The Prophet: Ridicule and Discouragement

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.

Yet, Nehemiah inspected the wall, the work to be done (Neh2:11-18)

Let the mocking begin and the faith proclaimed (Neh2:19-20)

Nehemiah 2:19–20 NASB95

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Let the workers and the work begin (Neh3:1-32)

(Transition) this brings us to tonight, the work is progressing but there is ridicule, mocking, and discouragement that happens as we see this passage unfold.

Our Passage

Nehemiah 4:1–2 NASB95

1 Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. 2 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?”

Nehemiah 4:3–4 NASB95

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!” 4 Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.

Nehemiah 4:5–6 NASB95

5 Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders. 6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:7–8 NASB95

7 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.

Nehemiah 4:9–10 NASB95

9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night. 10 Thus in Judah it was said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall.”

Nehemiah 4:11–12 NASB95

11 Our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.” 12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”

What do you notice in this passage?

What was the feelings of Sanballat, and why (v.1)? Who was he speaking to (v.2)?

He was furious and very angry.

He mocked the Jews

He was speaking in presences of brothers and wealthy men of Samaria

Mocking, ridicule brought on more from whom (v.3)?

Tobiah the Ammonite

In (v.4-5) we see another of Nehemiah’s prayers

Yet with ridicule, mocking, praying, the work continued and what happens (v.6)?

it was joined together to half its height

The number of the angry grows including whom (vv.7-8)?

Including Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites

This brings about action, what actions do you see (v.9-10)?

Prayer and setting a guard

Also, discouragement for strength was weakening due to all the rubble in the way.

What did the enemies plan, and the Jews overhear (vv.11-12)

They will kill them to stop the work

The Jews who heard it reported it.

(Transition) this is a discouraging section, hard to see much hope in here isn’t there? But there is hope, it is sewn in this passage so let’s break it down together.

Discouragement proclaimed

The work brought on furious and curious response

Nehemiah 4:1–2 NLT

1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”

Nehemiah 4:3 NLT

3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”

Does the work of God, bring on hostile and curious responses today?

Sanballat and Tobiah were first deeply disturbed previously (Neh2:10).

Nehemiah 2:10 NKJV

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

They tried using scorn and intimidation (Neh2:19)

Nehemiah 2:19 NASB95

They mocked and were sarcastic toward the Jews believing what they were attempting would avail nothing, that even a fox would breakdown the wall.

They mocked about sacrifices thinking that their sacrifices would cause God to build the wall. Will they pray the walls into existence? Will they complete it in a day?

Remember they had been at it close to 100 years from when Ezra returned with the first wave of captives who were set free by the decree of Cyrus.

Discouragement is a powerful weapon because it comes close to the opposite of faith. Faith believes God and His promises, discouragement looks and believes the worst.

“Critics who bring only discouragement often miss what God is doing; because they don’t like the wall, they can’t believe it is God’s work. In the same way, the church is God’s church; Jesus loves His bride. You should always be careful about the way you talk about Jesus’ bride.” (Guzik)

Unbeknownst to Tobiah and Sanballat, Nehemiah had the authority to rebuild, and they had no authorization to stop it. They were not rebelling against the king, but were in partnership with the king.

Remember you are in partnership with the King of Kings!

One commentator in speaking about discouragement said:

“We work differently when we believe than when we are discouraged. We pray differently under faith or under discouragement. We read and hear the word differently under faith or under discouragement. It is no wonder that Satan works so hard to keep us from faith and keep us in discouragement.”

Prayer a mighty weapon

Nehemiah 4:4–5 NLT

4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.”

As we have previously seen (Neh1:4, 2:4) Nehemiah turns again to prayer (vv.4-5).

He turned to God not to man, he did not debate man, he demonstrated his faith in God. Nehemiah asked God to defend them (just like in Ps58:6, Ps69:25).

May we follow Nehemiah’s example, turn to God, turn in prayer not in retort against those who come to discourage us. Prayer is a mighty weapon!

They were not discouraged, they were encouraged.

Nehemiah 4:6 NLT

6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.

The people all had a mind to work!

Attempted discouragement actually brought about encouragement to them to strive together to the task at hand.

Remember the example came from High Priest, Nobel's, etc. the common man, the men, the women, all came together.

“Critics demoralize, leaders encourage. When the critics spoke, the workmen heard them and were demoralized. But when the capable leader stepped up and said, ‘Let’s look at it God’s way, stay at the job,’ the crew members were back in there.” (Swindoll)

The mind of work started with prayer, God worked in the hearts and the minds of the people to press on, to endure! They did not sit there and expect God to do it, they did what God had already tasked them to do, now with a new enthusiasm.

Plans of violence

Nehemiah 4:7–8 NLT

7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.

The work of God can make people furious and people may join together to try to stop it. They conspired to come together, but it was not against man building a wall, but against God, their plan would not come to fruition.

Setting a watch and prayer

Nehemiah 4:9 NKJV

9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

Regardless of the scorn, the ridicule, the mocking, the threats they prayed by faith.

God did not stop the scorn, ridicule or the like, what it did was demonstrate the people had faith in Him, they drew closer to Him in prayer.

Prayer was not with folded hands doing nothing, it was active, setting a guard to the work and to be a wall as the work on the wall of God was being worked on.

Bringing this to a personal level for a minute

“When you see an area of your 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.” (Courson)

Prayers do not replace actions; they make our actions effective for God’s work - Guzik

This action, prayer and setting a watch sent a couple of messages.

To the antagonists it said, you are not going to stop the work of God here, we are committed and it will succeed, and by the power of God we will overcome every obstacle

To God it said, we trust you, and put our faith and our actions in your hands, not just our words!

Still challenges comes (inside/outside)

Nehemiah 4:10 NLT

10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”

Ever want to give up when a job is half done? Judah is getting tired and the task seems too much. Among all the challenges they have overcome, fatigue sets in.

They had to clear away the rubbish, in our Christian life we too need to clear away the rubbish so God can continue to build in us and through us.

The way up, started with down, they had to tear down the rubble, the rubbish, the ruins so they can build up, the same thing that happens to us after salvation when the Lord starts the sanctification process as revealed through His word and by His Spirit.

Nehemiah 4:11 NLT

11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”

Word gets out there is an attack in the planning from the outside. So, discouragement, fatigue on the inside, and an attack from the outside.

May we remember what Paul told the church (Eph6:12).

Ephesians 6:12 NASB95

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We may face much opposition in or walk, the attacks we suffer from the spiritual forces of darkness are strategically planned when we are discouraged, tired, angry, proud, self-confident.

So, may we be a people who pray, set a guard and work together to build the kingdom as God wants it. Know there are forces against us, but if God is for us who can be against us?