1 Now it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)
2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, “Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me mischief.
The enemies are so angry about God’s work getting done they are willing to commit murder.
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?”
Nehemiah understands what is going on, and more importantly, he understands what his priorities are.
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6 Wherein was written, “It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu says it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou built the wall, that thou may be their king, according to these words.”
We all tend to assume others think like we do. If Sanballat had been building a wall around a city he would have been intending to rule as a king. He assumes that is also Nehemiah’s plan. What other motivation could he have?
7 “And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah:’ and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.”
Sanballat is, of course, making things up. He is threatening to tell the king these stories if Nehemiah doesn’t do what he says. This is blackmail.
8 Then I sent unto him, saying, “There are no such things done as thou say, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.”
“Oh, grow up.”
9 For they all made us afraid, saying, “Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
Satan will encourage his servants to do all sorts of things to stop the work of God.
10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.”
Now someone comes who is afraid and is advising Nehemiah to take refuge in the most fortified place in the city, the Temple.
11 And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”
Nehemiah understood that Satan was planting this fear and these ideas. Remember that they are building twenty-four hours a day. If Nehemiah takes refuge in the Temple, the work stops, the people will become afraid because of his behaving like there is something to fear, and he would be violating God’s law. Nehemiah was from the tribe of Judah. Only Levites were allowed in the Temple.
12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
If someone counsels you to break God’s law, quit what He has called you to, or behave with fear, you can be sure that they have not been sent by God. In this New Testament age, the law of God we are to obey is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Any advice to differently is not from God.
13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
Obviously they just wanted to discredit Nehemiah.
14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
Noadiah is not mentioned anywhere else. The Bible does have a few other examples of female prophets, though this one appears to be a false prophet.
Nehemiah prays for God to punish his enemies for trying so hard to cause him trouble. There are other examples of this kind of prayer in the Bible, especially in Psalms. We should always pray for the salvation of our enemies (“Bless them that curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you.” Luke 6:28), but there is a time to pray for God to exact justice (on evil organizations, for example.)
15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
It took them less than two months to complete their work. Considering there were several thousand workers working twenty-four hours a day, the foundations for the wall were still there, portions of the wall were probably still standing (at least part way up), and all the building material was laying right there on the ground where it had been knocked off the wall by the Babylonian army, this was not an unreasonable accomplishment.
16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
The bad guys (who thought they were good guys) realized that God was directing this work.
17 Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.
Unfortunately those with power and money often lose sight of where their true loyalties should lie.
18 For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
The Jews had gone back to intermarrying with the non-believers around them. Tobiah was one of the “relatives” by marriage, causing many of the Jews to confuse their loyalties.
19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
Some people like to carry “news” (gossip) around just to see how much trouble they can stir up.