Rebuilding Through Adersity
Assignation Plot
1. THE FIRST SCHEME: ASSASSINATION PLOT (6:1–4)
6:1–3. When … Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem (cf. 2:19), and other enemies heard that the wall was completed and that the only thing remaining was to set the doors in the gates, those “wall opponents” again attempted to halt the work. This time they were more subtle; their sole object of attack was Nehemiah himself. By removing him from the scene or by at least destroying his credibility with the Jews, they reasoned that they might be able to defeat the work. Each of their three attacks on him was different, but each was designed to take his life or discredit his effectiveness as a leader.
This first attack was more subtle than the others. Sanballat and Geshem invited Nehemiah to meet with them in one of the villages on the plain of Ono. The plain of Ono was named after the town of that name (cf. 1 Chron. 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Neh. 7:37; 11:35). It was near Lod about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem, about 6 miles southeast of Joppa. As seen on the map “Postexilic Samaria and Judah,” near Ezra 2, Ono was near the border of Samaria, Sanballat’s home province. On the surface it appeared that Sanballat and his cohorts wanted to have a peace conference, but their hidden motive was to harm Nehemiah.
Nehemiah suspected foul play. Why would they want him a day’s journey away from Jerusalem? Then he could not oversee the work, and by outnumbering him they might do him harm. Though he could not prove his enemies’ motives at the moment, he chose a method that would eventually demonstrate whether they were sincere. He simply sent messengers to tell them he was involved in a great (important) project and could not leave it unsupervised. By responding in this way Nehemiah was not openly questioning their motives. In fact he was giving them an opportunity to prove their motives were sincere, if they had really wanted to make peace.
6:4. Sanballat and Geshem’s response tipped their hand. Rather than countering with an offer to meet with Nehemiah in Jerusalem, four times they sent … the same message and Nehemiah responded four times with his same refusal.
Nehemiah could have impatiently attacked their motives on their third or fourth request. But he patiently waited it out till they revealed their motives. And this they did with their fifth response, which involved their second scheme.