Here we go again. In chapter 4 we saw the enemies of the work that Nehemiah was trying to accomplish come against the people. Nehemiah responded brilliantly by arming his people and putting them back to work. Sometimes we need to just go back to work when the fears and worries of this world come against us. Now we find ourselves in chapter 6. The wall is almost done. Nehemiah had dealt with his enemies and in chapter 5 he dealt with internal problems. Now that they had almost completed everything chapter 6 should be all about a celebration, right? Wrong. The opposition raised its ugly head once again. This time they weren’t threatening the people. They weren’t mocking the work. This time they were coming directly at Nehemiah. I have often heard it said that the most dangerous part of a trip is the last mile. Maybe it is because of exhaustion or maybe it is because we become complacent thinking that we have already arrived. Whatever the reason, it would seem that more problems arise when we are closest to achieving success than when we first began. It does not matter what our journey is. It does not matter what we are trying to accomplish. We need to pay special attention to how Nehemiah handles these distractions when he is almost done with the wall.
The chapter begins with the enemies’ realization that the wall has been rebuilt. It wasn’t complete but it was close enough. They send word to Nehemiah that they want to meet with him. Nehemiah replied appropriately in verse 3 saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” My interpretation is he said, “We are about to achieve what you said we couldn’t do, and I do not have time for your nonsense.” He was keeping his eye on the prize. This wasn’t direct opposition they just wanted him to take some time away from his work to meet with them. It was a distraction. So often we fight through the obstacles and the opposition that when we have the finish line in sight we get distracted by simple things. Nehemiah was determined to finish this wall. He was not going to be distracted. These guys were not about to stop. They requested the meeting four times, and four times Nehemiah gave them the same answer. That is focus.
In verse 5 we see that these guys sent a fifth request. They were smart about it this time because they sent it in an “open letter”. It is believed that this was to increase the peer pressure on Nehemiah. They sent this letter so that everyone would know what they were saying. The letter made accusations of rebellion and stated that it was rumored that Nehemiah was trying to make himself king of Judah. Best of all they said that these rumors were going to be reported to the king. Now remember that this king is the one who gave Nehemiah permission to be in Jerusalem building the wall. The king granted Nehemiah safe passage and provided an armed escort. This was the king that Nehemiah served as cup bearer. The problem that these outsiders overlooked was that Nehemiah had served the king well. He was close enough to the king that when he was sad the king noticed. While his enemies overlooked these facts Nehemiah knew them very well. He also knew that there was no shred of truth to what these trouble makers were saying. So, he told them that. His response, thoughts and prayer are verses 8 – 9. My interpretation is that he said something like, “liar, liar, pants on fire” or perhaps even, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” However you interpret it, the outcome was that he still did not take the time to meet with these yahoos. There are a couple of good take aways here. First, do everything you do to the best of your ability because your reputation and your character can bring you comfort in the face of opposition. Second, doing things with the utmost integrity will bring you peace of mind in the midst of any storm.
There is more to this chapter but I will post it later. Be sure to check back when I post Chapter 6 part 2.
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