Arabs in the area of Samaria since the Assyrians had earlier transplanted some there. It is remarkable that Israel was totally surrounded by enemies with Tobiah and the Ammonites to the east, Sanballat and the Samaritans to the north, Geshem and the Arabs to the south and now the Ashdodites to the west. [9]

Because of their great anger, the enemies came with one mind to fight against Jerusalem. Breneman comments: “Anger will often be the world’s response to God’s work because it challenges worldviews and values.” [10] These enemies soon learned that because of Nehemiah’s skill and his fervent prayers their attack was made impossible. Likely, some other considerations slowed down their plans for battle. Sanballat could have to answer to the satrap who governed the area Beyond the River. “Although Samaria, Judea, etc., were within the Persian Empire, local rivalries were not precluded. But there was a limit to these…” [11]

“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat” (4:9). James Burton Coffman, twentieth-century Churches of Christ commentator reminds us of the old World War II song, “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” [12] Nehemiah put the people on battle alert and that by itself likely discouraged the enemy from attacking. Guzik encourages us today saying: “When we see an area of our Christian life that needs particular attention, it isn’t enough to pray. You need to set a watch as well – give special attention and accountability to that area of your life until you are walking in consistent victory… Our prayers do not replace our actions; they make our actions effective for God’s work.” [13]

“Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, ‘The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall’” (4:10). It is bad enough to have dangerous enemies on the outside but in many ways, it is worse to have discouraged folks on the inside. They were agreeing with the enemy who said they were “feeble.” (4:1-3). Wiersbe, with his long pastoral experience, says that discouragers are usually doubters and compromisers as well. [14]

Guzik comments: “Judah was supposed to be the strongest, bravest tribe. It was the tribe of great kings and ultimately, the Messiah himself. It was a special challenge and a discouragement to have this word come from the tribe of Judah…” [15] Guzik also says: “It is doubtful these enemies knew exactly how discouraged the people of God were. But certainly, the counsels of spiritual darkness in high places knew – and the attack was planned…” [16]

“Also our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work’” (4:11). Death threats are serious things. Today in most US jurisdictions a death threat is a serious crime. Certainly, such a death threat as this would cause people to walk cautiously. However, God’s people could not live in fear. “In his First Inaugural Address, on March 4, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said to a nation in the grip of an economic depression, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’” [17]

“Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, ‘Wherever you turn, they will attack us’” (4:12). These were Jews who lived near the Gentile areas and they were repeating what they had heard the enemies say. The expression “ten times” is probably not to be taken literally. It is an expression that simply means “a number of times.” Other examples of this can be seen in Genesis 31:7, 41 and Daniel 1:12. [18]

“Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows” (4:13). Pett comments: “It was one thing to carry out spasmodic surprise raids on groups of defenseless builders in Jerusalem, which could be explained away. It was quite another to take on Jews who were fully armed, organized and ready to defend themselves, thus turning their raids into direct and deliberate warfare.” [19]

Apparently Nehemiah brought the fearful and complaining Jews and their families into the city and made them a part of its defenses. [20] He stationed people in the lowest, exposed places so that the enemies could see that the city was well defended. So in the low places and the high places Jewish defenders could be seen.

“After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes’” (4:14). Once again the people are reminded that the Lord was their defense. Also, Nehemiah reminded them that “The battle was not for some abstract notion, or a pile of stones, but for those people who stood next to them.” [21] It was a battle for their wives, their little ones and their homes.

The Battle Won

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work. Nehemiah 4:15

There were probably several things that prevented the enemy attack. God had simply frustrated it. Also, the people were prepared for war. While the enemies might get away with an attack on a helpless populace they would probably not get away with a full-scale war against Judah. Kidner suggests that the king’s letters favoring Jerusalem might have given them pause. [22]

With the enemy at bay, the work of wall-building could now go on. However, the work would proceed with extreme caution, not taking their security for granted. “…Charles Haddon Spurgeon published a paper called Sword and Trowel, named after what is written here…” [23] While the people would not forsake their building tools, neither would they forsake their swords.

“From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me” (4:16-18). The work on the wall from this point went slower but it went a lot safer. Every workman was fully prepared to fight if necessary. Since it was a time long before two-way radios and cell phones, Nehemiah kept the trumpeter at his side. In case the trumpet sounded every armed person knew to assemble at that point and be prepared for war.

We note in verse 16 that some of the men wore armor ( shir-re-nim ). Barnes describes this armor by saying: “Coats of mail were common in Assyria from the ninth century B.C., and in Egypt even earlier. They were made of thin laminae of bronze or iron, sewn upon leather or linen, and overlapping one another.” [24] As we can see from these verses the Jewish builders were also in every sense soldiers equipped not only to build but to defend their city. Breneman adds “…those who were building needed both hands free, so they carried a sword at their side.” [25]

“Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!’” (4:19-20). We have sensed already that there were not so many people living in Jerusalem. While the small City of David was compact, the northern limits, including the temple area, were quite spacious and thus difficult to defend. We will see later in 11:1 that lots had to be cast to force more people to live in Jerusalem.

“So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, ‘Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day’” (4:21-22). This was very intense work, “from daylight to dark.” It is from this verse we realize that Nehemiah required the outlying family members to move into the safety of Jerusalem and help with its defense. In all the struggles Nehemiah was not just an observer but a participant. Anders says, “Nehemiah never required more from those under him than he was willing to do.” [26]

“Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water” (4:23). An early quote that may have come from Thomas Jefferson says: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Early twentieth-century commentator, John Dummelow says of this last verse: “…the text is too defective to be translated with certainty: the LXX omits the clause.” [27] The water seems to refer to bathing or taking a water break. [28]

The commentator Henry Halley sums up: “Nehemiah with faith in God, skillfully arming and arranging his men, drove straight ahead with the work; and in spite of all obstacles, the Wall was finished in 52 days; and Jerusalem was again a fortified city, 142 years after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.” [29]

Footnotes

1. Quoted in Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 762.

2. Anders, g. ed. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Holman Old Testament Commentary, p. 169.

3. Quoted in Coffman, Commentary on Nehemiah, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 4:1.

4. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 763.

5. Jamieson, et. al., Commentary on Nehemiah, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 4:3.

6. McGee, History of Israel, Ezra Nehemiah, Esther, p. 108.

7. McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, p. 93.

8. Pfieffer & Harrison, eds., The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 438.

9. Guthrie, et. al., The New Bible Commentary, p. 406.

10. Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther, The New American Commentary, p. 193.

11. Guthrie, et. al., The New Bible Commentary, p. 406.

12. Coffman, Commentary on Nehemiah, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 4:7.

13. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Ezra, v. 4:9.

14. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 764.

15. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Ezra, v. 4:10.

16. Ibid., v. 4:11.

17. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 764.

18. Pett, Commentary on Nehemiah, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, v. 4:12.

19. Ibid., vs. 4:13-15.

20. Pfieffer & Harrison, eds., The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 438.

21. Anders, g. ed. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Holman Old Testament Commentary, p. 173.

22. Kidner, Ezra & Nehemiah, p. 91.

23. Coffman, Commentary on Nehemiah, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 4:15.

24. Barnes, Commentary on Nehemiah, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 4:16.

25. Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther, The New American Commentary, p. 199.

26. Anders, g. ed. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Holman Old Testament Commentary, p. 174.

27. John Dummelow, Commentary on Nehemiah, John Dummelow’s Commentary on the Bible, 1909, v. 4:23. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcb/nehemiah-1.html.

28. Utley, Bible Lessons International, Nehemiah, v. 4:23.

29. Quoted in Coffman, Commentary on Nehemiah, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 4:23.